Book of Edward Chapter 11: God’s Eternal Character, page 44

Chapter 11: God’s Eternal Character

Page 44

Now, our society disclaims its godly heritage by creating vile laws that seek to redefine righteousness. The Church is aiding and abetting these vile new laws in its own attempt to redefine God’s righteousness. The Church seeks acceptance of its own sin in the eyes of God. Yet as we move away from

God, He moves away from us. We are no longer a land in which God is the basis of moral authority. God help us because we are in trouble and …

God’s Righteousness Is The Only Righteousness!

So with judging, first ask yourself whether or not the sinner claims to be a part of God’s people. If the sinner is part of God’s people, then you must apply God’s righteous judgment to the sinner. It involves knowing

God’s Word or else you would be judgmental [applying what you think is right] instead of judging [applying God’s righteousness]. You are only judging if you apply God’s righteousness. It is God Himself who has made the judgment. Your job is to make the observation of sin and decide if

God’s judgment applies. The second step in judging is therefore to simply use God’s Word [His standards] as the “sole” basis of your judging.

First Two Steps of Judging Summarized

Step One: Determine if the sinner is a part of God’s people?

Step Two: If step one is false, ignore the sinner’s ways unless it is unlawful. If it is unlawful, then report it to the proper civil authorities. [This is also a good time for the Good News.]

If step one is true, then apply God’s righteousness to the sinner’s ways. Determine what the church needs to do and

whether the civil authorities need to be contacted. Do not hide sin. Sin is evil and those who hide it are doing evil.

Suppose the doctor was just a secular atheist who could care less

about what God wants? Then what? Should we still judge him? The answer is different and to understand all the nuances of judging, we have to consider some Bible verses on the subject. First consider the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7, which are usually taken out of context.