Christians unfortunately have become so imbued with the word "tolerance" that they have taken a meaning beyond what it was, when first promulgated. Satan has twisted it to suit himself. It is clear that the notion of tolerance now includes tolerance of sin; sin in one's own life, sin in the lives of those we are rightfully in charge of, that is our children, and sin within the assembly - the church.
Note carefully at this point, I do not talk about tolerance of sin in this world.
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
Satan embodies the notion of tolerance as a weapon to propagate sin
However, time after time I find individuals and the Church justifying its actions based on the notion of tolerance. Be tolerant we are told of homosexuals, be tolerant of sexual immorality - indeed sex in the eyes of the world cannot be immoral. Hence we have over 100 abortions a week in the State where I live.
Sadly, I find that in the Church such tolerance of sin is upheld. Be tolerant of your children as they explore their world - don't discipline them, just be tolerant, and we wonder why we have gangs of thugs roaming our streets with an average age of less than 15 years. Be tolerant of stealing time from your employee, or money from the tax department, and so it goes on. It seems that if a Christian really gets into the corner, he or she yells out:
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you not be judged!
I find many Christians who use this verse do so to justify themselves or their actions which usually, not always, but usually cannot be called pleasing to God. That is, they more often than not use it in anger to justify their sin.
What I want to explore is this word "judge".
The notion of tolerance which is being promulgated is one that says "what right have you to judge us?" Christians use it in the same light. And in nearly every case, it is a method to justify sin.
Is the Bible contradictory?
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
You adulterers and adulteresses. What! How can one define a person as being a sinner without judging them? Here James calls a so called Christian (James writes to Christians) an adulterer or adulteress. In Scripture sexual immorality always relates to a Saint falling into the trap of sin. Christians, like a virgin bride, is to keep him or herself pure, that is untainted from the world, for the Lord.
Also read the following passage by Paul:
2 Corinthians 4:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
Is James and Paul at odds with each other? No! Here it says a person cannot join with a non believer. How does a Christian know that the person he is about to marry is indeed a Christian or a business partner is indeed saved? He needs to judge that person!
How do we know that the potential partner for life is suitable for marriage?
Read James 2:14-18 Faith with out works is dead.
Read Matthew 7:17-20 A person is known by his or her fruits
Hence there is a clear method of determining whether a person is suitable as a marriage or business partner - by their works, and by their fruits. But you say the Bible says not to judge?
Christians must Judge right from wrong: it is a command!
In Matthew 7:1 Jesus says to Judge not lest you be judged. But look at John 7:24 which says Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
Furthermore
1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
And
1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
So what is the problem?
The problem with so called contradictions is the person themself – not the Scripture! Remember when reading Scripture:
“If in this book you choose to look
Five things observe with care
Of whom it speaks,
To whom it speaks
Why and When and Where”
So what is the issue? The issue is the way the Greek is translated into English and then our use of the specific Greek verb.
Matthew 7 speaks of the judgement of condemnation – that of a judge that sends a person to goal or sets them free – no human as the power to decide who goes to heaven and is saved and who is condemned to hell. This type of judgement is forbidden "Judge (krino) not".
One of the most often carried out tasks of a Christian, at which Satan attempts to intervene in, is the process of discernment: in Greek diakrino. Jesus uses the word when he talks about interpreting the sky. One can discern what the weather can be by the colour of the sky in the morning or evening (Matthew 16:3 ). We must discern right from wrong and then separate it out. A young person seeking a mate for life must – there is no “maybe” or “if would I like to” – must discern whether the person is a Christian or not. There is no condemnation if the person being judged is not a believer – God will deal with him or her if, on the day of reckoning, they have not accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour. Hence, there is a judgement – but of the discernment type – diakrino, without condemnation. The young person seeking a mate for life moves on, if the criterion is not met: that of being unequally yoked.
Christians are called to judge. Another Greek word, with the root judge is anakrino:
1 Corinthians 2:15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged ( anakrino ) by no one.
A Christian must judge – anakrino - all things. Here we have the sense of examination, of inquiring into, scrutinising of the questioning of. It is what a policeman does. In some versions of the Bible it is rendered “discern”. You as a Christians must anakrino everything I have said. This is the hallmark of a Christian. Look at the Bereans in Acts
Acts 17:11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so.
What is our criterion when we decide or judge? What sets our boundaries?
Hebrews 4:11 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Here we see the word discerner. It comes from the Greek kritikos and relates to judging. It is where we get our word “criteria”, which is a discriminator, the work of a criterion. This means we have a means to decide – there is nothing for us to do! We don't make up rules, we use the Bible to decided.
A Christian cannot condemn a sinner. Christ will do this.
A Christian must however not tolerate sin in his or her life. Not even faintly. Parents, we cannot go along with the world and tolerate sin in our children's lives. Being intolerant of sin in our children's lives does not mean we beat them up – we need to discipline them in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Elders cannot be tolerant of sin in the assembly/church. Paul warns Timothy emphatically, and Jude warns Christians, that tolerance of sin in the assembly leads to disaster. This means we must discern – anakrino, using the criterion given us - Scripture. The manner in which the eldership deals with such is in love, the method is as Jesus sets out in Matthew 18. All is done with the guidance of the Holy Spirit - we must make a decisions and carry them out – diakrino, even if this means not eating with the backslidden saint.
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