Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

[Rober H]

Every Christian has the obligation to be a "Berean" and search the scriptures to judge the teachings of men to see if the bible agrees with what they are preaching.

Acts 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

If the teaching does not line up with biblical doctrine then we need to expose the doctrine as false and name the person spreading the false teaching and separate ourselves from them.

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Titus 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Paul named the names of those who preached false doctrines.

2 Timothy 2:16-18 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

[jamie]

The very answer you gave shows that we as individuals have to know our Bible so as not to be deceived.

The thing about that is.. if a preacher is preaching certain parts of the bible yet omitting others, the message becomes lopsided. Most christians, like at my old church, will say..."well he preaches from the bible", never even realizing that 'omission' is where the problem is.

Omission is nothing more than an 'itching ears' doctrine yet it can be biblical in the sense that it is only a (part) of Gods word. Harder to detect than outright heresy, yet just as dangerous.

[GodisTruth]

It depends on how you judge. The Bible says that a person will be given as much mercy as he gives others. I take that to mean that as much as you are forgiving to others then God will be forgiving to you.

Here is a parable that illustrates this from Matthew chapter 18:

Mat 18:23 Therefore the kingdom of Heaven has been compared to a certain king who desired to make an accounting with his servants.

Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to count, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

Mat 18:25 But as he had nothing to pay, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children, and all that he had, be sold, and payment be made.

Mat 18:26 Then the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you all.

Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.

Mat 18:29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay you all.

Mat 18:30 And he would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt.

Mat 18:31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry. And they came and told their lord all that was done.

Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, O wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Mat 18:33 Should you not also have pitied your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?

Mat 18:34 And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.

Mat 18:35 So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also to you, unless each one of you from your hearts forgive his brother their trespasses.

[thechild]

It depends on how you judge. The Bible says that a person will be given as much mercy as he gives others. I take that to mean that as much as you are forgiving to others then God will be forgiving to you.

Here is a parable that illustrates this from Matthew chapter 18:

Mat 18:23 Therefore the kingdom of Heaven has been compared to a certain king who desired to make an accounting with his servants.

Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to count, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

Mat 18:25 But as he had nothing to pay, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children, and all that he had, be sold, and payment be made.

Mat 18:26 Then the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you all.

Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.

Mat 18:29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me and I will pay you all.

Mat 18:30 And he would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay the debt.

Mat 18:31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry. And they came and told their lord all that was done.

Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, O wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Mat 18:33 Should you not also have pitied your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?

Mat 18:34 And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him.

Mat 18:35 So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also to you, unless each one of you from your hearts forgive his brother their trespasses.

a good point and a good thing to keep in mind.

[Guest truthful1]

[[

In Isaiah 11:1-4 (These verses are talking about Jesus, but I want to focus on verse 3 latter part of that verse and into the 4th verse the very first part). It says that [He will not judge by the sight of His eyes neither shall He decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor. We as Christians will hear something about someone or see them doing something and right away we judge. Only the Lord knows the heart of a person. We can judge the spirit, but not the person. It is the Holy Spirit's job to bring conviction upon those that are not walking Christ-like. If we will allow God to love people through us, I believe many will turn from their sins and turn to Christ because of the unconditional, accepting love that they feel being poured out upon them. Jesus only did what He saw the Father do and said only what He heard the Father tell Him that is how He judged (John 5:19 & 5:30). If we will receive our judgement from the heart of Father God many will humbly admit their error and be saved.

[irishcowboy]

this is saying that we are not to judge people, but allow the Spirit of God to do the judging. The Word of God has already convicted us, and we have the option to be cleansed of this guilt ( optional, our choice ).

by what means you judge, you will also be judged... this does not say do not judge, but judge properly, ensure you are doing it out of love, and concern for our fellow Christian, not out of self righteousness.

we have to also remember, that if we can not judge the small things here on this earth, how are we going to be able to judge angels????

there are people that will judge some one, and then if the person does not agree with them totally they will turn and say, may God have mercy on your soul as they also say I shake the dust from my feet, even though the person they are saying this to, may or may not understand what they are saying, or what they are getting at, and then they will trapes off in their self righteous mode and do the same exact thing they were talking about.

(example: a man talking to another man about his bondage to coffee (if indeed it was a bondage) and then tell him if he does not give it up, that he will turn and shake the dust from his feet and the person drinking his coffee will continue to be bound, and then the person that is speaking has his wife arrive, and they start belittling each other.... she departs and he tells this other person ( neither one known by this man drinking coffee ) that his wife is unsaved and does not know what she is taking about and and and.... this man drinking the coffee was more embarrassed about the man down talking his wife and a bit on the angry side for this man trying to beat him up about his coffee....)

this was not the proper way to talk to a person about something of a nature that might be a problem.

first off, the man with the coffee had not been convicted by the Holy Spirit

second, drinking coffee is not causing this man to sin.

next, the man with the wife problem should, ensure his house hold is in order.

next, tthe husband and wife should not be cutting each other down, not in private, and especially in public.

if the man with the coffee, did indeed have a problem with his coffee, the witness/conviction/ condemnation/teaching was lost do to the witness of the man with the wife. and the on/off switch was turned to the off position.

