1 Corinthians 2:14-16… 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned (diakrino) only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments (anakrino: scrutinize carefully in order to make a judgment) about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The Bible commanded Christians to exercise discernment and…
Discerning the source:
The gift of discernment, is not about discerning the hearts of people but about discerning the source of something. When you are operating in the gift of discernment, you are recognizing where the driving force behind an action is coming from. Many times, the actual motivational force behind people’s actions and behavior is not clear. This is where the gift of discernment comes in.
3 categories of spirits discerned by the gift of discernment
- The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God living in the inside of born again believers in Jesus. This is recognized by the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit talked about in Galatians chapter 5.
- The human spirit. Man is a triune being created in the image of God. He has body, soul, and spirit. The spirit of man usually can be recognized by a self-centered or egotistical point of reference.
- Demonic spirits. These are fallen angels of whom, Satan is the leader. They are not all knowing, or all powerful, or have other attributes only attributed to God, but they are powerful and dangerous. You can tell if you are dealing with a demonic spirit by the fact that they are always in opposition to the advancement of the kingdom of God. They will oppose the advance of the kingdom of God in the life of an individual or in the region of humanity they are in charge of.
Two kinds of Judgment
- Judgment that God condemns: Krino (James 4:11-12; slander; Matthew 7:1-2)
- Krino: to pronounce judgment or criticize someone’s action, or condemnation, sentence
- Setting: court room, judge, law, accuser, defendant and witness
- Sentencing with wrong motive and false presumptions, without giving the defendant a chance to defend, no witness, not upholding the law of love (James 2:8)
- Wrong Motive: Flesh driven, Spiritual pride, Anger, hate filled, false humility, religiosity
- Krino: to pronounce judgment or criticize someone’s action, or condemnation, sentence
- Judgment that God commends: Anakrino, Diakrino, Dokimazo
- Anakrino: analyze, examine, investigate, ask questions, cross-examine, study, call to account
- scrutinize carefully in order to make a judgment
- your boss evaluates your job performance
- Diakrino: separate thoroughly, decide and discern, Distinguish right/wrong; good/bad
- You see someone steal and deciding they shouldn’t do that (because you know right from wrong)
- You carefully select fresh fruits and vegetables at the market
- It is just like a jury weighing the evidence before them to reach a verdict of guilty or innocent
- Moral Judgment: right/wrong; good/bad; good/best
- Practical Judgment: godliness/worldliness
- Philosophical Judgment: Truth/Error
- Compromise within the body of Christ: Order/Disorder
- Dokimazo: test, examine, discern, prove, approve or disapprove
- Anakrino: analyze, examine, investigate, ask questions, cross-examine, study, call to account
ERRONEOUS BASIS FOR JUDGMENT
- Not based on Enthusiasm / Zeal / Emotions
- Not to be based on Human Passions / Feelings / Personal Preferences or Standards
- Not to be based on Outward Appearances – Judge Righteous Correct Judgment
- Not to be made Hastily nor with Insufficient Facts
How do we discern?
- The Bible is a discerner (judge) of the thoughts and attitudes of the heart
- Discern all things with the help of the Holy Spirit. Human spirit is never accurate
- The ultimate judge of our motive and action is God alone
1. Judge According to Scriptural Standards – Biblical Justification
Hebrews 4:12… For the word of God is alive and active (quick and powerful). Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing (asunder) soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts (discerner of thoughts) and attitudes (intents) of the heart.
Judge Righteously: The Bible shows us what’s right, what’s not right, how to get right and how to stay right. We need to be like the noble Bereans who “…searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11.
Acts 17:10-12 (Paul and Silas in Berea after being chased out from Thessalonica) 10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
The Word of God divides between truth and error, right and wrong, fact and fiction, order or disorder, worldliness or godliness. If we are to judge righteously we need to judge by the righteous standard of God’s Word. It is there we find “instruction in righteousness.” This inspired Book, this standard of righteousness, is the medium for “reproof” and “correction.”
2 Timothy 3:16… All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Psalm 119:105… Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (it is excellent for guidance)
Judging Moral issues: Moral issues are those which involve a difference of belief and not a matter of preference, personal feelings and experiences, specific situations that affect people, action that could help or harm others. Before you make a judgment, ask yourself: “Do I have a biblical right to judge this matter?” A moral issues are not inherently right or wrong. This is what Paul was talking about in Colossians 2:16.
