The Most Popular - Most Misunderstood Bible Verse
I know what you’re thinking, John 3:16 has got to be the most popular. Wrong! It’s Matthew 7:1. This verse is probably quoted more often than any other passage in the Bible, by Christians and non-Christians alike. And what is this beloved passage? You’ll know it as soon as I begin…
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” See, I told you, you'd know it. And why is this passage the most beloved, most quoted verse in the entire Bible? Because it can be taken out of context and misused very easily to justify any and all sinful behavior. Christians will often quote it as soon as a fellow brother or sister in Christ confronts them about an area of sin in their life, and non-Christians will use it every time they’re confronted with the Biblical truth that they’re lost sinners needing salvation. “How dare you call me a sinner? How dare you try to judge me, you arrogant twit!?” That’s generally the response you get.
Basically, this boils down to Matt.7:1, becoming the end-all verse that stops dead in its tracks, any attempt to be a loving, caring, discerning, and yes… Biblical Christian. Is this really what Jesus meant? Did He really mean that we can never approach a brother or sister in Christ about sin in their life? If so, then why did He give instructions for doing it in Matt.18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5, and Galatians 6:1-5?
Did Jesus really mean that we can’t ever know who is really on God’s side and who is not? If so, then why did He say just a few verses later speaking of false teachers, “you will know them by their fruit.” Jesus, you mean, I’m to examine the fruit of a “professing” Christian’s life and compare to your Word to see if its real or not? But that’s making a judgment, Jesus? How could I ever tell another human being that they’re wrong?... that they’re life is not matching up with their "profession"? But even more important than that… Why would you ever want me to do such an unloving, supposedly “un-Christian” thing as pointing out the sin in another person’s life? Should I not be much more loving and kind and just take them for their word? Why in the world would you ever want me to do such a thing, Jesus?!
“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,… you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.”
(Ezekiel 33:1,7-9)
You see, in reality, the most loving, caring, and yes, Biblical thing we can do, as Christians, is to warn people regarding their sin and the terrible judgment and wrath to come. Matt.7:1 is not the end-all verse commanding us that it is never appropriate to be discerning, judging, and yes, even confronting from time to time. Jesus was simply warning us about having a harsh, condemning, and critical spirit that finds fault in everything and everyone, even to the point of trying to cast judgment on another person’s motives, which no man can do. As the Scriptures tell us, confronting those who are lost, and helping to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ actually fulfills the “law of Christ,” which is the law of love.
33 comments :
To one PDD:
I didn't post your comment for 2 reasons... first, it had absolutely nothing to do with the article and 2) You're a sick individual and I don't want your link on my page.
Hahahaha
I second Drea's hahahaha.
That was well put, Travis.
But I thought it meant:
"He who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones."
Judging others by a standard that even the judger would come up short on.
All sin being equal in the eyes of God.
MsAmber
Well said, Travis.
My pastor is always reminding us to hold our judgements up against the Word of God. Sometimes, it's not even a judgement that we have made. Sometimes, God has already made the judgement for us.
For example - God has already made the judgement that it is wrong to kill.
Or, another example - God has already decided that sex outside of a marriage is wrong. Adultery, premarital sex, divorce, etc... (Exodus 20:14, Matthew 19:19, Hebrews 13:4, etc.)
So in these and many more cases, it's not even us making the judgement, because God has already come before us and judged. As Bible-believing and Bible-living Christians, we should be ashamed if we refuse to warn a person of the judgement that is coming to them.
Ah, but then you would make the arguement against you so much stronger.
So then you live a "superior" lifestyle, as an example of how to live a christian life, so that you can preach without being a hypocrit. But your credibility goes down in the eyes of the sinning masses when you start becoming too perfect - too judgemental.
We like our preachers to have warts.
Years ago, my father and I had an arguement...
I like to drink a beer every now and then. I don't get drunk, and I wouldn't get drunk in front of my father even if I could.
My dad said to me that he likes a beer just as much as the next guy, but what if one of the younger guys at the church saw him in the store buying a six pack, and said to himself: "If it's ok for Mr.A. to do it, I can too." And then my father elaborated on the "what if"s illogically until it twisted around to become my father's fault that the man became a drunk and lost his family and his house and was lying in a gutter somewhere, regretting ever buying that first 6 pack of Bud.
