"Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying,
‘Hear the cases between your brethren,
and judge righteously between a man and his brother
or the stranger who is with him.
You shall not show partiality in judgment;
you shall hear the small as well as the great;
you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence...'"
Deuteronomy 1:16-17
“You shall not show partiality...”
One's first sentiment on reading this is that it sounds good. Think about it though - do we judge righteously without partiality? Are we influenced by what we know about the person? If the person is a lowly sinner we've known, how does that influence the way we look at him/her? When the person is famous, doesn't that affect how we think of him/her? When it's someone in the news, an actor or actress, a member of a political party other than the one we subscribe to, doesn't that affect our judgment? What if it's someone we love? Does that make us partial to him/her? We see by the Word of God here that it's very difficult to pass righteous judgment because of the sentiments we hold toward the persons involved.
Some will say we are not to judge, but that must be qualified. No, we are not to judge a person because we all have skewed opinions and sentiments toward people. But we are commanded to test issues, and that necessitates judging.
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.”
1st Thessalonians 5:21-22
"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and encourage...
2nd Timothy 4:2
We are commanded to correct and to rebuke.
John the Baptist rebuked Herod the king on an issue of immorality. Today, he would be accused of being unloving, unkind, with no respect for leaders, a hater, and most of all un-Christian. Friends, we are told to correct and to rebuke.
In cases of discerning whether something is good or evil, and in cases of seeing an obvious evil that needs to be addressed, we are to judge. What we are not to judge is people. When we see something that needs correcting or rebuke we do so, but we leave the people involved - for the Lord to deal with. We can always know when something is good or evil, because the Word of God determines that. But in the case of the person involved, we leave the person to the Lord. We judge issues, not people.
When the Lord comes, he will bring righteous judgment. Scripture tells us he will rule with a rod of iron. He will not be influenced in any way. He will not be partial, he will not consider the status of any person. He will not be bribed or blackmailed. He will not suggest a plea bargain. He will not grant early release for good behavior. No, his judgment will be totally righteous, impartial, and true.
"He shall judge between many peoples,
and rebuke strong nations afar off;"
Micah 4:3
And this is the way he judges you and me. There will be no self-justification, no blaming someone else for our sin, no partiality because you're "mostly a good person." His judgment is totally impartial and righteous.
It's important to note here that we aren't talking about salvation. Jesus Christ took the penalty for ALL our sin, and that determines our eternal fate. But believers live a life of repentance as the Spirit of the Lord convicts them and has them face the truth about themselves little by little and brings them through to repentance, restoration, and health.
When we are born again, we surrender our lives to Christ in repentance, but that's only the beginning. From there we grow and each stage of growth will be a deeper repentance as the Lord shows us the giants in our lives that must be conquered if we want to move on with him and come to maturity. No one, having gone through, has ever regretted it because each deliverance brings the repentant one to a new level of joy in the Lord.
The Lord will never take you somewhere that he has not already planned out for your success. TRUST him. Let him judge righteously your state, and don't try to influence his judgment with self-justification or by trying to blame someone else for your weakness or sin. When you overcome, you will rejoice and you will enter a new level of freedom and joy you never could have anticipated. TRUST the one who judges righteously, and surrender all to him. Then you will know joy as you never knew it before.
