Being Judged by Christ

Thoughts on Matthew 23

The question is: is judging a person the same thing as holding a strong conviction that something is wrong and expressing it as such to another? Are they the same thing? Let's look at something in scripture that we would cringe at today. Jesus issues a series of seven woes to the Pharisees in Matthew 23. Can you imagine anyone telling someone off as Jesus did the Pharisees? There is a difference here in Christ's judgment than how a man might judge his neighbor. Not only is Christ correct in his judgment but his judgment exposes sin while offering up, at the same time, the correct solution to turn to. Man's judgment does not lead to a right conclusion but it presses down and holds back from its victims any hope of restoration. Jesus even says strong language like these: "and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves"; "For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in"; "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" I couldn't imagine hearing someone say stuff like this to me! I would say something like, "Who gives you the right to say these things about me. You have no idea who I am!" But Jesus is not resorting to personal attacks like, "Your nose is too long"; "Your're weird" or "Your mother wears combat boots." He is going straight for the heart of the matter. The secret stuff is what he exposes and lays bare the depth of their sin; the depth of their depravity they wish to hide. It would be what I said one time to a supposed "Christian", who bragged to everyone in the van while traveling, how many girls he had been with. He had made a statement that he was a believer and went to church etc. I had accused him to his face and in front of everyone else that he was not a Christian, a follower of Christ, because if he was he would follow the teachings of Christ who hated sin. The van fell silent. Now did I judge the man rightly and legitimately? Or did I condemn him as a hopeless case by resorting to mere name calling? What if I was where this man was? What if I was a womanizer as he was? Would that change things? No, it still wouldn't. I was not condoning my actions while proclaiming Christ at the same time. We all sin and freely admit it - or at least we should be. But in recognizing when we do wrong, we repent of it. That means we turn and make an about face with the strength that God freely gives us. We don't brag about our sin and then condemn the same sin in another. That is being a hypocrite. We can condemn the sin as sin, even if we commit it, because we have a hope that we will come to terms within ourselves through the blood of Christ. But the Pharisees suffered under Christ's scathing rebuke because they claimed they had done no wrong. They, while pointing out the unrighteous actions of others, refused to stand next to those they accused as being in the same boat. They projected an image of "holier than thou" to all those who were not of their caste. They were pretending to be people they were not. This is where we too, will similarly suffer from the piercing gaze of Christ's righteous judgment. This is the essence of Paul's charge, "not to judge one another", comes in. He says we should not judge because we "do the very same things" (Romans 2:1-11).

Now I come to the crux of the matter: I've been accused of being judgmental. Really the problem is that I am free with the strong opinions and convictions I have. When I display my doctrinal position and others do not like it, does that mean I am judging them personally for holding a different opinion? Do I resort to name calling to them? Do I call people who think in non-reformed ways stupid? Or do I point to why the belief system is stupid and irrational and backwards? Stupid is a bad choice of words, of course, because all systems are usually well established and very complicated. Dangerous, to the point of frustration, might be a better expression to use in expressing my feelings. Another thing that causes people to become alarmed, these attacks of mine are attacks against a system of belief. This is very disconcerting for people if they happen to be on the other side. How would you like it if your entire understanding of what you thought to be the truth, was poked full of holes and yet you could not wrap your mind around the alternate system being propositioned as the "real" truth, or the real way we should be thinking about God? It is like having the entire foundation of your faith being kicked out from under your feet! At best a person could be terribly insensitive. I probably could be accused of that. Frustration can lead to insensitivity which, as one person shared with me, is sin as well. This is that idea of being Christ like that another individual expressed. I think being Christ like is being sensitive to what you are knocking over. Sometimes it may be best to build a separate edifice first, then tear down the original one. I had written about this idea in an earlier paper a couple of years ago on this very topic. Sometimes renovation of the current building is the right course. For others it is a complete tearing down and rebuilding and still others we must build a completely new building and then, after it is finished, tear down the first. I think that this is probably the best scenario because it offers the safest way to transfer its occupants without leaving anyone out in the cold, insecure and unsure of what to do next. Our beliefs are always packaged up in a worldview system of thought. Whether they are friendly to cultural mandates, or they instead flow from a truly Christian perspective, identifies who we are as individuals. It gives us bearing in the world in which we live. If the bearings are taken away all sense of value, meaning and significance, in a large world, is undermined. Our "world" comes crashing down and we flounder in a raging sea of utter chaos. I have certainly been insensitive thinking on this image I just painted. Not knowingly, of course; but it sure helps to have this Christ likeness in mind while attempting to dismantle secular systems of thought and debating against alternative theological belief systems.


-Joe