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Judgment--Its Use And Abuse.
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with
what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again."--Matt. 7:1,2.
A VERY unlovely disposition in the
eyes of God, and of all fair-minded men, is that which assumes the obligation
of sitting in uncharitable judgment upon all the affairs and conduct of
fellow-men, either within the Church or outside of it.
That our Lord referred to this abuse
of judgment, and not to the legitimate use of that noble faculty, is very
manifest from succeeding verses (3-5), which warn against the hypocrisy of
condemning others for faults no greater than those which exist in one's self,
but to which self-love is wilfully blind; and also from verses 15-20, which bid
us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, or, in other words, to use sound
judgment in discriminating between the truly consecrated and faithful children
of God, whose hearts are pure and free from guile, and [R1712
: page 312] those who studiously cover up a wolf-like character with the
outward professions of godliness, in order to deceive and lead astray the
unwary.
"By their fruits ye shall know
them," said the Lord; and to use candid and unbiased judgment in comparing
their fruits--of character, conduct or teaching--with their professions and
with the Word of God, is necessary to the safety and protection of the Lord's
people. This, therefore, is a very legitimate use of judgment; and those who,
disregarding the Lord's warning, either recklessly or wilfully, fail so to exercise
judgment, expose themselves to the deceitful snares of the great adversary. The
wolf is not to be tolerated, nor his sheep's clothing respected: he has no
rightful place in the assemblies of the true sheep until his character is
changed by repentance and submission to the will of God. His presence can only
bring reproach upon all associated with him, and sow the seeds of error and
discord; and, learning the shibboleth of the saints, he will deceitfully make
merchandise of their holy things and demand that Christian charity should let
him alone in his nefarious work.
Alas! many simple ones, ignoring the
Lord's counsel, weakly yield to this demand, to their great detriment
spiritually. They give that which is holy unto the dogs and cast their pearls
before the swine; and the wolf is often tolerated out of respect for his
sheep's clothing. It is not real charity to such characters to permit them to
pursue their course unmolested; nor is it true loyalty to the cause of Christ. To
firmly and candidly let such persons know that we recognize their character and
refuse to fellowship or company with them until a change of heart is
manifested, and to positively and openly resist their influence, is the noblest
and truest charity, both to them and to the cause of Christ in general, though
such a course will assuredly bring persecution in some shape.
To deal thus candidly and fairly may
in some cases wake up the erring to a sense of their wickedness, and, by making
it unprofitable to them, may lessen the temptations to continue the evil
course. At all events, it gives the sheep and lambs of the Lord's flock warning
of the dangers to be expected from such sources. To encourage or assist such,
is to become partakers of their evil deeds. (2 John 11.) Nor would Christian
charity demand that the wicked or the profligate should be protected against
the natural rewards of their evil course. To thus aid them is only to interfere
with the divine arrangement by which sin brings its own retribution for the
correction of the sinner. Thus, for instance, if when a profligate son spends
his substance in riotous living, an unwise father makes up his loss and starts
him anew, not allowing him to realize the evil effects of his course, the son
misses the lesson and proceeds to greater lengths in an evil course. The love
of God is not thus unwise: if it were, he would not permit the great time of
trouble, now impending, to come upon the world. But he will permit it, and when
the judgments of the Lord are thus abroad in the earth, the inhabitants of the
world will learn righteousness. (Isa. 26:9.) It is not our
part, however, to bring evil upon the evil-doers; for vengeance belongs to God.
Nor would it be contrary to the spirit of the Lord to show pity and to
alleviate the dire wants of those in distress from their own folly. This would
not interfere with the needed lesson, but, on the contrary, would tend to
soften the heart and make it more susceptible to the lesson.
While the legitimate use of judgment
for wise and holy ends is plainly taught in this sermon of our Lord, the first
verse of this chapterexpressly commands that we should not reckon ourselves as
the competent judges of men's hearts, to uncharitably condemn them on our own
responsibility. But when their course of conduct is in manifest opposition to
and defiance of God's law, as in cases of disguised "wolves,"
"swine" and "dogs," the condemnation of that law, which is God's
judgment, not ours merely, should always be recognized.
As a matter of fact, if we have the
spirit of the Lord, our judgment will coincide with his --approving what he
approves, and condemning what he condemns: we will judge righteous judgment,
which makes every possible allowance for the infirmities of the flesh, the
strength of temptation and the imperfections of knowledge, and which, ever
bearing in mind that we also are far short of perfection, never forgets [R1712 : page 313] the golden rule--"Whatsoever
ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law
and the prophets."--Verse 12; Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:40; Rom. 13:8,9,10; Gal.
5:14; 1 Tim. 1:5.
Verse 2makes very imperative the
application of this golden rule in such cases--"For with what judgment ye
judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again." Oh, if men and women would always consider these things,
how much uncharitable judgment and evil-speaking, and how many bitter words,
would be spared! If each could recognize in the other the spirit of love and
candor, how quickly wrongs could be righted! If reproofs were always expressed
in the spirit of the golden rule, how much more effective they would be than
when they are colored with the glare of hatred and revenge!
"How wise are God's commands!
How sure his precepts are!"
Let us ponder them well, and
cultivate more and more in our own hearts the spirit of God's love and
kindness--the spirit of his holy law.
W.T. R-1712 a : page 311 –
1894 r.