Judging When Why How - Derek Prince

"Once again Derek Prince hasdemonstrated his God-given ability to stateimportant issues with great clarity anddiscernment. In these days of increasingapostasy and of downgrading of Scripture, it isrefreshing to have such a clear exposition onthe vital issue of judging. Through the author,the Holy Spirit has given us great clarity on thismatter, for instance, in relating judgment toauthority. The issue of judging confronts us asChristians almost on a daily basis. Hence Icommend Judging: When? Why? How? to allwho are seeking the face of God and thank Himfor the clear expository teaching that itcontains. As usual, Derek Prince has putcomplex matters into a simple, direct teaching,which every Christian can understand. This isone of his great gifts from the Lord."

-Bill SubritzkyEvangelist and Author, New Zealand

JUDGINGWHEN?

WHY?

HOW?

JUDGINGWHEN?WHY?HOW?

DEREK PRINCE

WHITAKERHOUSE

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations aretaken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of theBible, C 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used bypermission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked (NIV) are from the New InternationalVersion of the Bible, 0 1973, 1978, 1984 by the InternationalBible Society. Used by permission.

JUDGING: WHEN? WHY? HOW?

Derek Prince Ministries-InternationalP.O. Box 19501Charlotte, NC 28219-9501

ISBN: 0-88368-695-3Printed in the United States.0 2001 by Derek Prince Ministries-International

Whitaker House30 Hunt Valley CircleNew Kensington, PA 15068web site: www.whitakerhouse.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prince, Derek.Judging: when? why? how? / by Derek Prince.

p. cm.ISBN 0-88368-695-3 (pbk.)1. Judgment-Biblical teaching. I. Title.

BS2417.J83 P75 2001262'.8-dc21

2001004320

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,without permission in writing from the publisher.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 / 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02

CONTENTSIntroduction......................................................................................91Scriptures Against Judging............................................................ 112Scriptures Advocating Judging...................................................... 163The Resolution of the Paradox.......................................................204The Delegation of Judgmental Authority.......................................275Judging Without Authority............................................................ 316Judging and Ruling........................................................................ 357What We Are Not Responsible to Judge....................................... 408The Judgment Seat of Christ..........................................................449What Are. We Responsible to Judge?............................................5010Judging Others............................................................................... 5511Those in the Church....................................................................... 5912Moral Standards.............................................................................6313Disputes Between Believers...........................................................6914Doctrines and Ministries................................................................ 7615A Warning to Dumb Dogs............................................................. 7816How to Identify False Ministries....................................................8217Spiritual Gifts and Manifestations................................................. 8618Whom Are We Not Responsible to Judge?................................... 9219How Are We to Judge?.................................................................. 94Appendix 1 How to Recognize Apostles.........................................................101Appendix 2 True and False Prophets...............................................................109

INTRODUCTION

Judging is one of the most difficult subjectsin the Bible to grasp, but it is also veryimportant. It is a subject on which there istremendous ignorance among Christians atlarge-and consequently tremendousdisobedience. It costs us all dearly. Multitudesof Christians, partly through ignorance andpartly through disobedience, often act contraryto Scripture in the ways they do or do notjudge.

There is an apparent paradox in thestatements of Scripture, primarily in the NewTestament, about whether or not we are tojudge. A number of passages say that we arenot to judge and just about as many say that weare to judge. Which are we to follow? We willlook at some of the Scripture passages on bothsides. Then I will offer a principle by which wecan understand in any given situation whetherwe are to judge or not to judge.

1SCRIPTURES AGAINST

JUDGING

First let's look at some of the Scripturesagainst judging. In the Sermon on the MountJesus said,

1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with what judgment you judge, you will bejudged; and with the measure you use, it will bemeasured back to you.

3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother'seye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

4 Or how can you say to your brother, "Let meremove the speck from your eye"; and look, a plankis in your own eye?

5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your owneye; and then you will see clearly to remove thespeck from your brother's eye.

(Matthew 7:1-5)

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Here, Jesus was saying very emphatically,"Do not judge. If you do, the judgment you usewill come back to you." Judging will evokethis, I believe, from two sources: human anddivine. In the long run, people judge you as youjudge them. In addition, God will judge you inaccordance with the way you have judgedpeople.

1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoeveryou are who judge, for in whatever you judgeanother you condemn yourself for you who judgepractice the same things.

2 But we know that the judgment of God isaccording to truth against those who practice suchthings.

3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge thosepracticing such things, and doing the same, that youwill escape the judgment of God?

(Romans 2:1-3)

Romans 2 addresses essentially religiouspeople. The Jews are the example in this case,but this passage applies in many ways to mostreligious people. Have you ever noticed thatreligious people often think that because theyknow what is right and can prove others wrong,that proves themselves to be right? But, this isnot so! In fact, the people who are alwaysjudging others are usually wrong themselves.

1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not todisputes over doubtful things.

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SCRIPTURES AGAINST JUDGING

2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he whois weak eats only vegetables.

3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat,and let not him who does not eat judge him whoeats: for God has received him.

4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To hisown master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will bemade to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

(Romans 14:1-4)

A little further on in the same chapter, itsays,

10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why doyou show contempt for your brother? For we shallall stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written: `As I live, says the Lord, Everyknee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shallconfess to God."

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself toGod.

13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore,but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling blockor a cause to fall in our brother's way.

(Romans 14:10-13)

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ andstewards of the mysteries of God.

2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one befound faithful.

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should bejudged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do noteven judge myself.

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4 For I know nothing against myself, yet am I notjustified by this.

(1 Corinthians 4:1-4)

That's a remarkable statement! Paul wassaying, "I am not conscious of anything againstme; I'm not aware of anything I've donewrong." But that did not justify him. It did notprove him righteous!

4 He who judges me is the Lord.

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until theLord comes, who will both bring to light the hiddenthings of darkness and reveal the counsels of thehearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.

(vv. 4-5)

One final passage against judging is takenfrom the epistle of James:

11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. Hewho speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother,speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if youjudge the law, you are not a doer of the law but ajudge.

12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and todestroy. Who are you to judge another?

(James 4:11-12)

James makes a point that many Christianshave overlooked: Speaking evil of anotherbeliever is judging that believer. As believers,we are specifically warned not to speak evil ofeach other. Yet many Christians regularly do

14

SCRIPTURES AGAINST JUDGING

just that! It is contrary to Scripture.

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2SCRIPTURES

ADVOCATINGJUDGING

Now let's look at Scripture passages thatsay we are to judge. First of all, Jesus spoke tothe people of His day concerning His claim tobe the Messiah:

24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judgewith righteous judgment.

(John 7:24)

In this case, Jesus was telling them tojudge. Then in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 Paul wrote:

1 It is actually reported that there is sexualimmorality among you, and such sexual immoralityas is not even named among the Gentiles-that a manhas his father's wife!

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SCRIPTURES ADVOCATING JUDGING

2 And you are puffed up, and have not rathermourned, that he who has done this deed might betaken away from among you.

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present inspirit, have already judged (as though I werepresent) him who has so done this deed.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when youare gathered together, along with my spirit, with thepower of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction ofthe flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day ofthe Lord Jesus.


Notice that Paul said he had "alreadyjudged" and he required the CorinthianChristians to endorse his judgment.Furthermore, he advocated an extremely severejudgment: to deliver a man over to Satan.

11 But now I have written to you not to keepcompany with anyone named a brother, who issexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or areviler [uses abusive language], or a drunkard, oran extortioner; not even to eat with such a person.

12 For what have I to do with judging those alsowho are outside? Do you not judge those who areinside?

13 But those who are outside God judges.(1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

When Paul wrote of "those who areoutside," to whom was he referring?Unbelievers. And who did he describe as

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"those who are inside"? Believers. In thisinstance, therefore, he was saying that we arenot responsible to judge unbelievers, but we arerequired to judge our fellow believers.

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another,go to law before the unrighteous, and not before thesaints?

2 Do you not know that the saints will judge theworld? And if the world will be judged by you, areyou unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? Howmuch more, things that pertain to this life?

4 If then you have judgments concerning thingspertaining to this life, do you appoint those to judgewho are least esteemed by the church to judge?


6 But brother goes to law against brother, and thatbefore unbelievers!

7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for youthat you go to law against one another. Why do younot rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather letyourselves be cheated?


Paul here established two points. First, onthe negative side: It is wrong for a Christian totake a fellow Christian to law before a non-Christian court. On the positive side, however,Christians are required to judge internaldisputes between fellow Christians.

Finally, look at the words of Jesus in

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SCRIPTURES ADVOCATING JUDGING

Matthew 18:15-17:15 Moreover if your brother sins against you, go andtell him his fault between you and him alone. If hehears you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or twomore, that "by the mouth of two or three witnessesevery word may be established."

17 "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to thechurch.

Notice again, this is a dispute betweenbelievers. If they cannot settle it betweenthemselves, ultimately it has to go before thechurch. That is not an option; it is acommandment. We are not free to leavedisputes unresolved. If we can resolve them asindividuals between ourselves, good.Otherwise, we are obligated to take thembefore the church.

17 "But if he refuses even to hear the church, let himbe to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

(Matthew 18:17)

A man who will not receive the decision ofthe church loses his right to be treated as abeliever. This is a solemn statement!

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3THE RESOLUTION OF

THE PARADOX

In the passages we have just looked at,we see that the Scripture places on us anobligation to judge. But the passages welooked at earlier warn us against judging.What is the explanation?

I have come to accept a basic principlethat resolves this apparent paradox-aprinciple we must understand in order todiscern in any given situation whether weshould or should not judge. The principle,simply stated, is this: Judging is a function ofruling, descending downward from GodHimself.

It is sometimes hard for AmericanChristians to understand this principle becausethe American Constitution, by design, separates

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THE RESOLUTION OF THE PARADOX

judging from ruling. The executive branchrules, and the judicial branch judges. But this isa separation that has no basis in Scripture. Letme hasten to add that I am not attacking theConstitution! Since the year 1970, when Ibecame an American citizen, it has been mysincere intention to uphold the Constitution.But when we look at judging from the point ofview of the American Constitution, we do notunderstand judging from God's point of view,because the Bible always unites the tworesponsibilities of ruling and judging. This linkgoes back to the very nature of God Himselfand is imparted from Him downward into thehuman race.

