Who's Casting Stones?
In my experience, it seems that one of the most heated exchanges between believers takes place over accusations of being judgmental. I often hear, "he that is without sin cast the first stone..." or "Judge not that you not be judged..." as a quick response from someone who feels that they are being judged by someone. Somehow the person quoting either of these verses seems to feel that they themselves are exempt from their own admonition because in retrospect they must use "judgment" to determine that the other is wrong for judging.
In the transaction found in John 8:1-11 between Jewish leaders, an adulterous woman, and Jesus we can see three things at work. The leaders were JUDGING, in accordance with the law, that the woman was guilty of adultery(nothing wrong so far), but they set forth to CONDEMN the woman to death(also nothing wrong within the law- on the surface!); but it was the self-righteousness and un-loving attitudes of the Jewish leaders(neither love for God nor the woman) that prompted Jesus' response, "he that is without sin cast the first stone..." There is, therefore, a line that defines a difference between judging and condemning. Jesus was cautioning the men against condemning the woman without first considering sin within their own life for which they themselves could be judged and condemned for; mirroring Jesus' teaching found in Matthew 7:1-5. Finally, Jesus REBUKED the woman when He told her to "go and sin no more."
So the question arises, is Jesus, in fact, telling us that we are not to judge others. To arrive at a biblical answer to this question lets look at two of the words from above: Judge vs Rebuke.
First let's take a look at the word "judge." Nowhere in Scripture can it be found, as a single command, to NOT to use judgment. If you follow the context in each Scripture that mentions using judgment in a negative sense you will discover that the judgment being admonished against is judgment that stems from personal opinion, un-loving attitudes or self-rightousness. For instance, Romans 2:1; Romans 14:4; and James 4:12 speak against using self-rightousness and personal opinion as the basis for one's judgment. Instead, we are told in James 4:12 that God is the lawgiver and therefore His word is to be the basis for our judgment. When we are confronted by another and told that the Bible speaks against some action that we have committed; and we are told or shown in Scripture the specific verse(s) of admonition; then it is God's judgment of our actions and the "indignation" that prompts us to JUDGE the other as judging ourself is the flesh rebelling against the Holy Spirit's conviction. If you disagree with the application of the Scripture being used then remember to be humble and suggest to the other that you will pray about it. You're not going to convince anyone of error if you lose your peace, whether you are on the giving or receiving end of the admonition.
Secondly, take a look at the word "rebuke" within Scripture. Without getting too steeped in listing scripture references, I would just encourage anyone to do a word search on "rebuke" within Scripture. One particular verse I will mention is 2 Timothy 4:2 which says that we ARE to rebuke and exhort others- WITH SCRIPTURE(doctrine). But let's remember that our motive should always be love- 1 Corinthians 16:14. So, clearly, we are expected to speak up when someone is sinning. As a matter of fact, Ezekiel 33:8 says that we will actually be held accountable to God for not speaking up.
One final admonition... we are told in Scripture to not be quick in our assessments and to be informed enough to make righteous judgment:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
[addendum]
ReplyDeleteBiblically, there are two types of judging. Righteous judging and self-righteous judging. Righteous judgment finds its basis from the word of God and is bilaterally equally applicable to the person who rebukes another; self-righteous judging finds its basis in a swamp of hypocrisy, self-conceit, and faux-piety. Take for instance the encounter between Jesus, the Pharisees, and the woman caught in adultery where Jesus addressed the Pharisees by saying "He that is without sin cast the first stone..." Many erroneously take this example out of context and assert that this teaches that we are not to judge. This is not what was going on. The Pharisees were engulfed in faux-piety and self-conceit; their purpose for approaching Jesus was to catch Him contradicting Moses Law so that they could have Him killed- talk about hypocrisy. Jesus' response was like an icicle penetrating their consciences for Jesus knew the heart of men and the Pharisees became convicted of their hypocritical intentions and left of one by one. Jesus' own words on judging are on this wise:
--> Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. -John 7:24
We use judgment all the time... we judge that abortion is wrong and we try to intercede on behalf of the unborn; we may see someone behaving erratic and judge that the person may be unsafe and therefore avoid them; I certainly hope any would use judgment to determine if an acquaintance is drunk and do whatever can be done in one's power to prevent the person from driving{like offer to take them home and bring them back to their car when they are sober}. These actions all require righteous judgment.