The Judgement Of Love & Men

Galatians 5: 13-18

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: 

“What no eye has seen, 

   what no ear has heard, 

     and what no human mind has conceived”— 

   the things God has prepared for those who love Him— 

     these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. 

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 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 only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, 

“Who has known the mind of the Lord 

   so as to instruct Him?” 

But we have the mind of Christ. 

- 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16

When prophets of old, and Christ Himself, spoke of judgment and warned the hearers, wasn't it to the community of believers?

Wasn't this community those bound to their covenant?

So why are strangers condemned to hell when those doing the condemning do not know them personally?

How is one to know those hearers are not known by God?

To judge another is a choice (unwise in almost all instances).

To blurt out one's thoughts against another when considering the rest of the law of love, one finds themselves being an accuser instead of a defender of God's grace.

There is a proper time and manner to share one's judgmental thoughts with another human being, but not all humans qualify for this human-to-human judgment.

Judgment of all things is an internal process; internally judging for oneself whether something is right or wrong, good or evil.

This is done in silence, in contemplation, at times as frequently as breathing, other times not as consistent.

External judgment (or standing in judgment of another) is rendered upon those who claim to be a part of the body of Christ, not those ignorant of God's kingdom nor His Way.

To judge those outside the camp, outside the church, outside the kingdom...is to be ignorant of God's Way.

Yet we sadly witness the religious constantly judging people according to external cues, not internal revelation.

When religious zealots interpret “judgment”, especially “judgment of all things” to mean they can openly condemn anyone and seemingly curse them to hell, some of us realize that to judge others may be a default condition of the mind and heart of men.

We see this all the time with those religious people standing on street corners with “you're going to hell” and other such signs for the world to read.

These truly think they are doing God's work, and maybe in a way they are, but not as Christ did.

The form of judgment that is established through Christ is through patient loving correction, not condemnation...unless the correction has been previously rebuffed and refuted by the wayward claiming to be in Christ.

There is an order, and that order is realized in extended grace and patience, not according to the world and their courts of men, but heavenly courts conveyed in His Name on earth.

Consider that repentance is still prayed for from those doing the judging of the wayward.

What is the proper way to approach those in the world and those in the church?

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” 

- 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13