In human society, in various areas andon various levels, God has appointed men asjudges. In the history of Israel, judging andruling were never divorced from one another.The book of Judges is the first bookdescribing people who ruled within the areaof Israel's inheritance. Judges were Israel'srulers. After that, her rulers became herjudges. During the period under the kings,there was no Supreme Court to whichanybody could appeal the king's judgment.He was both king and judge, and hisjudgment was final. Judging and ruling in theOld Testament, then, were never separated.In fact, the sacred word for God, Elohim, is

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actually applied to men who were judges.1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; Hejudges among the gods.

6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are childrenof the Most High."

(Psalm 82:1, 6)

6 Then his master shall bring him to the judges.(Exodus 21:6)

8 If the thief is not found, then the master of thehouse shall be brought to the judges to see whetherhe has put his hand into his neighbor's goods.

9 For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns anox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind oflost thing which another claims to be his, the causeof both parties shall come before the judges, andwhomever the judges condemn shall pay double tohis neighbor.

(Exodus 22:8-9)

Why were they called gods? Because their functionas judges was to take God's place and to judge Hispeople. Their authority came from God, as long as theyrightly administered His law.

That the Scripture applies to humanjudges Elohim, the word for the one true God,is a measure of the tremendous sanctity andauthority that God attaches to the position ofa judge. Several Scriptures make this clear.

When God announced to Abraham Hisintention to judge Sodom, the patriarch actuallychallenged Him as to whether it was going to

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be a just judgment. He said,25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, toslay the righteous with the wicked, so that therighteous should be as the wicked; far be it fromYou! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

(Genesis 18:25)

Who is the Judge of all the earth? God. TheRuler is also the Judge. Notice the importantprinciple established right at the beginning ofthe Bible-a principle that I believe holdsthroughout Scripture: It is contrary to justice totreat the righteous as the wicked.

Our contemporary Western culture has anegative attitude toward judging. It resentsauthority and law enforcement. It assumes thatthe primary function of judging is to punish thewicked. It is not; that is secondary. The primaryfunction of judging is to protect the righteous.

But that concept has been lost sight of inour contemporary culture. The agenciesresponsible for administering justice bend overbackward to protect the criminal and offer littleprotection to the victim. This is a typicalinstance of perverted thinking in our modernculture! We must always bear in mind that theprimary function of justice is to protect therighteous. It is never in line with God's will todeal with the righteous as with the wicked.

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In this connection let me make aparenthetical observation that has a directbearing on how we treat the matter of divorce. Ibelieve it is contrary to Scripture to treat theinnocent party the same as the guilty. That is adenial of the basic principle of Scripture. In thewords of Abraham:

25 Far be it from You to do such a thing... that therighteous should be as the wicked, far be it fromYou! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

(Genesis 18:25)

God responded to Abraham, byimplication, "That's right, Abraham: Iwill never depart from that principle."We see, then, that God the Ruler isalso the Judge of all the earth. Thisprinciple that never separates judgingfrom ruling will help us later tounderstand where we should judgeand where we should not.

In the psalms, God reproved the judges ofIsrael:

1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; Hejudges among the gods.

(Psalm 82:1)

What a remarkable statement! Who are"the gods"? The judges. Why is God judgingthem? Because they have been unjust judges,

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as the passage further states:2 How long will you judge unjustly, and showpartiality to the wicked? Selah

3 Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to theafflicted and needy.

(Psalm 82:2-3)

The primary obligation of a judge, you see,is to protect the righteous:

4 Deliver the poor and needy; free them from thehand of the wicked.

5 They do not know, nor do they understand. [Inother words, these people will not listen!] They walkabout in darkness; all the foundations of the earthare unstable.

(vv. 4-5)

Another remarkable statement! To me itindicates that when judgment is no longer just,the structure of society is out of line. Thewhole of society becomes unstable. Stabilitydepends on just judgment.

In the sixth verse, God was speaking:6 1 said, "You are gods."

Why were they called "gods"? Because asjudges they were representing God to Hispeople.

6 And all of you are children of the Most High.

7 But you shall die like men, and fall like one of theprinces.

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(Psalm 82:6-7)

Why would this judgment come uponthem? Because they had abused their positionas judges and had perverted justice.

In the last verse the psalmist said,8 Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You shall inheritall nations.

(v. 8)

What the psalmist was saying, in effect, isthis: "We have not had justice from humanjudges, so reassert Your right, God, to judge.We need just judgment."

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4THE DELEGATION OF

JUDGMENTALAUTHORITY

As we look on into the New Testament, wefind a more detailed picture of judgment.

17 And if you call on the Father, who withoutpartiality judges according to each one's work,conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stayhere in fear.

(1 Peter 1:17)

Peter was saying that the One we callFather judges every person according to hiswork. So the ultimate Judge is God the Father.

In the divine plan, however, God hasdelegated the office of Judge to Jesus Christ, asJesus Himself explained:

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22 For the Father judges no one, but has committedall judgment to the Son.

(John 5:22)

In Matthew 25:31-32 we are given a vividpicture of Jesus establishing His kingdom onearth at the close of this age.

31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and allthe holy angels with Him, then He will sit on thethrone of His glory.

(v. 31)

Jesus is here depicted as taking His place asRuler on His throne. What is the first thing Hewill do as Ruler? He will judge.

32 All nations will be gathered before Him, and Hewill separate them one from another, as a shepherddivides his sheep from the goats.

(v. 32)

We see that Jesus' first public function asthe God-appointed Ruler at the close of this agewill be to judge those whom He rules. Rulingand judging go together.

But Scripture reveals that there is adownward process of transmitting theAuthority to judge.

"For the Father judges no one, but has committedall judgment to the Son"

(John 5:22)

The Father is the ultimate authority, the

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THE DELEGATION OF JUDGMENTALAUTHORITY

ultimate Ruler, the ultimate Judge. But He hasdelegated the function of judging to His Son,Jesus Christ.

Two reasons for this delegation are given.First,

"that all should honor the Son just as they honor theFather"

(John 5:23)

In order to make sure the human race paysdue honor to the Son, God has made Him theJudge.

In a properly established legal system, inany court of law, one person is honored aboveall others. Who is that? The judge. This is howit is, too, in the system of authority God hasestablished. Jesus as Judge is honored above allothers.

The second reason given in John 5 forJesus being made the Judge is that the Father

"has given Him authority to execute judgment also,because He is the Son of Man"

(v. 27, emphasis added).

Jesus is a Judge who can understand ourhuman frailties and infirmities; He experiencedthem Himself.

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"For we do not have a High Priest who cannotsympathize with our weaknesses, but was in allpoints tempted as we are, yet without sin.

(Hebrews 4:15)

When we are confronted by sometemptation that we consider irresistible, we willnever be able to say to Jesus, "But You don'tunderstand!" He has experienced everytemptation that is common to man and wasnever enticed into sin.

But the delegation of authority goes stillfurther. Just as God the Father delegated to theSon authority to judge, so the Son delegatedauthority to His own Word. Jesus said:

48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive Mywords, has that which judges him; the word that Ihave spoken will judge him in the last day.

(John 12:48)

Jesus was saying, "I don't judge anybody; itis My Word that will judge." There is a finaldelegation of judgmental authority, then, to theWord of God.

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5JUDGING WITHOUT

AUTHORITY

Almost all of us may find ourselvesstrongly tempted at some time to pronouncejudgment on people who are obviously doingthings they have no right to do. But Scriptureprovides examples that warn us againststepping beyond the limits of our authority to ,judge. First, we will look at the account of Lotin the city of Sodom.

You remember the story. Lot had gone toSodom as a visitor and settled in the city buthad never been given any official position. Themen of Sodom, who were very wicked, wantedto have sex with the angels who had come toLot's house, and Lot was reproving them. Butthe men he was trying to restrain responded in

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this way:9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "Thisone came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as ajudge; now we will deal worse with you than withthem."

(Genesis 19:9)

In effect, they were saying to Lot, "Youhave no authority to judge. Nobody made you ajudge in this city; you're just a visitor. Don't tryto tell us what to do!"

From the legal point of view, these menwere right, although of course their conductwas abominable. Through his own foolishnessLot had put himself into a position where hewas a witness to evil deeds while he had noauthority to restrain. Fortunately for him, theangelic visitors intervened on his behalf.

Now take the case of Moses. At the age offorty, self-appointed, he set out to deliver Israelfrom its slavery in Egypt. The first day hekilled an Egyptian who was mistreating one ofhis fellow Israelites. The next day he found twoIsraelites fighting and tried to administerjudgment to them. But they did not listen tohim. So Moses said to the man who was doingwrong to his fellow Israelite:

13 "Why are you striking your companion?"

32

JUDGING WITHOUT AUTHORITY

14 Then the man said, "Who made you a prince[ruler] and a judge over us? Do you intend to killme as you killed the Egyptian?"

(Exodus 2:13-14)

He had a point: Moses had no authority.Nobody had made him a ruler. He had no right,therefore, to judge. Moses ended up runningaway for forty years of exile in the desert.

There in exile, at the age of eighty, Mosesexperienced a life-transforming encounter withthe Lord. When he returned to Egypt as God'sappointed ruler, he had authority not merely tojudge the people of Israel, but also to perform aseries of miracles unequalled by any otherhuman being.

This idea carries over into the NewTestament. In Luke 12:13-14, Jesus wasconfronted by a man who claimed he was beingcheated out of his inheritance by his brother. Inreply, Jesus actually quoted the words of theIsraelite to Moses and applied them to Himself:

"Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator overyou?"

(v. 14).

In effect, Jesus was saying, "There's a courthere to take care of cases like that. There areelders; there is a Sanhedrin. I don't have anyauthority in this area; I can't judge you." Do

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you see the wisdom of the Lord? AlthoughJesus was the Son of God and God'srepresentative, He did not have authority in thisarea, so He did not judge. How many of uswould be as wise?

