The terms “judge,” or “judgment,” are used in different ways in the Scriptures. Their meanings and usage are mainly governed by the context in which they are found. When they mean to condemn, to sentence, or to punish, man is usually to leave the prerogative with God. Vengeance is mine, I will pay, says the Lord. Nor are we to judge the motives of others. Only God can see the heart and know the motives that underlie actions.
At other times the words mean: to distinguish, to test, to call into question. This is what God would have believers do in love, especially as to whether or not the preaching and teaching is true to His Word. Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that you may approve things that are excellent” (1Co 4:1-5).
An often misapplied scripture is “Judge not (Mat 7:1). For one thing, this is a kingdom command forbidding hypocritical judgment and is not addressed to those who in love and sincerity seek to discern whether a teacher or teaching is in accordance with God's word.
Hypocrisy is the subject here: Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the moat out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Actually the last statement of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: “Then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye.” We are not to forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commands us to “judge righteous judgment.” He commended one, “Thou hast rightly judged.” He asked others, why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”
One of the reasons for the Church being in a sickly condition today is that believers have not obeyed the commands of God's Word to judge error. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them” (Ro 16:17). The false teachers made the divisions and not those who protest against their errors.
It is our privilege and responsibility to do all we can to encourage the spiritual growth of others. We are to love and pray for one another and to consider ourselves lest, we be tempted. The safest and most profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves. 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.” (1Co 11:31, 32).
“It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as we do our own!
Unknown
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 15
“First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.” -MJS
“When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus—that sin in the flesh was condemned when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son’s death—and that this is our title to be free. I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus’ death.
“To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free. It is by the appropriation of His death that I reach liberty and newness of life; that death has severed me from all that I was as in fallen Adam. ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ I am free from myself, and free to have the One who is my Christian life before me.” - Charles Andrew Coates (1862-1945)
“The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him. There must be no carnal straining, no natural effort; we do not have to keep ourselves alive. Every fear to go down into daily death, every clinging to that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even when our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we may rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection.” - Henry Frowde (1841-1927)
The terms “judge,” or “judgment,” are used in different ways in the Scriptures. Their meanings and usage are mainly governed by the context in which they are found. When they mean to condemn, to sentence, or to punish, man is usually to leave the prerogative with God. Vengeance is mine, I will pay, says the Lord. Nor are we to judge the motives of others. Only God can see the heart and know the motives that underlie actions.
At other times the words mean: to distinguish, to test, to call into question. This is what God would have believers do in love, especially as to whether or not the preaching and teaching is true to His Word. Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that you may approve things that are excellent” (1Co 4:1-5).
An often misapplied scripture is “Judge not (Mat 7:1). For one thing, this is a kingdom command forbidding hypocritical judgment and is not addressed to those who in love and sincerity seek to discern whether a teacher or teaching is in accordance with God's word.
Hypocrisy is the subject here: Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the moat out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Actually the last statement of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: “Then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye.” We are not to forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commands us to “judge righteous judgment.” He commended one, “Thou hast rightly judged.” He asked others, why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”
One of the reasons for the Church being in a sickly condition today is that believers have not obeyed the commands of God's Word to judge error. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them” (Ro 16:17). The false teachers made the divisions and not those who protest against their errors.
It is our privilege and responsibility to do all we can to encourage the spiritual growth of others. We are to love and pray for one another and to consider ourselves lest, we be tempted. The safest and most profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves. 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.” (1Co 11:31, 32).
“It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as we do our own!
Unknown
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 15
“First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.” -MJS
“When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus—that sin in the flesh was condemned when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son’s death—and that this is our title to be free. I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus’ death.
“To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free. It is by the appropriation of His death that I reach liberty and newness of life; that death has severed me from all that I was as in fallen Adam. ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ I am free from myself, and free to have the One who is my Christian life before me.” - Charles Andrew Coates (1862-1945)
“The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him. There must be no carnal straining, no natural effort; we do not have to keep ourselves alive. Every fear to go down into daily death, every clinging to that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even when our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we may rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection.” - Henry Frowde (1841-1927)
At other times the words mean: to distinguish, to test, to call into question. This is what God would have believers do in love, especially as to whether or not the preaching and teaching is true to His Word. Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that you may approve things that are excellent” (1Co 4:1-5).
