CHAPTER 14 TO JUDGE OR NOT TO JUDGE Suppose that you wanted to totally incapacitate or kill a strong, healthy young girl.  Now suppose that you had access to a strain of cancer that could accomplish your purpose.  Obviously you would need a carefully thought out plan.  First you would have to come up with a way to make contact with your victim.  Perhaps you could disguise yourself as a doctor.  You could then tell her that you had a new diet that would cause her to grow faster, become stronger, and also feel better than she had ever felt before.  Perhaps you could mix the deadly strain of cancer with a powerful steroid and heroin or cocaine.  This would give her strength, a feeling of euphoria and a sense of mental sharpness.  You could put the deadly mixture in a milk shake to make it pleasantly palatable for her.  She would learn to trust you as a friend and to enjoy your little visits because of the good feelings and the sense of mental alertness and strength that she experienced. But even with the best laid plans there can be hindrances that would keep you from achieving your goal.   Suppose she had caring relatives who loved her very much and could see that she was deteriorating and suspect there was something wrong with her.  What if her older brother from college came home and saw her condition?  He might see that her new diet made her alternately euphoric and then irritable and paranoid.  He might notice that her “growth” was not a natural or a healthy growth but was unusual and unnatural.  Her friends also would likely notice that something was wrong.  After investigation they might suppose that there was something terribly wrong with the diet of this young girl.  At this point it would look like your little scheme was about to be exposed for what it was.  But because you were smart you would have a properly well-thought-out response to their concerns and conclusions.   As criticism and suspicions would mount towards your methods and the diet that you had prescribed for her it would be necessary to come up with a believable response to this criticism.  The answer is both simple and very obvious:  you could tell her very calmly, firmly and lovingly that these overly suspicious intruders had no need or right to judge her.  After all, she is old enough to know the truth from a lie.  What is more important, the others have no right to judge with whom she associates nor to question the methods that her highly respected doctor is using to make her feel better and become stronger.  After all, you tell her, that she does not judge them does she?  Of course not.  No one should judge anyone.  It is not right.  After all, EVEN THE BIBLE SAYS: JUDGE NOT!  You tell her to consider the results that she has experienced.  See the growth!  Notice how good she feels!  See the increased strength that she has!  ANYWAY, they have NO RIGHT TO JUDGE A SISTER!   No Right to Judge Judge Not Judge not lest YOU BE JUDGED! Don’t touch the anointed of the Lord! Don’t criticize You have a CRITICAL SPIRIT These phrases have become the litany of the cancer riddled steroid pumped pleasure drugged dying (but growing) Saul Church.  This DON’T JUDGE doctrine has prevented the real doctor with the scalpel/sword to come and cut away the cancerous growth and take away the steroids, the heroin and the cocaine.  Very likely, in the Halls of Hell there is a demon strutting around with a giant metal hanging around his neck because of his discovery of the Ultimate Doctrine of Demons.  This doctrine however is not really new.  It is a rerun of the old Roman Catholic doctrine.  It is a new application of an old doctrine that is still in use.  This doctrine says that we must not judge the Holy Father the Pope, and certainly we are not to judge Mother Church and her teach- ings.  Particularly we are not to judge teachings on Mary, on salvation by faith plus works and sanctification by doing penance and many other doctrines that come from traditions of men that the Catholic Church values as equal to Scripture.   The Reformation dealt a severe blow regarding the placing of men and doctrines above judgment.  Every revival since then has reinforced this great truth.  The First Great Awakening reminded the dying Church of England that “you must be born-again.”  The beginnings of the Second Great Awakening reminded the Church, among other things that she could not be complete without the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Pentecostal Revival of the early 20th century reminded the weakened Church that the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit were for today and for the people of today.  Every revival reclaims Scriptures that had been rationalized away by complacent and scripturally blind leaders. Unfortunately in America in the 21st century, we have seen most revival fires die down to virtually nothing.  And even the old dead doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church has risen up out of the mire and mist to weaken and blind God’s people in their fight against the enemy.  We now consider the Roman Catholics to be our brothers in the battle.  Like the Roman Catholics we too now have our extra Scriptural “scientific authority” Also in this New Age of Popes, we have thousands of protestant popes, all who cannot be judged because they are the Lord’s anointed.  Evangelical popes, Charismatic popes.  All are supposed to  be the anointed of the Lord and all are not to be touched by criticism.  What is even worse, since Martin Luther re-established the biblical truth that we who believe in Christ are ALL anointed by God and we can now apply this doctrine (judge not) to ALL Christians.  Everyone who goes by the title of Christian, according to this New Age doctrine, is not to be judged by a brother or a sister.   It is Not IF We Judge but HOW and WHO and WHAT We Judge! In this New Age of deception Matt 7:1 is one of the most misapplied Scriptures in the Bible.  