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6JUDGING AND RULING

We have seen that there is a logical andinseparable link between ruling and judging.Primarily this is revealed in the eternal natureof God Himself. He is both the Supreme Rulerand the Supreme Judge.

The same principle applies, however, to allthose on the human level who have theresponsibility to rule. In every area where theyare given responsibility to rule, they must alsobe given responsibility to judge.

If you give your oldest daughter theresponsibility to baby-sit your youngerchildren, you must also give her the authorityto judge—that is, to apply the rules thatdetermine what behavior is acceptable andwhat is not permitted. She must determine, for

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instance, which TV programs they arepermitted to watch and which they are not.Otherwise, her job becomes impossible.

These are two things that must never beseparated: responsibility and authority. When aperson is given responsibility to rule, he or shemust also be given authority to judge. Wecannot divorce the one from the other.Responsibility without authority is ineffective.Authority without responsibility is despotism.

We can then establish these simple, basicprinciples:

• Where we have the responsibility torule, we also have the authority tojudge.

• Conversely, where we do not havethe responsibility to rule, we do nothave the authority to judge.

However, we must take our analysis a stepfurther. Let us suppose that we have answeredto our satisfaction the question of who isauthorized to judge. There is still one furthervital question. What is that person authorized tojudge? Does that person have unlimitedauthority to judge every issue that arises? Or ishis authority limited to certain defined areas?

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JUDGING AND RULING

To return for a moment to the example ofthe eldest daughter baby-sitting her youngersiblings, she has authority to determine whatTV programs they may watch. But does shealso have authority to determine what booksthey may read? Or are they perhaps permittedto read any book they may choose out of alibrary carefully assembled by their parents?

Let me illustrate the concept of limitedauthority from personal experience. Some yearsago a Jewish attorney walked past the tenniscourt in Florida where I used to play andinvited me to play tennis with him. After thatwe started playing together regularly. Later hewas elected to the County Court, so I foundmyself playing tennis with a judge! Heexplained to me the responsibilities he felt inhis new office.

"The maximum penalty I am entitled togive is one year in prison," he said. "That's thelimit of my authority. Believe it or not, I find itso exhausting trying to do my job right that I goto bed at eight o'clock every night!"

His new situation was a good example oflimited authority to judge. What was the area ofhis authority? Only one county, BrowardCounty. He had no authority in Dade County orPalm Beach County. What kind of people was

37


he authorized to judge? Only those whocommitted offenses for which the maximumpenalty was less than one year in prison. Otherkinds of criminals fell outside of his judgment.

What was he entitled to judge? Anythingcontrary to Florida law or the statutes orordinances of Broward County. If a man wasdriving thiry-five miles an hour in a thirty-milean-hour zone, for instance, my tennisfriend was entitled to judge him for that act.But if the same man was driving thirty miles anhour in his convertible with the hood down, myfriend could not judge him for that act since itwas not an offense. His authority to judge wasconfined to a certain area and to certain kindsof people doing certain kinds of things.

This type of limitation is typical of alljudgment, and the principle applies, practicallyspeaking, to all of us. There is an area, there arepeople and there are acts, that we must judge.Outside of that area, and with other people, andwith different acts, we have no authority tojudge.

Our discussion of judgment is notcomplete, then, until we answer all threequestions: In what areas are we authorized tojudge? Whom are we authorized to judge? Andwhat are the offenses that we are authorized to

38

JUDGING AND RULING

judge? We may have authority to judge certainpeople but not about certain things. And if wejudge those people for things we are notauthorized to judge, we are exceeding ourauthority.

We will discuss the answer to each of thesethree questions. But first there are severalthings we are never responsible to judge.

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7WHAT WE ARE NOT

RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE

We are not responsible for the finalevaluation of anyone's character, includingour own.

It was a great relief to me when Idiscovered I was not responsible for makingjudgments of this kind, because, frankly, likemost religious people, I had been doing a lot ofit. It was a heavy responsibility, and it wasgetting more and more difficult to be sure I wasright. Then one day I realized I did not have todo it at all!

Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 4 for an

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WHAT WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE

example of this principle. The first two versesare introductory:

1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ andstewards of the mysteries of God.

2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one befound faithful.


The word steward leads to the thought ofjudging, because a steward is answerable to theone he serves for the way he conducts hisstewardship. He will be judged according towhether or not he has been faithful. Paul wassaying, "My fellow ministers and I will bejudged for whether we have been faithfulstewards of the mysteries of God." Then hecontinued,

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should bejudged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do noteven judge myself.

(v. 3)

In the area that Paul was talking about, hesaid, "You don't judge me, I don't judge you, Idon't even judge myself. This is an area ofjudgment not left in our hands at all."

We are not required to judge or make afinal evaluation of the absolute value ofanybody, including ourselves.

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4 For I know of nothing against myself yet I am notjustified by this, but He who judges me is the Lord.

(1 Corinthians 4:4)

This is better translated: "I am notconscious of anything against myself; I don'tknow of anything that I've done wrong. Butthat doesn't justify me, because I am not theJudge; God is the Judge. He knows thingsabout me that I don't know about myself."

Here is an area in which the Lord alone isthe Judge. Let me restate the principle: We arenever responsible for the final evaluation ofanyone's character or conduct-including ourown. The final evaluation, the great summingup of our whole life, will be made by noneother than the Lord Himself.

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until theLord comes, who will both bring to light the hiddenthings of darkness and reveal the counsels of thehearts.

(1 Corinthians 4:5)

We are specifically warned not to judgethings "before the time." What time is that? Thetime when the Lord will do the judging. Thisjudgment will take place only when the Lordcomes. Why is the Lord the only One who canjudge in this area of human conduct andcharacter? Because nobody else knows all the

42

WHAT WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE

secrets of human hearts and motives.This is why we are never responsible for

the final evaluation of anyone's character—including our own-because God "will bothbring to light the hidden things of darkness andreveal the counsels of the hearts" (1Corinthians 4:5).

When it comes to judging a person's innerpersonality, the only One who knows all thetruth is God. And without knowing all thetruth, we are not able to judge accurately orfairly. We are not qualified to judge others. Weare not qualified to judge even ourselves. Onlythe Lord knows our motives. He knows howhonest we have been. He knows when we havebeen hypocritical or insincere. He knowseverything. He alone is qualified to judge.

Finally, Paul said:5 Then each one's praise will come from God.

(v. 5)

God's ultimate purpose is not to condemnus but to praise us and reward us for everythinggood we have done. Let's wait patiently for thatwonderful moment!

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8THE JUDGMENT SEAT

OF CHRIST

Let's look a little further at the kind ofjudgment that nobody shares with God—thejudgment that is exclusively His.

Paul spoke about"the day when God will judge the secrets of men byJesus Christ, according to my gospel"

(Romans 2:16).

To whom did Paul refer? To all believers.This is not a judgment of unbelievers, or ajudgment for condemnation, because

"there is therefore now no condemnation to thosewho are in Christ Jesus"

(Romans 8:1).

Rather, this is a judgment of believers to

44

THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

evaluate our service. It is to this judgment thatPeter referred in 1 Peter 4:17:

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin atthe house of God, and if it begins with us first, whatwill be the end of those who do not obey the gospelof God?

The phrase "the house of God" denotes thetrue Christians who are God's temple. Speakingas a Christian, Peter also referred to them as"us." Before the unbelievers are judged, thebelievers will be brought before the judgmentseat of Christ.

Paul also referred to this judgment ofbelievers also in 2 Corinthians 5:10:

'° For we must all appear before the judgment seatof Christ, that each one may receive the things donein the body, according to what he has done, whethergood or bad.

"We ... all" refers to believers in Christ.More literally, this verse could be translated,"We must all be made manifest." Everythingwill be brought out into the awesome light ofGod's countenance. There will be no secrets, noalibis, and no excuses.

No wonder Paul continued,"Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, wepersuade men, but we are well known [literally, "wehave been made manifest"] to God"

(2 Corinthians 5:11).

45


By repeating the Greek word meaning "tomake manifest," Paul emphasized thateverything will be brought out into the Light.There will be nothing that is not laid bare.

Furthermore, all our actions fall into one orthe other of two categories: either "good orbad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). There is nothingneutral. Anything that is not good is bad.

In 1 John 5:17 we are confronted with thesame dichotomy: "All unrighteousness is sin."Whatever is not positively righteous is actuallysinful. There is no neutral ground betweenrighteousness and sin.

In Romans 14:12, Paul applied thisprinciple in a direct and personal way to eachindividual Christian:

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself toGod.

Once we grasp the certainty and solemnityof appearing before the judgment seat of Christ,we will be so occupied with making andkeeping ourselves ready that we will have littletime left for passing final judgment on otherpeople.

We will be particularly careful of the effectthat our lives have on other people. Paulemphasized this idea in Romans 14:13:

46


13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore,but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling blockor a cause to fall in our brother's way.

This is important. Conduct that causes afellow believer to stumble or turn aside issomething for which we will be judged. Do youremember what Jesus said about anyone whooffends one of the little ones who believe inHim?

6 It would be better for him if a millstone were hungaround his neck, and he were drowned in the depthof the sea.

(Matthew 18:6)

The judgment confronting that person isterrible to contemplate!

The New Testament warns us that, asChristians, we will all stand before thejudgment seat of Christ. Some contemporarypreachers seldom talk about judgment. For mypart, whenever I study this theme of judgmentin order to preach about it, it has a powerfulpersonal impact on the way I live.

One thing modern man hates is to be toldthat he is accountable. Our contemporaryculture and philosophy are often undercoverways to reject accountability! One main reasonthat people want to believe the theory ofevolution is that it does not confront us with a

47


personal Creator to whom we must all giveaccount for the lives we have been leading.

Yet in spite of all our theories and all ourarguments, we come face-to-face with oneinescapable fact: There is a Creator who is alsoa Judge, to whom we will all give an account.

It is not merely our actions, however, thatwill be judged, but also our motives. There isonly one legitimate motive for anything weever do: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink,or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"(1 Corinthians 10:31, emphasis added). If thereis anything that we cannot do to the glory ofGod, probably we should not be doing it at all.

