Contemplating the Holiness of God

The foundations of the Christian faith, what we believe about God, are effected by many things. Family, community, society, peer pressure, media, culture and even our fears, doubts and uncertainties, all shape the vision we form of the Living God. It’s human nature to seek after the good, warm and reassuring things we learn about the nature and character of God. His attributes such as love, mercy and forgiveness draw us to Him because we directly benefit from such things. There is one very important attribute of God, above all others, that we don’t really understand as well as we must. His holiness.

The Holiness of God is central to His entire character. In fact, while many of His attributes are key to salvation, redemption, and reconciliation, Holiness is foiundational to all the attributes of God. Holy is used more often as a prefix to God’s name than any other attribute. Throughout the Bible, no other divine attribute is repeated 3 times in reference to God. We do not read God described as, Eternal, Eternal, Eternal or Merciful, Merciful, Merciful, or All-knowing, all-knowing, all-knowing, but He is referred to as... Holy, Holy, Holy.

Today, we heavily and repeatedly emphasize His forgiveness, love and mercy, because those attributes of God are very important to us. But we can never fully appreciate his forgiveness, love and mercy as we should, until we understand the nature of His holiness.

A person’s concept of God determines more than anything else what kind of life a person will live. God is intrinsically holy. . . . All he does is holy... he cannot act but like himself. He can not do an unrighteous act, it is impossible for Him to even conceive of “unholiness” let alone do an unholy thing. Since God has always been, so is His holiness a part of his divine core without beginning, unique only to Him. It is His essence. While his love and mercy were extended to humanity long after creation, before anything existed... God was inescapably holy. From His holiness emanates all of His attributes... love, justice, righteousness, mercy, forgiveness. God is perfectly, unalterably, and unchangeably holy.

Holiness more than any other attribute, is what God wants his people to understand about Him. God’s holiness is the basis for his requiring that his people live with separateness and cleanliness toward him. God presented himself in holiness to his chosen people as the primary way they were to know and understand him. After the Israelites came out of Egypt, while they were near at Mt. Sinai, God gave ordinances requiring the removal of every unclean thing form their lives.

He said, “For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45). The Apostle Peter referred to this in the New Testament when he exhorted first century Christians... “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

God’s holiness seems to have been the most prominent character feature presented in visions to people. God’s holiness was evident to Abraham (Genesis 15), to Moses (Exodus 3:1–4:23), to Job (Job 38-41), to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13). Isaiah was so impressed with God’s holiness that at least twenty-seven times he spoke of God as “the Holy One” (Isaiah 1:4; 5:19; 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19, 23; 30:11-12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 40:25; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 20:9, 14).

The word “holy” relates to two things. First, it relates to that which is set apart. Thus, a vessel, a place, a house, a land, a city, a book, a covenant, may be said to be holy because it is set apart to and for God. In this sense, the word “holy” has to do with the fact that a person or a thing is separate in existence, not that it has any particular quality of moral goodness or behavior. To say that God is holy is therefore to say that God is separate from all else. God alone is holy (Revelation 15:4). He is unique! “No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You” (1 Samuel 2:2). Everything about God is holy, as in set apart and distinctive. His name is holy (1 Chronicles 16:10, 35; 29:16; Psalms 30:4; 33:21; 97:12; 103:1; 105:3; 106:47; 145:21). His words are holy (Psalms 60:6, Jeremiah 23:9). His works are holy (Psalms 145:17). His throne is holy (Psalms 47:8). His temple is holy (1 Corinthians 3:17). Moreover, to say that people are holy (Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2, 21; 26:19; 28:9; Isaiah 62:12; 63:18; Daniel 8:24; 12:7) is to say, first of all, that they are distinct in that they are set apart to and for God. They belong to God.

