Judge Not (Matthew 7:1 In Context)

Matthew 7:1 may be the most popular verse from the Bible in our time.  It is often interpreted to mean that we are not to judge anyone's lifestyle or beliefs.  But is this interpretation actually correct?  Does never judging even make sense?  We will look at Matthew 7:1 and see what the Bible actually says.  

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

We are to be careful and cautious in making judgments.  In Matthew 7:2 we are told the judgment we use will also be the judgment used for us.  In Matthew 7:3-5 Jesus warns us against judging in a hypocritical way.  We should not worry about the speck in our brothers eye when there is a log in our own eye.  Then at the end of verse 5 Jesus tells us that once we remove the log in our own eye we will see clearly to remove the speck from our brother's eye.  This of course would require that we judge.  In Matthew 7:6 Christ refers metaphorically to those who continually and persistently reject the gospel as dogs and pigs.  We are told not to continue presenting the gospel to these people.  In order to identify the dogs and pigs we must judge.  

After Matthew 7:1 Jesus continually judges people throughout the rest of chapter 7.  He refers to people as evil (7:11), says many will go to hell (7:13-14), calls some false prophets (7:15), refers to some as workers of lawlessness (7:23), and refers to a foolish man (7:26).  

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

So we plainly see that all judging is not forbidden.  Hypocritical, self righteous, arrogant judging is what is actually forbidden.  We are to judge rightly with a humble spirit.  In 1 Corinthians 5:12 Christians are even instructed to judge those inside the church, excommunicating them if necessary.  

The concept of not judging people clearly does not come from the Bible.  So where does it come from?  It actually comes from what is known as postmodernism.  At the heart of postmodernism is the denial of absolute truth.  What underlies not judging is the rejection of truth.  And what underlies the rejection of truth is the rejection of God.  The idea of not judging does not come from Christianity but from unbelief.  

We must also point out that the idea of not judging does not even make sense.  When a person says that another person should not judge, he is judging the other person.  When someone says you should not tell another person he is wrong, that person himself is telling someone else he is wrong.  It is impossible not to judge.  The whole idea of not judging falls apart and reduces to absurdity.  It ends up refuting itself because it is opposed to God and his Word.

So we see that the concept of not judging is wrong and foolish.  It comes from people who do not want to be told what they do or what they believe is wrong.  They do not want to be confronted with the reality of their sin. They are suppressing the truth about God.  

We should not judge in a self righteous, hypocritical, or arrogant way but we should judge carefully.  We must judge in areas such as morality and doctrine.  We must proclaim the truth with love.  Our judging must be with a humble spirit.  It is not wrong to judge, it is wrong not to judge.    

Contend For The Faith

The main theme of the book of Jude is contending for the faith, rejecting false teachers, and standing for the truth.  Jude was the brother of James and half brother of the Lord Jesus.  He wrote this letter sometime around A.D. 66.  The book of Jude contains only one chapter.  

(Jude 1:3) "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints."  (ESV) 

Although Jude had desired to write to his fellow Christians about salvation, he was compelled to urge them "to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to to the saints."  The "faith" referred to the gospel and all Christian teaching.  It was "once for all delivered to the saints."  This shows that the Apostles teaching which would become the New Testament in the canon of Scripture was already established and fixed.  Nothing more could be added to it.  We must point out that "saints" refers to all Christians, not just some special class of Christians.  

The Bible alone is the ultimate authority.  This stands in opposition to groups like the Mormons, the Roman Catholics, and many charismatics.  The Mormons insist the Bible is in error and add their own scriptures.  Roman Catholics insist that the Catholic Church tradition is an equal authority to the Bible.  Many charismatics insist that they receive direct revelation from God, making it equal to the Bible.  These groups and many others have rejected Scripture alone and have ended up in serious error.  

It is popular in our day for Christians to insist that we just need to love everyone.  After all it might not seem nice to contend for the faith, and it might not make people feel good.  But the Word of God disagrees, we are told to contend for the faith.  It means to contend for a thing combatantly.  In other words we are to battle for the truth and against error.  Truth should always be accompanied by love, and love must never be divorced from truth.  

Sound doctrine is of the utmost importance and Christians must contend for it.  Whenever false teachers arise they must be dealt with and refuted as we stand on the authority of the Bible alone.  It is not loving to allow error and false teaching to continue.  

Three Books On Christian Missions And Evangelism

Here are three excellent books on missions and evangelism.  Other books by these authors would also be worthwhile.  

