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I am starting this thread anew for our new member "alternative thinker". As noted, newbies are not allowed to start threads or post links until 50 posts.

Here is the entire original post as it was posted....Please address comments to this post to "alternative thinker".

Diary about "Judging"

Today, 05:49 am (This post was last modified: Today 06:00 am by alternative thinker.) Post: #1 |
alternative thinker
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Diary about "Judging"
I was just writing my diary, and found my self-discussion interresting, and unsettled. I hope someone on this forum has an opinion about "Juding" others, cause I'm not sure how to appoach the subject in my life.

Here is what I wrote:

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned"
Luke 6.37

How do I judge others? Inside my head I draw many conclusions about other people. In other words, I judge them. When you judge a man, does that mean that you evaluate a person's deeds, as good / evil?
The image quickly emerges about a person, which is based on the person's behavior, the first impression, the stories they tell (what their mouths runs over with). You combine these details into YOUR picture of that person. From this picture, it is virtually impossible not to do judge that person.
I can not help but to "judge" certain deeds made by people, as right or wrong.
Yet it is what a Christians should aspire to.
For though I have the Bible as a guide, I have no insight into what God assess as good or evil. If everything has a meaning, everything has a plan, then the situations, actions and circumstances that take place, are a necessity to reach the end goal.

How to avoid judging people then?
I pray to Jesus to learn to accept (and perhaps to understand?) the situations and circumstances that take place.
I pray that i may be completely open-minded towards everyone I meet.

Can I not tell people about what is right and wrong?
May I for my part, assess what is right and wrong?
Luke 6.37 does not say you cannot " judge others ", it says "Judge not, as in, judge nothing, whatsoever ... Nor you, nor specific situations, outages, etc ".

I must do what the Bible says, without judging if it right or wrong?
We must pray for forgiveness.

This seems like one of the main points in the NT. We therefore need to evaluate ourselves. Which must mean that we must make self-assessments in which we weigh our deeds.
If the deed is assessed as evil, we must ask forgiveness for it .... or put another way; we must be aware of our sin, and be able to see the wrong of the sin and accept that what you did was wrong. Once you have accepted it, one can then learn from it and thus find it easier to do the right thing, in a similar situation in the future.

Ok, so we should "not judge", but may we assess? We certainly must evaluate ourselves.
Do we want to evaluate others? How can we assess others without judging them? To assess a person, we need to know everything about the people. We know ourselves quite well, though not as good as God, therefore we can have self-assessments. Since we only know a fraction of what is happening in other people, we are unable to assess them. When you still access them, you will, automatically evaluate their actions as being good or evil, and therefore judges on behalf of that person. One therefor assesses on behalf of another person, whether that man 'in God's eyes' acted in sin or not. Acted correctly or incorrectly.
By doing that I'm judging!

Hi and welcome to the forum alternative thinker.

What you are writing about is probably one of the controversial and misused Scriptures.

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

The idea many claim is that if you evaluate anything to the Word of God, you are guilty of judging that person and condemning them to hell. Or you are simply guilty of judging....according to those who, ahem ...have judged you guilty of judging.

Here's the context of the passage, and the whole teaching concerning judging according to Jesus' own words..

Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

So we see that there is a way to make righteous judgment. It starts with ourselves and making sure we are clean before God at that moment. Making a judgment is merely making a decision about something based on certain parameters. For believers, it's making that judgment from the doctrine found in the Word of God and relying on the Holy Spirit to give understanding.

Another teaching in Luke :

Luk 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

And in John, we see that Jesus taught to judge with "righteous judgement":

Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

judge G2919
κρίνω
krinō
Thayer Definition:
1) to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose
2) to approve, esteem, to prefer
3) to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion
4) to determine, resolve, decree
5) to judge
5a) to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong
5a1) to be judged, i.e. summoned to trial that one’s case may be examined and judgment passed upon it
5b) to pronounce judgment, to subject to censure
5b1) of those who act the part of judges or arbiters in matters of common life, or pass judgment on the deeds and words of others
6) to rule, govern
6a) to preside over with the power of giving judicial decisions, because it was the prerogative of kings and rulers to pass judgment
7) to contend together, of warriors and combatants
7a) to dispute
7b) in a forensic sense
7b1) to go to law, have suit at law
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: perhaps a primitive word

appearances > G3799
ὄψις
opsis
Thayer Definition:
1) seeing, sight
2) face, countenance
3) the outward appearance, look
Part of Speech: noun feminine
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G3700

righteous G1342
δίκαιος
dikaios
Thayer Definition:
1) righteous, observing divine laws
1a) in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God
1a1) of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined
1a2) innocent, faultless, guiltless
1a3) used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life
1a3a) only Christ truly
1a4) approved of or acceptable of God
1b) in a narrower sense, rendering to each his due and that in a judicial sense, passing just judgment on others, whether expressed in words or shown by the manner of dealing with them
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1349

judgment G2920
κρίσις
krisis
Thayer Definition:
1) a separating, sundering, separation
1a) a trial, contest
2) selection
3) judgment
3a) opinion or decision given concerning anything
3a1) especially concerning justice and injustice, right or wrong
3b) sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgment, condemnation and punishment
4) the college of judges (a tribunal of seven men in the several cities of Palestine; as distinguished from the Sanhedrin, which had its seat at Jerusalem)
5) right, justice
Part of Speech: noun feminine
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: perhaps a primitive word

The only way to judge with righteous judgment, and making decisions about sound doctrine, is to study and know the Word of God, and use it as our source of judgment, relying on the Holy Spirit to give understanding and discernment.

Jesus said we would know false teachers and false prophets by their fruit. That means studying and making judgments on their doctrine and how they live Christ or don't and abide the Word.

And Paul wrote:

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. [.b]

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 But now [b]I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13. But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

1 Corinthians 6:2-5 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 4. If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 5. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

Those who claim and misuse Matthew 7:1 and try to stifle the very use of the Scriptures for discernment, and appplying them to our lives, do a disservice. Even the very essence of helping others grow in grace and knowledge means, making righteous judgments grounded in the Word of God.

Galatians 6:1-5 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5. For every man shall bear his own burden.

Php 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

When studying a doctrine or topic, it is really important to take the verse in context of the whole teaching in a passage. It is also important to look at as many cross references/teaching to the topic as possible in order to gain a deeper understanding of what is really being said, in that passage and related ones.

Vic

Vic