Second, the word “holy” relates to behavior. “Holy” is the term that best describes God’s behavior. God is “glorious in holiness” (Exodus 15:11; Habakkuk 3:3). God’s holiness is described in two ways. One way is positive in the sense of absolute goodness. The other way is negative in the sense of abstinence from all evil. In the positive sense, God is absolutely truthful (2 Samuel 7:28; Jeremiah 10:10; John 3:33; 17:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 15:3; 16:7; 19:9, 11). He is faithful (Hosea 11:12; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:3; 2 Corinthians 1:18). The Holy one is a redeemer (Isaiah 41:14; 43:14; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5). In the negative sense, God’s conduct is absolutely sinless (1 John 3:9). God abhors iniquity. “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13). God cannot be tempted to sin (James 1:13). God cannot tell a lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).

For people to be holy in their behavior requires that they be like God. The requirement for people to be holy is also described in two ways. Moses noted the positive when he admonished, “You shall therefore consecrate yourselves.” And he noted the negative by saying, “Neither shall you defile yourselves” (Leviticus 11:44-45). Peter noted the positive sense of holy conduct when he designated God’s people “as obedient children.”

He described the negative sense of holy behavior when he said, “not conforming yourselves to the former lusts” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Other scriptures also declare both positive and negative aspects of how God’s people should behave. For example, Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Again, James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (Other scriptures indicating both positive and negative aspects of ideal Christian behavior are Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:5-17).

However, no human being can be either absolutely good or totally free from sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Isaiah declared that “your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Unlike God, people yield to sinful temptations, are sometimes unfaithful and untrustworthy, and are not always truthful. People cannot stand in the presence of the Holy One on their own merits.

Therefore, in order for sinful humanity to be sinless in the presence of the Holy God, some means of propitiation or appeasement before God is required. Under the Old Covenant, propitiation was made available by the shedding of animal blood sacrifices (Leviticus 16:2-33; Hebrews 9:22) that were renewed annually (Leviticus 16:34; Hebrews 9:25; 10:3). Under the New Covenant, propitiation was made available to believers once for all time (Hebrews 9:28; 10:10, 14) by God when he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16) to die on the cross (Ephesians 2:16; Philippians 2:8) to shed his blood (Romans 3:25; 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14) for the sins of humanity (1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). The Holy God thereby made it possible for believers to stand in his presence acquitted of all sin (Romans 3:24; 5:1, 9; 6:18, 22).

Even so, God requires that the redeemed stand before him in holiness. That is, he requires his people to be separated to and for him. When one commits his life to God, turns away from a sinful life, and has his sins washed away, he is not only justified, but also sanctified, i.e., made holy (Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Righteous behavior is equated with holy living because people are set apart to live righteously like God. Paul exhorted the Romans to “present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:19). Although sanctification cannot be achieved by one’s own efforts, believers are instructed to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). In this life... this will always be a constant and unrelenting challenge for believers to continuously renew ourselves, but God will help those with honest sincere hearts.

In the Old Testament, God’s holy behavioral requirements were embodied in the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, the priesthood, the Tabernacle, the Temple, (with holy and most holy places), and many examples of those who recognized and understood the holiness of God. God always presents the right way to believe and live. He has given us exacting and precise standards for “what to believe” and “what to reject.”

In Second Timothy 3:15—4:2, the Apostle Paul affirmed that God’s Word is simple, knowable, holy, in written form, powerful, soul-saving, inspired, profitable, self-sufficient, and to be shared as the only standard by which “men are saved” (1 Timothy 2:4; Acts 4:12; 10:43; ).

Today, as you contemplate the Holy God, renew your mind to begin seeing not just the good things of God’s grace, love and mercy, but to see Him in all His Holiness. Know that all He gives to humanity emanates from His Holiness. If angels in heaven stand in reverence and awe in the presence of God, should not Christians also stand in awe and reverence of His Holiness? 

Don’t Blame God... He’s GOOD all the time!

