Judge Righteously! A Command

Why is it that so many people who shout "don't judge" when confronted with the assessment of a false preacher or evil person, proclaim that we are not to judge them because they think they are good.

Isn't judging someone as good a judgment?

If these people were to be consistent they wouldn't judge anyone as good or bad, it would be a violation of their own judgment rule.

The Bible commands us to tell the truth and judge righteously. That means that when I see something bad, we call it bad. When we see something good we call it good.

We are to tell the truth, not say nice things so everyone will like us.

John 7:24 ""Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

I can't count the number of times I hear people say they like a politician or a rock star because of their music or how they look on television, or even what they say. These things are not substantive, they are superficial and baseless.

When we see someone who supports wicked causes and lives a life of rebellion against God, then we can righteously judge those people as being evil, without Christ.

There are important clues that violate God's Word that show us the heart of a person. Nothing can happen on the outside that is not already in the heart. Our actions prove our heart condition, any rebellion shows the condition of the soul.

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

When we see the signs of a rebellious heart according to the Word, then we can boldly proclaim it. The rub comes when some people want to judge someone based on man made rules they think are in the Bible but in fact are not .

We are not to judge others based on our particular version of righteousness according to our traditions, we are not remain faithful to the Word of God in our judgments, repeating what God said.

Romans 3:4 "Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED."