Judging

[Liudmilla]

Judging: Romans 14:9-18, especially vs. 13:
"Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." If we have prayed, "Blessed art Thou, O Holy One; enlighten me with Thy precepts," now God gives us an opportunity to consider some implications of that prayer.
Consider first that the Lord has given us the precept: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;' and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?" (Mt.7:1-3). Then consider today's reading in which the Apostle Paul shows us several dimensions of the injunction: the authority for it, the dread danger in judging, the dire implications of contributing to anyone's condemnation, and some blessed alternatives to the evil habit and practice of judging.
God intends that judgment should rest entirely with Him and specifically with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ - Who "shall come again to judge the living and the dead." St. Paul begins to teach about judging by reflecting on the Lord Jesus' Passion and Resurrection. Notice well: to assert Christ's full Lordship over all men through all time, the Apostle parallels the Lord’s dying and living again, for he refers to the judgment of the "dead and the living," rather than to the more common order, the judgment of "the living and the dead."
Behind the Apostle's assertion of Christ's Lordship over all lies the deeper implication that judgment is not our business. This explains what might appear to be an abrupt shift of topics between verses 9 and 10. Rather, in verse 10 the Apostle draws a direct inference from his thought in verse 9. Do you see? He makes the connection quite explicit in the second half of vs. 10, "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
In the next two verses, the Apostle further reinforces the clear warning to keep our hands off that which is solely the Lord's prerogative (vss.11, 12). For Christians, authority to judge is vested in the Lord alone. How dare we judge or show contempt for anyone! Consider what the Lord will say at the great Day of Judgment if we have usurped His rights! Let us take care!
St. Paul reveals several ways in which we can fall into the trap of judgment aside from directly expressing our opinion about others. Already he has shown us that contempt is a form of judging. Contempt or disdain is "looking down on the other," and, we ask, "From what height?" From the superiority of Pharisaism (Lk. 18:10-14), from our own sinfulness (Rom. 3:23)!
The failure to respect the spiritual convictions of a brother or sister in Christ is the worst sin of all. If a fellow Christian believes that a certain behavior is sinful and scrupulously avoids it, and if we belittle his conviction either by word or by action, then we have judged him (vs. 15). Recall St. John Chrysostom's words: "it is not of our own sins only that we shall have to give an account, but for those also wherein we cause others to offend."
Finally, the Apostle Paul encourages us positively in "righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"(vs.17). These we can cultivate as godly alternatives to judging. If we struggle to manifest these virtues in our hearts and actions, we shall more quickly lose all taste for judging, disdaining, and belittling others in their struggles to live the Faith well. Let us heed closely the admonition of Philo of Alexandria: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."
Have mercy, O Lord on all the Faithful, and grant them mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation, and pardon and remission of sins, that they may evermore praise Thee.

[Jakub]

" The failure to respect the spiritual convictions of a brother or sister in Christ is the worst sin of all. If a fellow Christian believes that a certain behavior is sinful and scrupilously avoids it, and if we belittle his conviction by word or action, then we have judged him".

Thank you Liudmilla, I was searching for this.

The Peace of our Lord be on you.

james

[Liudmilla]

Glad I was able to provide this quote.....I find this particular article quite edifying and one that I try (don't always succeed ) to keep in mind during daily life.

I have always found that if you behave in a manner that you would have others treat you, they will.... the above just reaffirms this.

[Jakub]

We have more in common then not, I don't dwell on the less. I try to respond to people from my heart and not the mind.

The evil one and his compadres would have it the other way.

james

[Justin Kissel]

I remember when I was a fundementalist... we believed in "righteous judging". We thought judging was good, and we did it often. We thought our exegesis of the seemingly non-judging passages was full-proof and sound. We thought we were helping people become aware of their sins. I still get this way sometimes, unfortunately. Thank you for helping to soften my heart, Liudmilla.

[Liudmilla]

Something more on Judging....

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:5-8
Gospel: St. Matthew 13:44-54

Shun Judging: 1 Corinthians 4:5-8, especially vss. 6,7:
"May you learn from us...so that none of you will grow self-important....Who confers any distinction on you? Name something you have that you have not received. If, then, you have received it, why are you boasting as if it were your own?" [NAB]. Within us our sins have ways of intertwining with one another. Two sins that are enormously difficult to defeat are judging and conceit! St. John of the Ladder discloses his own struggles with the "unholy perversion" of conceit: "I am vainglorious when I fast; and when I relax the fast in order to be unnoticed, I am again vainglorious over my prudence. When well-dressed I am quite overcome by vainglory, and when I put on poor clothes I am vainglorious again. When I talk I am defeated, and when I am silent I am again defeated by it. However I throw this prickly pear, a spike stands upright." The Apostle Paul, who himself took delight in the law of God according to his "inward man," admitted frankly, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me (2 Cor.12:7).
Fully understanding the inner relationships among judging, conceit, and contentiousness, St. Paul addressed all these sins in one short passage when he was alerted "by those of Chloe's household, that there [were] contentions..."within the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 1:11). He realized how spiritually immature his new disciples in Corinth were. If any one would defeat these pernicious enemies and grow in Christ, he must have a clear understanding of the underlying causes in himself, a great personal determination, and an abundance of grace from God to stop judging others. To do so, the Apostolic model of cooperation must be followed diligently: God must be acknowledged as the Source of all gifts, abilities, and capacities, thus ending all conceit.
Initially, St. Paul addressed judgmentalism directly in the community: "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes" (vs. 5). This admonition, like the Lord Jesus' caution in the Gospels (Mt. 7:1), must be read "in context." Of course Christians must make judgments about plain, obvious sins. The world is rife with proposals, advertisements, entertainments, activities, and practices, which are patently contrary to the teaching and will of God. None of the Apostolic "lists of sins" in the New Testament can be disregarded as "antiquated" or "problems of the first century," allowing us to withhold judgment. Sins affront God (e.g., Rom. 1:29-31).
What the Lord and St. Paul mean by not judging has to do with impugning the words, styles, motives, intentions, efforts, and teachings of other Christians which are different from one's own. One must not judge in the sense of asserting that what others do, think, or say necessarily has its source in "the hidden things of darkness," or comes from wicked "counsel of the hearts" (vs.5). To allege that differences not plainly at variance with the Church's teachings, come from demonic or heretical sources, or from wicked motives, constitutes the sin of judging.
Earlier in the Epistle, St. Paul offered himself and Apollos as models of what it means to work together despite differences (vss. 3:5-8). He refers back to those comments (vs. 6), inviting all to transfer to themselves the Apostles' way of cooperating despite different styles. He urges us to be alert in order to stop such ‘games' as ‘We are best' and ‘their approach is wrong.'
Finally, the Apostle urges all to shun every inner tendency toward self-importance and conceit by immediately acknowledging that every capacity, skill, insight, or method that one has or develops is a gift from God (vs. 7). It is the Lord, the Holy Spirit, Who equips the Saints for ministry (Eph. 4:12). Without Him, all are empty and impoverished (2 Cor. 4:7)!
Grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed, O God.

[Seraphim Reeves]

I remember when I was a fundementalist... we believed in "righteous judging". We thought judging was good, and we did it often. We thought our exegesis of the seemingly non-judging passages was full-proof and sound. We thought we were helping people become aware of their sins. I still get this way sometimes, unfortunately. Thank you for helping to soften my heart, Liudmilla.

That idea of "righteous judging" reminds me of the stuff Bob Enyart talks about. I used to semi-frequently listen to his radio program. Is there a formal name for this school of thought (since there seemed to be other peculiarities about his doctrine; in particular the idea of God being passionate.)

Seraphim