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Lord Jesus says in John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” He said this to Jews who criticized him for healing another person on the Sabbath. To put this in context, Jesus in the preceding verse says in John 7:23, “If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?”
John 7:24 gives us the authority to judge others, but Verse 23 says to temper our judgement so as to not be critical of others if we are doing the same thing. Indeed, in Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” As we’ve seen in John 7:23, Jesus criticizes the Jews for doing the thing which Jesus had done, which was to engage in a form of work on the Sabbath in the interests of God. Is this not hypocrisy, of which Lord Jesus was highly critical?
If we are to judge others, we should regard it as an act which fulfills the means, not as a measure one uses for self-description. If a person is to only be known for being, say, ‘a good judge of character,’ is that enough to get the person into the House of the Lord? What good is it without works to show the benefit of such judgment coming from that person? And whoever engages in judging others should ensure that some good arises from which God would ultimately approve.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, “...what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. ‘Purge the evil person from among you.’” So, the parameter is laid...any judgment we engage in is to judge among ourselves, and to not bother with judging those who have nothing to do with us. In that regard, what purpose does it serve to be critical of a village in Africa if we have no personal or business relations with them, or they have no effect on us? Perhaps if that village was, say, spreading a disease to those we do have such interests in, they may fall within our judgment and we would act accordingly to protect our interests. Otherwise, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 suggests leaving well enough alone.
And in the framework described, I tell you it is OK to hold our leaders to our judgement. Romans 13:1 recognizes those who rule as an extension of God, therefore, those who don’t so rule would be rightfully judged as the evil to be purged in our midst. To be sure, 2 John 1:9-11 says, “Everyone who goes on a head and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” Lord Jesus says the whole Law and the prophets can be summed up in two great commandments with the second one being to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Whoever has disdain for their neighbor, then, such leaders, are effectively rebuking Jesus’ second commandment and are therefore not acting in the interests of God and have no inclination nor open-mindedness that they may act in the interests of God; they are beyond being taught or shown how to act n a godly manner.
What about the point that none of us, who may be inclined to judge others, are not perfect? Does that mean we are to hesitate before throwing stones? Well, before throwing stones, we should consider if the possible recipient of our stones can learn a lesson and ‘sin no more,’ as Jesus says to a woman in John 8:11, that they should be spared our stones. What about those of us who have committed the very act for which we are considering throwing stones at an individual? Before we throw stones, we should ask for God’s forgiveness and strive to ‘sin no more’ before being in a situation that may compel us to throw stones.
Above all, we should be mindful that we may be rightfully judged in what we judge others, so we should take care that our judgment doesn’t go astray.
John 7:24 gives us the authority to judge others, but Verse 23 says to temper our judgement so as to not be critical of others if we are doing the same thing. Indeed, in Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” As we’ve seen in John 7:23, Jesus criticizes the Jews for doing the thing which Jesus had done, which was to engage in a form of work on the Sabbath in the interests of God. Is this not hypocrisy, of which Lord Jesus was highly critical?
If we are to judge others, we should regard it as an act which fulfills the means, not as a measure one uses for self-description. If a person is to only be known for being, say, ‘a good judge of character,’ is that enough to get the person into the House of the Lord? What good is it without works to show the benefit of such judgment coming from that person? And whoever engages in judging others should ensure that some good arises from which God would ultimately approve.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, “...what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. ‘Purge the evil person from among you.’” So, the parameter is laid...any judgment we engage in is to judge among ourselves, and to not bother with judging those who have nothing to do with us. In that regard, what purpose does it serve to be critical of a village in Africa if we have no personal or business relations with them, or they have no effect on us? Perhaps if that village was, say, spreading a disease to those we do have such interests in, they may fall within our judgment and we would act accordingly to protect our interests. Otherwise, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 suggests leaving well enough alone.
And in the framework described, I tell you it is OK to hold our leaders to our judgement. Romans 13:1 recognizes those who rule as an extension of God, therefore, those who don’t so rule would be rightfully judged as the evil to be purged in our midst. To be sure, 2 John 1:9-11 says, “Everyone who goes on a head and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” Lord Jesus says the whole Law and the prophets can be summed up in two great commandments with the second one being to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Whoever has disdain for their neighbor, then, such leaders, are effectively rebuking Jesus’ second commandment and are therefore not acting in the interests of God and have no inclination nor open-mindedness that they may act in the interests of God; they are beyond being taught or shown how to act n a godly manner.
What about the point that none of us, who may be inclined to judge others, are not perfect? Does that mean we are to hesitate before throwing stones? Well, before throwing stones, we should consider if the possible recipient of our stones can learn a lesson and ‘sin no more,’ as Jesus says to a woman in John 8:11, that they should be spared our stones. What about those of us who have committed the very act for which we are considering throwing stones at an individual? Before we throw stones, we should ask for God’s forgiveness and strive to ‘sin no more’ before being in a situation that may compel us to throw stones.
Above all, we should be mindful that we may be rightfully judged in what we judge others, so we should take care that our judgment doesn’t go astray.
