Properly Judging Character

(Transcript of a message preached at Bible Believers' Baptist Church, Madison, AL, on May 27, 2018.)

Text: 1 Cor. 4:1-5

PART I

·         Like it or not, making judgments is a BIG part of life.

o   When Christ said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” in Mt. 7:1, he was warning against unjust judgment—a hypocrite (vv. 2-4) judging someone else for something they were guilty of even worse—but not against judgment altogether.

o   In John 7:24, Christ tells the Jews to “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” and in Luke 11:42, he rebukes the Pharisees for passing over, or omitting, “judgment and the love of God,” both of which should be present in our lives.

§  To love God is to exercise judgment, since God “loveth righteousness and judgment” (Ps. 33:5; Jer. 9:24) and it is the work of God’s spirit (Is. 11:1-4; 1 Cor. 2:15).

·         In life we’re called upon to judge others’ revealed character, without trying to nail down their exact motives, which only God understands in full.

·         According to our text, we may not understand our own motives sometimes, much less others’.

·         Nonetheless, judgment of others’ character is not optional, according to scripture, though scripture does offer guidance on it, which we’ll come to a bit later. First, a few examples of where we’re required to judge others’ character.

Examples of Where Character Should Be Judged

·         Brethren (church fellowship)

o   1 Cor. 5:12-13--commission

o   2 Thes. 3:6-13--omission

o   2 Tim. 2:22—purity of heart will be manifest in righteousness, faith, charity, peace

·         Bishops

o   Told to evaluate their character very carefully

o   1 Tim. 3:1-7—not only knowledge but experience, not only church life but public testimony

o   1 Tim. 5:22-25—not only their present but their past and potential future

·         Widows

o   1 Tim. 5:3-15. Thirteen verses are devoted to the character of widows—how to gauge it and how to respond to it (church aid or no)

o   Church’s aid not only depends on possibility of family support, but their personal worthiness (vv. 9-10)

·         Cultural: spouse

o   In some cultures, spouse doesn’t have a choice who they marry

o   Where one does, however, s/he should take a serious look at their potential mate’s character

o   I can’t tell you exactly how that’s done or how long it takes; that’s something to seek God about (which is where you’re likely to find the answer anyway)

o   At a minimum, see how they act in a variety of situations and with a variety of people [“winter them”; 1 Tim. 3:10]; seems to agree with 1 Tim. 3 and 5

PART II

Guidelines for Judging Character

Four principles of judgment stand out to me in scripture; not saying this list is exhaustive, since it’s only four, but I think these principles hold true, even if they’re not the only ones, plus I see a relationship between them which I’d like to highlight for you.

Purity

·         Foundational

o   In Mt. 7, the judge was a hypocrite, so his judgment wasn’t pure. Proper judgment of character must be based on proper character itself. Makes sense, doesn’t it?  Without purity, how could you possibly arrive at proper judgment?

·         Ensures the other principles. If you’re not pure, you’re likely to be partial, unmerciful, and quick in your judgments.

·         Not same as perfection

o   No human judge is perfect, but that’s not required, nor really desirable.

o   How could you sympathize with others if you were perfect (Heb. 5:1-2)?

o   Christ couldn’t be our perfect judge if he had not walked in “the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3) and felt the infirmities and temptations that we feel as men (Heb. 4:15).

o   So don’t think you must be faultless to exercise righteous judgment, otherwise no one could judge.

o   Point is that your walking in the light that you have without conscious offense—that is purity and that qualifies you to exercise judgment.

Impartiality

·         Not showing undue favoritism toward race, gender, social status, family, etc.

·         This is one way to, as the Bible says, “pervert judgment,” since it’s not right to favor people for who they are without due regard for what they’ve done.

·         Here’s where bribery can come in strongly, tipping the scales toward the one putting up money. But a righteous judge (#1) won’t be swayed by “filthy lucre” but will judge based on principle, impartially.

·         Good (or bad) example of this: Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abiah (cf. 1 Sam. 8:1-3). Note the progression in v. 3—

o   turned aside after filthy lucre—in their hearts; departed from purity

o   took bribes

o   perverted judgment—ultimate result

·         Partiality is warned against throughout the Bible

o   Mosaic law (Ex. 23:1-8)

o   Church age (1 Tim. 5:21)

o   Jews in end times (Jas. 2:4); last verse esp. strong—willful partiality is evil!

·         Great rewards for being impartial

o   Levites (Ex. 32; Deut. 33)

o   Phinehas (Num. 25)

Mercy

·         Human frailty must be considered, in keeping with God’s own nature, which prefers mercy over judgment

o   Mic. 6:3, 7:18

o   Jas. 2:13

·         You will err in judgment if you’re too harsh (Saul), but also if you’re too lenient (Eli/sons; David/Absalom)

·         Strive for a balance, with God’s help (Rom. 11:22).

Slowness (“slow to anger”; Jas. 1:19-20)

·         Don’t be quick to judge—God isn’t

·         Don’t judge based on isolated incidents (the exception rather than the rule).

·         Sometimes the truth about someone’s character doesn’t come out until way down the road (1 Tim. 5:22-25)

o   Isolated incidents: Noah (Gen. 9; 2 Pt. 2), Moses (Ex. 2; Deut. 34), David (2 Sam. 11; 23), Elijah (1 Kings 18; Luke 9)

o   Good to bad:

§  Saul (1 Sam. 11)

§  Solomon (1 Kings 1-8)

§  Joash (2 Chron. 24:15-24)

o   Bad to good

§  Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:11-19)

§  Dying thief (Luke 23:39-43) 

Conclusion

·         Judgment is a sobering responsibility that all of us have, and it’s often hard to make good judgments.

·         While it’s true that you can learn from your own bad judgments, why not take the easier route and learn what God says about judging and study good and bad examples of judging in the Bible?

o   Every young man should know who Rehoboam was and the bad judgment he made (1 Kings 12): it split God’s earthly people in half for about 500 years!

o   Furthermore, God gave young people an entire book of scripture, from the wisest man who ever lived, for the express purpose of developing good judgment.

o   So what’s anyone’s excuse for not being in this school and making progress therein?

·         Richard Carlson, the late psychologist who wrote Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, a popular self-help book, said that parents should look for incremental progress in their children’s maturity.

o   God is the same way. Learn these principles of judgment, and begin applying them in your daily life, step by step, and you’ll see the payoff in the long run.

o   “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18).