Response to latest article defending the judgment of the unsaved...

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"Judge not, that you be not judged. - Matthew 7: 1 (ESV)

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." - John 7: 24 (ESV)

These are the end times beloved. The clock ticking to eternity is nearing midnight. There is only one thing that matters between now and the tolling of that bell. It is not revival. It is not standing up for Christian values in an amoral society. It is winning souls to the cross of Jesus Christ. It is preaching the Gospel. All of it. It is about witnessing to the lost about the Savior we serve. The Savior they need. The devil is always prowling about though. Always seeking whom he may destroy. Always trying to make us ineffectual in our walk and in our responsibilities to the kingdom. One tactic he employs very successfully in these end days is to convince Christians to loathe the very sinner we ought to bring the Gospel to. In recent months we had the stories of the baker in Oregon and the Florist in Washington who felt so offended in their faith that a sinner would ask them to bake a cake or sell them flowers that they refused. They always say that the person in question offends their Christian beliefs. Just wondering how that would have worked out for them if Jesus had applied the same standard to them.

Do we understand that today? Jesus does not ask that we stop sinning before He saves us. He does not wait for Christian perfection before embracing us. The Bible says that while we were still sinners He died in our place. Yet we think that baking a cake is simply too much to ask until the person repents from their evil sinful ways. Seriously? If Jesus applied that same standard to us then no one would be saved. No one. With this as the backdrop I present the latest in a series of articles that simply misses the point:

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/49239-homosexuality-abortion-carnality-who-are-you-to-judge

I am not attacking Pastor Idleman. I am hopeful that this was written with the best of intentions. It just misses the mark and does so wildly. He starts with presenting two scriptures, which are the key verses today. I am going to start here since this is the premise he builds off. When it comes to Matthew, Idleman claims:

"Judging within the context of Matthew 7:1 refers to the type of judgment that a judge would render in a court of law, such as in Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge another's servant?" A judge hears the evidence and pronounces a judgment. We are in no position to do this--we don't have all the facts. God tells us to leave justice to Him because He is the judge."

Not exactly. I am unsure where he comes to this conclusion about this verse referring to judgment in a court of law. I cannot find a commentary that agrees. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible actually claims it is NOT like the judgment one would receive in court. The remainder of the context here reveals what Jesus is actually teaching:

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. - Matthew 7: 2-5 (ESV)

The point that seems to have escaped Pastor Idleman is that these verses have very little to do with judgment. They are actually about hypocrisy. Verse five makes it clear that we are to help our brother out with the speck in his eye. Translation? We are to judge him. We just need to make sure that we are practicing what we are preaching. God hates hypocrisy. These verses can also speak to a judgmental spirit that is unloving in making snap judgments about people that are not thoughtful, considerate, and often times even accurate. Once again, hypocrisy. Verse five though eviscerates the notion that we are not to judge. Idleman then tries to compare this with the verse from John's Gospel:

"In John 7:24, however, Christians are to judge or "call into question" those things that clearly contradict God's principles. In 1 Corinthians 2:15, the apostle Paul said that those who are spiritual should judge and discern all things."

Once again, not exactly. If you notice, Idleman again immediately conflates the verse he is talking about with another to try and prop up his point but let us stick first with the first verse. Does John 7:24 teach that we are to judge those things that are contradictory to God's principles? Once again, let us look at the immediate context:

Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." - John 7: 22-24 (ESV)

These verses do not teach that we are to call into question those things that clearly contradict God's principles. Jesus was making a point to the religious leaders who wanted to kill Him for performing a miracle on the Sabbath. The judgment by appearance here is that Jesus technically broke the Mosaic Law by healing on the Sabbath. The right judgment is in realizing that the healing was more important. That they were indeed straining out gnats while swallowing camels. That they understood the letter of the law but not the spirit of it. Realize here too beloved that Jesus is teaching absolutely nothing about those in the world. Nothing. He is teaching hypocritical religious leaders about their own hypocrisy. Perhaps the more egregious error however is in referencing the verse from 1Corinthians. Here is that verse in context:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. - 1Corinthians 2: 14-16 (ESV)

You cannot cherry pick verse 15 out from the middle of these three verses! If anything, this set of verses teach the opposite of the point of this article! The things of God are utter nonsense to those who are unsaved! Why? Because they do not have the Holy Spirit in them to lead them into all truth. That is entirely the point! Yet while citing these verses on one hand, Pastor Idleman would have us wield Leviticus verses with our other hand against sinners in the world? They will not understand them! That is why we are not to judge those in the world. Paul teaches us:

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." - 1Corinthians 5: 12-13 (ESV)

Realize the whole context here. Paul is admonishing the believers at Corinth for celebrating the sin of one of their brethren. He was in a relationship with his father's wife. That is the evil person Paul is referring to. Do not miss sight of the clear directive that is given here. We are NOT to judge those outside the church at all. Why? Because they are walking in darkness and the things of God are foolishness to them. Because they are still facing the judgment of God Himself and he does not need our help. Idleman marches on:

"Regarding moral issues that destroy lives and dishonor God, we are to judge ("call into question") behaviors, choices, and lifestyles that lead people in a dangerous direction, especially if these issues are to become social policy and legally sanctioned."

