Judge (Not)

The Law is God’s eternal, unchanging, unchangeable will and all men are required to order their lives according to it — including Christians. Although Christians are no longer under the curse of the Law, this does not mean that we are not to comport our behavior with the Law. As regenerate Christians, we walk in the Law and thereby produce fruits in keeping with a living faith.

Similarly, Christians are to assess, to discern, to judge. We must judge not only our own actions — assessing whether or not they are in accord with God’s Law —, but also the actions of fellow Christians, whom we must rebuke as brothers when and where they transgress. God’s Word, in fact, gives the steps we are to follow when rebuking brothers. The world will latch on to the words “judge not” and attempt to make this the whole of what Scripture teaches, but that is most certainly not the case. Scripture does not contradict Scripture, and in many places Christians are told to judge. Consequently, we must carefully examine what is meant — and what is not meant — by “judge not”.

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Show Notes

Formula of Concord: Epitome, VI - The Third Use of the Law

Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration, VI - The Third Use of the Law

Large Catechism: Eighth Commandment

Further Reading

Question of Fact

Question of Law

Parental Warnings

None.