Let The Nations Be Glad by John Piper

Radical by David Platt

Evangelism And The Sovereignty Of God by J.I.Packer  

Christian Books You Should Read

Here are some books that all Christians (and non Christians) should read.  They are books of substance and they are actually Biblical.  Also, other books by these authors would be well worth reading.  

The Gospel According To Jesus by John MacArthur

Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul

Desiring God by John Piper

God In The Whirlwind by David F. Wells

How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer

Nietzsche Says God Is Dead

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher who proclaimed, "God is dead and we have killed him."  Of course he did not really believe that God had been alive and had died.  He simply meant that the concept of God was no longer needed.  Other famous Nietzsche phrases include, "What does not destroy me will make me stronger", and "Live dangerously."  The idea that you only live once has roots in Nietzsche.  Friedrich Nietzsche also had an intense hatred for Christianity.  

Friedrich Nietzsche has been very influential even down to our own time.  He could be considered the father of nihilism which holds that there is no morality, no virtue, no purpose, and no meaning.  At least Nietzsche tried to be consistent with his atheism.  Because without God, nihilism is all that is left.   He could also be considered a leading figure in postmodernism which holds that there is no absolute truth and no ultimate standard of morality.  

Some key concepts from Nietzsche include the will to power, the herd morality, and the superman.  Nietzsche considered the will to power to be the fundamental force of life.  It was basically looking out for number one and not caring about those who are weak.  It was really the will to overpower.  He believed the herd morality was created by the weaker people out of fear in order to hold down the stronger, superior people.  Nietzsche blamed Christianity for creating this herd morality.  Finally the superman speaks of superior individuals who are courageous, throw off the herd morality and create their own values.  The supermen would be something like the next step in the evolution of man.  Nietzsche believed that Christianity was holding back humanity.  

Of course one might ask how the supermen could create their own values if there are no values?  If there is no meaning or purpose, how can the philosophy of Nietzsche have any meaning or purpose?  If all is meaningless, then everything Nietzsche said is also meaningless!  There would be no reason to listen to Nietzsche or to follow his teaching.  Nietzsche ends up in total absurdity, which is what always happens when you reject God.   Without the triune God of Scripture you have no basis for rationality, knowledge, meaning, or morality.  

Interestingly Friedrich Nietzsche spent the last decade of his life insane.  Then in 1900 God said, Nietzsche is dead.    

Did Jacob Actually Wrestle With God?

In Genesis 32 we encounter an unusual passage where Jacob is said to have wrestled with God.  What are we to make of this passage?  Did Jacob actually wrestle with God himself?  

(Genesis 32:24)"And Jacob was left alone.  And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day." (ESV) 

(Genesis 32:28)"Then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (ESV) 

(Genesis 32:30)"So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." (ESV) 

An important principle in Biblical interpretation is that Scripture interprets Scripture.  So we will also look at a passage in Hosea.  

(Hosea 12:3-4a)"In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.  He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor." (ESV) 

From the Hosea passage we see that Jacob strove with the angel.  But it also says that he strove with God, as does the passage from Genesis 32.  Jacob even named the place Peniel which means the face of God, because he had seen God face to face.  We might say that Jacob wrestled with God through the angel.  In a sense Jacob did wrestle with God, but it seems that the actual figure he wrestled with was the angel.  

Jacob was transformed by this encounter.  The God of Abraham and Isaac had now become the God of Jacob as well.  His name was changed from Jacob to Israel.  Jacob means he cheats or he deceives, while Israel means he strives with God.  

Was The Resurrection Of Christ Bodily Or Just Spiritual?

So what was the nature of the resurrection of Christ?  When the New Testament was written the idea of a bodily resurrection was absurd to the surrounding Greek culture.  The Greeks spoke of the immortality of the soul and viewed matter as evil.  They thought that salvation was found by the soul escaping from the body.  In our time the idea that Christ's resurrection was just as a spirit has been held by groups from the Jehovah's Witnesses to the liberals.   

(Luke 24:39) "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.  Touch me, and see.  For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."  (ESV)  

Jesus had appeared to his disciples and they thought they had seen a spirit.  Jesus showed that his body was physical, "flesh and bones" and not a spirit.  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul stressed that the resurrection of Jesus was not just his spirit going to heaven but that his body was raised from the dead.  

Paul also pointed out that over 500 people witnessed his bodily resurrection.  Also in 1 Corinthians 15:12-13 the phrase "resurrection of the dead" literally means "the standing up of dead ones."  The Apostle Paul proclaimed that if Christ is not raised bodily from the dead then your faith is futile, you have no hope, and there is no Christianity.  

The Bible plainly teaches that the resurrection of Christ was bodily and not just spiritual.  Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and the devil, accomplishing salvation for his people.