In particular, Paul specified the simple,familiar acts of eating and drinking. Frankly, Ihave to say I think some people would changetheir eating habits if their aim were to eat to theglory of God. Yet the Bible says that is whatGod requires. Do we realize that we are goingto give account for the way we eat?

In Hebrews 6:1-2 the writer lists the sixfoundational doctrines of the Christian church.The sixth and final doctrine is eternaljudgment. This is the climax of every humanlife, the "exit" through which we will all passout of time into eternity. Very little is taught

48


today in many places about the fact that we aregoing to answer to God personally for the liveswe have led. Yet for many years I myself havelived my life with this consciousness that I willhave to answer to God for what I say and do,and it has had a powerful effect on the way Ilive. I believe eternal judgment is one of thefoundational doctrines because it is soimportant in determining the way we live.

But this judgment belongs only to God.

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9WHAT ARE. WE

RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE?

Up to this point we have reviewed certainareas in which God alone has the authority tojudge. Now we will look at certain other areasin which God holds us responsible to judge.

The first area is this: We are responsible tojudge our personal conduct and relationships.

We have already seen that we are not tomake a final evaluation of either ourselves orothers. The judgment we are required to make,therefore, is not an absolute evaluation of anyperson's worth, but it is essentially a judgmentof conduct. We are to judge conduct not by our

50

WHAT ARE. WE RESPONSIBLE TO JUDGE?

feelings, or by the opinions of society, or evenby our own estimate of ourselves. We areresponsible to judge our conduct andrelationships by the clear teaching andstandards revealed in the Word of God.

We saw earlier that just as God the Fatherdelegated to the Son the authority to judge, sothe Son in turn delegated authority to His ownWord. By what standard, therefore, are we tojudge ourselves? By the same standard Goduses: His own Word.

In 1 Corinthians 11:28-32 Paul gaveinstructions about celebrating the Lord'sSupper:

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eatof the bread and drink of the cup.

(v. 28)

We are warned that before we partake ofthe Lord's Supper we should examineourselves. By what standard? The Word ofGod. This has become a principle with me: Inever take Communion without first examiningmyself. To do otherwise would be dangerous.

29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthymanner eats and drinks judgment to himself, notdiscerning the Lord's body.

30 For this reason many are weak and sick amongyou, and many sleep [that is, have died untimely].

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(vv. 29-30)

This is a solemn fact! If we do not examineourselves before partaking of Communion, weare liable to bring on ourselves sickness andeven untimely death.

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not bejudged.

(1 Corinthians 11:31)

If we judge ourselves, we will not bejudged by God. But if we do not judgeourselves, Paul said, and we take the Lord'sSupper unworthily, then God will judge us. Theoption is ours: If we judge ourselves, wepreempt God's judgment. He will not judge usin those areas in which we have correctlyjudged ourselves.

There are three alternatives, then, indescending order of desirability:

1. Judge yourself and do not comeunder God's judgment.

2. Fail to judge yourself and comeunder God's judgment, but let thisprompt you to repentance.

3. Come under God's judgment, fail torepent, and be judged with theunbelievers.

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WHAT ARE. WE RESPONSIBLE TO JUDGE?

Each of us will experience judgment in oneof the above forms.

Paul mentioned two ways God judged theChristians in Corinth because they had failed tojudge themselves. Some were sick and othershad died before their time. We need to bear inmind that the sickness and premature deaths ofthose believers were a judgment of Godbecause they had not judged themselves.Obviously, to have prayed for healing or healthin such cases would have been ineffective.

We are responsible, then, to judge our ownconduct and relationships. And if we judgeourselves by the Word of God, bringing ourlives into line with His Word, then God hasnothing to judge us for.

Here are some questions that I personallyask myself before taking Communion: Am I atpeace with my brother or sister? Do I harborbitterness or resentment in my heart? Have Ispoken evil of my fellow believer? Have I saidthings about him or her that were either untrueor uncharitable? These are some of the ways inwhich I believe we are all obligated to judgeourselves.

If we would take seriously ourresponsibility to judge ourselves, we would

53


have less time to judge others whom we are notsupposed to judge!

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10JUDGING OTHERS

Let us suppose that we have accepted ourresponsibility to judge ourselves. Who else arewe responsible to judge? We come back to ourbasic principle: ruling and judging go together.We are responsible to judge those whom we areresponsible to rule.

For instance, a husband and father isresponsible to judge his family. In this, heshould rely upon the counsel and support of hiswife as his God-given "helper." Nevertheless,the primary responsibility rests upon the man.

First Timothy 3:4-5 speaks about thequalifications of an elder-one who is to rule thechurch. It lists, among other qualifications:

"One who rules his own house well, having hischildren in submission with all reverence (for if a

55


man does not know how to rule his own house, howwill he take care of the church of God?)”

A man's family is the proving ground forhis public ministry. When he can ruleeffectively at home, he becomes a candidate forpromotion to public leadership. But if hecannot rule effectively at home, he is notqualified for public leadership. There is a directrelationship between a man's position in hisfamily and the position of an elder or ruler inthe church. Each is ruling in his particular area,so each is obligated to judge.

What conduct is a father or husbandresponsible to judge? Again, let me say thatnone of us is responsible for the finalevaluation of the worth of any other person. Ahusband is not responsible for the finalevaluation of his wife's eternal worth, nor afather for the final evaluation of the eternalworth of his children.

What, then, is a husband or father requiredto judge? He must judge conduct that affectsthe welfare of those for whom he isresponsible.

If I see my children continually indulgingin soft drinks, ice cream, and candy, I mustwarn them that they are in danger of ruiningtheir teeth and their health. To ensure that they

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JUDGING OTHERS

grow up healthy, I may have to make rules thatlimit their indulgence in those things.

Or if I see my child reading a certain kindof book—maybe ghost stories—and he or sheis already nervous and does not sleep well atnight, that kind of reading is absolutely the lastthing that is suitable for that particular child! Ihave an obligation to say, "I don't want to seeany more of those books in your bedroom, andI want to know what you're reading."

I am also obligated to judge conduct thataffects the honor and order of our home. I willbe held accountable by God and probably alsoby my neighbors. If my children are rude andundisciplined, it reflects on me as the father. Itindicates that I am not fulfilling my function.The Danish have a saying, "The apple doesn'tfall far from the tree." That is a neat way ofobserving that what parents are like is usuallywhat their children will turn out to be also.

One of the words that has almost droppedout of use today is honor. Yet a father shouldbe concerned about the honor of his family andhis home. The children of a friend of mine, awell-known preacher, were misbehaving. Hesaid to them, "I want you to know that thename you bear is a very honorable name, andyou are responsible for what people think about

57


it." That turned his children around!

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11THOSE IN THE

CHURCH

The next area of judgment is the main onedealt with in the New Testament: the church,the corporate body of believers. Remember thatleaders are expected to judge those whom theylead. Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17 were addressedto church members but indicate what isexpected of their leaders:

7 Remember those who rule over you [or who leadyou], who have spoken the word of God to you,whose faith follow, considering the outcome of theirconduct [that is, the results you see in their lives].

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive,for they watch out for your souls.

It is clear that the church leadership isexpected to exercise authority and maintain

59


discipline. In fact, where there is no leadershipthat performs these functions, it is not correct,in a scriptural sense, to talk about a church. InActs 14:21-23, groups of disciples becamechurches only when elders were appointed.Before the elders were appointed, they werejust groups of disciples. It took leadership tomake them into a church. Where there is noeffective leadership, you may have a meeting,but the New Testament would not acknowledgethat as a church.

The Greek word for church is ecclesia. Thenormal meaning of this, in contemporarysecular literature, was a "governmentalassembly." In Acts 19, for instance, the city ofEphesus was governed by its ecclesia, itsassembly. The word ecclesia is translated threetimes in Acts 19 as "assembly" (vv. 32, 39, 41).In other words, the very essence of the Church—the ecclesia—is governmental. Withoutgovernment, nothing justifies the use of theword church.

As we look back over history as far as theReformation, we see a division in Christianityin our Western world. One stream remainedCatholic, the other became Protestant. Eversince, Catholics and Protestants have been busypointing out one another's errors. A Catholic

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THOSE IN THE CHURCH

friend of mine once asked, "Wouldn't it bebetter if we changed, each focusing on the goodpoints of the other and straightening out ourown errors?"

Whether we are Catholic or Protestant bybackground, we often have certainpreconceptions that we have never fullyexamined. One common error of Protestantism,I observe, is that everybody thinks he has aright to judge in every situation.

Corrie ten Boom from Holland, one of thecountries torn most bitterly by the conflictbetween Catholics and Protestants, said to meonce, "Every Dutchman is his own theologian."That may be particularly characteristic of theDutch people, but it describes a feature that iscommon to Protestantism as a whole. Withoutappropriate safeguards, however, this can leadto instability and fragmentation.

Ultimately, although the church is underleadership, the final responsibility for judgmentdoes not rest merely with the leaders. In mostareas where the New Testament holds us asChristians accountable to judge, it addresses usin the plural, not in the singular. In otherwords, we are responsible to judge collectively,not individually.

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Let's look at a few of the Scriptures that tellus what we are responsible to judge. In everycase, as far as I can determine, it is thecollective body of believers that is responsibleto do the judging.

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12MORAL STANDARDS

In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul spoke about themoral standards that a congregation is requiredto maintain:

1 It is actually reported that there is sexualimmorality among you, and such sexual immoralityas is not even named among the Gentiles; that a manhas his father's wife!

2 And you are puffed up, and have not rathermourned, that he who has done this deed might betaken away from among you.

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present inspirit, have already judged (as though I werepresent) him who has so done this deed.

(vv. 1-3)

The Corinthians were puffed up with theirspiritual gifts but did not deal with sin.Unfortunately, this is often true of churchesthat place an excessive emphasis on spiritual

63


gifts that is not balanced by the discipline ofScripture. Paul told the Corinthians plainly thata man guilty of such conduct had no place inthe church. But although Paul gave hisjudgment as an apostle, it required theendorsement of the church as a whole. Thatwas why he was writing, urging them:

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when youare gathered together, along with my spirit, with thepower [authority] of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction ofthe flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day ofthe Lord Jesus.


