Judging Righteous Judgment
Making judgments is essential for the people of God. The Scriptures command us to be vigilant and diligent to guard our way. That means making judgments constantly as we must strive to stay on the narrow way and separate from the world and all things unclean.
Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The Elect of God otherwise known as the Body of Christ will in fact be the judges of all mankind and will usher in salvation to all men in the appointed times.
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
Lest we forget, judgment is the process by which all men are saved. There is no other way.
Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
The promise given to Abraham, a type of God’s Elect, is that we and our households would do justice and judgment.
Gen 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Gen 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (i.e. Salvation)
So knowing these truths combined with a God-given zeal for the House of the Lord, we should run towards these judgments knowing they hasten the formation of Christ in us. The day of the Lord for each of us is a wonderful day for the new man but a terrible day for the old man. Such is the conundrum that the carnal world and orthodox Christianity cannot see.
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
It is those of us who follow the Lord in the “regeneration”, the process of being born again by the Spirit of God, and washed in the water of the Word; that will sit on the throne of His glory judging Israel.
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
This statement of the Lord, of course, applies both inwardly and outwardly in an “is, was and will be” manner. Inwardly the Christ in us replaces the beast sitting on the Lord’s throne and brings salvation to the nations within us.
Psa 47:8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
Judging Israel applies to those in the Body right now who are sitting in down payment form judging the twelve tribes of Israel right now. We are the lake of fire to one another and it is by abiding with and in Christ, in the Word, that we are judged now.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
The Elect of God are in training for their future roles to be the saviors of all men which will be preceded by their reigning with Christ during the Millennium. Those given this role will have lost their carnal mindedness (been beheaded) now in this life in the clay.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The only way we learn to do anything including becoming the judges of the world is by experience. This is why we are given these trials and caused to fall down so we can learn true righteousness through this judgment process.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
We best be becoming of full age now, getting lots of experience judging and being judged as that is how we become the mature man (Heb 5:14) learning how to discern good and evil (Gen 3:22).
This is the upward call of God also called the prize by Paul (Php 3:14) that hopefully we have been given the zeal to run and finish the race so we may attain to the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Babylonian Ditches on Both Sides
There are Babylonian ditches on both sides of the narrow way. Most of us have been in both places and either not judging or making judgments after the flesh. The sleazy grace mentality that says the Lord did it all for us on the cross and all we need to do is say a ten second sinners prayer for salvation encourages lasciviousness and causes us to wrest away the judgment of God and stay worldly.
Exo 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
Generalizing Babylonian lies, there is another ditch on the other side of the way. This ditch is one I would define as legalistic, condemning, blaming others with a mindset that always denies the Lord and makes man responsible for his own salvation and accountable for his own behavior. Of course, that is a lie as the Lord truly is the Potter and we merely are the clay and everything we do is His work in us (Isa 64:8).
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The insidiousness of all these false doctrines and both generalized ditches is that there is always some truth connected. Yet the leaven or lies renders the doctrines spiritual poison and points to another “jesus”. It is indeed a very narrow road with error and ditches on both sides of the road. The people of God do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. And if we do so, we are commanded to be judging ALL THINGS.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
Yet the people of the Lord who are to judge all things, judge them spiritually. That is what righteous judgment is all about. It is based on the WORD and not the ways of this world.
Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
We judge all things but not according to the flesh and the ways of the world. When we are carnal we will judge after the flesh.
Joh 8:15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
This parable of Christ says He judges no one but then tells us how He judges. This tells those with ears to hear that Christ, us, His Body, are to only judge according to the Scriptures. We are not judged of any man because it is the WORD, the plumb line that is the measuring stick of judgment. This is “the way” by which Christ in us arises.
Amo 7:5 Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
Amo 7:6 The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.
Amo 7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
Amo 7:8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
Amo 7:9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
How we judge that determines whether or not we are on the narrow way. Our judgments must be according to the WORD.
