Just Bad Theology
Judge not and you will not be judged Luke 6:34
Judge – In our politically and socially correct world, we have propagated the mythology of withholding judgment. All correction has deteriorated into personal opinion and personal opinion has been devalued to nothing. If you tell me that I am doing something wrong, so what? That’s just your opinion. It doesn’t matter.
With this frightening social condemnation of the place of correction, it’s no wonder that we often hear this verse used entirely out of context. Christians are not to offer godly correction because even Jesus said, “Don’t judge.” But this is just bad theology. If we look at the Greek, we will learn something very important.
The verb for judging is the Greek word krino. It has more than one meaning, determined by context. Its primary use describes the action of discriminating between good and evil. In the New Testament, krino often means forming an opinion that separates what is right and proper godly behavior, from actions that are evil and opposed to God. In this sense, judging is absolutely necessary for Christian living. We call this “discriminating” rather than “judging,” but the Greek word is the same. There is no need to shy away from this use of krino.
So what about Luke 6:34? Yes, it’s the same word, but here the context tells us that the meaning is judicial. Here the verb is about sitting in judgment over another, which is, taking the position of the one who condemns. In Luke 6:34, Jesus is warning us not to act as judge and jury. Condemnation is ultimately in the hand of God. He knows the hearts of men. When we decide that someone else deserves God’s punishment on the basis of our opinion alone, we usurp God’s role as the Judge of all mankind. That is exceedingly bad theology.
Does this mean that we are never to act as judge? No. In fact, God specifically designates men to act as His regents in the execution of punishment. He appoints judges in both the social and spiritual world. But the judgment belongs to Him. We are here to execute His judgment, not make up our own. God has provided in His word all that we need to know in order to determine the proper course of action in human relationship management. Just go read the Law. The principles of proper conduct, pleasing to God, are all there. There is really very little guess work. When I act on the basis of God’s revealed law, I do not judge. I execute His judgment. But when I put myself in the place of God, I determine the verdict and the punishment. God has no tolerance for that, so Jesus tells us that if we insist on acting like God, we will be held accountable to the same standard we require.
It’s time for believers to stop cowering under the accusation, “Don’t judge.” There are perfectly good grounds for judging. Just make sure that you have no personal agenda (rebuke gently) and that your discernment is based entirely on God’s point of view. Deal self out. Make God the center of all your actions. Then krino is quite right.