That was a fearful judgment! But notice thewords "when you are gathered together,"referring to the collective action of the wholebody. Paul was saying he could not be there inperson but was coming through his letter andwould be praying. "When you act," he said,"my spirit will be acting with you."

What does it mean to deliver a person toSatan? I confess there are areas in which I donot have full understanding. But Satan is "thegod of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4). When aperson is excluded from the body of believers,he or she is turned out into the world. What aterrible destiny! It does not necessarily meanthat we say, "Satan, we hand this person over to

64

MORAL STANDARDS

you." Nevertheless, to be excluded from thefellowship of God's people is, in a certainsense, to be handed over to Satan.

The man being dealt with in this case wasguilty of both adultery and incest. Further inthe same chapter, Paul expanded the list of sinsthat have to be dealt with:

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep companywith sexually immoral people.

10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexuallyimmoral people of this world, or with the covetous,or extortioners, or idolaters, since you would need togo out of the world.

11 But now I have written to you not to keepcompany with anyone named a brother, who issexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or areviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not evento eat with such a person.


Writing in the first century of our era, Paulwas realistic about the condition of the worldaround him. For a Christian to separate himselfcompletely from the kinds of people whomPaul described—the sexually immoral, thecovetous, the idolater, the reviler (abusiveperson), the drunkard, and the extortioner(swindler)—such a Christian would have tobreak off contact with the world.

A realistic view of the world around us as

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the twenty-first century opens would lead us tothe same conclusion. We are surrounded bypeople who are sinners in thought and wordand deed. The world has not changed, and itwill never change. Only the grace of God inChrist can effect the kind of radical change thatis needed.

As Christians, however, we are notrequired to take responsibility for the behaviorof the people of the world around us.Therefore, we are not required to judge theirconduct.

When the person I relate to professes to bea Christian, however, the situation is different.If I am known to be a Christian and I maintainclose fellowship with a person such as Pauldescribed, the unbeliever who knows us bothwill conclude that I accept that person as afellow Christian. I will be giving him a falsepicture of what it means to be a Christian. I willbe compromising my own testimony.

For this reason Paul said,8 Live as children of light

10 and find out what pleases the Lord.

11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds ofdarkness, but rather expose them.

(Ephesians 5:8, 10-11 NIV)

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MORAL STANDARDS

To be open and honest, I have to say tosuch a person, "As long as you continue to livethe way you are, I won't fellowship with you.Because, if I did, the world would think that Iaccept you as my fellow Christian, and I wouldbe deceiving the world as to what a Christianreally is. Until you change your lifestyle, I can'tcontinue to fellowship with you."

Paul summed this situation up by saying:12 "For what have I to do with judging those whoare outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

13 But those who are outside God judges.(1 Corinthians 5:12-13)

What did Paul mean by "those who areinside"? Our fellow believers. On the otherhand, you do not have to judge "those who areoutside," that is, the unbelievers.

Throughout this passage the pronoun "you"is plural. It is the corporate responsibility of thecollective church to judge such matters. Inconclusion, Paul demanded strong disciplinaryaction by the church as a whole.

13 Therefore put away from yourselves the evilperson.


The situation that Paul was dealing withwas an unusual case of immorality that does

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not happen in every church every day. On theother hand, I have frequently encountered, inthe course of visiting various churches, cases ofincest between father and daughter and cases ofpracticing homosexuality among members.This behavior is not something remote fromanother age. In fact, we are liable to be facedwith more and more of it as the morality of ourown society deteriorates.

Somebody once said, "A ship in the sea isall right; but the sea in the ship is all wrong."The church in the world is all right. The worldin the church is all wrong. One main purpose ofdiscipline is to keep the world out of thechurch. But it is a continual battle!

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13DISPUTES BETWEEN

BELIEVERS

What else, besides ethical and moralconduct, are we responsible to judge? We arealso responsible to judge disputes betweenbelievers. The Scriptures are clear about this.To start with, let's turn to the words of Jesus inMatthew 18:15:

"If your brother sins against you."

Would borrowing two thousand dollars,promising to pay it back within thirty days, andkeeping it six months be a sin? I would say itwould. Do Christians ever do such things toone another? They certainly do!

So if this happens to you, what are you todo about it? Go to the attorney? No!

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15 Go and tell him his fault between you and himalone. If he hears you, you have gained yourbrother.

(Matthew 18:15)

The first step is to go to the personprivately. Do not go to anybody else!

In my experience, in disputes betweenfellow Christians, at least fifty percent of usstart by doing the wrong thing: we go tosomebody other than the offending brother.When we do that, the problem gets out of hand.My first wife, Lydia, was an outspoken person.When she was a missionary in Israel manyyears ago, before we were married, a certainpastor was very critical of her because she was"Pentecostal." He criticized her to otherChristians. Eventually the Lord convicted him,and he came to her to ask her to forgive him.Her answer was typical. "I have to forgive youfor my sake," she said. "But go up into a towerwith a bag of feathers, and let them out into thewind, and see how many feathers you can getback."

What has been said, in other words, cannotbe unsaid. When we misuse our tongues andtalk to the wrong people, we are opening a bagof feathers in the wind. How many of them canwe get back?

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DISPUTES BETWEEN BELIEVERS

Taking that first step and going to yourbrother is often surprisingly effective. Yearsago, when I was a young Christian, a brothermade some unfair remarks about a person veryclose to me, and I made an appointment to seethe brother privately. When we met, his kneeswere literally knocking with fright! I did notneed to scold him or argue with him. In such acase, the scriptural approach can release theauthority of God into a situation.

16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or twomore, that "by the mouth of two or three witnessesevery word may be established."

(Matthew 18:16)

Here is another principle: In matters ofjudgment, everything has to be established byat least two witnesses. I will say more aboutthis later.

If your brother will not hear the witnessesyou bring, what is the next step?

17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to thechurch. But if he refuses even to hear the church, lethim be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

(v. 17)

Jesus was saying that the one who will notaccept the decision of the church forfeits hisright to be treated as a Christian.

Two things about this frighten me. First, I

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would be scared to deliberately set aside anydecision of a church that had been reached in ascriptural way. The other thing that frightensme is to think of the authority vested in thechurch, yet how few churches are in any waycompetent to exercise that authority!

Let's go on to 1 Corinthians 6 and see thisprinciple applied to a church situation:

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another,go to law before the unrighteous, and not before thesaints [believers]?

(v. 1)

"Dare any of you?" Notice how stronglyPaul felt!

2 Do you not know that the saints will judge theworld? And if the world will be judged by you, areyou unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? Howmuch more, things that pertain to this life?

4 If then you have judgments concerning thingspertaining to this life, do you appoint those who areleast esteemed by the church to judge?

5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not awise man among you, not even one, who will be ableto judge between his brethren?


This passage is not saying that a Christianmust not go to law. It is saying that a Christianmust not go to law with a fellow believer.

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We may be tested on this. Some years ago,I bought a house from a believer, and weagreed to use the same lawyer. I will never dothat again! The man we chose was a tongues-speaking lawyer. But he was also a crook. Ingood faith, I paid the money I owed, but thelawyer appropriated the money to pay anotherdebt—his own.

When I discovered what the lawyer haddone, I went to him about it. It took me a fewweeks to catch up with him! But he was sobankrupt that I had no possibility of everrecovering the money. So I wrote to the manfrom whom I had bought the house and toldhim our lawyer had swindled us. Because themoney I had paid the lawyer had been divertedto another use, I suggested that we share theloss between us. The fellow believer wroteback and said, "No, you paid the money. It'syour loss."

So I consulted a second, more reliablelawyer. He told me that according to hisunderstanding, it was not my loss but theformer owner's, because I had bought the housefree of encumbrances and was entitled toreceive it that way.

Then I had to do some praying! Finally,because the Bible says that we are not to go to

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court with a fellow believer, I accepted the lossand paid the money a second time. Eventually,the money I lost, God gave me back manytimes over. But it was a test!

I am not saying that if I had a contract withan unbeliever and he broke it, I would not, afterpraying it over, go to court. I am saying simplythat we are not free to go to law with a fellowbeliever. It is a reproach if believers take eachother before a worldly court. Such disputesshould be settled in the church. But how manychurches today would be competent to handlesuch an issue?

A Methodist woman wrote me oncecomplaining that a member of her church hadrented some property from her and her husbandbut was not paying the rent. What was myadvice? I quoted 1 Corinthians 6:1-6 andsuggested she go to the leaders of her churchand state the case before them. I never heardanother word from her. I do not think she waspleased with my advice, and I could wellbelieve that the leaders of her church would nothave known how to handle that problem.Nevertheless, that is the scriptural procedure.

After I left a church in Canada that I hadpastored, the congregation joined with anothercongregation, then split up. One congregation

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ended up with all the money, and the otherwanted half of it. So they went to law in a civilcourt. The judge was quoted in the paper assaying, "It is a reproach to you people that Ihave to judge this case."

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14DOCTRINES AND

MINISTRIES

What else are we required to judge? Paulgave another example in Romans 16:17:

17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who causedivisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrinewhich you learned, and avoid them.

If people begin to propagate incorrectdoctrine, and it becomes a source of division inthe church, we are exhorted to notice thosepeople and refuse fellowship to them. The basisfor judging and refusing fellowship in this caseis doctrinal error that breeds division in thechurch.

In this case, Paul apparently had in mindsome kind of false doctrine that originateswithin a congregation. On the other hand, false

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DOCTRINES AND MINISTRIES

doctrine may also be imported from outsidethrough visiting preachers or teachers. InRevelation 2:2 Jesus said to the church ofEphesus:

2 1 know your works, your labor, your patience, andthat you cannot bear those who are evil. And youhave tested those who say they are apostles and arenot, and have found them liars.

Jesus commended that church becausewhen men came claiming to be apostles, thechurch collectively tested them and rejectedtheir claim. Though the Ephesian church isaddressed in the singular, we understand that itwas the whole church collectively that wasresponsible. It was a very serious decision thatthey reached, because in Revelation 22:15 thelist of those forever excluded from the NewJerusalem and from the Tree of Life concludeswith, "Whoever loves and practices a lie."

