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Recompense in judgement

The Golden Rule has been defined as “the guy who has the gold makes the rules”! That, however, is not the Golden Rule to which we are referring in this study. Our Bible reference for this Principle is Matthew 7:1-12. Jesus’ teaching on Recompense here can he divided into three parts. We will see how this Principle operates in judgment, in discernment and in need.

Recompense in judgement

“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 considereth 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. Matthew 7:15.

Judgment here speaks of “passing sentence” so as to bring a person under condemnation. To sit in judgment without having earned the right to do so, brings condemnation back on us. An example of this is found in John 8:311.

“And the scribes and pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?  hath no man condemned thee?  she said, No man, Lord.

And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee:  go, and sin no more.”

This woman was caught in the very act of adultery her guilt was never in doubt. Likewise there was no room for discussion as to the penalty she was to pay for the Law of Moses clearly specified that she should be stoned. Technically speaking, therefore, her accusers had a watertight case and she did not have a leg to stand on. Where, then was the fault which Jesus found and used to acquit her?  It was simply this, those who accused her had not earned the right to do so. This was the one thing on which their case against her floundered. He agreed that they should stone her provided the one who was without sin cast the first stone. In doing this, Jesus illustrated a vital point about judgment. Noone has the right to judge another unless he has earned that right. In that situation Jesus was the only one who had earned the right to judge that woman because he alone was without sin and he made this the criterion. Having the right to judge her, he chose instead to exercise his privilege to forgive her. The one who had the right to stone her did not, whereas the ones who had no such right wanted to. In wanting to stone the adulterous woman they were not concerned for God’s glory and Jesus knew it. People are often quick to condemn others because it somehow makes them feel a little more righteous. These men demonstrated such righteous indignation as if they themselves were paragons of virtue.

It is not difficult to find fault and wrong doing on the part of others, and self-righteous people who willingly deceive themselves about their own sins, will seek to unload some of their guilt by pointing an accusing finger at another.

To be “only giving the facts” is not a good enough reason to accuse another if you are seeking in fact to lift yourself up by knocking that person down. This is the kind of judgment against which Jesus taught. God looks at our motivations far more than on our technical correctness. So Jesus then reversed the whole situation and the accusers became the condemned.

It is wrong judgment if we, motivated by a desire to justify ourselves, take out our guilt on another by judging and condemning them even if our judgment is true. That which we deal out to others in self-deceit will be dealt out to us for God knows that looking for faults in others is often a diversionary action to avoid facing our own.

That then, is how the Principle of Recompense works in judgment. If we judge or condemn with a wrong motivation, we will be judged and condemned in the same manner.

Recompense in discernment

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you”.  Matthew 7:6

There is, however, another kind of judgment which is very important. It almost seems as if in verse 6 Jesus has contradicted his own teaching of verses 15. How can we decide who are dogs and who are swine if we are not to judge others?  It is judgment with a wrong motive and for the wrong reason which Jesus forbade. However, we need to be able to “discern” or judge the hearts of men. This is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ”.

(The terms “discern” and “judge” are interchangeable here and I am using “discernment” as the title for this part of our study simply to distinguish it from “judgment” in the first part.)

We are told that spiritual discernment is only for the spiritual and that he who is spiritual judges  or discerns  all things. A person who is living in harmony with God, being led by God’s Spirit, has the right means by which to judge people and situations. The difference, therefore, between judgment and discernment (as we are using the terms for expediency in this study) is clear. unauthorised, self-deceiving judgment can never display the nature of God who is “the Judge of all the earth”. However, Spirit-enlightened judgment that is, discernment, is not only right but vital. Hence the kind of strong directions such as in 2 John 6-11.

“And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.

He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

There is a warning here about deceivers. They are labelled as such and as antichrist and there is a command to recognise them and to not extend to them a welcome. The words of Jesus concerning dogs and swine carry that kind of emphasis. A dog was considered under the Jewish Law to be an unholy animal and a pig, or swine, was considered unclean. Jesus warned that we are not to give holy things to unholy people. We are not to share the things of God with those whose hearts are set against him and it is no excuse to say, “but who am I to judge?” If you are truly spiritual you have the means by which to judge, likewise, he says that we are not to cast that which is beautiful and precious (pearls) before those who are unclean those who by their own choice are unacceptable to God. To offer pearls to a pig is surely incongruous for to it a handful of rotting garbage would be far more attractive. Yet many Christians do not apply the same good sense to their dealings with people. We are to decide who are dogs and who are swine. Seeing as “he that is spiritual judgeth all things” we are to be spiritual and to learn to judge the hearts and motivations of others. God has committed that judgment to us.

If we minister without discernment of the hearts of men we are asking for trouble, every bit as much as running the risk of being trampled to death by swine if we foolishly offer them pearls.

We are not to distribute the precious things of God to all and sundry and then “leave it to God”. We are to carefully share those things with those we judge as worthy to receive them. How easy it is for us to waste time, energy and even our prayers on people with whom God is not striving. It is not right to care for people that have chosen to be alienated from God, to be cut off from his presence and to whom God is not reaching out. It is not loving and gracious to never judge. it is dangerous and foolish.

No matter how right a person looks or sounds, we are responsible to know what they are inwardly: when God’s Spirit warns us concerning a person we are to heed that warning. I have often found it necessary to refuse to minister to someone whom I judge to be unworthy of that which I have to share from God. As a minister of God it is my grave responsibility to take such a stand.

It is not at all unlikely that many Christian congregations contain a fair proportion of dogs and swine. No wonder many ministers are frustrated!  They would do better to discern with God’s judgment and empty some of their pews. To allow such people to go on unchecked is to be a partaker of their evil deeds (2 John 11). So it is, therefore, that the Principle of Recompense works in discernment also. If we foolishly minister to dogs and swine we will receive the recompense of our foolishness.

In need

“Ask, and it shall be given you;  seek, and ye shall find;  knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matthew 7:711.

We now come to the operation of the Principle of Recompense in Need. When we come to God with the right attitude, springing out of a right relationship  with him, we will receive a right response. God always responds according to your response. When you are aware of your need, and you wish to have your need met by God, then a confident and right approach to God will cause him to respond in like manner to you.

The law and the prophets

In summary, Jesus emphasised that the Principle of Recompense, or the Golden Rule, is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (verse 12). The Law and the Prophets, of course, is the sum of God’s revelation of himself in the Old Testament, the Law being God’s standard and the Prophets being God’s expression of his heart’s desire.

Imagine fulfilling all of that by keeping the Golden Rule.   There is, however, another point for Jesus said that the Law and the Prophets hang on the two great commandments.

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it.   Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:3740.

This, therefore, is to be the motivation for doing to others as we would have them do to us. It is not being nice so that others will be nice to us, it is being nice because we love. Likewise, we need to remember that when we disregard some of God’s warnings and the Golden Rule operates to our hurt, it is because God loves us too much to let us get away with doing the wrong thing.

If, however, we live in love with God and with others we will not judge with wrong motives yet in the security of that love, we will be discerning of men’s hearts and because of our love relationship with God, we will know how to approach him in need.