If ever there is an issue which is greatly misunderstood in church circles, it is in the area of “judging”. This probably comes from the negative associations that we have with the whole concept of judging; as if it we condemnation. However, biblical judgement is more about testing or examining; making a right judgement. We must make good judgements, we must test all things. The Bereans were commended for testing what Paul taught:

Act 17:11 NIV84  Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

If you ask most christians what their view is on judging, you will almost certainly get a response like “judge not lest you be judged”. If you criticise a teaching that does not line up with scripture, you will likely be told “touch not God’s anointed”. The church seems to have adopted a very narrow theological view in dealing with the area of judging, when in fact it is a very wide subject, and the bible is very specific about how and when you judge; which judgements are allowed and which are not. Those who do follow the command to judge are invariably labelled as legalists or heresy hunters, and yet I think you will find that is not the case at all.

This sermon by Jacob Prasch is without doubt the clearest teaching I have listened to on the subject of judging. It is long, technical and thorough (don’t let that discourage you as I am sure you will be blessed by what you learn). I sincerely hope that you will take the time to listen to this very good teaching. Afterwards you will have a very clear biblical precedent for judging, and a good understanding of when and how you should judge.