This Scripture is usually only partially quoted as, “judge not”, and even when it is quoted in it’s entirety it is misunderstood both as to intent and context.  The context of this verse is that it is the first verse of the third chapter of the Sermon on the Mount.  It is preceded by chapters five and six.  Matt. 7:1 is the first sentence of an entire chapter devot- ed to telling God’s people How, Who and What they should judge.  The whole chapter is an exhortation on judging or evaluating.  The chapter especially relates to judging people and doctrines which are supposed to be Christian.  The first section, Matt. 7:1-5, tells us that we need to judge with the right attitude.  As we read in these four verses, “Do not judge lest you be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first Take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  We must not be critical merely to put someone down or make ourselves look better by comparison.  The “log” that is in the eye of the one who judges may well be the JUDGMENTAL ATTITUDE we see in many people or even a desire to condemn people.  It may also be any sin that causes us to defensively attack another because we feel so guilty about our own sin or merely because we do not like the person.  It is the attitude that takes pleasure in exposing someone as a sinner; it is NOT the attitude that wants to see a fallen brother truly repent or a deceived brother return to the truth; it is only interested in “getting” the other guy.  The Lord warns us that if we treat others in that manner, then HE HIMSELF will see to it that we are dealt with in the same way.  This Scripture tells us that if we are overly concerned about other people’s sins, and are quick to point out their faults, and speak without mercy we are in danger.  We can expect to be dealt with in the same manner BY THE LORD.  We must understand that if we are concerned about God’s holines and also concerned about a brother trapped in sin, we must function with mercy.  If we correctly show mercy to others, then God will show us mercy.  One reason many leaders in our churches do not want to deal with other people’s sins is because they do not want their OWN sins to be dealt with.  We must understand that when we go about cleaning up the Body of Christ, we too will be cleaned up and exposed by God.  This is NOT a grievous thing to a man who TRULY desires God’s holi- ness in his own life and who wants God’s will more than his own will.  This man KNOWS that God is fully aware of his sins and, if God chooses to expose his sins to others, he is not too concerned because he longs to be holy at any cost.  But the admonition by the Lord in chapter 7 of Matthew is to judge as WE would like to be judged – with wisdom, love and mercy, but WHERE NECESSARY, with severity and even public exposure. Matt 7:6 is not merely a random interjection into the teaching: this Scripture has to do with judging to whom we minister.  “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” The words of God are precious and holy and at times must be protected.  We must realize that some men are dogs and some men are swine.  When we come to recognize that if the people to whom we are ministering these pure, precious, holy words of God are dogs or swine, we typically are not to minister this truth to them.   It is not just that you may well be attacked by these people, it has to do with what these people do to the Word of God.  When they treat His Word with disdain or insult and turn these holy words into something ugly, you MUST, in most cases, cease your ministry to them. There are times however, when you are to minister as a prophet and regardless of how they respond, you must deliver a word of judgment or warning to them.  Often these words will harden their hearts and they may turn on you but there are times when God directs us to minister in this way.  Isaiah 6:9-10, which is referred to and quoted in four sections of the New Testament, is a good example of this usage.  “”And (the Lord) said, “go and tell this people, “keep on listening but do not perceive; Keep on looking but do not understand.”  “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Lest they see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”” Another major section in this chapter on judging (Matt 7) deals with WHAT to judge.  It deals with judging doctrine (Matt. 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”).  For two previous chapters, Jesus has been teaching us some of the greatest foundational doctrine in the Bible.  He has been telling us what HIS WAY is.  Now He tells us that we need to be very careful.  He says that the entrance point into His kingdom is the Narrow Gate.  He says that even the way that we live is NARROW.  He warns us that the Road to Destruction is BROAD and many walk this way.    Chapters five and six of Matthew have been a description of the narrow gate and narrow road.  He tells us here that WE NEED TO JUDGE WHAT WE HEAR.  Is it the Narrow Way or the Broad Way that is being taught?  He says that we must judge what we hear and only receive doctrine that opens the narrow gate, and leads us on the narrow way.  Jesus tells us here to JUDGE AS IF OUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT because it does!  The WAY we choose to walk will determine WHERE we end up. Next Jesus tells us to BEWARE (Matt. 7:15-23, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  So then, you will know them by their fruits.  Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”   Beware means to watch out for.  It implies that we must be more than careful.  Beware means there is danger to avoid.  He tells us to BEWARE of false prophets.  In this section, He tells us WHO to judge.  He warns us against prophets and teachers that will lead us to or teach us the BROAD way which leads to destruction.  We must BEWARE of those who speak for God that don’t warn us about danger, or prophets that almost ALWAYS have a positive nice word that tickles the flesh but does not minister to our spirit.  If they do not teach or prophesy like Jesus, they may well be false ministers.  