1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
Judging Without Vs Within
Those without the Body of Christ we are not to be judging. The reason for this is those outside the faith do not have spiritual ears to hear the Word now. It is the Word that shall judge all men, but only in the last day of the carnal age for every man. That day is today for the very few but for the rest of mankind that will come in the Lake of Fire at the Second Resurrection. It is our speaking the Words of fire that brings judgment (Jer 5:14) but if someone cannot hear, they cannot now be judged.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
We are commanded not to keep company with spiritual fornicators and not even share a spiritual meal with them (1 Cor 5:9-11). The reasons are many fold. First, we can easily be corrupted by keeping bad spiritual company (1 Cor 15:33) and allowing even a little leaven into our spiritual house.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Secondly, we are working against the Lord in trying to impart Truths on one who has not been prepared to hear.
1Ti 5:22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.
Pro 20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
If the Lord has not opened one’s ears to hear we will know it quite readily. His sheep do hear His voice that we speak.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
We are not to judge those people; we are to turn them over to the Lord who will use His instruments including Satan to destroy their flesh in due time. We are to judge OURSELVES and those within THE BODY OF CHRIST ONLY.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
This is why we are told to put out those that bring heresy and openly live in sin. We should not need to speculate over the Lord’s sovereignty and hopefully will believe taking such a seemingly harsh act is actually the manifestation of what loving our neighbor actually entails. Let the Lord have vengeance, only He can destroy the flesh and humble His little ones to return to their first love.
This is very difficult, a narrow road indeed especially when involving our physical families and loved ones. It can seem so unloving to the natural man to not get engaged in the affairs of the world.
2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Ezr 6:21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
How do we obey the commands and take seriously our doctrines and purge out the leaven from our midst and stay on the narrow road? How do we be that ambassador for Christ yet be a watchman over the house of Israel? We are first and foremost to be examining ourselves and making sure we are walking in the faith and clinging to sound doctrine.
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.
1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
God’s chosen people, His Elect, will be making judgments and meditating on the Word of God constantly and making the necessary judgments to strive to stay on the narrow road and avoid the spiritual diseases that plague Babylonians.
Exo 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Deu 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments,and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
“Doing what is right in his sight” includes keeping leaven out of our spiritual house. The narrow way requires that we make many judgments and admonish one another. Unless we are willing to speak up, be honest with ourselves first and also be willing to go to brothers and sisters as faithful watchman we are not trusting fully in the Lord. We are here to watch over the flock of God and must learn to be obedient to those commands now. Otherwise, how can the Lord use us in the ages to come if we don’t move on to maturity now? Here is how the body is to operate and to heal itself as we are the sum of our parts in the Body of Christ.
Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
There is a reason we have Matthew 18 and Leviticus 13-14 and many other Scriptures.
Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
A witness from the Old Testament would include the processes of dealing with leprosy in Leviticus.
Lev 13:2 When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
Lev 13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
The Lord does not want us chopping off literal body parts, but in order to keep our walk clean and the entire Body of Christ pure, we are given commands that require us to put our trust in Him and the work He will do in the heart of His creation. We must be willing to chop off those unhealthy parts and cast them out less the entire body be impacted.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Preaching the Word to one another, the only ones with ears to hear and the focus of Christ’s ministry, brings rebuke and reproof to our sins and ungodly ways. This is a good thing!
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Not being faithful watchmen is a recipe for disaster and spiritual stagnation as Paul continues the instruction to Timothy. This is speaking of what will happen within the Body of Christ.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Thankfully the Lord is faithful to make His Elect watchmen who have a responsibility to oversee the flock and to warn, rebuke and discipline when we are led astray or living in error. If we fail to warn and fail to blow the trumpet we will bear stripes for such disobedience.
Eze 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
God’s Elect will be on this narrow road which will include blowing the trumpet, warning the people but how we do this is essential.
