John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
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We are to judge with righteous judgement, not according to our own fleshly mind. Michael rebuked the devil in terms of Gods word. The sin is in judgment without Gods word; apparently this was involved in the devil's claims on Moses. Judgment must be in terms of Gods word because the world and man are creations of God and cannot understand, assessed, or judgment apart from Him. If any neighbor is my creature, I could only use my fiat will to judge him; since he is God's creature, I can only use God's declared word to judge him.
Man, having been created in Gods image, cannot be understood apart from God and in particular must be treated with respect. The fact that man is fallen does not eliminate God's image. |
| Can I judge someone who is homosexual? Ultimate judgment, you understand, belongs to God and to God alone. “He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed” (Acts 17:31). “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
On the other hand, God expects me to judge with “right judgment:” “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). Did Jesus not command me to “judge” false prophets—to say that their teaching is false—in the same chapter where he told me not to judge? Yeah, he did. Think for a moment if I take the lady who told me that I cannot judge me “fellow man by thr sins.” If I take her statement to its logical conclusion, I can say no one’s actions are right or wrong. Am I not to say that Hitler was wrong for the Holocaust? Can I not say that those monsters who flew airplanes into buildings on September 11, 2001, were wrong? Surely, we can know what actions are right and wrong! |