I argued that he had no right to carry that burden, if God decided to teach that young man a lesson in humility and take him down, that's between Him and God. It has nothing to do with whether or not a good christian man drinks a dadgummed beer.
These are the reasons that more open-minded folk are naturally combative to the ultra-religious group.
My dad and I will drink a beer together now. We never finish a 6 pack.
MsAmber
Well, Msamber...
No one is perfect, of course, but church leaders are to live holy and blameless lives. And for that reason, Your father was absolutely right in thinking of others and choosing not to drink.
In 1 Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul addressed a similar issue in his day. In his case, the issue wasn't drinking, it was the eating of meat sacrificed to idols. The more mature Christians knew that it was just meat; the idol was nothing. However, for the younger Christians who had been saved out of paganism, eating meat sacrificed to idols was once apart of their worship. Therefore they couldn't continue to do it with a clear conscience.
Paul's point (I won't quote the entire passage, I'll just summarize) was that out of love for our brothers and sisters, it is better not to do the thing that might offend than for our liberty to become a stumbling block to them. Thats why Paul ended the discussion w/ this statement, "Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble."
Sure, one may have the "right" to eat meat, or drink or do any number of things... but the higher "law of love" out ranks any "right."
Sounds like your dad was a Biblical person.
MsAmber,
Keep in mind, as well, that every judgement God has already made (via the Bible) applies to me as well as the world. I can't name all the sins I've committed during my lifetime. However, the Bible says that God abhors (for example) lying, and I know that I have lied before. God abhors pride, and I have been overly proud before. God abhors jealousy, and I have been jealous before. When I stand before God in judgement, I will have to answer for all my sins.
MsAmber, I do not live a "superior" lifestyle. I freely admit to being a hypocrite. I only live my life in pursuit of Jesus Christ, as best as I can.
Travis, thanks for explaining the 1 Corinthians 8 passage. I absolutely agree with you. Sometimes it is alright to participate in particular behaviors, but out of love for our brothers and sisters, sometimes it is best for us to abstain from particular behaviors.
Thank you for including "you will know them by their fruits." Now, I can look to you with 100% confidence and know not to listen to you.
You are hardly an example of Christ's love. You think that because you have your own interpretation all figured out that you are infallible and that you can blast everyone with your beliefs. In reality (and most people can see this) you are an angry, judgmental and hateful person. Thanks again for including the "you will know them by their fruits" part. I now can look at your murderous president who you call "a man of integrity," and know him by his fruit, or lack thereof. 2 rotten, hellbound peas in a pod.
You sound a little angry Crall...
Are you under conviction?
Jesus can solve that for ya, dude. Praying for ya! :)
Crall,
You can believe what you want, but I sure don't think I am infallible. Do you need me to go into every sin I've ever committed? I know I can't remember them all. Today I have struggled with jealousy all day. The Bible tells us not to covet, but I have struggled with it all day.
You don't have to listen to me, Dan. You can hate me if you want. It doesn't bother me. But please, don't hate God. Get your soul squared away with Jesus. I really hope to see you in Heaven someday.
The eating of the meat that was sacrificed to idols ...
This is (in my extrapolation)because the eating of meat from the sacrifices would be a contrived insult to the converted brother's former beliefs.
1 Corinthians 10:32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.
Like, If I converted a Catholic to Baptist, and then this person saw me slapping the Virgin Mary statue around. That would be cruel. It means that I have no respect for the sanctity of their previous belief. That could make your brother stumble.
And I have to fuss about 1 Corinthians.
This is an attempt by Paul to expand on his new religious dogma, to preside as judge over issues that the Church didn't know how to address.
Paul should've asked the Talmud.
And a major theme with Paul, is the designation of Sanctified (saints) persons.
Sounds kinda like the Mormons with their Sanctified underwear.
When I am dealing with the New Testament, I really consider the personality of the Author.
See: 1 Corinthians 5:4,5
Did he just tell them to destroy the flesh of the sinner? The sin being: Corinth fornication had gotten so bad that a boy would lay with his father's wife and no-one was shocked?
I know my response veered a little from the original post. But I do like to know the disciple who's writing is being quoted.
MsAmber
Hi Msamber...
thanks for the comment.