In case you had any doubt... Satan is a parasite and a counterfeiter. There is nothing original about him or his attacks on humanity. You can precisely know how he will attack you, if you carefully read the Bible. He and his machinations and the actions of his minions are very well defined by a proper understanding of God and His purposes. Satan’s nature, character and his schemes are diametrically opposed to God’s. Okay, that’s not news... so why do we still fall victim to his deceptions even when we can easily know and understand how he works?

The Devil is master at undermining man’s perception of God’s goodness by afflicting the righteous while prospering the ungodly. His deception is geared to obscure both God’s good works and his own nefarious schemes, and to confuse people as to the difference between good and evil (Isaiah 5:20).

Remember that it works to the Devil’s advantage if he can confuse people about God’s goodness. Let’s take Mr. Nev R. Sure, who wrongly thinks that God is in control of both good and evil. Most likely caused by prolonged exposure to bad doctrine and wrong teaching. Mr. Nev R. Sure knows two people who sined in the same way... whether it’s lying, stealing, adultery, or something else, the type of sin doesn’t really matter. One of them suffers bad things in his life and the other one suffers nothing, or worse, appears to profit from the sin.

Is Mr. Nev R. Sure confused about God? Absolutely. Does Mr. Nev R. Sure think that God is a fair and righteous judge? No way. Does Mr. Nev R. Sure have an understanding upon which his faith (trust) in God can grow? Not a chance. Score another bases loaded home-run for the Devil. Mr. Nev R. Sure would not have been confused about the situation had he been properly taught with accuracy and precision about what the Word of God says about the real cause of evil, sin and suffering in the world. Mr. Nev R. Sure would not have been so easily confused had he been taught to see and know God as holy. A proper reverence and awe of His holiness would have strengthen Nev’s trust in God’s righteousness, justice, love and mercy.

One of Satan’s goals is to misconstrue the random problems and life circumstances that all people encounter, along with his corresponding distortion of God’s written Word, to make it seem as if God is judging and punishing people now. Remember, Satan is very good at distortion, deception, creating misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

He wants not only to blind people to God’s abundant goodness, grace and mercy, but also to convince us that God is unfairly, unpredictably and almost gleefully vindictive towards humans.

Has Satan corrupted the Church? What do think? With all the doctrinal confusion, distortions and variations of GOD'S TRUTH being taught among the many denominations of contemporary Christianity, the Wicked One has pretty well succeeded. What will you do to change this trend?

PRECISION and God’s Word of Truth

If you tell me something frequently enough, I will eventually believe it. Do you believe that? How about this.... I will believe bad things about anyone and anything because doing so makes life more interesting. Or this... yes Santa Claus is real, so is the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. What... you don’t believe me? Ask your kids to tell you how they know that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are real... they will tell you... you told them so! Or, how about Evolution? Man was not created by God... he crawled out of primordial ooze and evolved over millions of years through various stages ending in present day humans. What an incredible lie, replete with all the science to support its theories and academia to teach them as truth and fact. Evolution is believed as truth by millions of gullible people!

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it often enough, people will eventually come to believe it. William James, the father of modern Psychology, once said... "There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it." If we package up the right words, repeat them often enough with passion and zeal, people will believe almost anything.

Since the fall of man in the Garden, Satan’s primary target has been the Word of God. He knows very well that the Word of God is composed of the words of God, so the Devil has been assaulting language in order to distort, confuse, misdirect and cripple the communication lines between God and man. Satan is especially fond of using words, our own language, to cause discord, divisions and divisiveness and among men.

Accurate and precise usage of words and language keeps our thinking sharp and preserves our freedom in Christ. What we believe... the critical difference between truth and error, something vital to every aspect of our existence, often boils down to a question of the definition of words, and whether or not we are using the words accurately.

God, the Creator invented words as the vehicle by which He communicates His heart to man, and also the link between any two or more human beings. In His Word, God set the standard for the meticulous precise usage of words, those incredibly versatile combinations of letters that have throughout history inspired death-defying acts of heroism, won the love of fair maidens, inflamed the hearts of patriots, given hope to the hopeless, and evoked the full range of human emotion, from boundless and unrestrained joy to unmitigated misery.

