The Right to Judge | Clip 2

The concept of judgment in the Christian life is highly specific, delimited by authority, area, and action. The sources emphasize that believers must distinguish between final divine evaluation (which belongs only to God) and practical self- and communal-judgment (which believers are obligated to undertake). Understanding these limits is critical for fulfilling biblical responsibility without exceeding one’s authority.

1. The Principle of Delegated Authority in Judgment

Judgment is inextricably linked to authority and responsibility. A fundamental rule outlined in the sources is: Where we have responsibility, we have authority; where we have authority, we are obligated to judge.

When an individual attempts to judge without the proper authority, their judgment is rightfully rejected, as shown in several biblical examples:

• Lot in Sodom: When Lot attempted to reprove the wicked men of Sodom, they retorted, “This one fellow came into surgeon and he will needs be a judge”. Lot was a visitor who had settled in the city but lacked any official position, meaning he had “no authority to judge”.
• Moses in the Desert: When Moses, self-appointed, tried to administer judgment between two fighting Israelites, one man challenged him: “who made thee a prince or a ruler and a judge over us?”. Moses lacked authority and ended up fleeing into 40 years of exile.
• Jesus’ Example: Even the Son of God, when asked to judge a dispute over inheritance, wisely declined, stating: “Man who made me a judge or a divider of you?”. Jesus demonstrated that even as God’s representative, He would not judge outside the specific area of His granted authority, stating that there was already a court, elders, and Sanhedrin appointed for that purpose.

This dynamic is compared to a county court judge whose authority is strictly limited to a specific area (e.g., Broward County), specific people (those who commit offenses punishable by less than one year), and specific acts (those contrary to Florida law). Judging outside the area, regarding unauthorized people, or for acts that are not offenses means exceeding one’s authority.

2. We Are Not Responsible for Final Evaluation (God’s Exclusive Judgment)

A vital area of judgment that believers are never responsible for is the final evaluation of anyone’s character or conduct, including our own. This realization should be a great relief, as many religious people attempt to take on this difficult responsibility.

This final evaluation belongs exclusively to the Lord for several reasons:

• Only God Knows the Motives: The Lord alone is the judge because only He “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsel of the hearts”. No human being is able to judge accurately or fairly because only God knows “all the secrets of men’s hearts and motives”.
• The Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema): All believers (“we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ”) must appear before this judgment. This is not a judgment for condemnation, as “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Instead, it is a judgment of believers’ works, where every one of us shall “give account of himself to God”.
• The Nature of Accountability: At the judgment seat of Christ (also called the bema), every person will receive “the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad”. Everything done is categorized as either good or bad, with nothing being valueless; anything not done for the glory of God should not have been done at all. Paul, recognizing the gravity of this accountability, stated, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men”.