Amplified: For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
NLT: So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.)
Phillips: Why, then, criticise your brother's actions, why try to make him look small? We shall all be judged one day, not by each other's standards or even our own, but by the standard of Christ
Wuest: But as for you, why are you judging your brother? Or, as for you also, why are you treating your brother with contempt? For we all shall stand before the judgment seat of God.
Young's Literal: And thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or again, thou, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand at the tribunal of the Christ
We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ....
BUT YOU, WHY DO YOU JUDGE YOUR BROTHER: Su de ti krineis ton adelphon sou:
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
The Judgment Seat of Christ: 2Corinthians 5:10- the notes are on another doc.
Middletown Bible - The Law of Love (Romans 14:1-15:3) - For further help in understanding how to live so as to not cause a brother to stumble, see their paper entitled, "Guidance: 67 Biblical Tests to Use in Deciding Upon a Course of Action." have this list on another dox.
But (de) - Godet "The but contrasts the incompetent judgment of a brother, with the judgment of this one Lord." (Romans 14:1-15:13 Directions Regarding a Difference of View)
Guzik commenting on Paul's question Why do you judge your brother says - Probably, the use of both judge and show contempt is meant to have application to both the "strict" and the "free" individuals. (Ed: Some like A T Robertson favor this is directed to "the conduct of the weak brother in Ro 14:3"). In either case, the attitude is wrong because we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The strict Christian found it easy to judge his brother, writing him off as an unspiritual meat-eater-compromiser. The free Christian found it easy to show contempt against his brother, regarding him as a uptight-legalistic-goody-good. Essentially, Paul’s answer is "Stop worrying about your brother. You have enough to answer for before Jesus." (Romans 14 - David Guzik Commentary on the Bible) http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/view.cgi?bk=ro&ch=14
You (su) - first in the sentence for emphasis and "in contrast to the Lord" (Vincent). Denney says "You, in contrast with the one Lord and Judge of all. In face of our common responsibility to Him, how dare we judge each other?" The phrase, "your brother" is "another reason for not judging: it is inconsistent with a recognition of the brotherhood of believers. (Romans 14 - The Expositor's Greek Testament)
It is, "But as for you (in contrast to the Lord) why do you, (the weaker brother) judge your brother (your Christian brother)?" (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament)
John Stott - Despising and judging fellow Christians (the same two verbs are used as in verse 3), ‘the smile of disdainful contempt’ and ‘the frown of condemnatory judgment’, are both now shown up to be totally anomalous attitudes. Why? Not only because God has accepted them, because Christ has died and risen to be our common Lord, but also because they and we are related to one another in the strongest possible way, by family ties. Whether we are thinking of the weak, with all their tedious doubts and fears, or of the strong, with all their brash assurances and freedoms, they are our brothers and sisters. When we remember this, our attitude to them becomes at once less critical and impatient, more generous and tender.
Judge (2919) (krino) primarily signifies to distinguish, separate or discriminate and then, to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, without necessarily passing an adverse sentence, though this is usually involved. It means to sift out and analyze evidence. It is present tense indicating that they were continually passing judgment. Passing judgment, by implication also usually conveys the idea of condemning.
We have no right to judge and condemn one another because the Judge is the Lord. Each believer will have enough to do in keeping his own account right without interfering with others’ accounts!
Referring to the conduct of the "weak" brother in Ro 14:3. Believers are not judges of other believers, whether weaker or stronger because we will all be judged by God (1Co 3:10-15; 2Co 5:10). However balance this truth with the fact that the church needs to keep its own fellowship pure while at the same time refraining from assuming God's role as Judge (1Cor 5:9-13). Thus the command not to judge one another does not mean we are to condone immorality and wickedness, etc, within the church. We must beware of falling into this trap for if known sin is allowed to persist, it will not lie dormant but will propagate, even as leaven spreads throughout the loaf (1Co 5:7) and ultimately will even corrupt good morals (1Cor 15:33).
We need to recall what the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees who wanted to stone an adulterous woman...
We need to recall what the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees who wanted to stone an adulterous woman...
He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 8:7)
ASSIDUOUSLY AVOID JUDGING OTHER'S MOTIVES
One of the most sinister aspects of judging a brother or sister is judging their motives. When we do so we are saying in essence that we are omniscient and capable of reading their minds and discerning what has transpired in their life that might be impacting their words and deeds. This type of judgment is a slippery slope (cp Dt 32:35 "in due time their foot will slip") and is to be avoided at all costs. Seeking to please Christ and keeping a "Bema Seat Mentality" will help us avoid "motive" judgments. It also helps to remember that even our motives for doing "motive checks" on others will be accurately assessed (1Co 4:5, cp 1Th 2:4)
Let the world condemn him if it will, but simply because we are intimately related in Christ let us get alongside our brother and love him or at least overlook his failures without seeking to condemn him for his faults. Let no man judge another because one day, in the light of the judgment we have passed on others, every one of us must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Mt 7:2). Silence (forbearance) the censorious tongue is good advice for those who desire to walk worthy of their calling (Ep 4:1-3). Cast the burdens of the misjudged motive and the misunderstood action at the feet of the Lord and leave them there until that day when He shall vindicate, for vengeance is His and He will repay (Ro 12:19, He 10:30, Dt 32:35, 43, Ps 94:1, 2, Nah 1:2-3, Lev 19:18, cp Pr 24:17-18).
