I have the privilege of being the speaker at Camp Kedron this week, a Christian camp which has shared the Gospel with young people for over 50 years. Holiday camps attract youth from diverse backgrounds and beliefs and it is a joy to share the truth of God’s Word with them, to answer questions, and tackle issues which confront people today. Centred on Jesus Christ and the Gospel, leaders from various Christian denominations and groups unite as one to demonstrate the love and grace of God.
I was admiring the artistic skills of campers who chose the ceramic elective today, and I came across a plate with a message and scripture reference.
As a student of scripture (hopefully not one who could be described as ever learning but never coming to the truth) I was instantly curious what passage in scripture could possibly support the idea presented. Love and judgment are never placed in opposition to one another in the Bible, as if righteous judgment cannot spring from love. I was glad to see this plate because it instructed me in some people’s minds love and judgment are opposites. I mean no offence when I say this is a classic example of cliché Christianity which ignorantly hijacks scripture disjointed from the biblical revelation of God. It is a perspective which elevates a worldly concept of love to the status of God.
Before we examine the passage cited, a little more on the catch-phrase. The Bible reveals God is love (1 John 4:16), and His active love is far more than unconditional acceptance. It is a sacrificial love expressed for the good of others according to His grace and goodness. It is the love demonstrated by Jesus when He healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead, and laid down His own life on Calvary for undeserving sinners. At the same time, God is a righteous judge: Abraham called Him the “Judge of all the earth” in Genesis 18:25. This establishes how love and judging can coexist, just like a good judge can love people and uphold law at the same time. The Bible teaches a father who loves his son will discipline him, and there can be no discipline without judgment: a weighing of God’s standard of righteousness against words, deeds, and motives by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Judgment was required for King Solomon to decide who was the real mother of the child brought before him, and the desire to unite a mother with son is a loving judgment.
Some might say, “It is all very well for God and kings to make judgments, but surely this is above the pay grade of the common Christian” (or anyone really). Perhaps there is no word more despised than when a person feels “judged.” Doesn’t the word provoke a universally negative sense? Judging by itself is a neutral word but to many appears a cardinal sin in itself, that to judge—to decide or examine—should be struck from the responsibilities of a Christian. People are fond of quoting snippets of scripture but do not consider the context. They’ll say something like, “Doesn’t the Bible say we aren’t supposed to judge?” Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-2: “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Far from a prohibition of judging, we are called to examine—to judge—how we judge others knowing the stricter we are with them the more severe our loving Judge and Father will be with us. Jesus said in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." We are commanded by Jesus to examine and judge ourselves according to God’s righteousness. God gave Moses the Law and equipped him to judge his people righteously, and Jesus has given the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
The verse quoted on the plate is the passage where a woman was brought before Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. The text reveals the Jewish rulers cared nothing about the woman (or the man who was strangely absent from the proceedings) and upholding justice: their motive in bringing the woman before Jesus was in the hope of finding fault with Him. Jesus, knowing their plot find fault and hypocrisy, ignored them. John 8:7-11 reads, “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
So what does this have to do with, “Love, don’t judge?” Though the immediate text does not mention love, it is well-established in the Bible Jesus Christ, being God made flesh, is love—even when the words He said and things He did don’t seem loving to us. But love did not change the fact the woman had sinned; love did not rub out the 7th Commandment written on tablets of stone on Mt. Sinai or the just punishment for sin. God had already given a judgment on the sin of adultery, but what Jesus did not do is condemn the woman. Judgment and condemning are two very different things. To judge is to weigh and examine sides, and to condemn is to damn, a final, binding sentence or judgment. The woman was by Law condemned for her sin and under a curse which would bring death, yet notice she called Jesus “Lord.” Faith in Christ freed her from the condemnation her sin deserved. It is condemnation—not judgment—which is God’s sovereign territory. Those who were once under condemnation can be set free by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, justice having been satisfied.
We are called to use righteous judgment, yet this does not give us license to what could be called judgmental—to judge others by our self-righteous standards. This was one sin of the Pharisees Jesus called out, the hypocrisy of claiming to uphold God’s righteousness when they gave greater weight to enforcing traditions of men. This plate reminds me of something Paul wrote in Philippians 1:15-18. I am very glad the plate was made as it is, for it moved me to go to the Word and these considerations have sharpened me on the subject. Paul wrote, “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defence of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” If you could write a message on a plate about anything, would it be about love and a scripture like this skilled artist? I can say it wouldn’t have been my first idea. It is good will on a plate, an exhortation to love, and a platform to dive into God’s Word so we can be washed clean of misunderstandings.
