Robert & Kay Camenisch encouraging and equipping relationships

Do You Allow God to Judge?

Someone, who was called judgmental for opposing abortion, asked how we should respond to a Christian who uses the argument that we aren’t suppose to judge others as an excuse to not take a stand on moral issues.

In essence she was asking, if God says “Don’t kill,” how do you hold the standard that God set without being called judgmental?

One of the most quoted verses in the Bible today is, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Rom 7:1). It is a primary reason given for not taking a biblical stand against unrighteousness.

It seems many Christians fear being labeled as judgmental more than they fear turning their back on God’s laws. Or maybe they are more afraid of offending others than of offending God. Are they right to bend over backwards rather than take a stand on moral issues? On the other hand, when you take a stand, are you being judgmental of others if you call their actions unrighteous?

It’s not judgmental to adopt God’s laws as a standard and to hold that as a standard for right and wrong. His Word is our guide as to what is righteous and unrighteous. His Word is true, His ways are righteous, and we stand with Him when we support them and follow them.

Furthermore, His standards are sure, whether I apply them to me, a friend, or a stranger. For me to declare something unrighteous because God says it’s unrighteous, does not make me judgmental. It is simply repeating what God says.

However, it’s easy to stand on His Word and then add critical opinions of my own—which moves me into judging. When I start thinking critical toward that person and thinking they “should” be doing things differently, I’ve moved into judgment.

Furthermore, it is often difficult to tell when we slip into what is personal opinion rather than conviction based on the Word of God. Even in situations where we know the actions of a lifestyle—or of a loved one— are contrary to the Bible, if we feel critical toward them, rather than loving and longing to draw them to the love of Jesus, our views have been contaminated with judgment. Consequently, we need to guard our own hearts from judging, and at the same time be careful to maintain our moral standards based on God’s standard, not culture’s.

But the question remains, how do you respond to a fine Christian person who says, “I can’t say they are wrong because it isn’t my place to judge,” even though the action they are referring is clearly declared wrong by God.

I gave answer to the person that asked, but it was further clarified with a blog post that I read when I got home. I appreciate the precision in Godthoughts Live. The writer of the blog—the administrator—noted that when Jesus said, “Judge not that ye be not judged,” (John 7:1), that later in the same chapter He tells us to judge with righteous judgment. He said, “Jesus is concerned that when we judge, we do it the right way.”

What clarified it for me, was the writer’s statement, “we are commanded by Jesus (see John 7:24) to allow the word of God to judge everyone!”

When we know what God says is wrong, and we don’t adopt that position we are judging those things as all right. We are not allowing the judgment of God to stand.

In our misguided effort to not judge, we judge things right that He calls wrong. Furthermore, we give our judgment precedence over God’s!

As we choose to play it safe and not take a stand, we’re taking a stand. If we don’t stand with God, we oppose Him. That’s not smart. When we counter God, we’re sure to lose.

He is the supreme judge. He has the final word—in any culture. The question is, will we allow Him to sit as judge in our culture?

How do you answer people who will not take a stand for righteousness because they don’t want to judge?

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