If we are in Christ, as evidenced by the supernatural power of His grace at work in and through us – as evidenced by new creation realities manifesting powerfully in our daily life – as evidenced by the fruit of His Holy Spirit clearly seen in our life – as evidenced by the transformational power of God’s love flowing through us…then we are able to see both saint and sinner as God sees them.
Sin, in ANY manifestation, is the result of the assignment of false identity by the accuser and liar. Judging someone righteously means we appoint to them GOD’S assessment of them through the Cross. Remember, the purpose of the Cross is to RESTORE God’s original, intended design for each of us – to restore us to our true identity in Him. Every false judgment agrees with the enemy’s assessment of a person and reenforces the false identity assigned to them by him.
Our position in Christ empowers us to see people not through the lens of condemnation but through the lens of grace…in other words, we can see their error but we have the power to separate them from their error by judging them with God’s righteous judgment of favor and grace THROUGH THE CROSS. We never come into agreement with their sin, just as God never comes into agreement with sin – we stand OPPOSED to the deceptiveness of sin and CALL people out of false identity and INTO God’s intended design for them, into their TRUE identity.
Example:
The woman caught in adultery, who was dragged before Jesus to be stoned to death, was ALREADY condemned. There was no way out for her, according to the righteous requirements of the Law! The religious leaders were being obedient to the LAW! Condemnation has no hope in it…there is no way out for those who are condemned. Every person on the planet who retains the autonomy of Self Rule stands condemned! As that woman lay there in the dirt, terrified and humiliated, ALL THE WEIGHT OF THE LAW WAS BROUGHT TO BEAR UPON HER but the Lamb of God stood between her and it’s righteous execution.
On the timeline of Eternity, she was appointed to that specific moment of FAVOR AND GRACE and CALLED BACK INTO HER ORIGINAL, TRUE AND PERFECT IDENTITY by the only One on the planet at that time who could do it! Her righteous condemnation was ASSIGNED to Jesus – He stood in her place and ASSIGNED to her HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, the righteousness she was created to bear! When we righteously judge our brothers and sisters, we agree with God’s assignment of righteousness to them through the Cross and WE REJECT, or DISAGREE with the accuser’s assignment of inescapable UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
The woman in this portion of Scripture was not CREATED to be an adulteress! She was created to be a favored daughter of the King! Jesus stood in front of her and called her out of the false identity assigned to her by satan and back into her intended and true identity assigned to her by God. The moment she RECEIVED His grace to be restored to her true and original design, she was NO LONGER AN ADULTERESS. She was TRANSFORMED by the WORD OF HIS GRACE , RESTORED to her TRUE identity.
Now check this out…IF she had REFUSED His gift of grace she would have RECEIVED THE RIGHTEOUS EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT FOR HER SIN. The legal condemnation of the Law would have remained upon her because she CHOSE to retain SELF rule and SELF judgment. By rejecting His gift of righteousness through grace, she would have RETAINED HER FALSE IDENTITY. She would have chosen to believe a lie about who she was rather than the truth about who she was! So she would have been JUDGED according to her agreement with deception BECAUSE SHE REJECTED THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH AND ENJOYED UNRIGHTEOUSNESS; she would have been condemned as an adulteress.
In the final analysis…NO MAN JUDGES HIMSELF ACCURATELY, or RIGHTEOUSLY, OUTSIDE OF CHRIST. He does not have that authority until he has received the Lordship of Christ. Neither, then, can he righteously judge another until he has received the Lordship of Christ by agreeing with God in ALL things. This agreement positions us to see with God, from His perspective, from our heavenly seat with Him!
IN Christ, we are entrusted with the authority to righteously judge according to HIS ASSESSMENT OF HUMANITY THROUGH CHRIST. The preaching of the Gospel is telling people the GOOD NEWS that ALL provision has been made for them to be restored to their true identity, an identity which may only be accessed in the heart of God. If they have been living as a liar, they can now be restored to their true identity as a champion of Truth. If they were living as a fearful, unbelieving captive of darkness, they may now live as one who rules over darkness in the joyful boldness and perfect liberty of the sons of God!