I was admiring the artistic skills of campers who chose the ceramic elective today, and I came across a plate with a message and scripture reference.
As a student of scripture (hopefully not one who could be described as ever learning but never coming to the truth) I was instantly curious what passage in scripture could possibly support the idea presented. Love and judgment are never placed in opposition to one another in the Bible, as if righteous judgment cannot spring from love. I was glad to see this plate because it instructed me in some people’s minds love and judgment are opposites. I mean no offence when I say this is a classic example of cliché Christianity which ignorantly hijacks scripture disjointed from the biblical revelation of God. It is a perspective which elevates a worldly concept of love to the status of God.
Before we examine the passage cited, a little more on the catch-phrase. The Bible reveals God is love (1 John 4:16), and His active love is far more than unconditional acceptance. It is a sacrificial love expressed for the good of others according to His grace and goodness. It is the love demonstrated by Jesus when He healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead, and laid down His own life on Calvary for undeserving sinners. At the same time, God is a righteous judge: Abraham called Him the “Judge of all the earth” in Genesis 18:25. This establishes how love and judging can coexist, just like a good judge can love people and uphold law at the same time. The Bible teaches a father who loves his son will discipline him, and there can be no discipline without judgment: a weighing of God’s standard of righteousness against words, deeds, and motives by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Judgment was required for King Solomon to decide who was the real mother of the child brought before him, and the desire to unite a mother with son is a loving judgment.
Some might say, “It is all very well for God and kings to make judgments, but surely this is above the pay grade of the common Christian” (or anyone really). Perhaps there is no word more despised than when a person feels “judged.” Doesn’t the word provoke a universally negative sense? Judging by itself is a neutral word but to many appears a cardinal sin in itself, that to judge—to decide or examine—should be struck from the responsibilities of a Christian. People are fond of quoting snippets of scripture but do not consider the context. They’ll say something like, “Doesn’t the Bible say we aren’t supposed to judge?” Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-2: “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Far from a prohibition of judging, we are called to examine—to judge—how we judge others knowing the stricter we are with them the more severe our loving Judge and Father will be with us. Jesus said in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." We are commanded by Jesus to examine and judge ourselves according to God’s righteousness. God gave Moses the Law and equipped him to judge his people righteously, and Jesus has given the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
The verse quoted on the plate is the passage where a woman was brought before Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. The text reveals the Jewish rulers cared nothing about the woman (or the man who was strangely absent from the proceedings) and upholding justice: their motive in bringing the woman before Jesus was in the hope of finding fault with Him. Jesus, knowing their plot find fault and hypocrisy, ignored them. John 8:7-11 reads, “So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
So what does this have to do with, “Love, don’t judge?” Though the immediate text does not mention love, it is well-established in the Bible Jesus Christ, being God made flesh, is love—even when the words He said and things He did don’t seem loving to us. But love did not change the fact the woman had sinned; love did not rub out the 7th Commandment written on tablets of stone on Mt. Sinai or the just punishment for sin. God had already given a judgment on the sin of adultery, but what Jesus did not do is condemn the woman. Judgment and condemning are two very different things. To judge is to weigh and examine sides, and to condemn is to damn, a final, binding sentence or judgment. The woman was by Law condemned for her sin and under a curse which would bring death, yet notice she called Jesus “Lord.” Faith in Christ freed her from the condemnation her sin deserved. It is condemnation—not judgment—which is God’s sovereign territory. Those who were once under condemnation can be set free by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, justice having been satisfied.
We are called to use righteous judgment, yet this does not give us license to what could be called judgmental—to judge others by our self-righteous standards. This was one sin of the Pharisees Jesus called out, the hypocrisy of claiming to uphold God’s righteousness when they gave greater weight to enforcing traditions of men. This plate reminds me of something Paul wrote in Philippians 1:15-18. I am very glad the plate was made as it is, for it moved me to go to the Word and these considerations have sharpened me on the subject. Paul wrote, “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defence of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” If you could write a message on a plate about anything, would it be about love and a scripture like this skilled artist? I can say it wouldn’t have been my first idea. It is good will on a plate, an exhortation to love, and a platform to dive into God’s Word so we can be washed clean of misunderstandings.