This subject is more fully dealt with in"Appendix 1: How to Recognize Apostles."

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15A WARNING TO DUMB

DOGS

In this connection, it is important toobserve a distinction between two kinds ofproblems that may occur. On the one hand,there are personal disputes between individualbelievers; on the other hand, there are forms ofmisconduct or errors of doctrine that affect thewhole body of Christ.

In dealing with personal disputes, our aimshould be to bring about some kind ofreconciliation between the parties. Failing that,we should seek at least to seal up the problembetween the persons involved, so that it doesnot develop into a wider dispute affecting morepeople.

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A WARNING TO DUMB DOGS

On the other hand, if we are dealing withsome kind of serious misconduct or doctrinalerror that could poison the whole body ofChrist, we must be more concerned for thewelfare of the body than for the resolution ofpersonal differences. As shepherds of God'sflock, our first concern must be to warn andprotect the sheep.

Here are two examples of how the apostlesdealt with this kind of situation. Concerning abeliever named Hymenaeus, Paul said in 1Timothy 1:18-20,

18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy,according to the prophecies previously madeconcerning you, that by them you may wage thegood warfare,

19 having faith and a good conscience, which somehaving rejected, concerning the faith have sufferedshipwreck,

20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Idelivered to Satan that they may learn not toblaspheme.

In 2 Timothy 2:17-18 Paul referred again toHymenaeus:

17 And their message will spread like cancer.Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,

18 who have strayed concerning the truth, sayingthat the resurrection is already past, and theyoverthrow the faith of some.

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Paul saw the error that Hymenaeus waspropagating as a "cancer" in the body of Christ,and he was ruthless in his determination to cutit out. The Greek word translated "cancer" isthe word from which we form the English wordgangrene. Paul's concern for the welfare ofChrist's body took precedence over anypersonal relationship he might have had withHymenaeus. He was therefore outspoken in hispublic condemnation of Hymenaeus. The issueto be settled was not a personal relationshipbetween Paul and Hymenaeus, but a doctrinalerror affecting the whole body of Christ.

Another example of this principle is foundin 3 John 9-10 where the apostle John warnedthe believers against Diotrephes:

9 1 wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves tohave the preeminence among them, does not receiveus.

10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deedswhich he does, prating against us with maliciouswords. And not content with that, he himself does notreceive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to,putting them out of the church.

Clearly, John felt obligated to warn hisfellow believers because the behavior ofDiotrephes was a cause of disorder and disunityin the body of Christ. John's concern for thebody of Christ as a whole was more important

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A WARNING TO DUMB DOGS

than any personal feelings he might have hadfor Diotrephes as a brother.

It still may happen today that we findourselves confronted with a situation in whichour concern for the body of Christ must takeprecedence over any personal relationship thatwe may have with an individual believer.

In Isaiah's time, the Lord charged theleaders of Israel that they were failing in theirresponsibility to His people:

10 They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark. (Isaiah56:10)

At the approach of a predator, it was theduty of the sheepdogs to bark and thus to warnboth the shepherds and the sheep. But if thedogs kept silent, they endangered those wholooked to them for protection.

The same truth applies to God's peopletoday. Wherever the flock is threatened bydoctrinal error or deceptive ministries, it is thesolemn responsibility of the leaders to giveclear authoritative warning. Leaders who fail inthis responsibility are in the same category asthe "dumb dogs" whom God reproved inIsaiah's time.

There is further information on this subjectin "Appendix 2: True and False Prophets."

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16HOW TO IDENTIFYFALSE MINISTRIES

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus warned usconcerning false prophets,

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you insheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenouswolves.

The wolf is the natural enemy of the sheep,while the sheep represent the true believers.The wolf coming in sheep's clothing indicates adeceiver—somebody claiming to be a realChristian, but who is not. Jesus went on to say,

16 You will know them by their fruits. Do mengather grapes from thornbushes or figs fromthistles?

(v. 16)

How many times do we have to prick our

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HOW TO IDENTIFY FALSE MINISTRIES

fingers on a thorn, hoping to get a grape, beforewe conclude that someone is a false prophet?

In conclusion, Jesus provided a decisivetest: the test of fruit.

17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but abad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a badtree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cutdown and thrown into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.(Matthew 7:17-20)

The difference between fruit and gifts maybe illustrated by comparing a Christmas treewith an apple tree. The gifts on a Christmas treeare placed there by a single act, and arelikewise taken from it by a single act. Noprocess of maturing or ripening is required.

On the other hand, the fruit of an apple treeis produced by a process that extends over aperiod of time. This process includes planting,watering, tending, pruning, and ultimatelycollecting the fruit. There is no such thing asinstant fruit.

In the spiritual realm, the fruit we shouldlook for is Christian character. This character isdeveloped by a process that includes testing

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and discipline. The end product is a disciple. Itwas this concept that Paul had in mind when hesaid of Timothy in Philippians 2:22:

22 But you know his proven character, that as a sonwith his father he served with me in the gospel.(emphasis added)

If we approach the spiritual realm lookingonly for the instant, we open ourselves up todeception. No one has yet produced instant figsor instant grapes. If anyone were to offer theseto us, we would immediately be on our guard.We should likewise be on our guard withministries that focus only on immediate resultsthat impact our senses.

Jesus made an absolute distinction betweenthe two kinds of trees: A good tree cannot bearbad fruit; a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.This truth has practical implications. Whereverwe encounter bad fruit, we know that its sourceis a bad tree. We need to identify the bad treeand deal with it.

Jesus concluded with a terrible warningconcerning trees that do not produce good fruit:

"Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cutdown and thrown into the fire"

(Matthew 7:19).

God demands good fruit. Trees thatproduce bad fruit and those that produce no

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HOW TO IDENTIFY FALSE MINISTRIES

fruit come under the same judgment. Theirultimate destiny is the fire of hell.

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17SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND

MANIFESTATIONS

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do notwant you to be ignorant: you know that you were

Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, howeveryou were led.

—1 Corinthians 12:1-2

Why did Paul use the word "dumb" in theabove passage? I do not believe he meant"stupid." What was the point of calling theidols dumb? They never spoke. "Now you arein a spiritual realm," Paul was saying, "wherespirits indwell human beings and speak out ofthem through their vocal organs. Therefore,you need to know whether it is the Holy Spiritthat is speaking or a different spirit—that is, anevil spirit, a demon."

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SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND MANIFESTATIONS

Paul then offered a simple, practical test:3 Therefore I make known to you that no onespeaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed,and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by theHoly Spirit.


Paul had in mind a situation where a spirithas taken up residence within a person andmanifests itself through that person. It is notthe person's own spirit that we are required totest, but the other spirit that has taken upresidence within the person. There is one vitalquestion that we must settle: Is the spirit that ismanifesting itself through the person the HolySpirit from God or is it an evil spirit—ademon?

To apply the test, we must speak directly tothe spirit in the person. We must challenge it toreveal its attitude to Jesus: Is Jesus Lord?

If the spirit acknowledges that Jesus isLord, then it is the Holy Spirit. But if it refusesto acknowledge Jesus as Lord, or even speaksblasphemously against Jesus, then it is an evilspirit—a demon.

I have personally applied this test in manycases. An evil spirit always betrays itself by itsreaction. It may seal the mouth of the personand refuse to give any answer. Or it may cause

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the person to shake his head violently. Or itmay speak through the person's mouthnegative, blasphemous words against Jesus.

The decisive test is a spirit's attitude towardJesus. It will either honor Him or deny Him. Itwill never be neutral.

In his first epistle, John also emphasizedthe need to test the spirits that we encounter:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test thespirits, whether they are of God, because many falseprophets have gone out into the world.

(1 John 4:1)

Notice the relationship between a falseprophet and a false spirit. A prophet is one whospeaks by a spirit that is not his own. If hespeaks by the Holy Spirit, he is a true prophet.If he speaks by any other spirit, he is a falseprophet. It is the spirit in the person that we aretesting, not the person's own natural reactions.The decisive issue is the attitude of the spirittoward Jesus.

John continued,2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spiritthat confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the fleshis of God,

3 and every spirit that does not confess that JesusChrist has come in the flesh is not of God.

(1 John 4:2-3)

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Again, the test is primarily the spirit'sattitude toward Jesus: Has He come as Christ(Messiah) in the flesh-in a physical body?

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the worldwho do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in theflesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose thosethings we worked for, but that we may receive a fullreward.

9 Whoever transgresses [literally, "goes beyond"]and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does nothave God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christhas both the Father and the Son.

(2 John 1:7-9)

Notice the essence of the test: Has Jesus theMessiah come in the flesh? If a spirit does notaffirm this, it is a deceiver.

What is "the doctrine of Christ"? In 1Corinthians 15:1-5, Paul stated the essentialtruths that are the foundation of our faith:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospelwhich I preached to you, which also you receivedand in which you stand,

2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast thatword which I preached to you—unless you believedin vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all ["as of the firstimportance," NIV] that which I also received: thatChrist died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

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4 and that He was buried, and that He rose againthe third day according to the Scriptures,

5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by thetwelve.


Earlier, in 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul hadstated,

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than thatwhich is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

When John spoke about someone who"goes beyond" these essential foundationaltruths, what did he have in mind? It wouldapply to anyone who adds doctrines beyondthese stated by Paul and requires acceptance ofthem as a condition of salvation. Soulish pridesometimes tempts people into believing someso-called "deeper truth" or some "higher light"granted only to a select few. But thank God thatthe essential truths of the Gospel are so simplethat even a child can understand them. Somepeople reject the Gospel not because it is tooprofound but because it is too simple.

As Christians, we are held accountable byGod for the way our conduct affects otherpeople. We must be careful not to say or doanything that would be interpreted ascondoning or endorsing serious doctrinal errorthat is being propagated by others-the type of

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error, that is, that "goes beyond" the simple,basic truths of the Gospel unfolded in the NewTestament.

To give a simple, specific example, Ibelieve that the teaching of "Jehovah'sWitnesses" clearly goes beyond the Gospelunfolded in the New Testament. As a generalrule, I would not want to say or do anythingthat would seem to endorse their errors.

