Tag Archives: judge

June 26, 2025 · 9:00 pm

Life Without God

1 For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 All things come alike to all: One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; To the good, the clean, and the unclean; To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-6

Life “under the sun” seldom makes sense to us. It can be maddening to try and find order and meaning in the randomness of life. Life is full of monotony, but it is also replete with contradictions and paradoxes that boggle the mind.

How can these problems be addressed? Solomon gives us some help. Follow along with this week’s post and let us learn these truths about life on this planet.

The complexities of life are on full display here. The same fate seems await all when life is viewed without God. The categories that the preacher uses are stark and stunning. Consider from an earthly perspective the following……

*The same fate awaits the righteous and the wicked.

*The same fate awaits the clean and the unclean.

*The same fate awaits the religious and the irreligious.

*The same fate awaits the good and the sinner.

All will die and be forgotten. Their achievements and emotions will perish. Their rewards perish with them and lead to ultimate meaninglessness.

I’m thankful that we have purpose and meaning through Christ. Aren’t you grateful for the fact that we do not have to live this life apart from God? He calls on all to be saved (Romans 10:9-13). And His desire is relationship with you. Trust Him today!

Tony French

No Hypocrisy

¹²There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

James 4:12

Christians are never to judge others in a hypocritical way. We all need to realize that we are sinners with blind spots and we may not have all the information. The Lord will judge and we can trust that God’s judgement will be righteous and holy.

Christians need to be discerning in their lives. God’s people are called to test, try, and obey. Yet, we ought to never judge with harshness and hypocrisy. Let us trust in Lord that He will sort everything out in the end.

Tony French

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Tagged as Christians, hypocritical, judge

May 18, 2023 · 9:00 pm

Be Careful

For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Matthew 7:2

The directive of our Savior is—be careful how you judge. Christians ought to make judgements based on the truth of God’s Word and not by their opinions. Believers should also examine themselves and remove any hypocrisy from their evaluations.

Let’s reiterate what Jesus is teaching. If we judge, we will be judged in return. When we judge, we will be judged by the same standard that we use for others.

Careful examination of ourselves is needed to help others. This careful evaluation reminds us to be cautious about judging the motives of the hearts and minds of others. When we judge, we will be judged in return.

Tony French

Judge Not

“Judge not, that you be not judged.

Matthew 7:1

Jesus uses an important literary technique of hyperbole in order to emphasize his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Hyperbole is exaggerations (sometimes extreme exaggerations) that are meant to underscore a point. They are not necessarily to be understood as doctrinal truth but they illustrate and demonstrate didactic truth. Christ uses hyperbole in this passage that we need to identify so that we can understand the truth being taught here.

Matthew 7:1 is the world’s favorite Bible verse. Many interpret this verse to mean that Christians are never to offer any judgement about matters of right or wrong and matters of morality or immorality. But is this honestly what Jesus means?

No. In Scripture, we are commanded to test the spirits, (1 John 4:1) to be wise as serpents, (Matthew 10:16) and to be on the alert for the lies of the devil. (1 Peter 5:8) In other words we are called to make judgements about truth and about lies. That can’t be what Jesus is saying.

Instead, let’s understand that Jesus uses hyperbole here to remind us to be careful about judging others. If we judge, we will be judged in return. When we judge, we will be judged by the same standard that we use for others.

We must make judgements and evaluations about right and wrong from time to time. We should be very careful about judging the hearts and minds of others because we don’t always know the whole story and we are sinners ourselves.

Tony French

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Tagged as didactic, exaggerations, hyperbole, judge