A reader writes:<\/p>\n
I hope you are doing well, and that this past Lent and Easter have brought you and yours closer to Our Lord.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yes.\u00a0 Thank you!<\/p>\n
Ok, so I have a question that has been on my mind quite a bit of late.\u00a0 What exactly did<\/u><\/em> Jesus mean in Luke 6:37 when He said, \u201cStop judging, and you will not be judged\u201d?\u00a0 I mean, I think<\/em> I understand what He meant when He said \u201cStop condemning, and you will not be condemned.\u201d\u00a0 I think He meant that if we stop condemning someone as destined for Hell no matter if they repent or not, then we will not suffer the very condemnation we are projecting onto our victim.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n
But what did He mean by \u201cStop judging, and you will not be judged\u201d?\u00a0 Did He mean stop judging actions as good or evil?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what He meant\u2026 is it?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No.\u00a0 In fact, he tells us to make such moral judgments:\u00a0\u201cAnd why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?\u201d\u00a0 (Lk 12:57).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why he tells us:<\/p>\n
\u201cBeware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. (Mt 7:15\u201320).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So it is evident that we are supposed to make common sense moral decisions about our conduct and we are supposed to exercise the sense God gave geese so that we are not taken in by con men.<\/p>\n
But we are not to appoint ourselves the Judge of somebody\u2019s eternal destiny, for the simple reason we can\u2019t know it.\u00a0 We can judge their words and deeds and, with sufficient evidence, know if they are lying about something.\u00a0 But ultimately, we cannot know their culpability for their actions.<\/p>\n
Juries have to do this all the time.\u00a0 We can know reasonably well, given sufficient evidence, that John shot Mary to death, that he was of sound mind and body, and so forth.\u00a0 And we can and must therefore choose to punish him for what he did.\u00a0 That\u2019s not sin.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you run a society.\u00a0 But we cannot say with definitive certitude what his guilt in the eyes of God is, nor can we know that he will never repent his sin and be therefore damned. We are to pray and hope for the redemption of all, not savor the thought that they will burn in hell.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 I mean, it seems on its face silly to think that.\u00a0 But ok, so He didn\u2019t mean \u201cdon\u2019t judge actions as right or wrong\u201d (I don\u2019t know; maybe He did<\/em> mean it that way, in a certain sense?\u00a0 I\u2019m so unsure about this).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
No.\u00a0 You are right.\u00a0 If it were sin to judge actions as right and wrong, nobody would ever be able to make a moral judgment about anything ever again.<\/p>\n
Did He mean the same thing as \u201cStop condemning\u201d?\u00a0 If He was saying the same thing in two different ways, why did He say \u201cStop judging\u201d?\u00a0 Did He say it twice so as to be understood by those who understood \u201cjudging\u201d and \u201ccondemning\u201d differently?\u00a0 Or is \u201cjudging\u201d different from \u201ccondemning\u201d?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I think they are equivalent ideas.<\/p>\n
I would think the two things are distinct, but I am really uncertain as to what I should \u201cstop\u201d doing when it comes to judging.\u00a0 I think<\/em> I have successfully stopped condemning (at least for the most part \u2013 I mean, I can at least look back at prior conduct in a given day\u00a0and see where I\u2019ve fallen into the sin of condemning others).\u00a0 But as to judging, I am quite unsure now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I think it comes down to \u201cJudge the action, word or idea, not the person.\u201d\u00a0 And \u201cdo not judge the person\u201d comes down to not willing their condemnation by God.\u00a0 We have to judge actions.\u00a0 \u201cShould I rescue this child from the hands of the man trying to molest him?\u201d has a self-evident answer about the act.\u00a0 \u201cShould I trust that man to babysit my child?\u201d has a self-evident answer about the character of the person who did the act.\u00a0 \u201cShould that person be handed over to the law and jailed?\u201d also has a self-evident answer.\u00a0 But \u201cIs that person going to hell?\u201d does not have a self-evident answer.<\/p>\n
This question has really been nagging at me of late.\u00a0 If you have any time to address it, I would greatly appreciate it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hope that helped!<\/p>\n
Thanks as always, Mark, for your time and consideration.\u00a0 And keep up the good fight!\u00a0 I do believe the tide is turning!\u00a0 As always, you remain in\u00a0my prayers and those of\u00a0my family.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Thank you so much for your kind prayers!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A reader writes: I hope you are doing well, and that this past Lent and Easter have brought you and yours closer to Our Lord. Yes.\u00a0 Thank you! Ok, so I have a question that has been on my mind quite a bit of late.\u00a0 What exactly did Jesus mean in Luke 6:37 when He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-103673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mailbag"],"yoast_head":"\n
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