An often misapplied scripture is “Judge not (Mat 7:1). For one thing, this is a kingdom command forbidding hypocritical judgment and is not addressed to those who in love and sincerity seek to discern whether a teacher or teaching is in accordance with God's word.
Hypocrisy is the subject here: Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the moat out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Actually the last statement of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: “Then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye.” We are not to forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commands us to “judge righteous judgment.” He commended one, “Thou hast rightly judged.” He asked others, why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”
One of the reasons for the Church being in a sickly condition today is that believers have not obeyed the commands of God's Word to judge error. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them” (Ro 16:17). The false teachers made the divisions and not those who protest against their errors.
It is our privilege and responsibility to do all we can to encourage the spiritual growth of others. We are to love and pray for one another and to consider ourselves lest, we be tempted. The safest and most profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves. 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.” (1Co 11:31, 32).
“It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as we do our own!
Unknown
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 15
“First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.” -MJS
“When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus—that sin in the flesh was condemned when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son’s death—and that this is our title to be free. I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus’ death.
“To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free. It is by the appropriation of His death that I reach liberty and newness of life; that death has severed me from all that I was as in fallen Adam. ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ I am free from myself, and free to have the One who is my Christian life before me.” - Charles Andrew Coates (1862-1945)
“The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him. There must be no carnal straining, no natural effort; we do not have to keep ourselves alive. Every fear to go down into daily death, every clinging to that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even when our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we may rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection.” - Henry Frowde (1841-1927)
The terms “judge,” or “judgment,” are used in different ways in the Scriptures. Their meanings and usage are mainly governed by the context in which they are found. When they mean to condemn, to sentence, or to punish, man is usually to leave the prerogative with God. Vengeance is mine, I will pay, says the Lord. Nor are we to judge the motives of others. Only God can see the heart and know the motives that underlie actions.
At other times the words mean: to distinguish, to test, to call into question. This is what God would have believers do in love, especially as to whether or not the preaching and teaching is true to His Word. Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that you may approve things that are excellent” (1Co 4:1-5).
An often misapplied scripture is “Judge not (Mat 7:1). For one thing, this is a kingdom command forbidding hypocritical judgment and is not addressed to those who in love and sincerity seek to discern whether a teacher or teaching is in accordance with God's word.
Hypocrisy is the subject here: Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the moat that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the moat out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Actually the last statement of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: “Then shalt thou see clearly to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye.” We are not to forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commands us to “judge righteous judgment.” He commended one, “Thou hast rightly judged.” He asked others, why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”
One of the reasons for the Church being in a sickly condition today is that believers have not obeyed the commands of God's Word to judge error. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them” (Ro 16:17). The false teachers made the divisions and not those who protest against their errors.
It is our privilege and responsibility to do all we can to encourage the spiritual growth of others. We are to love and pray for one another and to consider ourselves lest, we be tempted. The safest and most profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves. 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.” (1Co 11:31, 32).
“It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as we do our own!
Unknown
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 15
“First, the believer understands that he has a right to be free in the Lord Jesus because of the finished work of the Cross; then he sees that same work of the Cross as his means to be free.” -MJS
“When we truly hate ourselves, we are prepared to rejoice in the blessed fact that we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus—that sin in the flesh was condemned when He died unto sin, that our whole history as in the flesh closed before the Father in His Son’s death—and that this is our title to be free. I have now a righteous title to have done with myself because I have died unto sin in the Lord Jesus’ death.
“To prepare me for this I learn the necessity for death in my own experience, but the death of the Lord Jesus is my title to be free. It is by the appropriation of His death that I reach liberty and newness of life; that death has severed me from all that I was as in fallen Adam. ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ I am free from myself, and free to have the One who is my Christian life before me.” - Charles Andrew Coates (1862-1945)
“The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely upon Him. There must be no carnal straining, no natural effort; we do not have to keep ourselves alive. Every fear to go down into daily death, every clinging to that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even when our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we may rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection.” - Henry Frowde (1841-1927)
