Judging Right & Wrong!

With so much going on in the world today, especially as Christians, we must be willing to examine and decide what is right and what is wrong. In fact, it takes courage to judge unrighteousness! So often people tend to hide behind the mis-use and mis-understanding of scripture when it comes to standing against evil and unrighteousness. It becomes very difficult to pass judgment on something or someone we really like, invested in, or have supported publicly when they deviate from righteousness. It is especially difficult when the person or cause is very popular or very powerful and have the ability (influence) to make our lives miserable for standing up for what is right. When we ought to take a stand for righteousness, we sometimes hind behind the scripture, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”- Matthew 7:1. Those of us who are bible students recognize this as part of Jesus teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. When someone stands up and endorses homosexuality (or any other sin), it is vital to maintain God’s righteous standard, even when they are leadership. No, especially when they are in leadership because of their influence on countless followers!

We should not continue to empower those (especially leaders) who will help to legitimize, normalize and legalize homosexuality (sin). Before you label me as a “homophobe” or “gay bash-er” please understand that I believe the bible is God’s word and is the standard of living for all mankind. The bible clearly says homosexuality is an abomination to God (Leviticus 18:22). It is also clear from the word of God that God loves the sinner but hates the sin. In other words, God loves the person (homosexual) but hates the sin (of homosexuality). So I don’t believe in mistreating or persecuting people because they are homosexual. I also don’t believe in granting them special rights because they refuse to acknowledge God’s standard and continue in their perverted sexual desires! See Romans 1:24-32. Some will call believers such as myself, old-fashion, out-of-touch and living in the dark-ages. But the word of God says those who think and behave in this manner are themselves living in darkness. They profess to be wise and enlightened, but they are really walking in their vain imaginations and their hearts are darkened! See Romans 1:18-23. My purpose is to encourage and challenge you to judge sin in general and homosexuality in particular according to God’s standard. I have chosen homosexuality in particular because of my awareness of the “Homosexual Agenda” in the U.S. and in the world. If you have not researched this issue you will think I am part of some wild, right-wing, religious conspiracy theory. But rest assured, the homosexual agenda is real and the enemy of our souls (the devil) is using homosexuality as the tip of the battering ram to breakdown the wall of morality and righteousness in humanity and in our nation today. Ultimately, such immorality is devastating on the prosperity of a nation.

The Lord Jesus is not saying we should never judge others. There must be times when we are to judge because Jesus also says we are to judge righteous judgment and not according to appearance (John 7:24). Obviously, we make judgment calls on a daily basis. We judge who will be our spouses and friends. When walking down the street and seeing a suspicious character coming our way we judge rather to cross over to the other side of the street! We judge who is responsible enough to baby-sit our children. The list goes on and on! But let’s get back to the scriptures because righteous judgement is based on God’s standard which is the word of God; not our experience or opinion alone. The context of Jesus teaching in Matthew 7:1-6 is that we should not judge others hypocritically or self-righteously!  “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Again, it is clear that we are to judge, but not hypocritically or self-righteously.  Jesus does give us some guidelines on judging others. We are to judge ourselves first before we judge others in a matter (pull the beam out of our own eyes!) and to be merciful in our judgment towards others knowing that we shall ourselves be judged with the same degree of mercy we extend to others. We cannot judge motives, but we can judge actions and character. We judge people by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). We are to use our God-given wisdom to judge the spirits of men ( 1 John 4:1-6); in judging between true and false Christians and Ministers of God (2 Corinthians 11:13-15); in issues involving church discipline we must pass judgement (2 Thessalonians 3:11-15, 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 & 6). The word of God says the righteous person will speak of wisdom and judgment ( justice and right standards). See Psalm 37:30. The word of God also tells us not to have respect of persons when we pass judgment. In other words, we must treat all persons involved fairly (Proverbs 24:23).

In conclusion, as believers in right and wrong; good and evil; spiritual light and darkness according to the word of God; let us see our obligation to judge righteously and to have the courage to do so. As Christians, we are to judge according to God’s standard which is the word of God and not according to our political party, ethnic group, friendships or personal preference! When people call acceptable what God has called unacceptable; when people publicly align themselves with sin (especially our leaders) we have an obligation to judge righteously, speak up for righteousness and not hide behind the excuse that no-one is perfect and that we should not judge them. We can not afford to sit quietly while others call good evil and evil good!