From the ministry archive
Judgment and the Heart
Seeing we are in the most prolific 'don't judge' era of all time, I think it's wise for us to look at the other side of judging, and see that it is not good to judge someone in either direction without due knowledge. Seeing also that God alone knows the hearts of men, 'due knowledge' may not always be what we deem it to be, so we should take that into consideration as well so that we don't judge erroneously. So as usual, I'm certain that it's wise to take heed to the instructions of Jesus on the matter, and "judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (Jn. 17:24). While it's true that it is nearly impossible to fully judge a person's heart, there are variables by which it can be determined whether a person truly loves Jesus or not, or at least as much as they need to. There are also things that many people judge people by, in terms of believing that they do love God, that are "according to the appearance." For instance, a lot of people like to listen to Gospel music, or Christian music; and many believe that anyone who does so must love the Lord. Yet I've seen more times than I could ever count, people who love the music about Jesus, but really don't love the righteousness of Jesus; at least to the extent that they need to in order to be saved. But this kind of thing is nothing new, even as the Bible shows us: "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies... Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream" (Amos 5:21,23,24). Nonetheless someone who loves God is also going to really enjoy hearing anointed music about him. But again, someone who is keeping the first and greatest commandment, to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength; does not pick and choose the things about God that they love, while leaving other essential elements of the equation out.
Jesus actually addressed this kind of thing with a scathing rebuke of those who were doing just that: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Mat. 23:23). So the things that they WERE doing were actually part of loving God, but they left out some serious matters that had a whole lot to do with the covenant that they were in with God. Just because someone has a zeal for 'going to church' does not necessarily mean that they really love the righteousness of God. In fact there are many 'churches' that one could attend where not much about God's righteousness is really going to be on the agenda. If you need scripture to confirm that, it can be found in abundance. But I'll give you one from the old testament, and one from the new, just to be punctual about the matter: "When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them" (Isa. 1:12-14). In fact the old testament is full of these kinds of rebukes from God to his people, for their zeal of worship and gathering, but lack of love for his righteousness. But this condition was not exclusive to old testament believers, as the following passage shows clearly: "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife... Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? ... But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?" (I Cor. 5:1,6,11,12).
The apostle Paul told the people at Corinth in no uncertain terms that neither their gathering or their rejoicing was accepted by God in any way, because they were failing to pass judgment on sin in the congregation. I suppose my question for that kind of thing today would be, Where is the 'church' where sin IS being judged among the congregation? So then it becomes evident that there is a lot of gathering and worshiping today that simply is not acceptable to God. Yet unless someone has an awareness and knowledge of this lack of judgment against sin in the congregations, it goes altogether undetected. Why? Because so many are willing to judge someone or something as righteous, just because it looks that way. It really is that simple. Yet it does not escape the eyes of God, neither does it escape his judgment: "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (I Cor. 11:29-32). So how many of these kinds of judgments are going on right in front of the eyes of God's people, yet none consider that it may very well have to do with eating and drinking the things of God's Spirit unworthily in worship. The problem is what Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for, that being that they were void of 'judgment,' meaning of course righteous judgment, like judging sin in the congregation as though we will be lost if we continue in it. Another ill of this kind is that someone can love the music, and love going to the services in abundance, and other such things; but if they are prone to choosing associations who do not love God and his righteousness, then they simply don't love the Lord, or certainly not like they may appear to. The age-old deception on that matter is that "I'm winning them to the Lord."
If someone is responding to a drawing to Christ, it becomes evident rather quickly when they get around someone who is in Christ and following after him. But when God's people allow people to 'fit in' with them mainly on their own terms, then it becomes something that displeases the Lord. The scripture that comes to mind often when I see this happening, is when the righteous king of Judah, Jehoshaphat foolishly hung out with the wicked king of Israel, Ahab; and was rebuked for doing so by a prophet upon his return: "And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord" (II Chron. 12:2). As was the case with the wicked man in Corinth, the wicked people that were mentioned here were also God's people. And God was already releasing wrath against Jehoshaphat for being with Ahab, as if they had the right things in common. Just because we have received the Spirit of God into our lives, if indeed we have, doesn't mean that we are necessarily continuing altogether in righteousness; which is to say being LED by the Spirit that we've received (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16). Hopefully the few aspects of judging people to be righteous according to the religious appearance of things, that have been mentioned here; can help to sharpen our spiritual senses to make us a little slower to judge someone on either end of judgment. I can tell you that it will cost us if we are not able to do that, and if we are prone to assuming someone to be right with God just because certain things make it look that way. But I'm not the only one to teach these type of things, and I'll close the article with a quote from someone else who taught this before I did: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed APPEAR beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also OUTWARDLY APPEAR righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" (Mat. 23:27,28). I don't think I would question his judgment of the matter. I might also add that what the Pharisees were guilty of can exist with someone to a lesser degree than what they had evolved to, but it can also get to that point if not righted. That's it for now.