A helpful spiritual exercise would be to get a red letter edition of the Bible and JUST READ THE WORDS OF JESUS.  In the midst of the words of hope and love you will see many warnings and judgments.   We MUST judge these men regarding what they speak and how they act.  Jesus warns us NOT to judge by outward appearance.  These men are disguised to look like sheep.  When their heart is exposed, however, it IS the heart of a hungry, blood-thirsty, murderous wolf.  He tells us to JUDGE these men on the basis of their fruit.  Are they gentle, loving, selfless, holy, giving men of God who are concerned with the needs of the flock?   Or are they merely smiling, selfish, impure TAKERS who cater to the desires of the unsuspecting sheep so they can have a large flock and be looked upon as successful?  Jesus tells us we MUST judge ministers of the gospel.  Again, we judge because our spiritual lives depend on it!  We must judge the fruit of their lips and the fruit of their lives.  Do they stress the material and the psychological or do they stress the spiritual?  Do they encourage people to love themselves and seek comfort or do they encourage people to love Jesus enough to obey Him.   In the next section, Jesus warns not to judge apparent ministry abilities or success as any indication of relationship with Him.  Matt 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  “”Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?”  “”And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you: depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.””   Just because a man apparently or even actually prophesies, casts out demons, works miracles and does it all using the name of the Lord, it does not mean that these gifts are an indication that he is the Lord’s.  Once again, we see the word LAWLESSNESS to describe the false prophets and teachers and miracles workers.   They do not have a love for the law; they do not care enough about Jesus to obey Him.  They are JUDGED by Jesus to be phonies and are told to DEPART from Him.  We too must not judge a man by his ministry success, but judge him by his fruit of loving obedience to our Lord and his teaching about the narrow gate and the narrow way. The last section of this chapter once again refers not only to ministers but to all who would apparently follow Jesus.  Here the Lord gives us the example of the two foundations.  Matt. 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”  In these Scriptures we can and should judge ourselves on the basis of our actions.  II Cor. 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves to see whether ye be in the faith—test yourselves.”  The Lord tells us to judge ourselves by our response to His Word.  True believers will believe Him ENOUGH TO OBEY HIM and REPENT a lot!  Phonies DO NOT understand that real faith ALWAYS ultimately has the fruit of obedience to Him.  Jesus tells us to JUDGE ourselves and to see if we are hearers only or DOERS of his Word. DON’T TOUCH THE ANOINTED OF GOD I spoke earlier about how Jesus JUDGED the Pharisees, even though they represented the spiritual leadership of the Jews.  He judged them, PUBLICALLY and ANGRILY, as being HYPOCRITES.  Paul judges Peter, PUBLICALLY, as being a phony around Jewish Christians.  This account is presented in Gal. 2:11, 14, “But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned…But when I saw that they were not straight-forward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all “If you being a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?””  Also in the Old Testament, we see prophets judging both kings and the people of God whenever they were told by the Lord to do so. PROPHETS ARE LOST The enemy has enjoyed a major victory for hundreds of years.  Even as he continues to fool billions into believing that he does not exist, he also deceives hundreds of millions into believing that prophets no longer exist.  The Evangelicals and Fundamentalists still do not believe that, in our day, a man can hear from God and bring a warning or word by inspiration, dream, or vision to God’s people.  They continue to be deceived into believing that this type of ministry (the supernatural gifts and ministries as described in Acts, 1 Corinthians, Book of Revelation, etc.) ceased once the Bible was completed.  This, of course, is deception and even the HARD NOSED Fundamentalists, if they keep loving Jesus Christ for Himself alone, and live long enough, will see how much they were fooled. The Charismatics and Pentecostals, on the other hand, totally accept the ministry of the prophet.  But their idea of a prophet is a man who tells us essentially GOOD things.  Today many Charismatics and Pentecostals will not believe or accept men who have the anointing of a prophet like John the Baptist or John the Revelator.   John the Baptist railed against the religious hypocrites  and John the Revelator foretold the severe dealings of God with His people in the second and third chapters of the Revelation.  He warned five of the seven churches in this section to repent or suffer terrible consequences.       Charismatics and Pentecostals have come to believe that all prophetic messages are encouraging and edifying in a positive sense.  Most quote from I Cor 14:3.  Most quote either from the New International Version which says, “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” or the New Living Translation which says, “But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.”  They believe and teach that all prophetic messages should be positive.  I have personal- ly experienced pastors who rejected the message that I delivered because it was a warning and not a positive word of encouragement.  They quoted this Scripture to me in defense of their actions.  This doctrine is WIDE- SPREAD in the Charismatic Movement.  They do not accept the N.A.S.B. translation which says, “But who prophesies speaks to men for edification and EXHORTATION and consolation.”  