Day 2872 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

John 7:24 NIV

Discernment is defined as the ability to judge well. What? Hold up. Wait a minute! STOP RIGHT THERE!! How dare your speak of judgement? Such a dirty word in our world today. This society has grown so fearful of judgement that we seek out any possible way to avoid it, and what better way to avoid it than to condemn it? See, judgement is based on standards, truth, expected behavior, and in a world lacking moral standards, afraid of the truth, and unwilling to uphold any semblance of mature and sensible behavior, well, judgement is simply unwelcome.

But that poses a rather interesting predicament when it comes to our faith. How are we supposed to ensure that we’re following the right path if we’re unable to determine what is in fact right? Yesterday we discussed the vast importance of that discernment and what it means in our faith. It's the ability to determine, to weigh, to judge what is good and right and true, and what is none of the above. You see, in this world where we're constantly surrounded by endless options, endless voices, endless priorities that we see others pursuing, we must remember that we alone are responsible for the choices we make.

And thus we arrive upon the dire necessity of discernment.

We must pursue and prioritize the ability to judge well. We must learn to determine what is good for us and what is bad for us. We must learn what makes us better and what leads us astray. We must learn, because after all, one of the most obvious signs of growth and improvement is the displaying of lessons learned in the pursuit of growth. To show ourselves mature and reasonable, we must learn what is mature and reasonable. To show ourselves to be kind and compassionate, we must learn what kindness and compassion are.

In order to show ourselves to be Christians, we must display the virtues and characteristics of our Namesake, Jesus Christ.

In simpler terms, if we’re gonna be Christians then we need to live like Christians. And in this very un-Christians world, we’ve got plenty of examples of what not to be. But in order to determine what to be and not to be in this pursuit of living to be like Christ, we learn both from the truth and wisdom given in His Word, and also in the polar opposite pool of worldly examples of what is unacceptable. Thus, we must judge between right and wrong, and we’ve been given all the resources we need to learn the difference.

"But wait", I hear a chorus of voices ringing out in unison beckoning me to stop this topic before it goes any further. "Judge not." To not judge anyone has become a rallying cry from the sinful to use as both a badge of honor behind which to hide as well as a stick with which to beat. Sin needs something to stand upon, and in this battle of good and evil, what better to stand upon than the Scripture that Christians believe in?

If there were one message that the sinful and fallen use against our faith and our standing upon a truth they simply don't like, it's that we're told in Matthew 7:1, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." But, I would encourage you to refer to the verse quoted at the top of today's post. You see those little vertical lines before and behind the verse? Those are called quotation marks, and they're used to indicate that the words, phrase, and message between them is a quote from someone.

And in this case, for this verse in John chapter 7, that someone is Jesus Christ.

I'll give you a moment to regather yourselves after your mind has likely been blown.

Yes, that is correct. Jesus Himself is telling us right here in John chapter 7 that we are to "judge correctly."

But wait, if we're not supposed to judge then how are we supposed to judge correctly? Well, wouldn't you know it, but that confusion has been created by this sinful world in which we live as a way to allow for the sins that many love too much to let go of. The disagreement found between "judge not" and "judge correctly" isn't a contradiction within Scripture, as many would try to say, rather, it's a contradiction created by a fallen world refusing to admit that it's fallen.

Circle back to that word 'discernment' and the definition it holds which involves judgement. You see, we are to judge. We must judge. We must stand in judgement. But we are not to condemn. And that right there is the discrepancy that our world cannot comprehend. People here think that judgement equates to condemnation. If we say that something is wrong, the person or people doing said thing believe we're saying that they are wrong.

The world has commandeered Scripture in an effort to use our faith against itself to prove the existence of a fallacy within God's Word and our faith placed in His Word that would render a verdict that the entirety of what we call truth is in fact invalid. The world, or at least the rampant sin within it, is trying so hard to make sin seem harmless that they're down to looking for loopholes within Scripture to let them off the hook and avoid the guilt that they know they should feel, or do feel and just can't acknowledge or admit.

Back to my point, we are supposed to judge. Not the heart of a person, granted. That's between each individual and their Creator. God is the judge of our souls, we are not. In fact, we are not to judge anyone (their heart, their mind, their soul, their worth), as we simply cannot do so. However, in this world of rampant sin and vile wickedness, we are to discriminate between good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark, righteous and evil. We are to determine what is helpful and holy as we're called to walk along that narrow path, because it's the only one that leads to life.

So, part of our duty in our faith is to judge. Yep, said it, meant it, will not walk it back. Why? Because our Savior and King told us to "judge correctly." How do we judge correctly? By holding everything we see, everything we hear, everything this world does against the immutable, indivisible, and unavoidable Word of God.