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18WHOM ARE WE NOT

RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE?

In Romans 14 Paul gave examples ofpeople whom we are not required to judge:those who believe they may eat meat, thosewho believe they should eat only vegetables,those who believe they must observe certainreligious days, and those who do not observeany religious days. As long as theirobservances do not have a negative effect onmy life, I am not responsible to judge them. Infact, I am responsible not to judge them.

On the other hand, if anything anotherbeliever does would influence me to dosomething unscriptural, then I am responsible

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WHOM ARE WE NOT RESPONSIBLE TOJUDGE?

to exercise judgment. In other words, the areawhere I am responsible to judge is my own lifeand conduct.

Another area we are not responsible tojudge is other people's children. Sometimes it isvery tempting to do that. But again, the samelimitation applies: Unless their conduct affectsus, we are not to judge them.

Do you know what I have observed? Someof the people who are busy judging otherpeople's children would be better occupiedcorrecting their own.

Another area we are not responsible tojudge is Christian groups to which we do notbelong. In the New Testament, that situationdid not arise because there were no otherChristian groups. All Christians belonged toone group. So in a sense it is an unnaturalsituation.

But let's say you are seriously concernedwith the behavior of members of anotherchurch. It is not your responsibility to judgethem. If you really think the situation needs tobe dealt with, go to your shepherd, and he willgo to their shepherd. That is the way to handleit: shepherd to shepherd, not sheep to sheep.

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19HOW ARE WE TO

JUDGE?

This question is very important. Here arefour basic principles of judgment established inScripture, some or all of which normally apply.

1. Judge with righteous judgment.2. Judge on the basis of proven fact.3. The accused has the right to face his

accusers.4. Judge on the basis of at least two and

preferably three reliable witnesses.1. With Righteous Judgment

Jesus warned us:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judgewith righteous judgment.

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HOW ARE WE TO JUDGE?

(John 7:24)

Judging is a serious matter that can havepowerful results for good or evil. One way orthe other, it can have serious and lasting effectsin people's lives. Therefore, we must notindulge in hasty or superficial judgment. Wemust carefully follow the principles laid downin Scripture.2. According to the Facts

Second, we must judge on the basis ofproven fact. The account given in Genesis 18really impresses me. The Lord was having aconversation with Abraham, telling him He wason His way to inspect the cities of Sodom andGomorrah because He had received many badreports concerning them. (The bad reports, Ipresume, came from angels.) What impressesme is that the Lord did not merely accept theangels' reports without verifying them forHimself. Listen to what He said:

20 Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrahis great, and because their sin is very grave,

21 I will go down now and see whether they havedone altogether according to the outcry against itthat has come to Me; and if not, I will know.

(Genesis 18:20-21)

That amazes me! Even the Lord does notjudge without taking time to see the situation

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for Himself. How dare we if God does not?12 If you hear someone in one of your cities, whichthe LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying:

13 "Corrupt men have gone out from among you andenticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, `Let usgo and serve other gods"; which you have notknown.

(Deuteronomy 13:12-13)

"If you hear someone... saying." Do youever "hear say"? At times, do you even makejudgments only on the basis of hearsay?

The people in this passage were accused ofa terrible sin: turning people away from the trueGod to idolatry. How does God expect us torespond to such a report? I quote from the KingJames since it is more vivid than the othertranslations:

14 Then shall thou inquire, search out, and askdiligently. And if it is indeed true and certain thatsuch an abomination was committed among you,

15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city.(Deuteronomy 13:14-15, emphasis added)

Notice these five safeguards before you act:Inquire, search, ask diligently, see if it is true,and see if it is proven. God ordained for Israelthat judgment had to be based on proven facts.

Once just judgment has been decided on,however, then it must be followed up by

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appropriate action. It frustrates me thatChristians are so often passing judgment onother Christians but, after that, they do nothingabout it. There is no purpose in judgment if it isnot followed by appropriate action. It isunscriptural.3. Facing the Accusers

The third requirement for judgment is this:The accused has a right to face his accusers andhear the case against him. The worst offendersin this respect are often religious people. InJohn 7 the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religiouscouncil, were discussing Jesus. They had hearda lot of bad reports and were discussing theseamong themselves. One honest man,Nicodemus, spoke up:

51 Does our law judge a man before it hears himand knows what he is doing?

(John 7:51)

It is not scriptural to judge anybody untilyou have let that person speak for himself inperson.

Some years ago I realized that I wasforming opinions of people based on what Ihad heard, but when I met those people myopinions often changed instantly. I had beengoing on prejudice and misinformation. So I

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made a rule of conduct for myself: Wheneverpossible, I will never form an opinion aboutsomebody until I have met him or herpersonally. People are so different from whatyou hear about them!

In Acts 25:15-16 Festus, the Romanprocurator, was talking about his dealings withPaul:

15 About whom the chief priests and the elders of theJews informed [misinformed] me, when I was inJerusalem, asking for a judgment against him.

(v. 15)

Listen to what this Gentile official toldthose religious Jews:

16 It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver anyman to destruction before the accused meets theaccusers face to face, and has opportunity [liberty]to answer for himself concerning the charge againsthim.

(v. 16)

Festus was upholding to the Jewsprinciples of justice that were established intheir own law, but which they weretransgressing. Sometimes the secular world ismore righteous in its dealings than religiouspeople who are blinded by their prejudices!

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4. On the Testimony of Two or PreferablyThree Reliable Witnesses

I pointed out earlier that in Matthew 18:16Jesus Himself affirmed this requirement:

16 That by the mouth of two or three witnesses everyword may be established.

In 1 Timothy 5:19 Paul especiallyemphasized that leaders in the church need theprotection of this rule:

19 Do not receive an accusation against an elderexcept from two or three witnesses.

Why do church leaders especially need thisprotection? Because Satan is

"the accuser of our brethren"(Revelation 12:10).

Gossip and scandalmongering are two ofthe main weapons that Satan uses against menwhom God raises up in positions of spiritualleadership. They are also two of the commonestsins among religious people.

At the close of this brief study on judging,we would do well to remind ourselves of oneinescapable appointment that awaits us all.

10 For we must all appear [be made manifest, betotally exposed] before the judgment seat of Christ,that each one may receive the things done in thebody, according to what he has done, whether goodor bad.

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In the next verse, Paul applied this truth tohis own life:

11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, wepersuade men, but we are well known [mademanifest, fully exposed] to God.

(v. 11)

Great apostle though he was, Paul wasovercome with awe at the prospect of beingtotally exposed before the judgment seat ofChrist. Is there any reason why you or I shouldfind such a prospect less awesome?

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APPENDIX 1 HOW TO RECOGNIZE

APOSTLES

In Revelation 2:2 Jesus praised the churchat Ephesus:

"You have tested those who say they are apostlesand are not, and have found them liars."

Again, in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Paulspoke about some who had been ministeringamong the Corinthians and described them as

“false apostles, deceitful workers, transformingthemselves into the apostles of Christ.”

Then he commented,14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transformshimself into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers alsotransform themselves into ministers of righteousness,whose end will be according to their works.

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(vv. 14-15)

It is clear, therefore, that Jesus holds thechurch accountable, whenever necessary, totest those who claim to be apostles, and if theydo not pass the test, to reject them as deceivers.To reject the false, however, we must firstknow how to identify the genuine. How, then,can we recognize a true apostle?

First, we must understand what the wordapostle actually means. The literal meaning ofthe Greek word for "apostle" is "one sentforth." A person who has not been "sent forth"cannot be an apostle.

In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul said that Godhas made Jesus

"head over all things to the church, which is Hisbody."

It is Jesus, therefore, as Head over thechurch, who sends forth apostles. In 2Corinthians 3:17, however, Paul said,

"Now the Lord is the Spirit [that is, the Holy Spirit]."

This statement indicates that Jesus is Lordover the church, but that the Holy Spirit is Lordin the church. This truth is exemplified in theway that apostles were appointed and sent forthfrom the Church at Antioch:

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APPENDIX 1 HOW TO RECOGNIZEAPOSTLES

1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there werecertain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeonwho was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaenwho had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch,and Saul [later called Paul].

2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the HolySpirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saulfor the work to which I have called them."

3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands onthem, they sent them away.

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they wentdown to Seleucia, and from there they sailed toCyprus.

(Acts 13:1-4)

In this transaction, Jesus, as Head over thechurch, operated through the Holy Spirit—Hisdivine, authoritative, personal representativewithin the church.

Originally, all of the five men in Acts 13:1were described as "prophets and teachers."After Barnabas and Saul (Paul) had been sentforth, both of them were called "apostles," as inActs 14:14:

"But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heardthis..."

(emphasis added).

It was through being sent forth fromAntioch that Barnabas and Paul qualified forthe title "apostles."

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Later on, Acts 16:1-4 records how adisciple named Timothy was taken in charge byPaul and was sent forth with him as part of histeam. In this way, Timothy also qualified forthe title "apostle"—"one sent forth." This isconfirmed in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 where theepistle opens with readings from three men:Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy. Further on,in 1 Thessalonians 2:6, Paul, writing on behalfof all three men, said,

6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from youor from others, when we might have made demandsas apostles of Christ.

(emphasis added)

This verse indicates that Timothy—havingbeen sent forth with Paul and Barnabas—wasnow recognized together with them as anapostle.

Paul said,12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplishedamong you with all perseverance, in signs andwonders and mighty deeds.

(2 Corinthians 12:12, emphasis added)

Obviously, therefore, it was expected thatevery genuine apostolic ministry would beattested by appropriate supernatural signs. Thefirst attesting sign that Paul mentioned is adistinguishing mark of character: "all

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perseverance" (endurance). When the othersare ready to give up, the apostle is the one whoholds on in the face of all opposition ordiscouragement.

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that wewere burdened beyond measure, above strength, sothat we despaired even of life.

9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, thatwe should not trust in ourselves but in God whoraises the dead,

10 who delivered us from so great a death, and doesdeliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliverus.