When it comes to the usage of words, nothing could be more important than using words the way God does in His Word. Psalms 12:6 emphasizes how precisely the Author of all authors uses man’s words to communicate “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” It is vital that as Christians, we do all we can to recognize, utilize, and preserve the distinctions found in the biblical usage of words. This is part of what it means to be a “workman” of God’s Word... and to handle “it” rightly.

Satan influences popular culture to move the meanings of key words away from their biblical usage. Usually, the meanings of very important words degenerate or become watered down as time goes by into something completely different in meaning. As an illustration, “terrible” once meant “awesome,” but it now means “very bad.” When you are looking up a word, it is often profitable to look at the archaic definition to understand it’s original meaning.

For example, Christians today often speak of an “accusation” as if it were always pertaining to something very bad. In fact, an accusation can be either godly or ungodly. In John 5:45, Jesus said that the Pharisees would one day be “accused” by the words of Moses, which at that time they did not believe. In 1 Timothy 5:19, Paul does not say never to bring an accusation against an elder. Rather, he sets forth the standard by which to do so: before two or three witnesses. The word “accusation” simply means “a calling to account,” which is the godly course of action whenever one recognizes a wrong. Thus we see that a distinction must be made between an “accusation” and a “false accusation” or ungodly judgment.

When we as Christians do not use words the way God uses them, the consequences can be spiritually, mentally and emotionally debilitating. Again, not properly defining the word “accusation” could shut down iron-sharpening-iron dialogue that is indispensable for building strong fellowship among believers.

In Christendom, the vast empire of 35 thousand so-called Christian denominations, it seems that every day another voice is added to the popular chorus that Christians should work to get along with each other at all costs, and that debating about “right doctrine” is either an exercise in futility or downright demonic.

The subtle difference between true teaching and false teaching is perhaps nowhere clearer than in Romans 4:19a. Since 1611, the KJV has read, “and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead.” From this statement, many have concluded that to not consider one’s negative circumstances is evidence of strong faith. It seems clear now that this teaching breeds denial, inaction and wishful thinking, rather than real faith. Later Bible versions corrected this error, acknowledging that the little word “not” is not in the text. The text reads, “he considered his own body now dead.” Abraham did not stick his head in the sand and foolishly deny reality. He chose to believe the promise of God rather than what his senses told him.

This “nit-picking” little word “not” completely negated the true meaning of the verse, not to mention one aspect of what the Bible teaches about the process of having faith. Accurately translated, the verse supports the true teaching that to consider the possibilities of one’s negative circumstances generates true faith. Real faith is generated within the crucible of evidence contrary to the senses. This is the difference between piety and godliness. Piety looks and sounds good, but it is dead wrong.

If Jesus was concerned about “every jot and tittle” of the Word, then it is not “nit-picking” for Christians today to be concerned about the words of Scripture and what they mean to our lives. Yes, it is at times tedious and time consuming, but rigorous examination is often necessary to “rightly divide the Word of truth,” and only the truth will set us free from the powers promoting unbelief.

Uncovering these false assumptions requires a diligent search and study of the Scriptures. False teachings do great harm to gullible believers. The effects of wrong beliefs arrived at via wrong teachings can do incredible harm to people’s lives, and if left unchecked, will cause the eternal loss... of your salvation. How is it that some Christians believe that it was Almighty God who created all things through the process of Evolution over millions of years? Because that “lie” found its way into the Church, into the pulpit and into weak minded Christians. The currently popular belief that Christians ought not to be too minutely concerned about the accuracy of the Scriptures is satanically inspired.

How many times have you heard devoted Christians say... “I just need to give it to the Lord.” Many Christians have adopted a passive attitude toward their spiritual and emotional growth, especially if they struggle with emotional pain, character weaknesses, and life situations that need changing. Such Christians often have a “let go and let God” view of their healing and growth process.

