Christians, is there a time to judge? Ever?

Originally posted by theindependentjournal
reply to post by ElectricUncleSam

 

Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

I noticed the poster below my original post decidedly left out John 7, I have to believe they did this on purpose to try to make me appear as a liar. Sorry to prove you wrong about never judging, but I did include your verses also so ne could say I had all bases covered from a Biblical standpoint in my original post.

I should change my name to the Bible Answer Man...

I have to add this, THE BOOK OF JUDGES... GOD set up Judges amongst the 12 tribes to settle disputes and JUDGE what was the right solution. Today every Jury and some Judges make Judgments as do most people.

Is O.J. Guilty? The Jury said no, how many people differ with that and aren't you Judging?

Is i ok to rape children and women? Isn't that a judgment?

Let's try not to use the Bible to misconstrue your notions of what is right or wrong to do. The Bible is pretty clear about most things when properly interpreted. As for the cast no stone verse, CMON, that is about KILLING someone in a stoning, that has nothing to do with Judging per se... Let's keep to the context shall we...

[edit on 11/6/2008 by theindependentjournal]

I would agree with theindependentjournal on this ..
We have Judges now who do JUDGE ....and every JURY is even called upon to JUDGE arnt they ? Based on evidence etc .....

Dont we also judge our friends and lovers relatives etc when they are Drug Addicts and out of control dont we tell them for THEIR OWN GOOD ..hey man you need to lay off those drugs ...Or Alcoholics etc ...because WE CARE and because it is not only hurting them but US TOO >..and everyone that LOVES THEM .. and they are KILLING THEMSELVES ..etc ...............is that judging ...I dont know ..but I care enough to say something ....if thats wrong then so be it .....I would want someone who cared to tell me I was out of control ..because most of them do not even realize they are out of control and hurting others .You saying something could actually save their life >>.They could quit just because you said something and made them open their eyes .

In the case of a spouse cheating ...yeah they are HURTING SOMEONE ELSE TOO..(sometimes more than one person even) I would say something ..you betcha ....

I don't think so. But there is a big difference in judging someone, and having an opinion about someone.

It can be my opinion that what you are doing is wrong. I wouldn't be judging you, until I was trying to punish you because I think you are wrong or trying to force you to stop.

I have a saying for myself. It goes like this.

To err is human.
To forgive is divine.
But to let someone keep walking all over you is just plain stupid.

Also, to ask for forgiveness is to understand why you were wrong, and then not do it again.

So if you wife cheats on you, I think you can forgive them and not judge them. If your wife does it over and over, then she hasn't asked for forgiveness or she wouldn't keep doing it. And if you leave her for it, you aren't judging her, you are protecting/respecting yourself. If you wanted to kill or cause your wife harm, then that would be judging her.

Make sense?

It does really depend on the situation and the person. You dont have to suffer for others, but some do choose to. When one parents a child you are not getting paid... but yet you suffer all sorts of things in their ignorance. One is always a father or a son is some way.

Christians are indeed called to make sound judgements in matters of right and wrong according to commandments of God. When doing so, however, certain guidlines must ALWAYS apply.

For one thing, the focus must always be on the situation, action, or behavior in question, and NOT on the person.

Any moral judgement call that a Christian makes, should be according to the commandments of God only, and NOT according to our own human sentiments or opinions.

As Christians, we called to make sound moral judgements, but we are NOT called to play the judge, jury, and executioner.

[As Christians, we called to make sound moral judgements, but we are NOT called to play the judge, jury, and executioner. ]

Well in a way some are ..like when being called to Jury Duty ...
It is up to you and a few others on whether or not someone gets life or death ..etc .....and that is one of the main reasons why I believe people need to apply the do unto others as you would have them do unto you ..if that was you in their shoes .how would you want to be judged on it ? ......and also make sure your judgement and the sentencing is a just one ....and for sure put yourself in their shoes ...and then you will be a fair and balanced Jury ....

And if you apply all of that in your everyday life you will make just judgements with everything that happens to you personally even .....or the people you see everyday and it would sure help you on how you would deal with whatever they have dropped in your lap (Like their problems that they want me to solve for them lol sheeshh)

[edit on 7-11-2008 by Simplynoone]

On a situation where the spouse cheats ..yeah we all make mistakes ..but if it happens more than a few times ... ..you can pretty much bet ..they do not love you or they would not be doing that .(even a few times is pushing it ) ..and if they were really happy with you they would not be doing it ...and so what would be the point in staying together then ? I want even my cheating spouses to be happy ...I was holding them up from their happiness by staying with them ....so right or wrong (Divorce wise) I dont want anyone to stay with me if they are that unhappy that they went and messed around ....

