Tags
caring church, Divine Truths, feel-good messages, hypocrital judgment, impure doctrine, institutional church, judging others, many paths to Heaven, mutual accountability, OUCH, pure doctrine, stepping on toes
Modern-day Christians’ profession of faith: You walk your way, and I’ll walk mine. In essence, these individuals’ fundamental belief is that OTHER BELIEVERS do not have the right to JUDGE them (do not have any right to step on their toes), and they use Jesus’ “judge not, that ye be not judged” words (Matthew 7:1) to support their erroneous belief, for they don’t realize that Jesus ONLY is condemning hypocritical judgment.
A hypocritical judgment is judging someone for doing or saying something that you are also guilty of doing or saying. An example would be: TELLING ME NOT TO JUDGE YOU WHILE YOU ARE JUDGING ME FOR JUDGING YOU!
Once again, the harsh TRUTH is this: Jesus is NOT condemning all judging, just the Pharisees’ hypocritical judgment. This is why the Lord warns the Pharisees about the need to get rid of the big plank of SIN that is in their own eye FIRST, adding that, after they remove that which is hindering their own spiritual vision and judgment, they then can clearly see how to JUDGE correctly the small splinter of SIN that is in someone else’s eye.
Furthermore, in Matthew 7, from which the “You walk your way, and I’ll walk mine” believers quote Jesus’ “judge not, that ye be not judged” words, the Lord specifically commands His disciples to judge, saying: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (v. 6). Now, Jesus’ statement begs these four questions: 1. Who are the “dogs?” 2. Who are the “swine?” 3. What is it that is “holy” or “sacred?” And 4. What are the “pearls?” In case someone hasn’t noticed, “dogs,” “swine,” “holy,” and “pearls” are clearly judgmental words!
Thus, if the Lord is telling us that we are NEVER supposed to judge, then why is He telling His disciples to judge that which is “holy” and those teachings that are “pearls”? Also, why is the Lord telling His disciples to judge who is worthy to receive from them that which is “holy” and those teachings that are “pearls”?
Even though the Word of God NEVER says, “under NO circumstances should believers ever judge others,” the sad truth is that the “You walk your way, and I’ll walk mine” believers, in addition to being in error about what Jesus means by His “judge not, that ye be not judged” words, still continue to think that they are right about believing that no one has any right to “step on their toes” (to judge them and hold them accountable for their SINS). They think this way mainly because they live in a time when there are so many believers who are thirsting for feel-good messages that JUST satisfy their “itching ears” while protecting their “sensitive toes.” Then too, it doesn’t help when there are so many false teachings and preachings on the many paths to Heaven, and when there is the lack of teaching and preaching about SIN, which has been replaced with the teaching and preaching about “mistakes,” and the like. For sure, the many paths to Heaven false doctrine and the emphasis on “mistakes” instead of sins have perpetuated contemporary believers’ thirst for feel-good messages.
Concerning preaching and teaching pure doctrine and divine truths, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy that which also is applicable to contemporary men and women of God who, instead of preaching and teaching feel-good messages and the many paths to Heaven false doctrine, are supposed to:
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. ~ 2 Timothy 4:2-5
The bottom line is that there will never be any true mutual accountability in any caring church community if no one in any caring church community has the right to judge someone else! Yet, this lack of mutual accountability in a caring church community is exactly what is missing in today’s “institutional church.” As a result, there will be more and more believers who only want to hear feel-good messages about it being okay to make “mistakes” and about the many paths to Heaven. They do not want to hear sound doctrine, because they cannot handle their spiritual “church” leaders or their spiritual family members and friends holding them accountable for their own sins, while correcting them in love.
Unfortunately, the Word of God says that these preachers and teachers of false doctrines and feel-good messages, and the people who prefer this kind of preaching and teaching ONLY have a form of godliness, for they deny the genuine power of God. The Word of God also says that they are people who are “always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7). As a result, both God and mankind will reject them, and this is a fate far worse than having their toes stepped on when they sinned!
How much better it is for people to say OUCH now than to be weeping and gnashing their teeth, later! As a final note, the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” phrase means that some of these rejected individuals are those whom God vomits into the Tribulation Period and then Jesus the Christ casts into outer darkness, because they have not accepted Jesus the Christ as Savior, or some of these rejected individuals are those whom the Body of Christ has separated itself from, because they are not doctrinally pure and/or because they habitually practice unrepentant sinful behaviors. Indeed, because these rejected individuals do not repent (change the way they think that is ungodly), their “weeping and gnashing of teeth” experience will be either a weeping of remorse or sorrow OR a weeping of anger and resentment!