Unfortunately there is one major flaw in your thinking (at least as I believe)... which is 2 Tim 3:16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God..."
The word "inspiration" in the original language means 'God-breathed.' Another passage is 2 Pet.1:21, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." So, even though we can examine the writings and use their personality and vocab. to identify other writings... the words they spoke and wrote the exact words God wanted them to put down. That's why we can trust that it (the Bible) is infallible and without error because it came from God. It is His revelation of Himself and His will to man.
Without using scripture to villify scripture. I know that a fundamental part of Christianity is accepting/agreeing that the Bible is the unpolluted and inspired works directly from the Holy Spirit.
I don't further that dogma.
The reason being: there ARE corrupted versions of the bible. I can show that several versions were gathered by King James' scribes and they consolidated the most likely and burned the rest. Giving us the diluted "Textus Majorus".
So corruption of the WORD has crept in before.
And even now. We have The Good News bible, and other modern day translations. Which are essentially, translations of translations.
The bible being unchanged, unmolested, and pure is a concept I have always disagreed with.
I know it is a fundamental basis in most christian beliefs that the Word of God cannot be corrupted.
When I read the Greek interlinear KJV, I see discrepancies between it and my other KJV.
I've also heard preachers expound on a word in the bible and tell us what it "really means".
I have much more faith in the purity of the Word in the Old Testament than I do in the New.
Putting that assumption aside.
What about Revelations?
John was imprisoned. Sick, underfed, and tortured. He had a dream... A Revelation.
It made a horrific story that would scare the sinners straight.
But!
I was commanded in the Old Testament, not to consult with soothsayers and fortune tellers because there will be no new prophets.
God commanded this to keep us from following false prophets that are meant to deceive us.
Remember "The Great Deception"?
It is a recurring theme throughout the bible.
Looking forward to your answer.
With sincere admiration,
MsAmber
Travis post a new post ;-)
Hi Msamber...
Let me say first of all, that you are right in that there are corrupted versions of the Bible. Like the The Good News Bible or The Living Bible which are really nothing more than paraphrases of more literal translations. Or these newest translations like the TNIV that removes all the masculine wording for God, etc.
And it is true that all of Bibles today are translations from the copies of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Though people have found many, many copies of manuscripts, no originals have been found. And personally, I think God intended it that way... I'm sure someone would be worshiping it if they did. However, there was the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls which had a copy of Isaiah, the oldest copy in existence I think, and found it to be almost identical to the ones we already had.
In my humble opinion, there really is no actual reason to doubt the integrity of N.T. There is more manuscript support for the N.T. than for any other body of ancient literature... including the great scholars and philosophers of Ancient Greece.
Over 5000 Greek, 8000 Latin, and many many more manuscripts in other languages attest the integrity of the N.T. We have more evidence for the N.T. than we do that Shakespeare wrote all those plays (which no one questions).
But when dealing with the manuscripts of the N.T. there are two basic families: the "Textus Receptus" and the "Alexandrian Text." The "TR" is the traditional text of the Greek-speaking churches and is the basis for the KJV and the later NKJV. The "Alexandrian" which is the basis for the NASB, NRSV, & (I think the NIV), etc. did not become popular until the late 19th century with 2 guys by the names of Westcott and Hort.
Ok... so what's the point of all this? Here goes... the NASB is the closest literal translation of the Alexandrian text that we have. At the same time, the NKJV is the closest literal translation of the "TR" that we have. The most popular version (the NIV) is a dynamic equivalent (thought for thought translation) where the NASB & the NKJV are formal equivalents (word for word translations).
The point is, though they do not always agree on some very minor details, there is not one major doctrine or belief held by the church today that is effected by any of these varients.
Conclusion: Most translations today are extremely accurate and completely trustworthy, and we can be certain beyond all doubt that we have what God wanted us to have.
Pheww... had to really dig deep for all that. :)
If you would like further evidence I recommend a book entitled, Evidence that Demands a Verdict.
Hey Travis check out the article I posted on my blog when you get the chance!
I'm holding my breath for your next post Travis.
Hurry.
Acts or Revelations?
My favorite discussions.
MsAmber
Oh, and I commend you on your answer. It was very good.