Colossians 2:16… Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
On such amoral issues we should never judge nor should we be judged. If Scripture is silent about a matter, so should we be silent. Unless the clear commands or teachings of Scripture have been violated, we should give our brothers or sisters in Christ the freedom to serve God or worship or evangelize under their own consciences and preferences.
Illustration. The Bible commands us to witness. However, they are numerous methods of evangelism:
- Mass evangelism = crusades, services, special outreach programs, etc. Pentecost, Paul on Mars Hill, Jesus and the 5,000 and the 4,000.
- Cold turkey door-to-door – Acts 20:20; Luke 14:23
Acts 20:20… You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
Luke 14:23… “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
- Personal – John 4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman
- Media – The Gospels = literature, letters, TV, radio, films, Internet, videos
Christians know they should witness, so they expect everyone to use the same methods they have found successful. For the judgmental believer anyone who chooses methods other than the one he likes is not fully committed to evangelism.
Illustration. about clothing, music type of worship: The Bible teaches that God deserves respect and reverence. Then a man-made standard is set by each of us that dictates what showing reverence is. For one the worship dress standard is a suit and tie for men and a dress for ladies. That is my personal preference. However, there was a day when all the hit-men of the Mafia wore suits. Just wearing a suit will not make a person reverent. If you criticize another believer as being irreverent simply because of the style of his clothing you have crossed the line between discernment and judgment and become a Pharisee. That’s why you will not hear me criticize Presbyterians for their formal worship style nor Charismatics for their emotional style, though both go beyond my personal and probably most of your preferences. Criticizing other believers because they use hymns or contemporary choruses, drama, films, various kinds of musical instruments, graphics, order of service, clapping, the style of their cloths, hair, witnessing style and a host of other variables has crossed the line from discernment to judgment. Paul says don’t do it and don’t let anyone bother you who judges you in such amoral matters.
Man-made standards (adding personal applications to the teaching in scripture): Many well-meaning believers unintentionally develop a judgmental attitude because they use their standard rather than a Scriptural standard. They often confuse the teachings of Scripture with their personal application of those teachings. As a result they become modern day Pharisees. The Pharisees problem was that they added their application to the teachings of Scripture.
One must ask “Do I have the biblical right to judge this matter?” If Scripture is silent about a matter, so should we be silent. Unless the clear commands or teachings of Scripture have been violated, we should give our brothers or sisters in Christ the freedom to serve God or worship or evangelize under their own consciences and preferences.
2. Irrefutable evidence – Matt 18:15-16; Deut 17:6
The presumption of judging – Job 4:7-9; John 9:1-3; Judging is always a presumptuous act. We assume we have all the evidence and understand why the judged believer did what he did.
- Job’s friends concluded he was a hypocrite because they jumped to the conclusion that all suffering is due to sin
Job 4:7-9… 7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? 8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. 9 At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.
- The disciples jumped to the same conclusion in judging the man born blind in John 9:1-3
John 9:1-3 (Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind) … 9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
- The peace delegation thought to be spies – 2 Sam 10:1-8
2 Samuel 10:1-8 (David Defeats the Ammonites)… 10 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.” 6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob. 7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.
- The false charges of temple desecration – Acts 21:27-29
Acts 21:27-29 (Paul Arrested)… 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
Since only God knows the big picture, He is the only one who can ultimately judge
John 5:30… By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
John 8:15-16… You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.
John 8:26… “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
Acts 10:42… He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
Acts 17:31… For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
2 Timothy 4:1… In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
2 Timothy 4:8… Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Since we never see the big picture all our evaluations must remain tentative
1 Corinthians 4:3-5… 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
The command for evidence.
Deuteronomy 17:6… On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
Matthew 18:15-17 (Dealing with Sin in the Church)… 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
1 Timothy 5:19-20… 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
Do you have irrefutable evidence? If not keep your mouth shut so you don’t cross the line and sin by judging.
3. Judge Yourself Before You Judge Another – Self-examination
1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Basically what this verse is saying is be sure you are right with God before you come to the Lord’s table. That is the context of this passage. Yet there is an important application here Dr. Earnest Pickering puts it this way —
“Human nature being what it is, we are often quick to judge others, but reluctant to judge ourselves. We must always remember that there are many things wrong with our lives and ample reason for us to pass judgment on ourselves before attempting to do so with others.”
