Judgment Sets Us Free
Judgment keeps us on the right path.
Judgment is life. We should desire it daily, even at night, like a favorite food dish. Definitely more than how I love my brewed coffee. We need it more than the air we breathe. God's judgment keeps everything and everyone in their place. The Psalmist eagerly waits for God and his judgments like he longs for blessings. Do you?
Do you like judgment? Many people don't. Most churches preach against it. They like saying, "Don't be judgmental," to keep you from judging between right and wrong. To keep you agreeing with their distorted perspectives. Or, they insist that only God has the right to judge. However, if you declare God's judgment, they'd judge you--and condemn you--while insisting you shouldn't be judgmental.
"Yes, we wait for you according to your judgments.
Desiring God's Name is the same as desiring his judgments. You can never separate God from his judgment. You cannot say I love God but reject his judgment. God's love is his judgment, and God's judgment is his love. He disciplines those he loves. The reason church today is powerless is its habit of rejecting HIS judgment, the same as the world does. Like worldly people, the church labels those who judge as judgmental.
So, we cannot get rid of judgment, especially in church. Judgment serves to strengthen churches. God uses a holy human mouth to proclaim his judgment through his prophetic move to strengthen his church. But today, they give God's judgment a bad picture and misrepresent it. Worse, they accept sinners as leaders in church, hesitating to point out their sins face to face because no one should be "judgmental." Sinners mostly run churches, occupy high positions, become teachers, pastors, even bishops, while the righteous are held at bay, prevented from proclaiming God's true judgments, held hostage by the fear of being tagged "judgmental."
I know people living in sexual immorality (but denying it and remaining unrepentant) still working as pastors and even seen as "good preachers" or "faithful ministers" by their leaders who have knowledge of their sin. The same with ministers or missionaries who are confused about their genders. If you start questioning their lives you'd be accused of spreading gossip or being judgmental.
"Yes, we wait for you according to your judgments.
Our soul's desire is your Name,"
(Isaiah 26)
Desiring God's Name is the same as desiring his judgments. You can never separate God from his judgment. You cannot say I love God but reject his judgment. God's love is his judgment, and God's judgment is his love. He disciplines those he loves. The reason church today is powerless is its habit of rejecting HIS judgment, the same as the world does. Like worldly people, the church labels those who judge as judgmental.
God Sends Judgment Through the Mouth of His Servants
God's judgments are always done through a human mouth. This has been so from the Old Testament to the New. Even today. The gifts of prophesy and discernment are all in aid of judgment, among other things (these gifts are still very much operational today as they were before--in fact, God will increase their accuracy and power in the last days, by the Kingdom principle of ever-increasing glory in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4).
God's judgments are always done through a human mouth. This has been so from the Old Testament to the New. Even today. The gifts of prophesy and discernment are all in aid of judgment, among other things (these gifts are still very much operational today as they were before--in fact, God will increase their accuracy and power in the last days, by the Kingdom principle of ever-increasing glory in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4).
The gifts of wisdom and knowledge are also used here, and may complement the gift of miracles, and also prayer and worship, among others. Judgment has to do powerfully with all these. Because God's judgment is life.
So, we cannot get rid of judgment, especially in church. Judgment serves to strengthen churches. God uses a holy human mouth to proclaim his judgment through his prophetic move to strengthen his church. But today, they give God's judgment a bad picture and misrepresent it. Worse, they accept sinners as leaders in church, hesitating to point out their sins face to face because no one should be "judgmental." Sinners mostly run churches, occupy high positions, become teachers, pastors, even bishops, while the righteous are held at bay, prevented from proclaiming God's true judgments, held hostage by the fear of being tagged "judgmental."
People in church just want to be nice. If they must correct wrong, they do it gently, and by "gently" they mean how a nice, tame person would do it. They add that we should "speak the truth in love," [Ephesians 4.15]. Yeah? How about what Jesus did when he condemned the Pharisees and law teachers? "Brood of vipers," "hypocrites," "white-washed tombs," "foolish." Those were the things he said to them, and it was far from the "gentle" that the world knows of.
And how about the time he drove out money changers from the temple? That's so far from being tame or nice. But believe it or not, he said and did those things "in love," because God's ways are different and higher from ours, and so are his thoughts. Being nice is not God's trait nor is it the fruit of the Spirit. Patience and kindness look different when it's God doing them.
I know people living in sexual immorality (but denying it and remaining unrepentant) still working as pastors and even seen as "good preachers" or "faithful ministers" by their leaders who have knowledge of their sin. The same with ministers or missionaries who are confused about their genders. If you start questioning their lives you'd be accused of spreading gossip or being judgmental.
They remind you of these people's good deeds, contributions to the church, and success in ministry and then ask you, as a rebuttal (and in defense of the unrepentant sinner), about your success in ministry and what contributions you have done for the church compared to the outstanding contributions of these erring pastors. Do we need to wonder why church today is powerless?
We need judgment more than ever. We need Spirit-led people who will declare God's judgments in HIS righteousness so that sinners will have the fear of God, repent, and think ten times before sinning again. Sins should be exposed to the church, not kept a secret or blurred in ambivalence.
Jesus said, when a brother sins, confront him. That's judgment. Judgment is the moment you point out what is right and wrong. If he refuses to listen, take 2 or 3 witnesses. If he still would not listen, TELL IT TO THE CHURCH. That's how the Lord puts it. We cannot change that.
