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Bible Study How would you define judgement?

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The Bible is clear we are not to judge others i.e. Luke 6:37

If a Christian says that another Christian is not born again and is not living a holy life because he is a smoker, is that judging him?

I cannot imagine Jesus saying that.
 
While only God knows who is -- and who is not -- a child of God, we are to judge (assess) the words and actions of everyone in the light of Scripture, since we are exhorted to "Prove all things". But we must not sit in judgment over others, which is God's prerogative.
 
The Bible is clear we are not to judge others i.e. Luke 6:37

If a Christian says that another Christian is not born again and is not living a holy life because he is a smoker, is that judging him?

I cannot imagine Jesus saying that.

Like 6:41-42 tells us why we should not make bad judgements.
As does verse 37.

What ever standard we are using to judge, assess the way other live, will be used against us.
 
Scripture has much to say about judging.

11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
James 4:11-12 NKJV

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Romans 2:1-3 NKJV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Romans 14:1-13 NKJV


We are also told how to handle transgression that becomes obvious. It would seem we are called to judge those who claim the title Christian but what does it mean to judge? Does it mean condemn? I do not believe so. I believe it means to call out or expose however above to do it with gentleness, respect, and dignity knowing that we too are sinful and be prepared and open to hearing judgments against us as well for iron sharpens iron.

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
1 Corinthians 9-13 NKJV

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Galatians 6:1-5 NKJV


Bottom line is that we are to use caution when judging others for what measure we use will be used against us. We are to help them as best we can in Christian love and respect however there is a limit to how far we are to go. When a Christian continues to willingly accept known and clear sinful lifestyles, we are not to continue keeping company with them for a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Remember this too....

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12:3 NKJV

To the question of smoking, I am not convinced that Scripture necessarily speaks out about this. This is a topic that can and has been debated for centuries. When Scripture speaks about our bodies being a temple, we must consider the context.

It can be argued In 1 Corinthians 6, the context is with regard to immorality; in 1 Corinthians 3, the context is within the Body of Christ or His Church; and in Romans 12 the context is with regard to our mind; In Ephesians 5 the context is in regard to husbands loving their wives.

At the same time, one must prayerfully consider what smoking means to them. Has it become an idol, cherished above God Himself? Is it potentially causing others to stumble? If so, then do not continue.
 
1 Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

1 Corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Your physical body is not the temple of the Holy Ghost as our flesh is as a filthy rag to God, Isaiah 64:6, and the Holy Ghost can not dwell in the sinful flesh

In the KJV when Paul says "your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost" in the original Greek the "your" is second person plural. He didn't mean one person's body. He meant the collective body of believers. Thy, thine and thou is talking about one person. You, ye, your or yours is talking about plural.

We are not individually the body of Christ and so the same as each one of us is not the temple of the Holy Ghost. The body of Christ is the Bride of Christ where the Holy Ghost dwells as the Holy Ghost is to infinite to fit in our physical body and is not divided to dwell in each one of us.

The Greek word body is used literally, figurative and spiritual in the NT. In the verses I gave refers to the spiritual body of Christ as being the collective body of believers. We are all the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Ghost in unity.

What defiles the man is not what goes into his mouth, but that which comes out of his mouth, Matthew 15:10-20. We should never judge a brother or sister in Christ as that is God's place to do so as only He knows our hearts. Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, (Only using this part of vs 16 to make a point). I would also say do not judge one if they smoke or drink as who can pluck anyone out of the hands of Christ.

Romans 14: 13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
 
Your physical body is not the temple of the Holy Ghost as our flesh is as a filthy rag to God, Isaiah 64:6, and the Holy Ghost can not dwell in the sinful flesh

1. Isaiah 64: 6 says this: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. What this means is that any human righteousness apart from Christ and the Holy Spirit is unacceptable to God. No man can be justified by works of righteousness or works of the Law, and only those who are in Christ can be righteous in God's eyes.

2. Now in contrast to this, here is what Isaiah says about the believer who is in Christ (Isa 61:10): I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. What this means is that God justifies us by His grace and at the same time imputes the absolute righteousness of Christ to the one who believes on Him.

3. Then God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38):
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

4. Therefore Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells within us (our bodies and our spirits within our bodies (2 Cor 6:16): And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.


There are many other passages which tell us clearly that Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by Christ, and indwelt by God.
 
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Like 6:41-42 tells us why we should not make bad judgements.
As does verse 37.