Originally posted by Deaf Alien

Matthew 7

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Basically, Christians CANNOT judge others according to these verses. That includes the so called "righteous judgment".

you quote the scripture, then you ignore it.

it doesnt say cast out the beam out of your own eye, then leave your brother alone. after you pull the beam out THEN you can worry about your brother.

jesus is not saying we shouldnt judge. he saying we shouldnt be quick to judge. we should have more concern for our imperfection than for others. it doesnt mean that we ignore others.

Every moment of life is a time to judge what is the right thing to do. Where ourselves, and others are concerned, it is a judgement of the actions not of the person themselves. Juridicial judgements are established for the preservation of the common good, to judge if the person carried out the action and in sentencing to judge what might correct their action, deter others and best serve the common good. In a judicial setting we don't judge someone to be "a murderer", we don't judge what a person is we judge what a person does.
Judging the sin not the sinner. The judgement of who each person is belongs to God alone, the judgement of our actions belongs to us and to the judiciary for the sake of the common good.
Jesus manifests this in the case of the woman caught in adultery, he does not condemn her but does tell her to "sin no more." People often wonder what he was writing in the ground, the sins of her accussers? Well perhaps, but also perhaps the hardships of the woman's life which had led her into her sin. Behaviour which I judge to be wrong does not give me the right to judge a person's actions when I do not know their biography.
I'm very anti-abortion, for example, but my judgement is never directed against particular people and the choices they make or even against the particular actions of any individual but against the phenomenon of abortion itself. That's a judgement that is appropriate for me to make but never to accuse or condemn an individual, in themselves, because they were involved in that act.

Originally posted by Grandma
Jesus loved the sinner, not the sin!

Now I feel kinda silly with my long oration and extensive quoting . Well said.

Of course it is okay to judge! How else do you think we are to choose the correct path, it certainly cannot be done without judgment. As others have said though, one should judge as one would wish to be judged, for with that same judgment shall ye be judged. I think many are confusing the issue of judgment; look at it in the criminal sense, the judge or jury makes the judgment of 'guilty' or 'innocent'...then there is the sentencing, if necessary. I think many are combining the two with the impression that it is all judgment; it is not. Judging something is merely the act of deciding if that thing is 'good' or 'bad', if it is good we seek it, if it is bad we put it off (avoid the bad). This means helping others avoid the 'bad' too, after all I am my brother's keeper.

reply to post by TheRedneck


I could not have said it better. Totally on target!

Grandma

Originally posted by saint4God
"This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." - Jeremiah 22:3

What does he mean, Jeremiah, when he wrote, "Do no wrong or violence to the ALIEN, the fatherless or the widow..."

Alien?

YOU MEAN CHRISTIANS SHOULDN'T JUDGE? I THOUGHT THAT WAS THEIR MAN ATTRIBUTE TODAY! IF THEY JUDGE THEY MAY BE JUDGED BACK? WOOT!

Originally posted by ElectricUncleSam

Originally posted by saint4God
"This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." - Jeremiah 22:3

What does he mean, Jeremiah, when he wrote, "Do no wrong or violence to the ALIEN, the fatherless or the widow..."

Alien?

This is a good question and re-read it myself in context a few times. The translated word could also mean foreigner. In other words, just because they're not from your country does not give you the right to cheat them, harm them, or in any way make them feel unwelcomed. Were you thinking extra-terrestrial? To that I say if extra-terrestrials came to live with us, then to the question of "are we to treat them like everyone else?" then the answer is "yes" . Thanks for bringing up that point, it was very insightful to me.

Originally posted by Simplynoone
On a situation where the spouse cheats ..yeah we all make mistakes ..but if it happens more than a few times ... ..you can pretty much bet ..they do not love you or they would not be doing that .(even a few times is pushing it ) ..and if they were really happy with you they would not be doing it ...and so what would be the point in staying together then ? I want even my cheating spouses to be happy ...I was holding them up from their happiness by staying with them ....so right or wrong (Divorce wise) I dont want anyone to stay with me if they are that unhappy that they went and messed around ....

To put someone else's happiness above your own...now that is love. Sometimes things get more complicated, like when the spouse wants 'both', 'is confused', or kid(s) involved...er...not that I would know. I knew someone who told me that they knew a friend that er...I'm not convincing anyone am I?

[edit on 13-11-2008 by saint4God]

I was doing some more reading about this subject ..
And thinking alot about how so many do not believe that the word is the truth .
And live according to what they think is right .Instead of what the word says on how we are supposed to live .The word is JUST and it is FAIR ..no matter how you look at it >There is nothing in the NT that was taught about how we should behave ourselves both physically and spiritually that we ourselves would not teach our kids ...whether you believe in God or not .......

Anyway I found this scripture again (I know it has been posted before)
But for those who think there is no judgment,and the word is not the truth and that there is no God ..you need to rethink your position ..in case YOU are wrong ...
Be aware that ..you will be judged according to that word that you think is not true .....
Jhn 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.