Last Hour Message - The meaning of 'Judge not'

"He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with errors"

A lot has been said about the verse Judge Not (Mat 7:1) No time has this verse been more popular than in current Zimbabwe. Piece after piece I have written on the dangers of giving undue spiritual authority to mortals. However, there are some amongst us who feel that we must, 'Judge not'. One fellow who was stung by the rebuke on diabolical acts by supposed men of God wrote a venomous e-mail in which he made a scathing attack on me as he defended his leaders emphatically saying I was touching the anointed.

Statements like, "Touch not my anointed" and "Judge not…" have become common defense lines for religious leaders engaging in near-satanic practices. Their followers threaten and spit venom on anyone who dares rebuke the vile acts. One certainly needed to have been there last Friday; the temperature in the packed room seemed to drop to zero as more than ten church women recounted horrific sexual abuses they suffered at the hands of one Harare Pastor. It's incredible and it will shock you to the bone. Sixteen more DVDs of p*rnographic material, n*de pictures, weird s*xual acts and s*xual enhancement pills details emerged from the accounts. Surely, if speaking against such practices is a sin then I will stand guilty before my God. My articles never target a single leader but make sweeping rebukes against increasing unchristian acts by leaders.

May it be put on record that the Bible verse 'Judge Not' does not exist to give immunity to people who wantonly pervert the beauty of Christianity shielding people from scrutinizing  their conduct? The verse is not a licence to sin. The kind of judging which the Bible prohibits is judging using our own (personal) standards. When the Bible is used as the standard there is absolutely no wrong-doing (Proverbs 31:9). In fact, the Bible encourages us to judge righteously using its standards. One simply can't be a true man of God if he teaches polygamy or sanctions abortion. No High Court judge ever uses his own thoughts or opinions to make a judgment but is rather guided by the law. Likewise, no Christian ever uses their own feelings or views but are to judge using the Bible as the yardstick.

 My heart bleeds in the wake of this age's breed of Christians who move around with this verse on their tongue in defence of abhorrent practices by leaders. In my opinion, apart from the high moral blameworthiness of their leaders, I maintain that this new breed of Christians is largely to blame as they prop up those who continue to bring the Christian faith into disrepute. Today, Christian churches make the news for all the reasons contrary to Christianity. Leaders actually seem to be competing with each other in ungodly practices. Talk of Christians who will defend something as unbiblical as 'miracle abortion.' Imagine Christians who will defend a leader who dabbles in p*rnography and multiple sex partners. This last Sunday, a Reformed Church in Zimbabwe(RCZ)  pastor was nabbed yet again for preying on church women. The leader whose church was recently deregistered would even call himself 'god.' In the wake of all this rot some amongst us wants everyone gagged by saying, 'Touch Not.'

My dear friends, there is a world of difference between Christianity and gullibility. Christianity proves all things taught and gullibility believes all things taught. Christianity is based on the teachings of JESUS Christ and gullibility is based on blind submission to a trained persuader. Christians are people who follow Christ in word and conduct. Real Christians are not simpletons or people who lack common sense. Indeed there is hope for someone who does not know anything about Christianity than one whose mind has been contaminated by error and false teaching. It boggles the mind how Christians (some highly educated) can endorse something as blasphemous as comparing God's power to that of wrestler John Cena. Yes, in Harare a few months ago, one well known prophet splashed a colorfully designed crusade poster with popular wrestlers John Cena and the Rock. Surely, how can one liken God's power to something with limitations like human power? How can God's indescribable power be equated to muscle power of fallen mortals.

My brothers and sisters, God never ever intended that his name or word be the victim of such mischief and abuse. Christ rebuked the vile practices of his day, "…O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil speak of good things…" (Matt 12:34). Even the disciples left did not caress unchristian conduct of their day. Paul rebuked the popular miracle worker in ISRAEL telling him to repent for he tried something as outrageous as buying the Holy Spirit.

Honestly, which Christianity bids people to change their family names to replace them with a church minister's surname? Even the early Christians never replaced their surnames with Christ's own name? True followers of Christ are not a group of fleeceable people because they are instructed to prove all things taught. "Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good" (1 Thess 5:21). The Bible's grand instruction to the millions of Christians in this world is this. "…test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone into the world." (1 John 4:1). The Bible is our weapon and guide to practices that pervert the truth of Christ. Christian conduct has to be in sync with the Bible especially if it concerns those who shepherd the flock.

Biblical teachers never ran away from scrutiny of their teachings or conduct by saying, "Touch Not" or "Judge Not." Apostle Paul highly commended the men of Berea for they proved all things he taught (Acts 17:11). God commended the Bereans for this very important quality which is critically absent in the modern church. The men of Berea checked every teaching against Biblical truth. This quality of character of the men of Berea is the missing link in today's Christianity. The god of this world (satan) has blinded Christians today that they wonder after  creatures instead of the Creator. Anyone who claims association with the name of Christ must as far as possible walk as he walked.

Indeed Christianity has fallen prey to ravenous wolves and it is a duty incumbent upon every child of God to warn and point out that which is base and unbecoming of Christians-even leaders

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