HERE COMES THE JUDGE!

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:1-2

I don't believe there is anything more damaging to the body of Christ than the social plague of ungodly judgmentalism masquerading as spiritual discernment and warfare for doctrinal purity. After a lifetime of church attendance and 20 years of full-time pastoral ministry I can tell you there is nothing more destructive than a judgmental Christian on the warpath. God help anyone who falls into the cross-hairs of one or (God forbid) a group of self-appointed judges.

I have witnessed the persecution and near-crucifixion of many true believers of Jesus Christ simply because their philosophy, doctrinal beliefs and/or methods of ministry did not line up with the orthodoxy of the mainstream Christian methodology. The primary reason for the denominational divide that exists within Christianity is due to the judgmental reactions of those who believe their interpretation of scriptures is flawless. Many believers listen to a sermon, not like a hungry sheep ready to feast on the mana from heaven, but like a movie critic waiting to see if there's anything said by the speaker that can and will be used against them in a court of public opinion.

Ungodly judgment is a difficult thing to self-diagnose because the root of this malady is pride. It's tough to identify pride in ourselves; so much easier to pinpoint that flaw in someone else. That's why Jesus' instruction on ungodly judgment in Matthew 7 concludes with the famous beam and mote analogy. Unfortunately, this teaching is generally ignored in favor of the more popular Jude 3 clause wherein we are commanded to "earnestly contend for the faith". It is so much more fulfilling to attack those whom we perceive to be in error than to do any self-introspection to see if there be any wicked way in me (Psalm 129:34).

There are legions of saints who profess their love of Christ yet have somehow missed the point of some of his most basic teachings. The core of Jesus' teachings is unconditional love for each other in spite of our class, color or creed. As believers in Jesus Christ we are all equal in God's sight (Galatians 3:28) yet to hear many believers of Christ tell it, we're only equal if we agree on every jot, dot and tittle of the Word of God as well as the methods and practices of our denomination of choice. This belief system is what divides us and it is absolute man-made garbage of the highest order.

I asked the question in my last blog and radio program concerning Joel Osteen. I started the radio show with the leading question "Is Joel Osteen a heretic?" We got more callers in that 90 minute program than any show we've done to date. I definitely opened a can of worms with that topic and I got a whole host of answers to that question.

The point of asking that question was not to crucify Bro. Joel nor to give people airtime to roast a popular televangelist. It was to shine the spotlight on this epidemic of judgmentalism. I'll tell you the truth, God is not a fan of opinionated people who base their judgments on emotion or intellect rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.

You see, there is a GODLY form of judgment that God's people are commanded to utilize. (1 Corinthians 6:1-5) This form of judgment is founded not on man's understanding of scriptures or uncontrolled emotions but on the wisdom of God. Peter did not judge Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 based on his own intellect or wisdom but on the leading of the Holy Spirit. I fear there are far too few truly Holy Spirit filled judges running the asylums and they are running people out of the church in droves.

God's people need to learn the difference between godly and ungodly judgment. We need to pay more attention to the instructions of Christ and his followers about unconditional love and unity of the brethren. We need to understand who our real enemy is and stop sniping at each other from our denominational towers. The real target for our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but spiritual and most of those weapons are designed for our personal battles with our true enemy, not to use on each other.

The final thought I want to leave you with is to simply say it is not your job to separate the goats and sheep. That's God's job. Learn your role in His kingdom and stop trying to do God's job for him. Jesus' disciples had to learn that one as well. (Luke 9:49-50). God is the only one with the authority to separate the tares from the wheat; not you or I. If we would focus more on keeping the beams and motes out of our own eyes I believe we'd have less division, less denominations and less people leaving the Body of Christ due to the thoughtlessness of others.

I can hear the arguments already. What about the TRUTH?!? There are false prophets who need to be identified and run out. I repeat, where are the scriptures instructing any of us to be the vehicles of a false prophet's departure? God told us to identify them and stay away from them, not to be the judge, jury and executioner of the Kingdom of God. God knows how to handle those who are intentionally and deliberately twisting his word for their own gain. He's a big God and can handle that problem without our help.

We are to speak the truth in love; not with the love of being right but the love of the saints. We are to love one another MORE than we love ourselves. We are to edify, strengthen and encourage one another as fellow believers in Jesus Christ, REGARDLESS of denominational affiliation or doctrinal belief system. That is the primary teaching of Jesus Christ and that is what I believe and teach.

We need less judges in our churches and more lovers. We see the product of judgmentalism in modern Christianity today. I wonder what the landscape would look like if we were to just love one another like Jesus does...