God takes this principle very seriously. We see another application of this “judge yourself before you judge others” principle when we consider Church leadership. The Bible says that a man should not be a pastor or deacon who does not rule his own house properly and have his children under control.
1 Timothy 3:5 says, For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
God expects us to be right with Him, be living in fellowship with Him, to judge ourselves before we judge others.
Matthew 7:1-5… 1. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
1 Corinthians 11:28… A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:31… But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
2 Corinthians 13:5… Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test (δοκιμάζω) yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?
Galatians 6:1-5 (Doing Good to All)… 6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load.
Make sure your own life is in order before you try to straighten out someone else. Be sure you are right with God before you tell someone else they need to be. A discerning believer will always examine his own heart, motives and actions before evaluating the actions of other believers. A believer who crosses the line and judges condemns other believers for their outward actions but fails to realize that their actions stem from the same unbiblical attitudes and root problems that he himself has. Romans 2:1-5; 10:14
Romans 2:1-5 (God’s Righteous Judgment)… You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment (krino) on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:21-24 (God’s Righteous Judgment)… 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Each of the above use the word “dokimazo – δοκιμάζω”. When we fail to do self-examination and judge others we:
- We condemn ourselves because we do the same things. – Rom 2:1-3
- We will face the reproof/judgment of God – Rom 2:3
- We show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience – Rom 2:4
- We store up wrath against ourselves – Rom 2:5; 14:10
Romans 14:10… You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
4. Delegated authority
Even if the actions of another believer are clearly wrong, and even if I have examined my own heart to make sure I am not guilty of the same root problem, I do not necessarily have the right to condemn the wrong. I have to ask myself the question: “Has God given me that authority or does it belong to another?” Ultimately none of us has any inherent authority to be the judge over another brother. Paul admonishes the Romans
Romans 14:1-4 (The Weak and the Strong)… 1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
God has delegated limited authority to four different groups:
- Government – Romans 13:1-7
- Family – Eph 5:21-6:4; Col 3:18-21
- Employer – Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22-4:1
- Church – Heb 13:7, 17
God is the only sovereign authority and each of the delegated authorities are limited in scope and purpose. Every delegated authority will also give account for his authority to God. No matter how strong your convictions about an issue, if you cross the boundary of the authority God has delegated to you, you have entered the twilight zone of judgment.
Be sure you have the biblical authority to pass judgment. Nathan, the prophet, was sent by God to confront King David – 2 Samuel 12. No one else had the authority. If the wrong person confronts the errant believer he will hinder the restoration process and do far more damage than good, even if the actions of the believer he is judging are unquestionably wrong. The Pharisees run in where angels fear to trod. God let David get away with his sin for one year before He sent Nathan to confront him. That was God’s choice.
5. Don’t rebuke an older man in the church
1 Timothy 5:1… Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
1 Timothy 5:19-20… 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
6. Do not judge Or correct a mocker
Mathew 7:5-6… You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces
Proverbs 9:7-8… Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Psalms 141:3-5… Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. 5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me —that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
7. Right motives
Before you judge another believer ask yourself this question: “Why am I doing this? Do I sincerely want to help him grow closer to God, or do I want to show how spiritual I am? Am I intervening out of love or to make my point?” Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to illustrate his point
Luke 18:9-14… 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Here is the pride-filled criticism of a hypocrite who is critical of another person in order to make himself look good or justify sinful behavior or beliefs in his own life! Those who criticize others to make themselves look good, to justify their own sin, to slander someone they dislike or to attract attention to themselves are engaging in unrighteous judgment which God condemns.
Two tests for right motives:
- The joy test – If you gain any satisfaction over the shortcomings of another believer you have crossed the line to judging. One who discerns always has a broken heart over the sins and shortcomings of others.
- The stumbling-block test – Rom 14:13 Is anything you are doing or saying going to hinder that believer?
Romans 14:13… Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Even if you have biblical justification, have examined yourself, have the authority and irrefutable evidence you still may violate discernment and fall into the sin of judging if your motives are not absolutely pure.
8. Private confrontation
2 Samuel 12:7… Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
Mathew 18:15… “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
1 Corinthians 6:5-6… I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother goes to law against another–and this in front of unbelievers!
Public attack on an individual or an organization does not meet the biblical requirements.
9. Humble spirit – Prov 15:1
Proverb 15:1… A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.