His Blood restores all things~
1 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. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
~Matthew 7:1-5~ (nkjv)
According to Thayer’s, the original meaning of the Strong’s Greek word (2919) ‘Krino’ is “to choose”, “pick”, or “separate.” This word ‘Krino’ is used interchangeably as the words “judge”, “judged” and “judgment” with two very interesting and specific variations in the original definition. I am no Greek scholar but I will do my best to explain these variations to the reader as I understand them.
In verse 1, both “Judge” and “judged” seem to be most accurately defined as the variation of ‘krino’ that means CONDEMN.
We might then read verse 1 to say,”Condemn not, that you be not condemned.”
Now in verse 2, the words,”judgment”, “judge” and “judged” are all very different in the original Greek, though they use the same root word, ‘krino.’ The nuances of speech are often lost in translation with the unfortunate result of losing correct context. “Judgment” can just as easily be translated as “opinion or assessment based on what you see.” The word “judge” may be translated as “choose” and the last word, “judged”, may also just as accurately be assigned the original meaning of “having an opinion or assessment assigned based on what is seen.”
It is interesting to note that all three uses of the different variations of the word “judge” seen in verse 2, carry a positive connotation in the original text, implying the process of carefully examining something and deciding it is good!
So we might then read verse 2 to say,”By the opinion or assessment you choose to assign to another based on what you see to be good, you also will be assessed or have an opinion of you assigned based on what is seen to be good.”
The second half of verse 2 we can read to say,”whether generous or stingy, you will receive the same measure you dole out.”
So now, adding the second half of verse 2, along with verse 1, this is how we might read Matthew 7:1-2…
“Condemn not, that you be not condemned. By the opinion or assessment you choose to assign to another based on what you see to be good, you also will be assessed or have an opinion assigned to you based on what is seen to be good; and whether generous or stingy, you will receive the same measure you dole out.” ~Matthew 7:1-2~ (rct paraphrase)
If we now add verses 3-5 to complete the text we are discussing today, this is how it would look in its entirety:
“Condemn not, that you be not condemned. By the opinion or assessment you choose to assign to another based on what you see to be good, you also will be assessed or have an opinion assigned to you based on what is seen to be good; and whether generous or stingy, you will receive the same measure you dole out. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” ~Matthew 7:1-5~ (rct paraphrase)
Jesus COMMANDS us not to be PLANKEYES! He doesn’t say DON’T help your brother to see more clearly by removing the obstruction from his eye! He says HOW CAN YOU remove it IF YOU are incapacitated by the GIANT BEAM OF WOOD OBSTRUCTING YOUR OWN VIEW OF TRUTH. He is not telling us to resign ourselves to an existence FILLED WITH THE AGONY AND IMPEDIMENT OF A PLANK IN OUR EYE – HE IS TELLING US TO CLEAR OUR OWN VISION SO WE CAN HELP OTHERS with the “speck” which prevents them from seeing TRUTH clearly!
Dead religion has propagated a doctrine of defeat to sin by twisting this portion of Scripture to say something Jesus NEVER SAID!
The vast majority of people who will read this message have been taught a totally different and WRONG meaning of this portion of Scripture found in Matthew 7! God began to speak to me recently about this and He showed me something that changed my whole perspective regarding what “judging” is and what it is not!
If you rightly assign to someone the DIVINE favor sourced from God’s true opinion of them in Christ, YOU ALSO RECEIVE THAT FAVOR!! AND THE MORE GENEROUS YOU ARE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THEM THROUGH THE CROSS – THE MORE GENEROUS IS GOD’S ASSESSMENT OF YOU!
The plank is removed by seeing the world through the filter of the CROSS! It’s not even about “dealing” with our own issues or trying to clean ourselves up – it’s about AGREEING WITH HIS ASSESSMENT OF US THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST!
THE NEW CREATION REALITY MANIFESTING THROUGH THE CROSS ELIMINATES ALL OF OUR ISSUES THE MOMENT WE RECEIVE HIS RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF US! WE CANNOT CONDEMN WHEN WE OURSELVES ARE NO LONGER UNDER CONDEMNATION!
Only when one chooses to remain under the rule of SELF do they remain under condemnation because they have rejected the grace of God to be utterly transformed! In that fallen, rebellious condition, they cannot help but to condemn themselves and others because they are not seeing through the filter of the Cross!
