T examine right or wrong
To examine someone and if found guilty, demand repentance
To examine someone and if found guilty, punish
The Lord Jesus encourages sound judgement/discernment of right and wrong.
Right and wrong can be correctly discerned in God’s laws. The human conscience can also discern right and wrong. However, the human conscience is no longer a reliable guide because it has been darkened by sin. Every human is in the first Adam, and in Adam, we all have knowledge of good and evil. However, because men love evil, they can easily call evil good and good evil. Those who are in the spirit of Christ can make sound judgments because they see clearly, and their minds are trained in right and wrong.
God’s laws still stand as a perfect guide in determining evil and good. If we are to judge anyone, the laws by which the person is judged must be righteous. From God’s laws or our human conscience, we discern that, cheating, stealing, unjust anger, sexual immorality, lies, falsehood, murder, greed etc., are all evil deeds.
"If your brother sins against you, go and confront him while the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. But if he doesn't listen, take one or two others with you so that 'every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If, however, he ignores them, tell it to the congregation. If he also ignores the congregation, regard him as a gentile and a tax collector" (Mat 18.15-17).
The LORD demands that we confront our brother for his wrongdoing. Confronting a brother for his wrong deed is for correction, repentance, building up and restoration. It is not for condemnation or punishment. It is meant to bring the erring brethren back to righteousness from the hands of evil. The offended, though in pain, must remain in the spirit of correction, love, restoration.
If the offender does not listen to you, go tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then he will be treated as an unbeliever. If the church decides that the brother is no longer part of the church, then that decision is binding even in heaven.
The role of the church is to bring the erring brother to repentance. The church cannot punish an unrepentant brother, but they can remove him from the Christian community lest he spoils the others.
The church must also judge the people of the earth to bring them to repentance. John the Baptist judged King Herod for the sin of adultery. He spelled out the sins of tax collectors, parents and even soldiers. The disciples spelled out the sins of the people and called them to repentance. The Lord rebuked the wrongdoings of the Pharisees.
Christians are generally hated because they do not accept the evil deeds of sinners. The sinner does not like to be judged. John the Baptist was killed by Herod. Many times, the Pharisees attempted to kill the Lord because he rebuked them for their sins (John 8.37, 40). Apostle Paul was “stoned to death” for speaking against idolatry. The world hates Christians for their choice of good over evil. The world throws insults at them for speaking the truth.
We have a duty to judge one another unto repentance. We must all love the loving judgement that comes from our brother or neighbor. If we resist our brother’s judgement, we remain in sin. If we remain in sin, we will be judged by God unto punishment on that last day.
1. Condemnation
But the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. After setting her before them, they told him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women to death. What do you say? They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the oldest, and he was left alone with the woman standing there. Then Jesus stood up and asked her, "Dear lady, where are your accusers? Hasn't anyone condemned you?" No one, sir," she replied. Then Jesus said, "I don't condemn you, either. Go home, and from now on do not sin any more."John 8.3-11
The Pharisees examined the adulterous woman and condemned her to death, but Jesus examined her and demanded of her, repentance.
The Lord Jesus does not permit anyone or authority to condemn another. None is without sin. As such, none should condemn his brother to death. No one, no authority, body or government, has the right to condemn anyone to death. Life was given by God and only Him can take it away. Let the man who is without sin be the first to shoot, stone, knife, or hang his brother to death. Who are you to condemn your brother when you are also guilty of sin? All of us need mercy, so we should give mercy to others.
Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Be merciful and you shall obtain mercy. The measure you use on others, that same measure will be used on you.
If you killed others for their evil deed, you too will be killed for your evil deed no matter how small.
2. Evil for Evil, Eye for Eye
"Stop judging, so that you won't be judged, because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.
Evil for evil or eye for eye is when a person receives in the same or reasonable measure the damage, he inflicted on another. We must be careful not to cause others harm simply because they did harm. Such judgement of vengeance should be left in the hands of God. On that day, He will repay each person as he deeds demands. Vengeance belongs to God (Rom 12.19). He will grant justice to all those who are crying to him night and day (Luke 18.2-8).
3. Discipline
If we must judge, then we must judge righteously (John 7.24).
"Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Mathew 7.1-5).
We can judge right, if we see right. The laws of the state or the family by which people are judged must be godly. The people in authority must be careful not to judge when they themselves are guilty of the very offence. Government authorities sanitize the society by disciplining the evil doers. Parents build up a godly character in their children when they discipline them. Discipline, whether imprisonment or use of rod should not cause undue damage but should bring the sinner to repentance. Discipline should cease once there is repentance and change of conduct.