Simply Angie If you asked someone today to quote a Bible verse, what would they say? A generation ago, the answer would almost certainly have been John 3:16. Today, however, another verse often takes center stage—Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” When I was growing up ‘back in the old days,’ it seemed to me that the most well-known verse in the Bible was John 3:16.
You’d see it on billboards, held up on placards at ball games, and almost everyone who ever went to Sunday school could quote it from memory. The message of John 3:16 is the foundation on which all of Christian theology is built. It’s the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in summary. Is John 3:16 as well-known and popular today? It seems not. These days, the verse I hear most often - usually as a way to end a conversation or justify sin - is Matthew 7:1:
I know my last few articles have been ‘heavier’ than usual, and I promise we’ll get back to the ‘green pastures’ soon. But right now, there is a fence that needs fixing because the wolves are getting in. In a recent article, I wrote about The Great Hijack that is taking place in Christianity, and the importance of identifying those who use the name of Christ for power, influence, or financial gain, while living in lawlessness - the wolves in sheep’s clothing. But today, we have to look at a secondary tactic that makes this hijack so successful.
I believe the answer lies in the enemy’s oldest trick: The Weaponization of Scripture. The Wilderness StrategyWhen the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he didn’t just use worldly enticements. He used the Bible. He quoted Psalm 91, telling Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple because the angels would catch Him.
Notice that Satan didn't misquote the words; he misapplied the intent. He tried to turn a holy promise of protection into an excuse for presumption and an unholy act. Today, the devil is using the exact same strategy with us. He has taken Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” out of context and turned it into a powerful weapon of intimidation. He has convinced a generation of believers that ‘discernment’ is a sin and that ‘tolerance’ is the highest Christian virtue. By twisting this one verse, he has created a ‘safe zone’ for deception to reign. If we cannot judge ‘truth’ and ‘fruit,’ we cannot identify ‘wolves’ or ‘false teaching.’ Quenching the Holy Spirit - Our Internal AlarmHave you ever been listening to a sermon, watching a podcast, or attending an event where something is being said or someone is being praised as a “great leader for the faith,” but something in your gut just felt... off? Maybe it was their vulgarity, their arrogance, or the way they mocked the weak. Maybe what they were saying seemed to contradict what you already understood about the Scriptures or the nature and teachings of Jesus. That “unease” is often the Holy Spirit’s alarm system. Jesus promised that the Spirit of Truth would live within us to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). But because we fear the social stigma of being called ‘judgmental,’ we quickly silence that alarm. When we do this, we are quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). We are allowing social pressure to override the conviction of God. Quenching the Spirit doesn't just make us “quiet,” it eventually makes us blind. We find ourselves justifying things we once knew were wicked, not just in the world, but in our own lives, too. Instead, we need to listen to the alarm of God’s Spirit and find out what is wrong. This inner prompting is never meant to replace Scripture but to draw us back to it, confirming truth and exposing error. Righteous Judgment: A Command, Not a SuggestionThe enemy wants you to stop at Matthew 7:1, but Jesus didn’t. Keep reading.
Jesus was not forbidding discernment; He was condemning hypocrisy. Immediately after saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” He illustrated this truth with the picture of a man trying to remove a mote from his brother’s eye while a beam remained in his own. His command was clear: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” The goal was never silence in the face of sin, but humility and clarity so that restoration could take place in love. In that same chapter, He tells us to “Beware of false prophets” and “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” You cannot “know them by their fruits” without making a judgment. Jesus clarified this in John 7:24:
Righteous judgment is not the “hypocritical condemnation” Jesus warned against.
“Prove All Things”The Apostle Paul knew the danger of a silenced Church. He told us:
To “despise prophesyings” often looks like getting angry at the person who is speaking the truth because they are “causing division,” “being judgmental,” or are “self-righteous.” We’d rather have a false peace than a difficult truth. But if we don’t “prove” (test) what we are seeing or hearing, we will inevitably be led astray. How can we hold fast to what is good and true if we are unable to determine or discern the difference? What did Jesus do? When Satan used Scripture as a weapon, Jesus used it right back - not to "win an argument," but to correct error with Truth. A bank teller doesn’t study every fake bill in existence; they study the real one so closely that the counterfeit becomes obvious. Our protection against deception is the same: stay in the Word, and get to know the real Jesus. The more you study the Word, the more you know Jesus. He is the Word made flesh. The more truth you know, the more easily you will spot error and the more discerning you will become. The Cost of Silence
When we allow “Judge Not” to be used as a muzzle, the cost is great to ourselves and others. Even our own sanctification is affected. We become stunted, complacent Christians who can no longer tell the difference between the holy and the profane. We start to look just like the world, only with a “form of godliness” that has no power to change anything. We are no longer a shining light in a dark world.
It’s time to stop being intimidated. Standing for the truth of God’s Word is not an act of hatred. It is an act of love for a world drowning in deception. May we be believers who shine clearly, refusing to allow the light within us to be dimmed by the fog of deception and misplaced tolerance. Blessings, P.S. Don’t let the fear of a label silence the Spirit of God within you. A lighthouse is only useful when its light remains clear and distinct from the darkness. Stay in the Word this week. Talk to you again soon. Can’t wait?
|
