Proverbs 24:23 ¶ These things also belong to the wise. It is
not good to have respect of persons in judgment. 24 He that saith unto the
wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor
him: 25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall
come upon them. 26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Matthew Henry, writing in the early 1700’s,
takes these verses together. He says that, in the first verse, the reference to
“the wise” is a reference to judges and magistrates. This is understandable in
the literal sense for the Hebrews as they lived under God’s Law which covered
not only their religious duties to God but their civil duties to man. Henry
would also think it to be taken in the literal sense for the state of his day
as the English also believed that they lived in a sort of theocracy under God’s
Laws with the King as the head of the church on earth.
However, that notion has been shown to be false
as we have seen through history that the sole purpose of the modern
nation-state has been to perpetuate itself and its power not only over the
people over whom it executes governance but also, inasmuch as possible, over
its neighbors and fellow nation-states. The empire of Great Britain was, like
all other empires of man, one of the greatest forces for evil in the world and
more than any other empire besides the one that inherited the Roman Empire, the
one that rules its people throughout all countries from the Vatican, it has
given us the confused and mixed up world system we have today, its superficial
dedication to Christ notwithstanding.
As the Christian must view the verses under the
doctrine of the Law specifically given to God’s chosen people, the Hebrews of
Ancient Israel, in a spiritual sense or he becomes a worldly monster much like
Imperial England, Germany, or Spain let’s try to apply these verses to the
individual Christian. The Christian must apply God’s standard equally in all
things, if he or she is wise. For instance, take these verses quoting Christ in
His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ to some of His beard wearing, pork abstaining, temple
going, Sabbath observing disciples.
Matthew 7:1 ¶ Judge not, that ye be not
judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou
the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in
thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote
out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite,
first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 6 Give not that which is holy
unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them
under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
There are many issues covered in these few short sentences
such as in verse 6 not placing your converts to Christ under the control of
false male or female teachers who are teaching an ungodly religion. However,
our focus is more narrow. Jesus says to judge others by the same standard you
judge yourself. He states, at least to the Jews who are still under the
doctrines of the Law at the time of His most famous sermon, that they will be
judged by the same standards they use to judge others. As a consequence it
would be better for them not to judge others at all. He goes on to say that
they are willing to judge the speck in their brother’s eye while ignoring the
beam in their own. We often point our fingers at other people’s faults and sins
and ignore our own glaring defects. As I have pointed out before, for others we
issue accusations, for ourselves excuses.
Paul, in writing of doctrine to the Christians
at Rome, as he prepares his own argument against legalism and self-justification
in the book of Romans, gives a brief moral history of man and ends it with a
punch that must have knocked his readers off their feet. Please bear with me as
I believe a large section of the passage must be read to get the whole effect,
and I will read it as it was meant to be read, with pauses at punctuation
marks, lest my own emphasis give the wrong impression.
Romans 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed
it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that,
when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory
of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a
lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is
blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which
is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which
was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding,
covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
2:1 ¶ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest:
for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that
judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is
according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou
this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that
thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
So, to judge by a righteous standard we must use
the same standard for others as we do for ourselves. It is the rare Christian,
particularly a fundamentalist like myself, who has not at some point held the
truth in unrighteousness and judged others, particularly in today’s society,
those who engage in homosexual behavior or those who support an imagined
unfettered constitutional right to abortion, by a different set of moral
standards than we do ourselves. Of course, the self-righteous Christian has a
problem even seeing the truth of this perspective because they are so very
convinced they have never been guilty, since being saved, of any of the sins of
action AND thought listed in the verses in Romans.
In verse 24 in Proverbs, it talks about calling
someone that is evil, good. For instance, under the civil law, declaring
someone’s argument in a conflict as correct who is clearly wrong and oppressing
the other side, usually the person without the deeper pockets. How can our own
country, secular nation or Christian one, as either side will profess, hope for
any good to come of us when even Christians extol the virtues of celebrities,
the wealthy, and the powerful;
Psalm 12:8 The wicked walk on every side,
when the vilest men are exalted.
For a Christian to hold out as a person to
honor, respect with your attention and money, and your conversation people who
are so vile and wicked to the extreme: actors and actresses, sports figures,
music personalities, and many politicians, also men and women of the business
world, is an absurdity to the extreme. How many Christians, I wonder, enjoyed
the appropriately named television show, American Idol? How many Christians
have put money in the pockets of people who denounce their faith and ridicule
their intelligence like Bruce Willis or Ian McKellan, by watching their movies
and praising their performances? What about people like a former president of
the US who called Jesus Christ his “favorite philosopher” when God calls
philosophy “vain deceit”?
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment
if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is
impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as
being examples of anything good.
Finally, the verses in Proverbs state that by
judging righteously you will win the approval of others. This was certainly
applicable in the Jewish state when it honored God but would hardly have an
application today as the whole world lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19), the
proof of which lies in the fact that more often than not people in positions of
authority are praised for their indecent decisions rather than righteous ones.
[By the way, we find the concept of men kissing each other as inappropriate and
gross but there are many customs of other cultures that might appear so as they
are alien to our contemplation. I refer you to Paul’s references to a “holy
kiss” (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians
5:26) and to Peter’s reference to a “kiss of charity” (1 Peter 5:14) although I
wouldn’t recommended you walking up to a Christian in our culture and giving
them a smooch, even on the cheek, as their might be trouble.]
So, let me repeat, for the Christian to
contemplate, what I have taken away as the spiritual value for you of these
verses in Proverbs;
It is impossible to judge a righteous judgment
if you use a different standard for yourself than you do others and it is
impossible to judge a righteous judgment if you uplift wicked men and women as
being examples of anything good.
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