Then Paul also specified "signs andwonders and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians2:12). The ministry of an apostle should beattested by significant miracles. An objectivereading of the New Testament would indicatethat the proclamation of the Gospel shouldregularly be confirmed by the kind ofsupernatural attestation described in Hebrews2:4:

4 God also bearing witness both with signs andwonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the HolySpirit, according to His own will.

During the sixty years that I have walkedwith the Lord, I have had the privilege of

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getting to know some wonderful servants ofHis. I do not doubt that some of them qualifiedfor the title "apostle." I think in particular oftwo men, one from Africa and one from Russia.Their ministries were from time to time attestedby dramatic miracles, and they left behind thema trail of local churches. Those are twoscriptural marks of an apostle: signs andwonders, and local churches brought to birth.

Supernatural signs by themselves, however,are not necessarily sufficient to attest a ministryas apostolic by New Testament standards. In 2Thessalonians 2:9 Paul warned that theAntichrist ("the lawless one") will be attestedby "all power, signs, and lying wonders." Yet,he will be an agent of Satan.

Supernatural signs must be joined withcorrect doctrine. Acts 2:42 says that those whowere baptized on the Day of Pentecost"continued steadfastly in the apostles'doctrine." Through this practice they were builtup into stable believers.

The entire New Testament is the product of"the apostles' doctrine." This fact indicates thatthe doctrine of a genuine apostle should in allmain points harmonize with the total revelationof the New Testament.

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Correct doctrine by itself, however, is notenough. It must proceed out of a lifestyle thatdemonstrates in daily living the truths that weproclaim. In Ephesians 3:4-5 Paul said that themystery of Christ has been revealed in this ageto God's "holy apostles and prophets"(emphasis added). Revealed truth must alwaysgo hand in hand with holiness of life.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:10 Paul spoke onbehalf of Silas, Timothy and himself and calledthe Thessalonians to witness

"how devoutly and justly and blamelessly webehaved ourselves among you who believe."

The primary fruit of the apostolic ministryis the local church. First and foremost, theapostle is the one who knows how to lay thefoundation of a local church. Speaking as anapostle to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians3:10, Paul said,

"As a wise master builder I have laid the foundation,and another builds on it."

Beyond that, the apostle also ministers tothe various needs of a local church after it hasbeen established. He may be used to bringencouragement, correction, rebuke, anddiscipline. In relation to the local church theapostle is the "wise master builder"—architect.

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He understands and can supervise every stagein the building process—from laying thefoundation to completing the roof.

This brief analysis of the ministry of anapostle leads to two conclusions. First,Christian ministers who lay claim to the title of"apostle" should fulfill the qualifications forthat ministry that are described in the NewTestament. Second, if a local church isapproached by ministers laying claim to thetitle of apostles, the leaders of the church areresponsible to check their claim by thestandards of the New Testament.

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APPENDIX 2 TRUE AND FALSE

PROPHETS

When we enter into the fullness of theChristian life, as depicted in the NewTestament, we find ourselves projected out ofthe natural and into a supernatural level ofliving. With the supernatural, we enter into arealm of greatly increased potential, but also ofnew and unfamiliar dangers.

We may illustrate this truth by a simpleexample from electricity. The higher thevoltage of the current that runs through a wire,the more powerful the insulation that protectsthe wire needs to be. So it is also in thespiritual realm. The further we move into therealm of the supernatural, the more urgent ourneed of the spiritual "insulation" that God has

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provided for us.The "insulation" that I have in mind

consists of studying and carefully applying thevarious safeguards that God has provided inScripture to keep the gift and ministry of aprophet in line with His Holy Word.

Satan's primary weapon against humanityhas always been deception. It was by deceptionthat he ensnared Adam and Eve in thebeginning of human history. In the last book ofthe Bible, the climax of prophecy and ofhistory, he is identified as

"that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, whodeceives the whole world"

(Revelation 12:9, emphasis added).

God has had His prophets on the earth inall ages. The first prophecy recorded inScripture was given by Enoch in the seventhgeneration from Adam:

14 Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of Hissaints,

15 to execute judgment on all.(Jude 14-15)

Abraham, the father of God's people onearth, was a prophet. The Lord told Abimelechconcerning him,

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APPENDIX 2 TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS

"He is a prophet, and he will pray for you and youshall live"

(Genesis 20:7).

In the New Covenant, in Ephesians 4:11,"prophets" are one of the five main ministriesthat Jesus has provided for the upbuilding ofHis body, the church.

Under the Law of Moses, God gavespecific directions to His people as to how todistinguish between true and false prophets. InDeuteronomy 13:1-5 the Lord warned that aprophet may give some supernatural sign,which actually comes to pass, and yet he maybe a false prophet:

1 If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamerof dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of whichhe spoke to you, saying, "Let us go after other gods",which you have not known, "and let us serve them,"

3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet orthat dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God istesting you to know whether you love the LORD yourGod with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 you shall walk after the LORD your God and fearHim, and keep His commandments and obey Hisvoice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shallbe put to death, because he has spoken in order toturn you away from the LORD your God, whobrought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemedyou from the house of bondage, to entice you from

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the way in which the LORD your God commandedyou to walk. So you shall put away the evil from yourmidst.

This warning is urgently needed today.Some of God's people are so enamored of thesupernatural that they are ready to receiveanyone who demonstrates supernatural poweror knowledge as necessarily being a trueservant of God. But the passage quoted aboveindicates that this attitude is unscriptural anddangerous.

In the seventh and eighth chapters ofExodus, the magicians of Egypt could duplicatethe first three supernatural signs performed byMoses and Aaron. They could turn their rodsinto serpents; they could turn water into blood;they could call swarms of frogs out of the river.Yet those magicians were servants of Satan,and their supernatural power came from Satan.

In Deuteronomy 13:3 Moses gave onereason why God may at times permit us to beconfronted by prophets who performsupernatural signs by a power that is not fromGod:

3 For the LORD your God is testing you to knowwhether you love the LORD your God with all yourheart and with all your soul.

(Deuteronomy 13:3, emphasis added)

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Our only absolute and unfailing protectionfrom deception is wholehearted love for theLord and uncompromising respect andobedience to His Word contained in theScriptures. In all dispensations, God permitsour love for Him to be tested. In Revelation3:18 Jesus spoke to the church at Laodicea,

18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in thefire.

Refined gold is love that has stood the testof obedience. It is never cheap!

In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Moses gave afurther way to identify a false prophet:

20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word inMy name, which I have not commanded him tospeak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, thatprophet shall die.

21 And if you say in your heart, "How shall we knowthe word which the LORD has not spoken?",

22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, ifthe thing does not happen or come to pass, that isthe thing which the Lord has not spoken, the prophethas spoken it presumptuously; you shall not beafraid of him.

To get the full picture we need to combinethe two passages that show us how to identify afalse prophet: Deuteronomy 13:1-5 andDeuteronomy 18:20-22.

The first passage warns against a prophet

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who gives a supernatural sign that is fulfilled,but at the same time teaches disobedience ordisloyalty towards the Lord. The secondpassage warns that a prophet who makes somesupernatural prediction that is not fulfilled is afalse prophet.

By induction we arrive at the followingconclusion: A true prophet is one who gives asupernatural sign or makes a prediction that isfulfilled, but who also teaches loyalty andobedience to the Lord and to His Word.

If a professing Christian gives asupernatural sign or a prophetic prediction thatis not fulfilled, he or she should take thefollowing steps:

(1) Publicly acknowledge that the sign orthe prediction was false.

(2) Ask forgiveness of all those who weredeceived.

(3) If people who were deceived sufferedloss or damage, do everything possible to makeamends.

During the sixty years that I have beenwalking with the Lord I can recall at least half adozen situations in which—in the name of theLord—a man or a woman gave a supernaturalsign or made a predictive prophecy that was

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never fulfilled. I can recall only two of thosepersons who publicly acknowledged their sinand asked forgiveness of those who had beendeceived.

In the New Testament church God hasordained that the exercise of the gift ofprophecy should be publicly submitted totesting:

29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let theothers judge.


It is unscriptural to permit the exercise ofthe gift of prophecy in public unlessopportunity is given for it to be subjected totesting.

I can recall a Sunday morning when I foundmyself on the platform of a church where I wasa regularly invited speaker. At one point a mannear the back stood up and in a loud, harshvoice gave forth a prophecy that pouredcondemnation on all the sins and shortcomingsof the people present.

As the man was speaking, I was watchingsome college students who were sitting in agroup near the front. The longer the man wenton "prophesying," the more clearly their facesregistered skepticism and disgust. "If no one

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challenges that man," I said to myself, "thoseintelligent, impressionable young people willconclude that we—their elders—accept whatthat man is saying as a genuine manifestationof the Holy Spirit, and they will lose allconfidence in the kind of Christianity that weprofess."

When the man had come to the end of his"prophecy," I stood up and addressed thecongregation: "The New Testament teachesthat when anyone prophesies, the others presentshould judge what he has been saying. It alsosays that a person who prophesies speaksedification, exhortation, and comfort. (See 1Corinthians 14:3.) In everything that ourbrother has been saying, I have heard nothingthat I would describe as edification,exhortation, or comfort—only criticism andcondemnation. For my part, I do not accept it asa genuine prophecy.

"The New Testament also says, `Let theothers judge' (1 Corinthians 14:29). I inviteothers here to give their judgment."

There were a few moments of silence. Then—one after another—three men who wererespected in the congregation stood up andgave their judgment. Each of them endorsedwhat I had said.

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The dark cloud that had followed the man'sfake prophecy was dispelled. More importantstill, the faces of the college students relaxed.Their elders were not so easily fooled, after all.

Prophecy is a precious gift that Jesus hasprovided for the upbuilding of the church.Rightly exercised, it is a channel of greatblessing—of edification, exhortation andcomfort. But its counterfeit—false prophecy—can be a satanic tool used for the destruction ofGod's people. I can recall instances where falseprophecy has been an instrument in thedestruction of an individual, a family, and evena whole congregation.

This places an obligation upon all who areleaders of God's people to faithfully anddiligently apply the safeguards that God hasprovided in Scripture.

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Judging When Why How - Derek Prince

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Transcript of Judging When Why How - Derek Prince