What ever standard we are using to judge, assess the way other live, will be used against us.
I learned this the hard way. Before I came to faith, I thought I knew some theology but I knew nothing. I had been told that cursing using God’s name was unforgivable. I know better now, but I told someone he was doing something unforgivable because he was doing just that - cursing with God’s name in vain. The curse of seemingly unable to find forgiveness followed me, because this friend of mine died a few years later, and I don’t know if he took what I said as truth or not. I hope not. When I began searching for God, and for years afterward I couldn’t find forgiveness for my sins. It was for different reasons but the whole lesson was that God does forgive things like that. It would be years later I could finally say I found peace.
 
judging is a part of life. i see a person talking to me who reeks of cigarettes and has glazed over, druggy eyes. do i invite him or her to my home? no, not now. judging in action.

that's far different from being truly, hypocritically -judgmental- . a brother in Christ stumbled back into (long standing sin pattern...pick one...). he comes to his senses, repents. do i judge him as a fallen 'loser,' a nobody? hopefully not...

because if i do, that standard of judgment will come back to me. one thing...as ive become (personally) closer to Christ, I don't get as crazy insane afraid in public for irrational reasons. why? im not as judgmental of others. doesn't mean i'll hang out with anyone (or them with me, obviously), but i can see...discern, even...and not judge as much, as harshly. and now, even internally...the judgment that comes home to me is softer, less painful.

now, within Christendom...discernment is -huge- . there are a couple churches here, locally, i dont deal with, because in my judgment as a Christian--discernment, discerning the spirits, etc.-- i have come to the conclusion they may do more harm than good, to me in particular. again: judging is part of life. :)
 
The Bible is clear we are not to judge others i.e. Luke 6:37

If a Christian says that another Christian is not born again and is not living a holy life because he is a smoker, is that judging him?

I cannot imagine Jesus saying that.
I believe God is more concerned over spiritually things than the flesh.
Matt.15:11,18
Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which COMETH OUT OF THE MOUTH, this DEFILETH a man.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man.

God knows the heart.
I believe we can discern but not judge one's soul.
 
The definition of judgment is pretty simple.

Good Judgement comes from Experience.
Experience comes from poor judgment.
 
how would one describe judgement is a very good question , how do you place judgement on post .sitting at a computer? if some one post scripture claiming it says by good works your saved or everyone is saved . lets say and yes there are those like this.. you smoke your going to hell scripture our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost . we never say anything about being over weight .the Bible says in that day God will judge the secrets of man heart by his son christ jesus . if we see a person drunk and say your drunk .that is not judging . some will go as far as to say you lost your temper .. really you know this by sitting at a computer ... we have all judged at one time or another
 
The Bible is clear we are not to judge others i.e. Luke 6:37

If a Christian says that another Christian is not born again and is not living a holy life because he is a smoker, is that judging him?

I cannot imagine Jesus saying that.
When someone is kept or unable to come to repentance and belief. Such as those deceived by the beast in Rev. If God did not spare the natural branches because of continuous disobedience and unbelief He wont spare the wild branches either for the same reasons. We are told to consider that sternness of God. Admonished not to harden our hearts as the Israelite's did in the desert.


So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

When the point comes that God gives one over to sin that is judgment. So be careful what you wish for in your life. Keep your conscience clear before God and do not put God to the test.

Of course I expect better things from those here who proclaim faith in Jesus. But I live in the world and see a great many on the wide road to destruction.
 
You never know a person's life or where they are coming from just by the short exchanges we get at church, at work, or by just passing by. A Christian might be newer, and so struggling with any of the life choices they made before being a Christian.

Though I don't think smoking would be on my radar to condem someone by from my judgements, other drugs would be harder to not judge. Finding out a person is a heroine addict would be more tempting to question their Christianity. Or to distance myself from them regardless of Christianity or not. None the less, I know people who have their struggles with addiction. Some I know more of their life story and how they were on pain killers from a car accident for a while before the doctors said they won't prescribe him those any more. The person had gone to heroine afterwards, because his pain was still there and something he had to answer for.

If this is the case for one of the more criminally known drugs, then it can be the case for many other unrighteous things we might pass our judgements on. Since we are not rightous ourselves to be sinless, nor do we know the life of the person in those sins and situtions, this should cause us to pause before we judge another. Yet without judging their Christian journey or not, there is room to be causious. That's about the leangth of judgement I think we are allowed to give ourselves. To be causious in our steps with others, and whether we trust them or distance ourselves.
 
judging is a part of life. i see a person talking to me who reeks of cigarettes and has glazed over, druggy eyes. do i invite him or her to my home? no, not now. judging in action.

that's far different from being truly, hypocritically -judgmental- . a brother in Christ stumbled back into (long standing sin pattern...pick one...). he comes to his senses, repents. do i judge him as a fallen 'loser,' a nobody? hopefully not...

because if i do, that standard of judgment will come back to me. one thing...as ive become (personally) closer to Christ, I don't get as crazy insane afraid in public for irrational reasons. why? im not as judgmental of others. doesn't mean i'll hang out with anyone (or them with me, obviously), but i can see...discern, even...and not judge as much, as harshly. and now, even internally...the judgment that comes home to me is softer, less painful.

now, within Christendom...discernment is -huge- . there are a couple churches here, locally, i dont deal with, because in my judgment as a Christian--discernment, discerning the spirits, etc.-- i have come to the conclusion they may do more harm than good, to me in particular. again: judging is part of life. :)


Wow!

What a solid biblical answer!


Amen.



JLB
 
There's a difference between making a judgment and passing judgment. We make judgments all the time. We come to a fork in the road and judge whether to take one path or the other. We judge what we have for dinner and we judge who we will spend our time with and who we prefer to avoid because maybe they'll be an influence that we don't feel prepared to handle or we feel we need.

Passing judgment on the other hand is when we condemn another for this or that. This is much more dangerous.
 
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