THE NEW "B" WORD
by Richard Burkard
In a previous article on this web site, we examined the question of whether Christians should go around doing good works -- and we concluded they should. But in heading toward that conclusion, perhaps we skipped over an even more fundamental point which this article will address. Who are we to decide something is good or bad, anyway?
This topic was provoked not by a church discussion, but an afternoon conference in a television station newsroom. Many stations have "pre-show meetings" to discuss the day's stories and how they will be handled during newscasts. At one such meeting, the top story was attendance on the first day of school -- and the discussion went something like this:
"At Northside High School things are so bad, some students are in trailers...."
"That's bad? Who are you to say that's bad?"
The producer of the newscast recalled a candidate for Governor several years before, who campaigned against "portable classrooms" outside schools and promised to find more money for school construction to get rid of them. The unimpressed news anchor responded by saying that was a case from another time and place -- while at this school at this time, "to say something is 'bad' frames a picture for the reporter, and we shouldn't be doing that."
The report eventually shown on TV quoted people at the high school, who found both good and bad points in the situation. But the anchor, whether meaning to do so or not, set a standard - that we're not allowed to call anything bad.
What made this moment curious was that the anchor making this statement was a professing, church-attending Christian - and very openly conservative and Republican at that. Sitting in this meeting, it left me wondering if the anchor knew something I didn't know. Is "bad" a verboten word, in a Bible some like to call "The Good Book?"
At least this discussion gave me a Bible study topic - and when I returned home, I rushed to a concordance. Being careful not to let anyone play "trump the translation," I went to the King James Version at that. The result: 18 places where "bad" occurs - and at some key moments of Scripture, in fact.
Only one use of the word is accredited to Jesus, but it's a profound one. The "Parable of the Net" describes a catch of all sorts of fish. "When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away." (Mt. 13:47-48, NIV unless noted) Jesus goes on to warn the "end of the age" will be like this, only with people called the wicked and the righteous (vs. 49-50).
The question which follows from this parable is simple, yet spiritually enormous. How can Jesus judge good from bad, if nothing can be called bad? This story offers nothing about giving wicked people a "get out of Gehenna free" card, as some might like to hope. While God wants all of us to come to repentance (II Pet. 3:9), this verse and others strongly indicate not everyone will do it. Paul agrees that when the time of judgment comes, "each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (II Cor. 5:10)
But, you may be saying, that's Jesus determining good and bad - while we're not supposed to make judgments like that. If that's true, why didn't Solomon sin upon becoming king of Israel? He prayed to God for "an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and bad...." (I Kng. 3:9, KJV) Did God respond with a lecture along the lines of Matthew 7:1 about "judging not?" Not at all: "and the speech pleased the Lord...." (3:10)
Leaders of Israel had decision-making powers long before this. Priests in the wilderness actually were expected to judge sacrifices of animals or houses as good or bad (Lev. 27:11-14) And when Moses sent scouts to Canaan to explore the potential promised land, their instructions included determining "whether it be good or bad...." (Num. 13:19, KJV)
These few verses should make it clear that God does not consider bad a, well, "bad word" at all. So where do some people get the notion that it is? I suspect it's because of a verse mentioned earlier - Matthew 7:1: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (also in Lk. 6:37).
This is a favorite verse of scorn for some Church of God ministers. They might try to trump it by turning to John 7:24, and another quote of Jesus: "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." But in taking this approach, the ministers can leave the impression that our Lord is a double-talker - and the seeming contradiction is left unresolved.
The same Greek word is used in both passages: krino, which can have several shades of meaning. It can refer to distinguishing and deciding (such as Acts 20:16 and I Cor. 2:2)-- but also can have the context of punishing and condemning (as in John 3:17-18 and II Thes. 2:12). The word also shows up several times in Romans 14, on the issue of sacred days and food preferences.
Perhaps other occasions when Jesus says krino can help solve this puzzle. "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" He asks in Luke 12:57 -- but what is the proper context for this statement? The King James paragraph format connects it to verses 54-56, about discerning the present age. Other translations such as NASB and NIV tie it to verses 58-60, about reconciling with an adversary and avoiding a trip to court.
"You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one," Jesus says in John 8:15-16; "But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone." The word "judge" and its related form "judgment" here all go back to krino. So both human and God-level judgments (such as verse 26) can be the same word.
Paul advises several times in his writings against judging others -- for instance: "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another." (Rom 14:13; see also 2:1-3) "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes." (I Cor. 4:5) But the same Paul also urges the Corinthians to "judge for yourselves" whether women should pray with uncovered heads (I Cor. 11:13) - and he admittedly already "passed judgment on the one" taking his father's wife (I Cor. 5:1, 3). He even urges a church group to have love which will "abound yet more and more.... in all judgment." (Phil. 1:9, KJV)
When all the New Testament verses are considered, we're left with the conclusion there's a time and place for judging - and a time and place not to do it. The trick lies in sorting out which is which. In general we can do it this way: judging sinful actions and behavior is acceptable -- but judging matters which are not sin, as well as people in regards to their salvation, is not.
But your Bible-filled mind already may be saying, "What about....?" OK, let's check six New Testament passages which puzzled me as I considered this topic:
* Acts 16:15 - where Lydia says after her baptism: "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house...." (KJV) The judging here involves whether a purple cloth dealer is fit for baptism. It's NOT about ultimate salvation. (See Mk. 16:16)
* Romans 14:4 -- "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls...." Paul is advising here against stepping on a position of judgment others may have - in this case, a master over a servant.
* I Corinthians 10:29 - "Why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience?" It's an issue of others judging you (especially unbelievers, based on verse 27), not you judging others.
* I Corinthians 14:24 - "If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all." If they're all prophesying properly, the congregation will be judging sin - and that fits the guidelines above.
* Colossians 2:16 - "Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." As with I Corinthians 10, this is a matter of others judging you (see also 2:18).
* James 4:11-12 - "Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it..... But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?" The first part of verse 11 provides the proper context, especially in NIV: speaking slanderously about other brethren, to defame their character.
Keep in mind that the Bible speaks of a future time when changed human beings will be in positions of judgment. Jesus said the disciples which followed Him "will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." (Mt. 19:28/Lk. 22:30) Paul adds believers someday "will judge angels." (I Cor. 6:3) If a follower of Jesus is going to judge eventually, it's only fitting and proper to practice a bit now - but as long as it's within the guidelines we've mentioned.
"If we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment," Paul notes in I Corinthians 11:31. In other words, we tend to be biased as humans to think we're not really all that bad. Compare that with verse 32: "When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."
In closing, some personal reflection: years ago I had a Church of God roommate who frequently sounded like he was judging other people (both within the church and outside). If I made comments to him about his actions seemingly not being godly, he'd declare, "You're judging me!" He was discerning things and people, he explained - so he was right, I was condemning and wrong, and he'd win every argument by disqualification.
Yet when I asked this man to explain the difference between judging and discerning, he really couldn't do it. I noticed only in researching this topic that the King James Bible speaks of judging and judgment a lot more often. My prayer is that this study will help you know how to "judge righteous judgment," as the KJV puts John 7:24, and that God's Spirit will guide you in sorting good from bad. For as an old blues song might have put it -- if you've got it bad, that ain't good.
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© 2004, Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.