Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: Auth User
Company: GDC

Clanking Chains		06-11-02.CC02-675 /

Doctrine Is Privileged Info, Matt 7:6; Discipline for Judging Others, Matt 7:1-2; Discernment Necessary in Evaluating Others, Heb 5:13-14

		17.	There is a place for discernment in dealing with unbelievers and an example of this is taught by the Lord in Matthew 7.  
Matthew 7:6 -	“Do not give what is holy to dogs [ Gentile unbelievers ], and do not throw your pearls before swine [ Jewish unbelievers ], or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
		18.	Principle:	The privileged class must always separate from the hoi polloi with regard to doctrine.  The Gospel is the only concept the unbeliever can understand.  He may eagerly accept it or aggressively reject it but he will always misunderstand doctrine.
		19.	To feed meat to someone who can’t even digest milk causes him to (1) be confused and become frustrated or (2) reach incorrect conclusions to which he reacts.
		20.	Conveying doctrinal principles to the unbeliever may be compared to telling family secrets to people outside your household.  Royal family policies are not to be discussed with non-family members.
		21.	Such information is confusing to them and thus must be kept as privileged information among the royal family.
		22.	What makes matters worse is when an unbeliever is confronted with doctrinal principles that are presented as judgment or condemnation.
		23.	Even though the principle presented may be accurate it must be classified as doing a right thing—presenting truth—in a wrong way—with prejudice.
		24.	We are not granted the option to judge people, only the ability to discern their spiritual condition.  Judgment is the prerogative of the Lord which excludes our involvement.
Matthew 7:1 -	“Do not judge [ present active imperative of kr…nw, krinō ] lest you be judged.”
		25.	There is a difference between judging the heathen and discerning his heathenism.  To judge others implies the assumption of a prerogative you do not possess.  You nominate yourself as the morally anointed judge of others.
26.	The etymology of the verb krinō, “to judge,” is provided  by:
Kittel, Gerhard (ed.).  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.  Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley.  (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965), 3:922-23:
In the basic sense “to part,” “to sift.”  This leads to the sense “to divide out,” “to select ,” “to value.”  The most common meaning is “to decide,” “to judge,” “to assess.”  [p. 922]
In the New Testament kr…nein [krinein] means especially “to judge,” e.g., the judgment of God, Romans 2:16; 3:6.  It is used not merely for official judgment but also for personal judgments on others, Matthew 7:1, 2.  [p. 923]
27.	In Matthew 7:1 the Lord prohibits the judgment of another person.  We have not been delegated the prerogative of judgment; Christ has:
John 5:22 -		“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son.”
28.	Therefore, if you impose your moral standards upon others in order to judge them as their moral superior, then you, in fairness, must submit to a similar judgment from anyone who is morally superior to you.
29.	The morally superior person is Jesus Christ, Who alone is the One qualified to judge.
30.	The passage continues by stating that the person who violates the prohibition will be judged by the Lord not only for his sins of the tongue associated with the judgment but also for the sin he assigns to the judged.  And that’s not all:
Matthew 7:2 -	“For by which standard you judge, you will receive judgment; and the measure you use will be the standard by which you are measured.”
31.	There is a vast difference between judging others for their sins and discerning they are sinful.  This issue is addressed by Kittel in his article on krinō:
Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 3:939:
From the fact that God’s judgment threatens man it is often deduced that no man has the right to judge another, Matthew 7:1 f.  This does not imply flabby indifference to the moral condition of others nor the blind renunciation of attempts at a true and serious appraisal of those with whom we have to live.  What is unconditionally demanded is that such evaluations should be subject to the certainty that God’s judgment falls also on those who judge, so that superiority, hardness and blindness to one’s own faults are excluded, and a readiness to forgive and to intercede is safeguarded.  The emphatic way in which Jesus extended the law of love in this direction has far-reaching consequences.  It means that the Church cannot take a hard, contemptuous and supercilious attitude towards those whom it regards as sinners.
32.	It is important to discern the motives, intentions, and objectives of others with whom you associate.  Young ladies must be “boy smart.”  Often today all males are lumped into a cookie-cutter analysis that each and all are sexual predators.
33.	There is ample evidence within the culture to draw this conclusion superficially however it does not permit the girl to assign improper motives to every boy she encounters.  There is a right man out there and if you have concentrated on becoming a right woman then there is a gentleman out there assigned to you.
34.	With doctrine you are thus permitted to evaluate individuals by the divine measure of Bible doctrine and thus draw a conclusion that he is a candidate for a portion of your time or he is not.
35.	Doctrine allows you the prerogative to decide upon those with whom to associate and those you choose to avoid.
36.	The reasons may be because you have discerned motives, intentions, and objectives that are threatening to your standards of thought and behavior and you use your free will to decline a relationship.
37.	What you are not to do is judge him by accusing him of anything but simply to decline an invitation to spend time with him.  Nor are you to then gossip to others about your views of this person.  
38.	You may feel obligated to alert others about what you perceive would be an unhealthy situation should they consider setting a date but this would be judging.  Your friends need to use doctrine and if they don’t have it then you will have taken on the obligation of becoming their counselor.
39.	The best you can do, if asked why you denied the person your time, is to simply say, “I personally don’t find Fred attractive.”
40.	To have the doctrinal power to discern good from evil requires that one discriminate against the evil in favor of the good.
41.	The ability to discern and the act of discrimination are not considered by the Bible to be acts of prejudice but rather the mark of a mature believer:
Hebrews 5:13 -	Everyone who partakes only of milk [ basic doctrines ] is ignorant [ ¥peiroj, apeiros: biblically uninformed ] of the word of righteousness [ lÒgoj dikaiosÚnh, logos didaiosunē: advanced doctrine producing acquired righteousness, i.e., the sophisticated spiritual life of a mature believer ], because he keeps on being a spiritual baby.
v. 14 -	But solid food [ advanced doctrines ] is for mature believers [ tšleioj, teleios: spiritual maturity through the understanding & knowledge of truth & virtue ], who because of self-discipline have their senses [ a„sqht»rion, aisthētērion ] trained [ gumn£zw, gumnazō ] to discern [ di£krisij, diakrisis ] between good and evil.

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