![]() ![]() The first key to examining any verse in the Bible is in what context does it fall. Let us dive deeper into the passage from John 8. We like judgment when it makes us feel good – if we do well on something and we get complimented, we love judgment! However, when people don’t think we did something right or disagree with our actions, all of a sudden we hate judgment and we start yelling at people.įor the remainder of this article, I will be using the classical definition of judgment. Only in our post-modern context does this word carry a negative tone to it – where casting judgment is wrong if it offends someone, or disagrees with something they do or say. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).īy classical standards, to judge someone or something merely means to form an opinion about the object or person in question. Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary., Eleventh ed. to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation.to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises.The classical view of “judgment”, that is the one that exists in the dictionaries and was the understanding in society up until the post-modern era, says this: The Bible has a lot to say about judging one another – but since even non-Christians like to quote Jesus to make their point, let us look specifically at these verses in their appropriate contexts to see what Jesus really had to say about judging people.īefore we continue, we need to define what it means to even judge someone or something. From a plain reading, one might conclude that Jesus did in fact teach that his followers are not to make any judgment whatsoever. Those who hold to the belief that Jesus’ followers aren’t to judge anyone will often reference either John 8:7 (“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”), or Matthew 7:1 (“Judge not, that you be not judged.”). We live in an age where the majority of the population is Biblically illiterate, and rather than investigate what they hear for themselves they trust the first thing they hear that already agrees with their beliefs. ![]() The truth is, everybody want’s Jesus on their side.
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