Attention... listen up: There has always been a reciprocal relationship between the believer and God. God will not do “our part” for us, but He will help and guide us if we are moving forward in obedience as best we know how, guided by His Word. In a very real way, we are responsible to steward our salvation and our sanctification until we see the fruit of the Spirit being manifested in our lives. To teach otherwise, and believe that somehow “it’s all up to the Lord,” or some other equally pious platitude, is to keep God’s people in bondage to their circumstances. Satan loves it when we don’t make the effort required to care for our spiritual health!

Do you ever feel like a pawn in a great chess match played by masters you can’t see, but they can reach out and move you at will? It’s not a game, it’s a war. The combatants are the Creator God and his arch enemy Satan the Devil. Victory has already been decided, God wins, but we are still at the mercy of a wicked evil empire controlled by Satan bent on causing our destruction. The war of words is a war for our hearts and souls. A war between the Word made flesh, (John 1:14) and the enemy Satan, whose primary tools are words of distortion, deception, and destruction. It sounds like a battle we can't hope to win. On our own we can't, but listening to TRUTH and living our lives in obedience to the precision of God's Word, we can and we will. Pay attention to yourselves and all those around you and follow this advice...

READ the sign that marks the journey ahead: Rough road, deep pot holes, wild animals, roaring lions seeking to devour stragglers. STAY in the middle of the road where it’s safest. Be on guard... be watchful at all times. TEST every word spoken to you by fellow travelers, verify everything said to you with your guidebook. Choose your Words very carefully. USE only the guidebook given to you at the beginning of your journey... the one called “Bible”. SPEAK only the right words: words of truth (Eph. 4:14-15), words of love (1 Cor. 13:4-7), words of restraint (Eph. 4:25-27), words of grace (Eph. 4:29-30), and words of forgiveness (Eph. 4:32-5:2). As you journey forward, you will find others just like you... hang together, trust one another, rely on one another. You’ll make it safely to the end!

How do You See an Elephant?

One day, three blind men happened to meet each other and talked a long time about many things. Suddenly one of them recalled, "I’ve heard that an elephant is a strange animal. Too bad we're blind and can't see it."

"Ah, yes, truly too bad we don't have the good fortune to see the strange animal," another one sighed.

The third one, quite annoyed, joined in and said, "See? Forget it! Just to feel it would be great."

"Well, that's true. If only there were some way of touching the elephant, we'd be able to know," they all agreed.

It so happened that a merchant with a herd of elephants was passing, and overheard their conversation. "You fellows, do you really want to feel an elephant? Then follow me; I will show you," he said.

The three men were surprised and happy. Taking one another's hand, they quickly formed a line and followed while the merchant led the way. Each one began to contemplate how he would feel the animal, and tried to figure how he would form an image.

After reaching their destination, the merchant asked them to sit on the ground to wait. In a few minutes he led the first blind man to feel the elephant. With outstretched hand, he touched first the left foreleg and then the right. After that he felt the two legs from the top to the bottom, and with a beaming face, turned to say, "So, the strange animal is just like that." Then he slowly returned to the group.

Thereupon the second blind man was led to the rear of the elephant. He touched the tail which wagged a few times, and he exclaimed with satisfaction, "Ha! Truly a strange animal! Truly odd! I know now. I know." He hurriedly stepped aside.

The third blind man's turn came, and he touched the elephant's trunk which moved back and forth turning and twisting and he thought, "That's it! I've learned the truth of this strange animal."

The three blind men thanked the merchant and went on their way. Each one was secretly excited over the experience and had a lot to say, yet all walked rapidly without saying a word.

"Let's sit down and have a discussion about this strange animal we’ve all touched," the second blind man said, breaking the silence.

"A very good idea. Very good indeed." the other two agreed for they also were eager to share their findings.

Without waiting for anyone to be properly seated, the second man blurted out, "This strange animal is like our straw fans swinging back and forth to give us a breeze. However, it's not so big or well made. The main portion is rather wispy and somewhat frail."