We need judgment more than ever. We need Spirit-led people who will declare God's judgments in HIS righteousness so that sinners will have the fear of God, repent, and think ten times before sinning again. Sins should be exposed to the church, not kept a secret or blurred in ambivalence.
Jesus said, when a brother sins, confront him. That's judgment. Judgment is the moment you point out what is right and wrong. If he refuses to listen, take 2 or 3 witnesses. If he still would not listen, TELL IT TO THE CHURCH. That's how the Lord puts it. We cannot change that.
Today, the church would rather keep things secret and hope scandals would just go away, be forgotten, or overshadowed by ministry achievements and successes--especially by gains in church incomes. When money is pouring in, to hell with morals. This is why the church is weak and irrelevant, lacking the supernatural power of Jesus' ministry in the Gospel and the apostles' in the Book of Acts. And it's how demonic strongholds begin and develop--when sins are not dealt with and just kept secret. We must have more transparency--we should live a transparent life and demolish all sin strongholds through God's judgment. Judgment sets us free.
Releasing a Prophetic Judgment
They say God is compassionate, and we should just be compassionate with sinners and "counsel" a sinning brother or sister gently. Yes, but God is also the Judge. And his judgments are to be desired. He gives his judgment through men of God he chooses.
How do you know God wants a judgment released from the mouth of his servant? Jesus made it simple:
By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. [John 5.30]
- It's not how he saw things in his own understanding.
- It's what he heard from the Father. So you have to hear His voice.
- Your judgment is just if you seek not to please yourself. Judgment should issue from the mouth of a zero-ego, selfless, meek and low-profile servant.
- Judgment should be done to please the Father alone.
- The Father should send you to speak his judgment.
Isaiah sought God and his judgment early in the morning and at night (v.8-9). "For when you proclaim your judgments, all the people learn righteousness." The prophet further said that grace is good, but if sinners would merely be given grace and compassion (without judgment), they will never learn righteousness (v.10), which is what churches today do. Grace and mercy should work closely together with judgment.
Yes, in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord. [NKJV]
Righteous judgment should follow Kingdom principles when done in church:
1. It should be done by the righteous. First, get rid of the plank of wood from your eyes, then you can see clearly to take out the speck of dust in your brother's eye. The judger should make sure he has repented of all sin and is living a holy life. See Roman 2:17-24 also.
2. The pastor should do the righteous judging. If you see someone committing a sin, pray, be led by the Spirit, and then tell the pastor about it. Pray for the sinner. Pray for the pastor for wisdom. Leave the job to the pastor. Let him do his job. Don't interfere or tell the pastor what to do or bypass him, doing his job for him. Respect how the Lord is leading him to deal with it.
3. If you have to rebuke someone in church (if you're an elder or teacher or discipler), get the pastor's approval first. If he does not approve, keep mum and just pray for the sinner. If he approves, make sure you yourself are not guilty of any sin. If you are, forget about the brother who sinned and deal with yourself first. REPENT! If you point out others' sins but are guilty of sin yourself, you are not judging for God but accusing for the accuser of the brethren.
1. It should be done by the righteous. First, get rid of the plank of wood from your eyes, then you can see clearly to take out the speck of dust in your brother's eye. The judger should make sure he has repented of all sin and is living a holy life. See Roman 2:17-24 also.
2. The pastor should do the righteous judging. If you see someone committing a sin, pray, be led by the Spirit, and then tell the pastor about it. Pray for the sinner. Pray for the pastor for wisdom. Leave the job to the pastor. Let him do his job. Don't interfere or tell the pastor what to do or bypass him, doing his job for him. Respect how the Lord is leading him to deal with it.
3. If you have to rebuke someone in church (if you're an elder or teacher or discipler), get the pastor's approval first. If he does not approve, keep mum and just pray for the sinner. If he approves, make sure you yourself are not guilty of any sin. If you are, forget about the brother who sinned and deal with yourself first. REPENT! If you point out others' sins but are guilty of sin yourself, you are not judging for God but accusing for the accuser of the brethren.
4. If the matter is outside the church, and you need to rebuke someone, you can only rebuke a person who is under your care (a biological child, a child in faith, or someone who is under your supervision or care or living under your roof). Do not rebuke someone who is older or on whom you have no jurisdiction--except in extreme emergencies, like when a husband is beating his wife to death, or some boys are bullying a kid, or something like that.
5. Last but not least, men of God who release God judgments should not act like superstars with self-conceit or abuse the gift by manipulating people, dictating how they should live their lives in every detail. Instead, they should always urge people to seek God in intimate communication. Men of God are just tasked with declaring God's judgments and instructions, nothing more, and especially not deciding things for the believer.
Sure, Jesus said do not judge. But this is often taken out of context. Take the whole story. In that passage, Jesus said, first take out the dirt in your eyes so you can have the right to take the dirt from your brother's eye. Jesus also said, "Make a right judgment," (Jn.7.24).
Example of How Judgment Sets Us Free and Keeps Us in Christ
Explaining how the Holy Spirit gifts are important and how they are used, the Apostle Paul said this about judging sinners in church by believers who prophesy and who are really used by God in this ministry:
But if unbelievers or doubters come in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” [1 Corinthians 14]
Do you have this in your church? Or are you among those who insist that we should not be judgmental and just leave sinners alone or give them a second chance (even without repenting) to continue doing the ministry? Many active church members do not really believe in God's Word as shown by their character and lifestyle. Thus, they are unbelievers.
Comments