MsAmber
Thank you. :)
Travis -
Thanks for your visit to my site. Ms. Amber is known to me and respected. Dan (Crallspace) is also known to me and is, in my view, a disturbed and inexplicably angry (and abrasive) young man who seems to have lost his way - all politics aside.
Thanks for your visit - please come back again soon.
Not angry Travis... just don't like the holier than thou types.
When people pray for me, I can feel it... quit lying.
You got Timmer visiting now, eh? Beware... he runs a "grown-up" blog. I am shivvering now. He is smarter than anyone... and ya know why?> He served in the military. Everyone bow down.
Well, Crall...
Something must be wrong with your "feeler" b/c I have been praying for you, and I'm going to keep praying for you.
I almost went to the military. I wanted to be a soldier all my life, but God had other plans... He wanted me in the ministry instead. But I still greatly admire those who will make the sacrifice to serve their country.
Travis, you say you are praying for me, following a sarcastic wink and a "feeling convicted? Angry?"
Nice example. I feel awful for the people you will alienate to Christ's love through your poor, poor example, should you ever have any influence in the ministry. Again, thanks for setting an example.
Crall, I'm with Travis. Your feeler must be off... I think you've missed out on an awful lot of the times when I have prayed for you. Or are those times you come onto my blog to leave inappropriate comments?
I admire anyone who serves our country in the military. Or anyone who is willing to serve our nation in the military. That includes you, Travis and Timmer. Serving in the military takes courage and bravery that I don't think I have.
And who knows, Travis... you know how God is. Could be a pastor today and a soldier tomorrow. You never really know what He's got on His plate.
By the way Crall... You said I am "hardly an example of Christ's love". I presume, then, that you are an example of Christ's love. All the insults, the name-calling, the judgements - this must be what Christ's love is really like. If we all just hate each other, then we can have world peace.
Well, Crall...
all I can say is God is my Judge and He alone can see my heart and my motivations... and I'm not worried in the slightest. But I am really sorry you can't.
Still praying for your soul...
Travis
I don't think you understand... I appreciate prayers as much as the next person, but on a person to person level, I like a nice example. I want to see Christ through one who claims to be a Christian.
So before you gon on praying for some guy in Oregon who keeps a blog that covers subject matter that is not your cup of tea, consider setting a nice example. first step- stop blasting me with your religious convictions. It's not helping your case. God speaks to us in different ways.
Hey Crall...
Appreciate your comment. All I can really say is I thought I had been a good example, and I've never meant to "blast" you with my convictions; just trying to share the truth with ya. God speaks to us specificially through His revealed Word, the Bible. There is no more new revelation. I hope you and all yours have a Merry Christmas!
When I seek it, there is new revelation all the time.
You need to get out of the Old Testament, boy. God is alive and well today, is omnipresent and His revelation is available when you open your heart.
Seems that your style is assuming that you have all the answers from your own study of the Bible. There is more, and to say there is no new revelation is calling God stagnant and limited. He's the God of the universe- give the Great Spirit more credit than that.
Let me ask you a question Crall...
If a person wouldn't listen to you when you were speaking clearly and plainly to their face... why would you try to communicate in subtle, obscure ways?
The Bible is God's complete revelation of Himself to man. It is true that God communicates to man through the creation, concerning his existence, power, and divinty... but specific truth about spiritual things (like salvation) only come from His Word.
I'm pretty much lost...
Kaitlyn,
Thanks for visiting. Do you mean "lost in understanding or are you referring to your spiritual condition?
Can I help?
I know that this is a really old post, but I just want to encourage you as your post and responses encouraged me. I found your blog after coming to your wife's blog by way of searching for sleepy wrap videos. I've recently encountered some of the exact arguments posted here when witnessing to people. I responded almost exactly as you did down to the verse. I even said that this is the most misused verse. I immediately knew which verse you were referring to when I read the post title, and I felt led to this posting. I take your blog as confirmation. I haven't read any other post, and I don't know where you are today. I pray that you have continued to grow over the years, and may God continue to bless you and your family.
To Devotedwife..
Just wanted to say thanks for your encouragement. I don't know when you posted your comment. I really don't use the email address that this blog is linked to anymore, so I rarely see when someone comments unless I purposely go back and check it. Anywho... all that to say, thanks! :)
Take care and God bless.
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