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THE TWO TYPES OF JUDGMENT
John 12:47, 48 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
John 3:17, 18 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned; but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
In the above 2 Scripture references, the word judge in John 12 is exactly the same word as condemn in John 3.
In the Greek, it’s the word krino, and means “to separate, to make a distinction, come to a decision.”
Regarding judging a person, it means to come to a final decision regarding a person, to relegate that person to a fixed place that cannot be changed, or to a fixed sentence of punishment.
HE”S AN IDIOT is this type of judgment.
HE”S GOING TO HELL.
HE’S A JERK.
WHAT A LOSER.
HE”S GOING TO BE PUNISHED BY GOD.
WHAT A CREEP.
These judgments all relegate that person to a fixed, unchanging place worthy of punishment in our minds. In reality, these judgments place us in that fixed, unchanging place. Where we cannot love, forgive, grow, change.
In John 12, Jesus says “any man” and “he”.
In John 3, Jesus says “the world”, yet also refers to “he.” Here, “the world” must be understood as “mankind.”
So Jesus’ job was not to come to a decision regarding the disposition, or final judgment, of each person.
In fact, in John 3 Jesus speaks of the need each person has for being saved. Because he is already in condemnation.
He came to save each person. The indication in both references is that what judges a man is not Jesus, or God, but rather that man’s response to Jesus, the Son of God.
A man falls off a ship into the ocean. He begins to flounder, to drown. A passing ship throws him a life raft. He refuses to get in. He drowns. The passing ship did not condemn him to death. The man himself did, by not accepting the salvation offered.
Jesus says that he came to save….to throw out a life raft. The condemnation (judgment), then, does not come from Jesus, from God….but rather from the refusal to accept the salvation offered.
A lot of people seem to think that Jesus came to throw the life raft, and then if the drowning person refuses to get in, Jesus pushes the man under the water. And that’s the judgmental lifestyle they live.
Hey you Christians out there……people are already drowning bad enough as it is….they don’t need you to push them under to hasten their demise. Throw them the life raft of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and invite them in by God’s love. When they respond with the desire to accept the help, allow them to climb in! Make it easy, not difficult!
There is nowhere in the word of God that Christians are urged, or commanded, to judge others. In fact, quite the contrary.
Romans 2:1-3 spells out the evils of judging others.
I Corinthians 4:3-5 indicates that we believers should leave all judgment (even of ourselves) in the hands of the Lord. From our reading of those 2 sections in John, we know that the only judgment comes from not accepting his help.
Romans 8:1-4 indicates that outside of Christ there is judgment, but never in Christ.
Romans 8:32-34 shows the illogic of thinking that there is judgment in Christ.
So, it appears we are never to judge another person. Never make a final decision as to his/her disposition (“you’re going to hell,” or “you’re an idiot,” or “that guy’s a jerk.” etc. etc.) These all relegate that other person to a box, a final resting place (in our own minds and hearts), a prison of sorts. In reality, those condemnatory type of judgments put us in prison……for the moment we judge another, we become unable to love that other.
However, here’s something else Jesus said.
John 8:15, 16 You judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me.
So, now Jesus says that he does judge…..though he emphasizes that he never judges a person. What, then, does he (and are we to) judge?
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.
Romans 13:8a Owe no man anything, but to love one another;….
This last verse doesn’t use the word “judge,” but the idea is there that us judging another is not what we owe one another, but rather only love.
I Corinthians 2:14, 15 But the natural man (the man who does not have the spirit of Christ within) receives not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (anakrino – same root as krino…judge……this word is an investigative judging…..kind of like “who done it?”) But he that is spiritual judges (anakrino…”discerns”) all things, yet he himself is judged (anakrino) of no man.
Let’s say another believer comes to you and talks about how unfair they’re being treated in a specific class, by a certain professor. Should you just sit and listen? Say nothing? Should you advise that person to stand up for his/her rights? Or to forgive and don’t say a word? To stay sweet and soft, or to get tough and stand against injustice? Which is right? Is your friend telling you the whole truth?…….or should you ask questions to get to the real heart of the matter? Who knows?
This is where judgment is needed, and where it is very useful.
In I Corinthians above, the need for an investigative-type of judgment is stated. A spiritual man is able to see things in the light of spiritual truth. He discerns, “Oh, that is the working of Satan”……or that is not of God…..or that is of God…..etc., etc. Or that person has a need, or that person just needs a shoulder to cry on, I should just shut up and listen, or that person needs to be confronted, or that person needs to be forgiven, etc., etc., etc.
II Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; And he died for all, that they who live should not from now on live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again.
The judgment that God desires for us is to discern, or judge, truth from error. That which is of God, from that which is from the Devil. That which edifies from that which destroys. That which is spiritual from that which is mental, or physical. That which is love from that which is selfish.
God desires for us to take the truths revealed in His Word and to take the time to decide the ramifications of those truths. To lock down in our hearts the realities of those truths, so that we cannot be talked out of those truths. For instance, if Jesus Christ paid for all the sins of the world, then, I judge, that includes me, and moreover, I may never ever try to pay for a single sin of mine by my own efforts. Once we consign these types of things to fixed, judged, places….they are a lot easier to deal with as they occur in the future.
Or, for instance….I judge that love is always right. So no matter how poorly my brother or sister in Christ treats me, I will always love, no matter what. Because I have judged that God’s Word is true, I decide to live in the reality of that truth, no matter what.
These are the judgments that are profitable.
But to judge one another, to consign another person to a fixed place worthy of punishment……even Jesus Christ Himself didn’t do that.
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Related studies:
Judgment Day – You May be Surprised.
Why do we get Tempted?
Is it Love to Judge?
Freedom in Christ