"No, no!" the first blind man shouted in strong disagreement. "This animal resembles two giant trees without any branches."

"You're both wrong." the third man replied. "This odd animal is similar to a snake; it's long and round, and very strong."

How they argued! Each one insisted that he alone was correct.

Of course, there was no conclusion, no agreement among these three blind men, for not one had thoroughly examined the whole elephant.

Being physically blind is an impediment to understanding the nature of anything, let alone something as large and confusing as an elephant would be to a blind person. However, being willfully blind... choosing not to see and accept reality is choosing a path of ignorance. How can anyone describe the whole of anything until he has learned the total of all the parts?

In our quest for Truth, one cannot hope to understand its magnitude without knowing and understanding the nature and character of God, the source of all Truth. Truth is not the sum total of all human experiences... which in fact would diminish truth to being subjective. Real Truth cannot be modified, marginalized, parsed or ignored to make it suit human needs and wants.

Subjective truth has spawned a morass of cultural and moral relativism today... views that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right and wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person's individual perspective. We can all decide what is right for ourselves. You decide what's right for you, and I'll decide what's right for me. Moral relativism says, It's true for me, if I believe it to be true.

Truth is not a partial or incomplete perspective determined by the vision of one or two or many, without first carefully examining the whole, the source, the origin. Real Truth does not originate with man, even though man likes to think it does. All things created are subject to a set of laws, whether natural or divine.

Truth is absolute, and cannot be compromised, modified or negotiated. All truth emanates from the Creator... Almighty God. He is the source and origin of all things... therefore all of life and purpose are born from the absolutes of God. Real truth, God’s Truth, His Word the Bible, cannot be neutralized simply because you decide it doesn’t fit with your worldview.

God’s Church is an absolute Truth revealed in Jesus Christ, defined by the Cross and freely given to humanity in His absolute plan for Redemption, Reconciliation and Salvation. His Truth... His Church... absolutely His way.

Teaching the Word of God with Courage

If you have spent a few years teaching or preaching the word of God, then you know how frustrating the experience can be. You had better be thick skinned and able to deal with criticism. If not, you will feel as if your listeners are eating you alive.

Jesus warned those who speak in his name that they will also share in his reproach... “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!” (Matt. 10:24-25)

The problem here is one of authority. It is ultimately recognition and acceptance by your listeners of God’s authority. Christ’s words serve as fair warning to anyone who takes up the challenge of teaching God’s word. Even though you are teaching from the Bible, inspired by God... Divine authority does not guarantee acceptance by your listeners. We would like to think that this Godly authority gives teachers tremendous weight and leverage with listeners. It doesn’t. The same Bible that gives teachers and preachers authority, also offers ample proof of a congregation’s capacity for discounting, marginalizing or outright ignoring that authority.

Teaching the Word can be an awkward task. The teacher does not give advice, only suggestions based on what the Scriptures teach. The teacher tells people what is right and what is wrong, based on what the Scriptures teach. Teachers and preachers tell their audiences... “this is the way, this is the walk that pleases God... walk in it.” Yet, the response of listeners to Biblical teaching is mixed at best. You will hear... “What right does he have to make such demands of me?’ ‘Who is he to tell others how to live?” Hey, teachers are the messengers of the Word. Teachers only “tell it like it says”... and listeners decide how they will respond, if at all.

Teaching in any capacity can be, intrusive and perceived by listeners as impolite. Hearing the Word of God, especially things that make you squirm will naturally frame up conclusions about the motives of listeners, possibly impugning their character. Teachers must say things in a group assembly that would be more easily discussed in private conversation. It’s necessary.

This is a teachers responsibility in rightly handling the Word of God. No matter what, you must remain faithful to His Truth. You have no choice but to “tell it like it says”... and let the chips fall as they fall. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Are WE forbidden from judging others?

In three simple words, blunt, absolute and to the point, Jesus commanded us, "Do not judge" (Matt. 7:1).