Even the King James Version says, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification and EXHORTATION and comfort.”  The Apostle John is an excellent example of one who prophesies in exhortation form.  Please note John’s exhortations to the seven Churches in the Book of Revelation.  Five of these exhortations judge the five Churches to be in great danger and calls for them to repent.   Many churches and ministers reject any prophet or prophecy that would JUDGE their people, their churches and their denominations as needing to repent.  They believe that they do not need any judgment.  In the Scriptures we see prophets of God judging what is right and wrong, whether it be actions or beliefs.  These prophets give examples from their own time and interpret these beliefs and actions regarding the people to whom they prophesy.  Many Charismatic leaders however, do not even believe that other men or ministries have the scriptural right to judge or criticize their activities or doctrines.  But God WILL send forth His prophets and they will correctly interpret the Scriptures and show the Church how the Scriptures have been misused.   These same prophets will call for repentance and warn God’s people about coming judgment for His Church.   Remember, JUDGMENT BEGINS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD! 1 Peter 4:17. In our time, a time when the Greatest Deception of all times is being perpetrated upon the world and the Church, a time when if it were possible EVEN THE ELECT would be deceived—the enemy has managed to slip into the visible Church of Jesus Christ a doctrine of demons which says that judging of false doctrine and false teachers will not be tolerated “in the spirit of unity.”  Just at a time when the Greatest Deception of all times is twisting and shaping doctrines to fit the image of the desires of our flesh, and the image of the desires of the enemy, the attitude of “don’t worry about doctrine”, or “don’t judge the other man’s doctrine—just love him for the sake of unity” appears on the Christian scene. We NEED TO JUDGE AND BE JUDGED now, more than ever before.  Judgment must cover everything that is happening in the Church.  Years ago at a meeting of ministers, the Lord spoke to me about the need for Christians to judge righteous judgment.  He showed me a fountain gushing out of the earth and a stream that came forth from that fountain.  From a distance the fountain looked relatively clear.  However, when I got closer to it, I could see debris in the fountain.  The fountain contained clods of dirt, tin cans, refuse, and garbage – but the debris did not make the water undrinkable, you just had to be careful.  Then I saw the fountain split and there were two fountains.  One of the fountains was becoming clearer; there was less and less debris and refuse as it continued streaming forth.  The other fountain got more and more filthy until eventually all that came out of it was a horrible smelling, sludge-like material.  Eventually the smelly, sludge-like material just stopped and that fountain ran dry.  The stream that was getting progressively clearer became perfectly clear and this stream flooded over everything and even the fountain of filth was swept away. Then the pure stream became an ocean and covered the whole earth.   I asked the Lord the meaning of the vision and He said that the single undivided fountain and the stream that came from it was the move of the Holy Spirit on the earth as it existed at the time of the vision.  He said that the stream would split into two streams, because He was going to bring division.  He said that there would then be two “apparent” moves of His Holy Spirit upon the earth.  One stream, the stream that becomes progressively more pure, would be made up of people who HONESTLY look at the stream of the Holy Spirit in their own lives and in the life of His Church.  He said that those who see the impurities/sins, acknowledge the impurities/sins, confess the impurities/sins and repent of the impurities/sins will be a part of the move of His Spirit and will become progressively more like Jesus.  The stream that gets dirtier, until it is completely filthy, is made up of people who will NOT see the impurities in their own lives or in the life of the Church.  These people will stubbornly choose NOT to let God’s Word and God’s men JUDGE their hearts and doctrine.  They will take the position that they do not need cleansing and that it is not necessary to JUDGE the CHURCH with regards to matters of doctrine or the practices of its leaders and sheep.  These people are SATISFIED to remain in their current condition and are confident that God will put this unacknowledged and unrepented sin and carnal ministry “under the Blood.”  They feel sure that His love will cover their multitude of sins.  These unrepentant, presumptuous people will become progressively more impure until they are totally filthy and the movement that they are involved with will also become totally defiled and useless to God. The Lord said that soon He will raise up men who will expose the filthiness in the Church, both doctrinally and personally.  He said that it is NECESSARY that we listen to these men.  Those who speak against and mock or IGNORE them are in danger of being part of the FILTHINESSS described above.  But all who fall on their faces before God repent of their terrible carnality, and cry out against the abominations that are being committed in His Holy Temple will be spared the filth and the judgment that follows.  In our day it will be as prophesied by Ezekiel in chapter 9, “”And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sign and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” It is absolutely necessary that we JUDGE what God’s truth is and what is not true concerning the doctrines taught by each minister and ministry.  God has made it clear through His Word and His prophets that we must be discerning people, careful to hear and quick to change.

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