When we righteously judge someone according to the Cross, we call them into God’s assessment of them in Christ and assign to them the favor sourced from GRACE! This is the gift of God which empowers us to free ourselves and others from the wrong assessments wrought by the accuser – to free us from the imperfect judgment of SELF and to LAUNCH us into the glory realm of God’s perfect love and power!
There is no condemnation for those who are IN Christ! Condemnation has NO HOPE IN IT; there is no hope for salvation, for transformation, for resurrection! Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it!
There is a big difference between the judgment which brings condemnation and the judgment which calls for the favor and will of the Father! We are to be wise judges who condemn every manifestation of darkness and deception which masquerades as Light, while we celebrate and promote God’s assessment or opinion of people through the Cross of His own Son! We bear the privilege of separating or choosing people for the appointment of His favor and freedom from the condemnation which has no hope in it by AGREEING with HIS view of them through the restorative power of the CROSS!
So we have authority to separate deception from the hearts of God’s people by judging them with HIS RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF THEM THROUGH THE CROSS!
The only time we DO NOT have authority to righteously judge someone with the judgment which proclaims God’s favor and grace is when WE ARE OURSELVES UNDER THE CONDEMNATION WHICH RESULTS FROM NOT BEING IN CHRIST! In other words…if one is practicing sin, they DO NOT HAVE THE KING’S APPROVAL TO PRONOUNCE EITHER THE JUDGMENT OF GOD’S WRATH OR THE JUDGMENT OF GOD’S FAVOR – instead, they are themselves subject to the judgment of God’s wrath.
When one falsely JUDGES, whether by assigning favor to the unrepentant or by assigning wrath to the repentant – and they are not UNDER THE APPOINTMENT OF FAVOR AND GRACE WHICH COMES BY BEING IN CHRIST -THEY INVITE THE WRATH OF GOD UPON THEMSELVES! YIKES! Why are so many people bound by so much crud…crud that has already been defeated at Calvary? BECAUSE THEY ARE UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD! REPENTANCE FROM FALSE JUDGMENTS OF OURSELVES AND OTHERS by coming into agreement with God and HIS OPINION of us through the CROSS results in perfect freedom from every dark captivity! WE ENTER INTO THE LIGHT THAT SHINES FROM HIS FACE – THE LIGHT OF HIS FAVOR!
Here’s another way to say this…ANY time one judges another and they are not IN CHRIST, they invite the same judgment upon themselves that they have just assigned to another! If I am in Christ and I look upon my brother favorably, I assign to HIM the favor and grace APPOINTED TO HIM through the CROSS. I AM ACTUALLY CALLING THAT PERSON INTO DIVINE ALIGNMENT WITH GOD’S PURPOSE AND WILL FOR HIM!
If I am in Christ and I FAIL to righteously judge my brother with God’s JUDGMENT by ignoring his deception, ignoring his rebellion, by choosing to pretend that everything is OK with him – I INVITE THE WRATH or CORRECTION of GOD THROUGH JUDGMENT! IF I CHOOSE to love him enough to judge him with the righteous judgment which can separate him from the deception that is destroying him – by calling him into GOD’S assessment of him through the Cross through the bold declaration and preaching of the GOSPEL – I am choosing to receive GOD’S extravagant outpouring of favor and grace upon my own life!
When we refuse to forgive someone, we are in sin and break covenant with God. It is not possible to righteously judge someone when we are in sin. To judge somebody when we are in sin invites the judgment of God. If we have forgiven those who sin against us, we have the ability to righteously judge them, which is to judge them according to God’s assessment of them through the Cross. We are then able to be a redemptive vessel for Heaven and restore that person to right relationship with God! This is why Jesus said we have the power to forgive someone that they may be forgiven or withhold forgiveness and they will not be forgiven!
So get out there and judge someone right into their destiny in God!
**It is IMPERATIVE to follow the Scriptural directions when righteously judging someone back into their true indentity. If you do not submit to the Scriptural pattern which is perfect Truth then there is absolutely NO WAY that it can be done IN LOVE.
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are ALONE. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)
If you go to everyone else FIRST and then take it to your brother in private you have DISREGARDED Gods own instructions from the Mouth of Jesus and you are no longer acting in Love.