The Spies Within

As usual, when we speak the word of God there will be spies coming among the sheep to cause division with false doctrine and worldly assertions.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

These false teachers will bring every life circumstance to bear claiming that God would not want us to endure anything hard. They bring little or no scripture if there is scripture it is out of context leaving one with the opposite of what God actually said.

One of the mantras we hear all the time is "don't judge" with all the supporting scriptures omitted. They leave people with the impression that we are never to judge anyone about anything ever.

The bible does not say not to judge, God said in His word that we are not to judge others for things we are doing also. Then He commands us to take the log out of our own eye BEFORE judging others. In other words, after we have removed the log from our own eye we can judge without hypocrisy.

Here is what God actually said about judging:

John 7:24
"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Matthew 7:1-29
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. ..."

Proverbs 31:9
"Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."

1 Corinthians 2:14-16
"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ."

These are only a few passages, how can we possibly avoid evil men as we are commanded to do unless we judge them as evil? We judge many things in this world and many people, it is Christ in us who tells us through His Word what His judgments are, we merely repeat Him.