Hear me very clearly beloved. I understand that this argument might ring true to you. It might sound so right. But realize it is entirely a carnal argument. It is not a Scriptural argument at all. Nowhere in the Bible does God instruct us to play the social police. Nowhere does He instruct us to play the moral police. Ironically Pastor Idleman goes on to sidestep judging fellow believers, which the Bible instructs us we are to do. We are our brother's keeper. If we see our brother sinning we ought to correct him lovingly. It may be true that the direction this country is heading in is down a very dangerous path. That does not change what we are and are not instructed in Scripture to do. No matter what laws are passed, 1Corinthians 5:12 means the same thing. Idleman starts to wrap up:

From time to time, God clearly calls us to do just that--to confront, rebuke, and challenge. I encourage you to read Jesus' words to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, to the religious leaders of His day, and to the cities that did not repent."

Wow, talk about missing the point. Beloved the words from Jesus to the seven churches in Revelation are compelling. They are frightening even. But they are to believers, not the unsaved. Jesus could say to these churches spiritual truths because they had the Holy Spirit. The things of God were not foolishness to them. He was judging those in the faith, not those on the outside looking in. The second group cited here are the religious leaders of His day and to that I say amen. Jesus did rebuke those that claimed the faith but who were hypocrites. Not only that He derided them. He mocked them. He overturned their money changing tables and called them out for the robbers that they were. While they were all of these things there is one thing they were not - unbelievers. Are you sensing a pattern here? A consistent false thread running through this narrative? To use all of the examples of Jesus rebuking believers does not mean the Bible teaches us to rebuke unbelievers. Especially when it actually and directly teaches the opposite. The last group cited here is interesting because the unrepentant cities were in fact filled with unbelievers. So let us as always, return to the context:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." - Matthew 11: 20-24 (ESV)

Remember, this group is being offered as a biblical basis for openly challenging and rebuking unbelieving sinners. What is the problem though? There are two major problems. First of all, what He was specifically speaking against was that they had witnessed the miracles of Jesus and still not believed. In fact, MOST of His mighty works were done there yet they refused to repent. The world today is in no such predicament. Perhaps the larger faux pas in trying to cite this is that Jesus is not speaking to the people in those cities. He is merely pronouncing woes over them. You cannot use that as a basis for then denouncing sinners in the world. Jesus is not personally denouncing them. He is stating how much trouble they are in. Idleman concludes:

"We should not excuse sin in exchange for tolerance--extending grace does not mean approving of sinful behavior, but it does mean extending compassion."

The excusal of sin is in dealing with our own lives beloved. Not the lives of others. The sad truth is there was little compassion or grace in this article. It seems as if it were a premise in search of Scriptural support. The premise being that it is somehow biblical to stand up against the sinners of this world. It is not. Remember the woman caught in adultery? She was brought before Jesus to test Him. Her accusers wanted to stone her to death as per the Law of Moses. After Jesus dispels the accusers by reminding them of their own sin we see this exchange:

Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]] - John 8: 10-11 (ESV)

I bring this up because it is important to recognize that the whole Gospel includes sin and repentance. The message of Jesus' ministry was repentance. There is no salvation without repenting. But there is also the message of "neither do I condemn you." There has to be a balance. That is not what we are seeing in these last days at all. What we see is the church standing around a sinner with rocks in their hands. Bakers and florists alike. All morally offended by people who think the things of God are utter foolishness. I have written this before but it bears repeating. They circle around the sinner with bad intent. This is the chance to represent Christ and bring the Gospel. This is the one chance the person might have to hear John 3:16. But instead we throw our stones at their heads"

Romans 1:27!

Jude 5:7!

Leviticus 18:22!

Then with a wry smile they say they love the person they are stoning to death. Because they have convinced themselves that they are doing this for Jesus. That it is His values that are offended. That verses meant for believers can now be applied to unbelievers. Is it important to say go and sin no more? Absolutely. That is not what we are seeing. We do not see Christians weeping over the sins of the lost because they know what awaits them. No. We see Christians personally offended by someone else's sin and picking up some rocks on their way to confront them. I pray that they read the entire story of the woman caught in adultery. I pray that they realize Jesus is talking to them today when He says, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Do not fall for this scheme of the enemy. The clock is ticking.

Reverend Anthony Wade - April 17, 2015

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.