In 2013, Pope Francis made an famous or dare I say "infamous" statement that defined the state of affairs in the Catholic Church.
"Who am I to judge?" He quipped.
Friends...I'm going to cut to the chase on this one...This type of lukewarm response is the exact opposite of what True Christians are supposted to do!
But how about Jesus? Did'nt He say "Judge Not!" (Yes, thats Matthew 7:1) Very famous...even Non Christians know this. But again... Yet another great example Of
verses used without context to make a deceiving point.
The truth of the matter is that it is the righteous Christian's duty to judge Our brothers. Yes...You read that condition right...
Our Christian Brothers and Sisters. Note: This is another great misunderstanding that We should judge everyone, The truth is, the Father will judge those in the World but We are advised by Our Lord to only keep each other in line.
Jesus said some peculiar words following his treatise on "Judging"...something that looks out of place on the surface, but has deep meaning: Matthew 7:6 6†“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. You see, Jesus said these words as somewhat of a fair warning.
The reason why We keep Our judging limited to the Family, is because, non-Christians cannot understand where You are coming from. They don't know or understand the teachings of Our Lord Jesus therefore when You come at them with phrases such as "don't steal", "don't cheat on Your wife", "turn the other cheek"...they will respond with incredulity at best and hostility at worst. You see we need to be able to judge so that we can discern who to cast the pearls towards. If You just go out by Your own judgement and are not led by the Holy Spirit to minister to a specific person...then be prepared to be trampled. Folks, i've seen it many times, Christians, in their own decision, spreading holy words towards unbelievers, only to get hurt physically and emotionaly by the response of the person they were trying to help.
...Going back to "Judge Not". This mis-interpretation is one of the great failures of most of the mega/mainstream pastors / priests (...dont want to forget Pope Francis) of today. No wonder the world is in grave condition. There's not many available to hold anyone accountable! ...again because We have all followed a wrong doctrine. You see, Jesus never said not to judge, He just wanted to make sure You were not in the same "mud" that the person You were trying to correct was in. He wanted to make sure You were not a Hippocrite. I think We all know how Jesus feels about
judging with hippocrisy.
Matther 7:4-5 - “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
But why do we need to judge You ask?...Because We "The Elect" of God are to be the "Example" for the rest of the world.
Look at this point clinching passage from the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 6.
1Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the †saints?
2Do you not know that †the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3Do you not know that we shall †judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4If then you have ajudgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 5I say this to your shame.
Hmmm...So We will judge the world and Angels?!?! No way! Yes way!
But theres more...Later in that same passage Paul then chastises the brothers in Corinth for not judging their Own members.
Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
...and of course the final nail...Jesus himself said that we are to use
righteous judgement!
John 7:24 - “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”...so there it is... we are to judge but only with "righteous judgement". But how do we get "righteous judgement" You ask? Thats why You must be "Born Again".