True Judgement

The Father's Principles:  True Judgement

Scribes and Pharisees.   I know we have all heard of these two groups, but in the interest of accuracy, let's go through a quick refresher so that we might have their role and function firmly in our minds as we proceed on.

Scribes:  Had knowledge of the law and possessed the ability to draft legal documents such as needed for marriage, inheritance, and the like.  Each village had at least one scribe.

Pharisees:  Members of a party that believed in resurrection and in following legal traditions that were not of the Bible but "traditions of the Fathers".  They were also well known legal experts which is why there was a partial over lap of the two groups.  According to Rabbinic tradition, Pharisees were small land owners and traders, not Scribes.

I am sure many of you have heard multiple times over the years of the false judgement both groups were known for.  The false judgement was further encouraged from a sense of false righteousness.

The matter of judgement is so important to Christ, that He chose to close what is likely the most well known of all his sermons, the Sermon on the Mount, with a discussion of judgements.

In the Sermon on the Mount, there is covered three different judgements.  So let's begin our journey and see where God will take us.

Our Judgement of Ourselves
Matthew 7: 1-5

Oh goody <insert heavy sarcasm here> ...   ha ha ha.  I couldn't resist.  As in most things, God instructs us to begin with ourselves.  We must be willing to examine our own lives, hearts, and thoughts before we can begin to judge others with wisdom and with love.

God did not forbid us to judge others.  Think about it.  Careful discrimination is essential in the Christian life.  Christian love is not to be blind.  We are taught this in Philippians 1: 9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
The person who believes all that they hear and accepts everyone who claims to be spiritual will come to experience great confusion and spiritual loss.

However, before we judge others, we must first judge ourselves.

Verse 1:  New Living Translation (©2007)
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.

Note that the word is past tense here:  judged.  This verb tense signifies a once and for all final judgement.  If we first judge ourselves, then we are preparing for that final judgement when we face God.  One of the failings of the Pharisees was in that they played "God" as they condemned others but did not consider that one day God would judge them.

Verse 2:  New Living Translation (©2007)
For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

When we look at this verse it helps to also consider the parallel passage in Luke 6:37-38
37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Not only will God judge our actions at the end, but people, today, are judging us and we receive exactly what we give.  The kind of judgement and the measure of judgement we heap upon others comes right back to us.  The phrase " reap what you sow" comes to mind here.

Verse 3-5:  3“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

There is a purpose for self judgement and it isn't so that we may castigate ourselves.  Far from it.  The purpose of self judgement is to prepare us to serve others.  We are to help each other grow in grace!!  When we fail to judge ourselves, we not only hurt ourselves, but we hurt those whom we could be serving.

Consider this:  Pharisees judged and criticized others to make themselves look good ( Luke 18:9-14 ).  As Christians, we should judge ourselves so that we can help others look good.  See the difference?  That is huge.

So we will pause here in order to consider what has been shared thus far and allow God to speak to us as He will.   I know that I, myself, have much to learn and put into practice in this area so I vote we proceed in small increments in order to leave much time for God's voice to instruct our spirits, mold our thoughts, and conform us more and more to His beautiful image.

Hugs going out to each of you as we begin another day in His presence.

katrina