Thou shalt not judge, part 1

I have an agenda today, as you might guess from my title. There are those who retreat to the phrase “thou shalt not judge” when confronted with their sin. Never mind that they don’t know where in the Bible the phrase is found, much less the context of its passage.

It is a coward’s way of saying that they are satisfied with their bad behavior and are not about to change.

Yet Solomon says that evil men understand not judgment.

There are at least two things that we need to understand about judgment.

To begin with, we need to understand that judgment is necessary. Without judgment, society would be in a state of anarchy and the law of the jungle would prevail. The Bible gives us at least three ways that it is beneficial for us.

First of all, judgment is necessary as a detriment to the offender. I know that as a society we are captivated with the fantasy of rehabilitating those who break the law, but the truth is that unless there is pain resulting from bad behavior, there is little hope of rehabilitation.

It used to be true that crime didn’t pay, but that is obviously not true today as the great majority of our criminals return to prison after release. If judgment were a detriment to them, they would do anything to stay out, but they do not.

Now I may come across as harsh, but God’s design is for judgment to get rid of evil, according to Deuteronomy 17:12. Evil cannot be reformed; it must be removed. But this evil men (and women) do not want to understand.

Secondly, judgment is necessary as a deterrent to onlookers. I know there are scoffers out there who turn glassy-eyed as they go into a trance and start to babble “but the studies show.” Haven’t you ever heard of liars? Do you think that just because a person got a college degree that he or she no longer can lie?

Some of the best advice I was ever given came from my mom.

Years ago she passed on to me some sage advice from her day when she said, “Don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see.”

In Proverbs 19:25, God says that there are two groups of potential law-breakers out there — the scorners and the simple.

The scorners are those who are going to break the law no matter who tells them otherwise. But the simple are those who can be deterred if they see that the penalty is costly.

Generally speaking, as there are more followers than leaders, the simple outnumber the scorners. And what no study can ever measure are the inner workings of the heart. Neither can any study accurately portray results without removing bias towards leniency in the first place. This, also, evil people do not want to understand.

Third, judgment is also necessary as a defense for society. How many of you would agree that laws to govern behavior are necessary? I mean, is it really OK to walk down the street and start murdering people? Or go into a store and steal? An almost endless list could be made.

Judgment is simply the defining of acceptable behavior and the punishment of those who refuse to stay within those bounds.

The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 8:11 that lawlessness is the result of not punishing evil.

Lawlessness actually is the natural result of unrestrained selfishness, and this is what Solomon refers to as evil.

Selfishness has no care or concern for others, only a love for self and its gratification.

Therefore, since judgment punishes evil and thereby restrains lawlessness, it is the tool designed by God for a respectful and courteous society.

This, too, evil people do not want to understand.

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229.