Introspective Judgment
by Thomas Akens
“For the time is come that judgment
must begin at the house of God: . . .” ― 1 Peter 4:17
THIS “house
of God” is us, dearly beloved, and this is where judgment must
begin, and it must begin now; for “the time” of this
judgment “is come”. Hence the title of our topic,
Introspective Judgment – looking within. This is what is meant
by introspective judgment. This is where all judgment ought to begin,
just as Peter declared some 2,000 years ago.
And of this
introspective judgment the apostle Paul also speaks, saying:
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be
in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how
that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” ―
2 Corinthians 13:5
Here the apostle
Paul counsels us to add to our examination proof of whether we be in
the faith – whether our foundation be sure; whether we can
affirm and know as Christians what we believe; for he admonishes us
to “prove your own selves”. This is no mere verbal proof
or explanation of the doctrines that we confess, but a deep
soul-searching examination of our own selves, our lives, with their
habits, customs, manners, etc. All things must be proven.
And as we embark
upon this self-examination, let us be aware of one important fact:
“For I know nothing by myself; yet
am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.”
― 1 Corinthians 4:4
The phrase by
myself might perhaps be better rendered in myself; thus clarifying
that the apostle is here confirming the fact that, though any of us
may “know nothing” in ourselves; yet none of us are
“hereby justified.” In our present condition we may not
be aware of anything in us that is wrong, but we are in no wise
justified in such a determination; for there may well be hidden sin
of which we “know nothing”. Dearly beloved, we cannot
trust our own judgment in such matters. We need to be enlightened by
the word of God, the truth, as to what constitutes sin – the
truth as it is in Christ Jesus, whose judgment alone is right, true,
and fair. And the result of such close self-examination is given us
in the 11th chapter of this same epistle:
“For if we would judge ourselves,
we should not be judged.” ― 1 Corinthians 11:31
Beloved, if we
would judge ourselves – if we would take more time to look and
examine our own motives, our thoughts and actions – we would
not need that either God or other men should judge us for our faults
and shortcomings, because they will have already gone before us into
judgment, and will have the sentence “forgiven” written
against them.
And let us keep
in mind that this introspection is to be an ongoing process, as the
apostle to the Philippians declared, saying:
“Brethren, I count not myself to
have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus
minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal
even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained,
let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” ―
Philippians 3:13-16
Yet another
reason why self examination is needed is found in the Lord’s
injunction in Matthew 7:1-5:
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why
beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but
considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou
say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and,
behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to
cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.”
This sadly is a
ditch into which we all are too prone to fall – being keen to
discern error, falsehood and wrong in others, all the while being
oblivious to our own blindness. What good is that discernment which
only discerns error in others, and not in us? Does not Jesus warn us,
Know ye not that by the judgment with which ye judge, ye yourselves
must be judged? and by the measure which ye mete out to others, ye
yourselves must be measured? If we truly wish to be of service to
others, and help guide them away from error, then let us first ask
the Lord to reveal the beams in our own eyes, and humbly ask him for
grace to remove them; for only as we become well acquainted with our
own faults and shortcomings will we then manifest any true patience
and sympathy for other erring souls, like us.
And speaking of
that spirit of harsh criticism, the apostle James admonishes us, by
saying:
“Speak not evil one of another,
brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his
brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou
judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.” ―
James 4:11
Dearly beloved,
if we do such things, we show to all that we care nothing for doing
right ourselves, but rather judging what is right for others. Better
for us that we should learn to speak and think well of one another,
and so judge them as we ourselves would have them judge us. Better
also to be a doer of right, and so set a Christian example of
right-doing for our weaker brethren.
“But why dost thou judge thy
brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all
stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I
live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but
judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to
fall in his brother's way.” ― Romans 14:10-13
Beloved, if we
must judge, then let us judge this – that we put no stumbling
block or occasion to fall before our brother’s way who are
seeking the right way by overlooking the sin in our own lives. Let us
cease from sin ourselves, and live no longer therein.
And lest we
think that such judging of others is a little thing of no account to
God, consider well the words of the apostle Paul:
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O
man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the
same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to
truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this,
O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same,
that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the
riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” ―
Romans 2:1-4
And well might
this be spoken to everyone of us, as it was then to the Jews in Rome;
for they knew the word well, and were well acquainted with its
precepts and its teachings; yet this had not led them to humbleness
of heart, and meekness, or to self-searching and self-examining of
their own lives according to the word of God; instead it led many of
them to become keen judges of others, discerning discriminators of
wrong in others, and wranglers over the finer distinctions of truth,
but certainly not livers or lovers of it. Let each of us remember
that it was the goodness of God that led us to repentance. It was his
kindness toward us that, when we were guilty of the worst censure,
guilty of the worst death, that God manifested such wondrous kindness
toward us wayward sinners, and extended to us his mercy and grace to
help us in time of need. So let us to be toward the wayward and
erring among us, dearly beloved, for each and every one of us have
been the blessed recipients of God’s boundless love and grace.
Let us learn to be tender, compassionate, and pitiful, toward our
erring brethren, as our Lord and Savior is toward us; for are
not we weak and prone to failure and stumbling? So let us strengthen
our brethren that in time of need, they too can strengthen us.
And I wish us,
in closing, to consider what lies at the root of that spirit of
condemnation:
“It is the one who has every reason
to distrust his own principles who is keenly alive to the failings of
others. If there were not some lack in our own experience, we would
not be so suspicious of our brethren. It is the one whose conscience
condemns him that so readily passes judgment. Let everyone tremble
and be afraid of himself. Let him see that his own heart is right
with God. Let him weed his own garden; he will find enough to keep
him busily employed. If he does this work faithfully, he will not
have time to find fault with the gardens of others. Instead of
judging our brethren, let us judge ourselves. . . .” ―
The Review & Herald, “Judge Not,” Oct. 29, 1901
Beloved, this is
my admonition to me and to each of you. The reason why we are so keen
judges of others is because we discern the flaws in ourselves, and in
order to cover up and justify ourselves before men, we condemn
others. We are admonished to deal with these things in ourselves, to
become busy bodies in minding our own gardens, in pulling the weeds
of sin from our own lives. Why should we do this? That we may set the
example for others, and help them, just like Jesus says. He doesn’t
say not to help our brother with the mote in his eye, but to first
cast the beam out of our own eye, and then go and help those we love.
And so I want us
to end with this thought of Matthew 5:7. How shall we sum this up?
What is the conclusion of the matter? Beloved, it is this:
“Blessed are the merciful: for they
shall obtain mercy.”
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Seventh
Day
Home
Church
Fellowships is
an association of Sabbath-keeping groups, which through web &
tele-conferencing provides means for study, fellowship, and jointly
organized missionary projects.
Website:
www.seventhdayhomechurchfellowships.org
Email:
admin@seventhdayhomechurchfellowships.org
Seventh Day Home Church
Fellowships:
P.O. Box 262, Laconia, NH 03246,
U.S.A.
Phone: 530 708-2381
Chief Editor: David Sims
Assistant Editor: Thomas Akens
Proof-reader: Alice Fredrick
Layout: Thomas Akens
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