Jer 6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
We need to walk softly and carry a big stick! But that stick is the WORD and that is what does the work. We just need to bring these Truths to others and stand and let the Lord give the increase. There is no place in the kingdom of God for harshness. We must learn to be meek and gentle in Spirit but strong in the Words of fire that we speak. I have failed miserably in trying to do right by being harsh, seemingly mean and looking down upon others and being an accuser of my brethren who ultimately is all men.
Judging men by the spirit means to recognize that no man is responsible for the behavior, that the Lord is indeed working ALL THINGS for the counsel of His will. Very few are given the faith to believe this truth and thus judge like Christ judged.
Joh 8:15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh
We stop judging men after the flesh and do it by the spirit of Truth, when we properly apply the sovereignty of God and learn to not even think above what is written. If we are truly God’s people, we better be making judgments. The whole of Matthew seven tells us how to judge. We will reap what we sow and that applies to judgment as well.
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
When we judge in the flesh we will be judged in the flesh. It comes back to us.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
If we truly love the Lord, we will want the same measure of Truth to be meted out to us in judgment. There is no darkness that shall not be revealed and brought to the light (Luk 8:17). So with this mindset, it is a good thing when we are judged and we should be thankful for a brother or sister to point out leaven in our doctrine or sin in our walk.
The pride of man and the deceitfulness of sin that lies in our hearts is an easy snare and cause of stumbling until we learn to judge righteously. Before we go showing others the mote in their eyes, we had best learn to examine ourselves first and make sure we are not castaways (1 Co 9:27). We can’t help anyone spiritually if we ourselves have poor spiritual eyesight.
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye (by making spiritual judgments, trying spirits).
We must learn to let God judge those without. Before we judge within the Body we must first judge ourselves. If we cannot learn to judge and do it righteously in this age, we will have NO PART in being God’s judges during the Millennium Reign or at the Great White Throne Judgment. This is just how important it is that we learn to judge righteous judgment. We must know when to judge and how to judge using the Scriptures as our plumb line. The whole purpose of the Lord having an Elect is to make ready the remnant of His people through which all men shall enter into the city.
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Many times we are too hasty to judge things and do not wait on the Lord. Another criterion of judging is to wait on the Lord to work His work in others and give the trees time to bear fruit.
1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
We will always know things by the fruit on the trees (Mat 7:16-20).
Loving our brothers includes pulling specks out of their eyes, judging all things, and judging righteous judgment. The doctrine that says judge nobody or nothing is not love. It is actually the spirit of a harlot church aka Spiritual Babylon that has NO JUDGMENT in it.
Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers (hating the doctrines of Christ).
But the Lord is faithful even when we are not. A day will come when He will restore judgment to the House of Israel. Today is that day of salvation for the Elect of God.
Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
The judgment of God by HIS WORD is what sanctifies us. It is how we are redeemed, it is what causes the death of the old man by the sword and fire of God.
Isa 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
Loving you neighbor as yourself is our commandment. The mercy of the Lord is living thru the trials that bring forth salvation in due time. Mercy will rejoice and triumph over judgment and we must trust in those promises and become obedient to the perfect law of liberty.
Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Bringing this judgment by the words we speak is how the mercy of the Lord is made manifest in our lives and how we give spiritual food, clothing and housing to our brethren who need it to sustain themselves. These are the greater works that bring salvation. Our faith without doing the works of judgment within the house of God are dead.
Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
All of us who have come through the door of “The Christ” are a shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Those who will be abiding in everlasting burnings will be God’s Elect who abide in the fire of the Word judging righteous judgment.
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
This calling comes with a duty to be the watchman on the wall and admonish and edify one another through the speaking of the Word and sharing of communion. We must not neglect or take lightly such a high calling. We need one another to be saved. It is the only way we will learn to judge and be judged now. Hence we are reminded of the importance of being connected.
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching
Comments and sincere questions are welcome. You can also email me at peterjwilson56@gmail.com