the above is a true event witnessed by myself and it was really over coffee not drugs booze or anything else, just coffee.

the event was done out of self-righteousness, not out of true concern for another Christian.

when done properly, one on one in private, over a deed that can cause a person to sin and the person reject the counsel, then it is to be taken to another brother and both will approach the person again, and then if rejected, taken to the body, if the person rejects the counsel of the body, then the person is to be cut off. now, if the person that is cut off, repents, and comes back to the body and asks forgiveness, they are to be accepted and the blessings placed back on them....

example: a man cheating on his wife (a successful business man) and a brother finds out about it (either through God or personal witness to it) should approach the man privately ( as the prophet did with David ) and explain to him that he is messing up, and he is there to assist him. if he rejects the counsel, then the person with the knowledge should prayerfully bring another in with him and approach the man again. letting the man know that they are there to assist him, help him out of the mirrey pit (at this point the wife still has no knowledge of the events that have taken place)... being rejected, they took the matter to the body... the man rejected the counsel of the body, they cut him off from fellowship with them, and cut off the flow of blessings to him...

they did keep this man in prayer after him being cut off...

this man lost his business, his family, and went totally belly up ( bankrupt )

he came back and spoke with the pastor, and asked the pastor what he could do to change things.

the pastor told him that it was up to him to repent and make amends, and he would be forgiven.

the man repented, asked the pastor to help him make amends. the pastor brought the matter before the body, with the man and the body accepted him back. as he did as he was told, making amends and repenting, remaining faithful, the pastor called him and the elders in and did the final step. The all laid hands upon him and blessed him and restored him into the body....

it was not long before he started seeing the fruit of the blessings flowing again.

again, this is a true event. this one took several months the first one was a matter of minutes...

the Bible tells us how to judge, and how not to judge.

mike

[irishcowboy]

sorry, forgot a small part.

there are many people that have read the section that says that a person will be judged should they judge,

this is out of context by saying that means that we are not to judge..... people will use this as a means to justify their actions so they can continue on living in sin, by saying that, a person is actually rejecting counsel... and alot of times the Holy Spirit has already convicted the person of the problem, and some one else has been placed in that person path to help them along.

another area of concern is those that say it dont matter, i am living under Grace and am not bound by the law.....

another misinterpretations, again, out of context......

we are not living under the law, but are still to live by the law, even though we have been covered under grace we are still to keep the law.....

if you love Me, you will keep My Commandments.......

mike

[Smalcald]

Well part of the very basic and deep problem we as Christians in the US face is that we refuse to judge ourselves and each other, yet we seem to enjoy judging those on the "outside", something Paul specifically warns against. Judgement MUST began at the House of the Lord first. What does that mean? I think it means a realistic view of Church discipline, it means a realistic view of yes standing against doctrinal error of other's who claim Christ, particularly when they are very public.

But we are very far from that. Many people today don't even see the need to attend any church and would of course NEVER accept the authority of the Church or church leaders to guide them. I mean I know that my church does not in any real way exercise individual spiritual church discipline, so if my pastor were to say to me, you must repent and turn away from xyz (there could be any number of things in my case ), I would be shocked, I wouldn't like it. Mainly because I am not used to that.

But I hear some people on these boards saying that there are no churches they would attend anyway and they worship alone for that reason, how could they ever accept judgement or the authority of church discipline? If we cannot function judging ourselves we do not have the ability to judge society, as wrong as society is on so many issues.

[Rober H]

Many people call people who have another gospel "good Christians" because they have done good works on the earth.

Many times when fatal doctrinal errors concerning salvation are pointed out the verse "judge not" is pulled out.

This verse has become a catch all to excuse extremely dangerous doctrines which confuse and confound those new or weak in the faith.

Remember Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light and seduce people. Many times his ministers do good works and sound godly in their speech.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

We cannot warn and exhort the church if these folks are not called to task.

Jesus also said a house divided against itsself can not stand. If a minister preaches the true plan of salvation, he is not of the Devil. One of Satans servants can not preach the true plan of Salvation. IF a minister teaches the following, he is not of Satan. Jesus is the Son of God. He came to Earth in the Form of a man. He died, rose, and is seated at the Right hand of the father. The only way to salvation is in faith in Him.

Satans servants can not preach the Gospel.

Oh yes they can.

Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

It is possible to preach the gospel and yet add something to it and pervert the gospel.

A false teacher can preach that Jesus died for our sins and that He was buried and rose again from the dead and then add that keeping the law of Moses, circumcision or going to church on Sunday is a "requirment to be saved" and it becomes "another gospel which is not another".

We have the bible as our measuring rod for truth.

You responded to something you read into what I said, not what I said.

I was responding to this part of your statement.

IF a minister teaches the following, he is not of Satan. Jesus is the Son of God. He came to Earth in the Form of a man. He died, rose, and is seated at the Right hand of the father. The only way to salvation is in faith in Him.

Satans servants can not preach the Gospel.

I was making the point that a person can teach those things and still be teaching a false gospel.

I may have misunderstood you.

Thanks,

Robert