Let the world condemn him if it will, but simply because we are intimately related in Christ let us get alongside our brother and love him or at least overlook his failures without seeking to condemn him for his faults. Let no man judge another because one day, in the light of the judgment we have passed on others, every one of us must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Mt 7:2). Silence (forbearance) the censorious tongue is good advice for those who desire to walk worthy of their calling (Ep 4:1-3). Cast the burdens of the misjudged motive and the misunderstood action at the feet of the Lord and leave them there until that day when He shall vindicate, for vengeance is His and He will repay (Ro 12:19, He 10:30, Dt 32:35, 43, Ps 94:1, 2, Nah 1:2-3, Lev 19:18, cp Pr 24:17-18).
Paul is saying "Silence that critical tongue, for we must appear before the Bema of Christ. Stop judging another, which has become the practice of so many lives, because Christ the righteous Judge is at the door (Jas 5:9) We must remember that the one we are judging is our brother not our enemy. (Ro 14:3)
That we shall all be judged has been amply foretold in both the old and new testaments...Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)
The LORD...is coming, or He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness. (Psalm 96:13) (Spurgeon's note)
(This verse is painful to read for Jesus promised) "that every careless (argos from a = without + ergon = work = literally "not working words"!) word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.' (Mt 12:36)
Under these circumstances (the religious leaders were plotting against Jesus trying to catch Him in something He might say), after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all," Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. (Luke 12:1-2)
There is no room in the family of God for one group to pass judgment on another. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus settled the issue:
Do not judge (present imperative with a negative can be paraphrased = "Stop doing this" - it was going on) lest you be judged." (Mt 7:1, one of the most inappropriately quoted text in the Bible! Why? Because they stop here - the context tells us more about "judging".).
As noted Jesus' warning about not judging has far too often been taken out of context and used by many to say that we are never to disapprove of anything another person does. What Jesus actually said in context was...
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then (this is critical, not before but after the log removal) you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Furthermore how would we be able to follow through on Jesus' charge He gives a few verses later declaring "You will know them by their fruits" (Mt 7:16 -- speaking of false teachers)?
And so believers are called to be "fruit inspectors" but this assessment is still in the context of first being "log removers"! What Jesus is prohibiting in Matthew 7:1 is harsh and censorious criticism, not insight based on Biblical truth and the indwelling Spirit of Truth (cp 1Th 5:21, 22, Ro 12:9 1Jn 4:1).
OR YOU AGAIN, WHY DO YOU REGARD YOUR BROTHER WITH CONTEMPT: e kai su ti exoutheneis (2SPAI) ton adelphon sou: (Ro 14:3,4; Luke 23:11; Acts 4:11)
Earlier Paul had declared that "The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions
Denney - This is addressed to the strong and free thinking, as the first question is to the weak and scrupulous Christian. Censoriousness and contempt are never anything but sins, not to be practised but shunned, and that all the more when we remember that we shall all stand at one bar. God is the universal Judge.
Regard with contempt (1848) (exoutheneo from ek = an intensifier + outhenéo = bring to naught) means to treat someone or something as of no account and so to despise then based on the judgment that they are worthless or of no value. It means to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that the brother has no merit or worth!
11x in 11v - Luke 18:9; 23:11; Acts 4:11; Rom 14:3, 10; 1 Cor 1:28; 6:4; 16:11; 2 Cor 10:10; Gal 4:14; 1Thess 5:20. NAS = contemptible(1), despise(3), despised(1), no account(1), regard with contempt(1), regard...with contempt(1), rejected(1), treating...with contempt(1), viewed with contempt(1).
Stop trying to take God's place. You, the weak, why do you judge your brother? And you, the strong, why do you look down on your brother? It is wrong. You are trying to take Christ's place when you do that. But remember that all of us, men and women alike, all brothers and sisters in one body of Christ, must individually stand before God's judgment seat.
FOR WE SHALL ALL STAND BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD: pantes gar parasthsometha (1PPFMI) to bemati tou theou:
(Ro 2:16; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 25:31,32; John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 1Corinthians 4:5; 2Corinthians 5:10; Jude 1:14,15; Revelation 20:11-15)
