Blog

Standard of Judgment.

Matthew 7:1-2  Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT) “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

Introduction: Greetings to all beloved of the Lord as we sit at His feet on the Mount hearing His words on Beatitudes. We are still on sermon on the Mount.

I pray that Holy Spirit will teach us Himself in Jesus name.

Christians and non-Christians have abused our text of today so much that Devil uses it to his advantage. When a Christian corrects fellow Christian by the word of God, or correction among couples, the response from the one being corrected will be “Judge not”. As a result most Christians hold their peace even when fellow believers wallow in sins. Devil takes the opportunity to destroy relationships with fellow Christians and God.

In my opinion,  judgment is different from correction or chastisement.

My attention was drawn sometimes ago to comments from young Christian mothers condemning older Christian mothers with teenagers. Some of us with teenagers would have learnt how children in adolescent age will want to express themselves in dressing and other issues of life. They tend to conform with the world among their peers. You will begin to hear Young Christian mothers with toddlers judging and condemning older Christian mothers on Christian parenting. They compare raising their toddlers who comply with whatever you put or do not on them to children in adolescent age who will reject old school dressing.

I know a mother who did not put earing hole on her daughter’s ear so as not to use earings like herself. She made traditional plaiting of hair for her and covered her head with hats or caps when coming to church. Her toddler then looked like typical C.A.C. members or S.U. known in those days. This woman regularly and openly condemned parenting of adolescent Christian mothers in the area of dressing and used her own toddler as standard of Judgment for good parenting. By the time her toddler became teenager, the girl pierced her ear with more than one hole with multiple earrings, and her dressing was noncompliance to her mother’s mode of dressing her as toddler.

❓How do you think this woman will feel if her attention is drawn to her now adolescent daughter’s mode of dressing vis-a-vis her judgemental comments to older parents some years back.

When my wife and I were facing serious challenges as regards one of our children, not only that we were wrongly judged as per the child’s training, the child was wrongly adjudged based on hearsay by a close relative amidst the turbulent situation. My wife was wounded during that trying times. It took God’s Grace and Mercy to receive healing thereafter.

If we are not in the shoes of others, we should be careful and watch out for measures or standard of our judgement. Those in the same shoes; or one who successfully passed through same circumstances will be able to correct one another with understanding and Biblical principles using  correct standards.

Romans 2:3(NLT) Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?

❓What is the standard of your judgment? It is the same standard that will be used against you by the time you are in the same situation with the person you judged.

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

Romans 2:1(NLT) You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.

Most times we do not know what the person we condemn is going through, we sometimes arrogantly say; “I can’t do that”, “I can’t take that”, “my çhildren can’t be like that”, “you spoil these children” and so on.

I read about a father and his twelve year old son travelling with other passengers in a car. This boy started showing his father trees moving backwards due to the forward movement of the car with excitement. The passenger sitting next to the father disgustingly shouted on the father and questioned why a twelve year old boy would behave like that, the passenger concluded the boy must have been spoilt. The father replied; “my son just received his sight since he was born”. You see how we sometimes judge wrongly.

Severally, we judge by outward appearance in taking vital decisions such as marriage. We sometimes judge that nothing good can come out of a tribe or family based on what men say and not what God says.

John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

God decided to bring out the Saviour from Nazareth that was believed to have nothing good. Do not judge and condemn anyone based on your knowledge of his/her weakness.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29(NLT) Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

At times, Christians judge and condemn fellow Christians based on difficulties and trials of life they pass through. They behave like friends of Job who concluded that Job must have sinned and that was why he was paying for his sins. These Christians are not different from unbelieving Barbarians that passed judgment on Apostle Paul.

Acts 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

We can correct fellow believers based on Biblical principles and standard especially if we have experienced such, but not judge or condemn Christians based on our righteousness and standard of living.

Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

We are all God’s servant and we cannot write off anyone because Jesus our Master is more than able to lift us up from falling. Instead of judging and condemning, we should live our lives in such a way that will not cause other believers to stumble.

Romans 14:13(NLT) So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

A senior pastor once told me I was not fruitful. I eagerly wanted to hear what made me unfruitful because unfruitfulness will cutoff any Christian from Jesus Christ the Vine. The pastor then said; “You did not give me parish from your formal Area”. When I understood what he adjudged as unfruitful, I was comforted by the word of God. Pastors like him have sent many ignorant Christians away from the narrow path that leads to life unto Broadway that leads to destruction for their Fleshly ambition.

Once we remind ourselves daily that only God is the lawgiver, who determines fruitfulness of believers based on His words, we will not judge others as unfruitful and also not let anyone judge us as unfruitful. No one has the right or privilege to judge the works of other Christians.
James 4:12(NLT) God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Never judge eternity of anyone before the Lord comes but we can counsel and encourage one another by the word of God.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

✍ Finally brethren, we should constantly examine ourselves by the Bread of life; that is the word of God, and consider the Blood of Jesus Christ that cries for Mercy as we judge others. This is the standard of Judgment whenever we stand before God.

1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

Eat the Bread of life (word of God) daily, this will give you correct perspectives to issues of life and you will be able see people’s predicaments by the Blood of Jesus shed for all at Calvary.
✋ Maranatha.