"I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps." Psalm 40:1-2 I waited patiently… Patience is one of the most important factors in prayer - and one of the most difficult. Sometimes it seems the Lord is not listening. It may be though, that he is testing one's heart to see how long one will remain faithful even when not seemingly getting results. Does the lack of apparent results suggest that what we are asking isn't God's will? NO. It means God is working something out and it requires time. The answer will come in the right time, if you do not lose heart. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, the Lord called Moses to come up the mountain to receive God's Word. Moses told the people to wait for him to return, but he was gone a long time and the people got tired of waiting ...and they got into grievous sin. It is amazing how many stories in the Bible required men to wait. It's a theme we see over and over again, as though it were supremely valuable to the Lord. God promised Abraham a son through his wife Sarah, but the wait was so long that they took matters into their own hands and Abraham brought forth a son he named Ishmael through Sarah's maid - a sin whose results wreak havoc to this day, for Ishmael is the father of the Arabs. If only Abraham and Sarah had waited! Jacob's son Joseph was shown in a dream that his brothers (who hated him) would someday come and bow before him. But it was years later and after many tears that finally, it happened and not only happened, but happened in a glorious way which resulted in a testimony that would last forever. In the meantime, Joseph didn’t waver, no matter how he was betrayed and sold as a slave to Egypt, and no matter how long he sat in an Egyptian prison for a crime he didn't commit. No matter what the enemy threw at him, Joseph waited. And the promise came. Patience and maintaining faith are virtues the Lord values highly. Every believer will be in the position of having to wait after a promise is given. But when the answer comes, it will be greater than what the person asked for. "Now to him who is able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THE WE ASK OR THINK..." Ephesians 3:20 Wait and do not waiver. Do not get tired of praying but continue for as long as it takes. Do not be tempted to give up. Do not be tempted to think God doesn't care. He may be creating a story behind the scenes that you know nothing about. Wait on him. For as long as it takes. "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap IF WE DO NOT LOSE HEART." Galatians 6:9 The time may seem long, but the answer will come and that will lead to greater rejoicing than you ever expected. "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Psalm 126:5-6
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares (weeds) among the wheat
and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop,
then the tares also appeared."
Matthew 13:24-26
The parable goes on to say that the servants asked whether they should uproot the tares, but the master said no, because you'd uproot the good wheat too. Tares in a wheat field look exactly like the wheat as they're growing.
It's often difficult to discern false teachers, false ministers, false prophets, because they look like the true. Usually they have very winning personalities and have an air of credibility about them, and that's why so many fall for them. They're pleasing to listen to. They say nice things. They always speak words that are "uplifting."
That's exactly how a wolf in sheep's clothing looks. They look like the sheep.
So how DOES one discern the false from the true? Not from looking at them, they will usually be all smiles, their words very pleasing. The only way one can discern is to know the Word of God thoroughly, because their straying from the truth will only be discernible by those who know the truth.
These days there are people who want to hear only that which is pleasant. That's the most dangerous thing one can do. Satan is only too happy to bring you "uplifting" messages, especially when the truth of the matter is not uplifting. Oftentimes truth is hard.
In 1st Kings chapter 22 we see a story of false prophets. King Ahab of Israel had 400 prophets whom he brought before him asking whether he should go up to battle against the king of Syria. With one accord, the false prophets all told him to go and that God will deliver the king of Syria into Ahab's hands. But then Micaiah came, and he told the king that he would die in the battle and his servants would be scattered on the mountains. Ahab listened to his 400 prophets who were all in agreement, telling him what he wanted to hear.
Wouldn't you listen to them if all 400 were telling you something "uplifting?" Would you even consider the one telling you an unpleasant truth? 400 to 1, who wouldn't take those odds? Most would fall for that. Well, Ahab fell for it. He went to battle ...and died.
False prophets and false teachers want fame and fortune. They have a way of saying things that just sounds SO good. Look at the huge mega-churches of today – in many cases that's exactly what's going on there because people want to hear the 400 false prophets telling them how they can be healthy, wealthy, and wise. If you belong to one of those churches, FLEE. You've been deceived! A true man of God will tell you to take up your cross and follow Jesus.
What is a cross?
It's what you die on.
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul?"
Matthew 16:25-26
When you need advice, when you need direction, take it to the Lord. Our safety is in HIM, and ONLY HE can lead you rightly through any problem. When you're up against something, don't go for advice or direction to someone who is going to tell you what you want to hear. If you do, it's because you've already made up your mind and you only want someone to agree with you. No. Submit yourself and the problem to the Lord, asking for help. He is the ONLY one who can give you the right direction.