But did he really mean that we should never judge others? He goes on to suggest that it's not the act of judging but the attitude with which we do it that God is most concerned about—"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged" (7:2).

There are other Scriptures that either cloud or shed light on the issue. Paul told the Christians in Rome not to judge one another (Romans 14:13) but taught the Corinthians that they were to judge sinful believers and leave people outside the church to God’s judgment (1 Cor. 5:12-13). James said he who judges his brother speaks against the law (4:11) but also implied that our judgments of others must be done with mercy (2:12-13).

Common sense suggests that if no one ever judged other people, there would be no real human community. In a sinful world, no community will exist for very long, where nobody is ever held accountable. No teacher would grade a student's performance. No citizen would ever sit on a jury or call a failed leader to account for his actions. When you think about it, nobody would ever forgive anyone for wrongs he had done, because we only can only forgive people for what we blame them, and we blame them only after we have judged them.

In our day and age, we might need more—not less—judgment. Modern humanistic cultures, steeped in relativism suffer from a fear of judging. Passing judgment on the behavior of fellow human beings is considered an act of medieval, undemocratic intolerance. No one wants to be viewed as intolerant.

Why? Because, our culture tells us, we are all flawed people, and people with flaws have no right to judge other people's flaws. Furthermore, modernists do not believe that there are objective standards by which to judge. And where there are no standards, there is nothing by which to measure behavior. Without a baseline for judgment, there can be no consequences.

Of course, the person who takes Jesus at all seriously does not submit to modern relativism. Judgment, for Christians, is an important piece of work that God calls us to do, especially in a world gone morally haywire.

When a person judges, an opinion is formed. But an opinion is not necessarily the same as a judgment. Opinions are often framed by our fears, pride, or ignorance. If all we had were human opinions, we might agree with those who say we should never judge.

Judgments are opinions that we form only after we have made a serious effort to know the facts, and, for those of us who are Christians, only after we have consulted the moral teachings of Scripture and prayed for Spirit-informed discernment. Any lazy or biased fool can have opinions... all sorts of opinions. Making judgments is the hard work of responsible and compassionate people.

For all of these reasons, common sense indicates that Jesus could not have meant that we are never to make judgments on what people, including ourselves, are doing.

But our common sense is hardly the litmus test of what Jesus meant, for in the end it is his Word that we live by, not the collective of humanistic wisdom. It's helpful, then, to consider Jesus' bold command in its biblical context.

Jesus may have been moved to speak as he did by the arrogant way the Pharisees had of judging people. In Matthew 5:20 through 7:6, Jesus warns his disciples against following the traditions and practices of the Pharisees, who judged others as if they themselves were beyond judgment. What's more, they judged people by the letter, not the spirit, of the law.

So, most likely, Jesus meant, "Do not judge at all if you judge others the way the Pharisees do. If you do judge people this way, you will be judged with the same severity." Jesus' intent comes out in his metaphor of specks and beams (Matt. 7:3-5). We all have beams in our eyes, so to speak. To judge people for the little twigs stuck in their eyes while we have big beams in our own is devilish arrogance as well as folly.

Nobody with a beam in his eye can see things clearly. He is dangerously low on discernment. And, since we all have this distorted perspective, we need either to be very humble or else leave judging to God alone. We have a sacred responsibility to judge the moral behavior of others—but only if we are humbly aware that we will sometimes be dead wrong and never totally right.

We must remember that our ability to judge is seriously limited by our sinful nature. Judging others is always wrong when it stems from a self-righteous attitude, reveals a critical spirit, or presumptuously interprets the motives of another person. But judging is right and helpful when God's Word is our standard, when it flows from proper motives, and when it leads to corrective action.

God calls on us to be discerning with one another. This involves judging people to be false teachers when we see them promoting and teaching heresy. It also involves exposing sin and wrong conduct in fellow Christians, so that we can help them recover. In all situations, we are not to judge unseen motives but rather beliefs and actions that the Scriptures have already judged.