We hold His truth to be perfectly evident. And so, we must look at everything around us through the lens of what He tells us is right, true, holy, and righteous. We must. We must because we are responsible for the lives we live and the choices made within them. And if we do not judge between right and wrong, then you can bet that wrong will manifest in our choices, in our hearts, in our minds, and in our lives.

If we don't discern, determine, discriminate, and yes, judge, then we are at risk of whatever we see or hear becoming habits that we ourselves emulate.

And that right there defines the very cause of our sin and the downfall that has led and continues to lead to it. We have lived not only in this world, but of this world. The common messages, actions, undertakings, and priorities of this place have been echoed in our own lives as well. We've been a carbon copy of everything this world is. And as such, we've been the lost, the sinful, the mistaken, the arrogant, the foolish, the filthy.

But our Savior calls us to be such no longer. And we can only accomplish our part of our process of our sanctification through the judging of the actions and words displayed and dispersed by the world around us.

There you have it my friends, we are to judge.

Now, as I said above and in posts before, we're not to judge people. That much is agreeable. We can't judge people because we also can't condemn them or free them. We can't save anyone and we can't determine that anyone is unable to be saved. We are simply the intermediaries, the messengers, the lighthouses standing on the shore of Scripture calling out to those lost upon the tumultuous sea of sin, trying our hardest to guide them to the safety found in our Savior.

Sadly, many will never see it like that because they take our judgement of sin and evil as our standing in condemnation of them as people. They think we hate them simply because we hate sin. And, granted, I can see the issue that causes in that this world is so sinful and humanity is so sinful that sin has become a rather large part of a person's identity. The filth someone allows and accepts and enjoys is allowed to define them. So when we say that something is sinful and evil and wrong, well, those who can't distinguish the sin from the person committing it will simply assume we hate both.

That's another dilemma for another day.

My point in today's message is that Christ Himself told us to judge correctly. Not based on what someone looks like. Not based on the value the world says they have. Not even based on the person, as again, that is in no way our duty. Again, there’s a massive difference between judging someone and judging what they do and say. Truth be told, we’re even to judge ourselves, our actions, our words, our thoughts. We are to judge actions because actions become habits. We are to judge words because words echo what is in the heart. We are to judge what is sinful because we are called to keep sin out of our lives, minds, hearts, and eyes.

Our calling to judge is not done from a condemnation standpoint, but just from the realization that we must determine what is sinful so that we don't replicate it.

We must judge correctly. Now true, many 'Christians' are quite judgmental. They judge people. They judge folks based on the clothes they wear, the job they have, the car they drive, the tattoos they display, the jewelry they dawn. And that is all truly shameful, sickening, unhelpful, and quite unholy. But, please know that those who do judge people whether based on their looks or their abilities or their possessions do not represent the trueness of our faith and who we're called to be.

We're in a very wicked world, and as such we must guard against allowing all the surrounding wickedness to invade our hearts and define our choices. We have to stand up against the evil that is costing people their souls. Because Jesus did that for us. He found us at our lowest and told us we could be more. Why could we be more? Because sin is less valuable to God than righteousness. He came when we were hurting and lost and gave us a home and an identity. Why were we hurting and lost? Because sin leads us away from Him rather than toward Him.

He came to fix all that we'd broken, not because our breaking it wasn't foolish and unnecessary, but because He didn't want our sins to destroy us completely.

Friends, that's the love we've been shown, and it's the love we've been called to show. This world won't get it, and that's that. But, if we love ourselves, then we should hate the sins that lead us to hell. If we love others, then we should hate the sins holding them in bondage. If we love the world, then we should stand up and stand firm on the Word of God and call each other to discernment that leads to repentance that allows for salvation. All of which hinge on our ability to see sin for what it really is.

It's all about our need to learn to see how Jesus sees. Both compassion and courage. Hope and holiness. Anger and accountability. There are problems in this world, in our lives. But we only solve them by noticing them, and we can only notice them when we learn to see the difference between right and wrong. After all, it's hard to fight when you can't recognize your opponent. So if we don't know what's sinful, how are we supposed to fight this good fight that we've been called to fight?

Discernment is crucial because it helps us remain on guard against all that's trying to enter our eyes, our ears, our minds, and ultimately our lives. If we allow sin in, it will ruin us. We've been given the Word of God to help us fight against that. But it's on us to learn how to do so. Judge correctly my friends. Even if the world doesn't understand it. Even if people don't appreciate it. We're called to stand against the sin that keeps us from Christ. Can't do that if we don't judge what's sinful.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold