Judge Not that Ye Be Not Judged (Part 3) – Reward Her Even as She Rewarded You

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. – Matthew 7:1-5

In the previous article within this series, I considered the problem of our “knowledge of good and evil” and how this relates to the judgements we make. I also stated that when we judge the sins of others or when we condemn people for their sins, we are also judging ourselves. This could be part of the reason why this knowledge makes us worthy of death.

Jesus is the answer.

His sacrifice is what makes us acceptable to God. There is no other way that we can stand in the judgment. However, the teachings of Jesus provide us with insight into what it means to live as He would have us to live.

Although we are not as Adam and Eve who ate of the that forbidden tree so that they could be “wise” and “as gods,” we are adopted children of God through Jesus Christ. This adoption does require us to exercise good use of our knowledge and sound judgment—and judgment always begins at the house of God.

We need to take the things that Jesus teaches us seriously, not because we are attempting to earn our salvation, but because we want to be faithful to it knowing that this life is making us into His image. He will do that work by His Spirit and nothing can stop this work.

Yet, He works in ways that are often beyond our understanding and our lives are meant to be lived and experienced from our own perspectives and experience. Therefore, let us strive in faith knowing that all things will work together for our good and His will is going to be accomplished in us.

Even so, there are always those who seem to be of the faith and are not. There is going to be a great apostacy and there is going to be a Great Whore of Mystery Babylon.

One of the things that is written regarding her judgment is this: “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double. She shall be utterly burned with fire.”

Reward her even as she rewarded you.

This sounds a lot like “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

This is the danger of judgment, as mentioned throughout this article series.

This is why it so important for us to look at our own sins first and foremost instead of becoming consumed by the sins of others.

When we are focused on the sins of others, we are in danger of neglecting our own sins or judging others for the sins we commit. That is hypocrisy. We are also in danger of misjudging someone, falsely accusing them, slandering them, and condemning them.

Jesus said, “many will kill you thinking they do God’s service, and this they will do because they have not known the Father nor me.”

Back to the Great Whore of Mystery Babylon and why this matters for us.

One of the defining characteristics of the Great Whore is her drunkenness. She is drunk with blood. Meanwhile, she views herself as a “queen” who will “see no sorrow.” She is decked out in jewels and fancy clothing. She thinks that she has it all and this is her right. She also sits in the seat of judgment, condemning all who she views as worthy of condemnation—which will include all who do not worship the King of Babylon who is the false christ.

This matters for us because if we continue making unjust judgments of hypocrisy, false accusations, slander, and self-righteous and wrathful indignation, then we might not be of Jesus at all. We might be of the Great Whore—and she will fill her cup one day.

As faithful Christians, we do not want to get anywhere near becoming as she is. We want to be rewarded according to mercy and grace by the blood of Jesus.

Those who receive the grace of God in Jesus of a truth will naturally grow in the right things. We will learn to love mercy. We will learn righteous judgment. We will grow in all things that bring us closer to God as His sons in the making because the Spirit of God works in us and the sacrifice of the Son washes us clean. Nothing can take us from Him.

Many are going to accuse us. We see this already.

There are many who hate God. They hate Jesus. They hate Christians. They want to call evil good and good evil, and they want to destroy anyone who stands in their way.  God will deal with it so we should not be consumed by fear or hatred of those who fear and hate us.

Rather, we should remember that judgment begins at the house of God. We look to our own faults, trusting in the mercy of God for us in Jesus Christ. We don’t look to our sins fearfully because we think that we will be condemned. No, let no one accuse you.

We look to our own sins to keep us humble, focused on Jesus, and to guard our hearts from the deceptions of this time so that we can be faithful to Christ and useful for His purposes. We look to ourselves first because this is what He told us to do.

There are many unjust judgments in this world and many that hate us. There are also many unjust judgements among the household of the faith.

There are many ways in which we accuse one another of being false Christians or apostate Christians wrongfully. There are many burdens that we lay on one another that are unnecessary and make those who follow these rules feel superior to those who do not. There are false teachings that corrupt the judgement of God and cause many to stumble in the faith.

We have enough of our own issues to sort out. We have issues in the church to sort out and we are sure to have things in our personal lives that we can look to. How do we corrupt judgment in our daily lives?

Once we have that sorted out, then we are better equipped to handle all of the corrupt judgments of this world and those who hate us.

God gives His people over to their enemies for a reason. Although we are not under the law, but under the blood of Christ, some things do not change. If His children are spoiled, false in their hearts, untrustworthy and unfaithful, then He will chastise us.

In the last days, I would rather us not be among those who are chastised, but those who are standing with Jesus faithfully against the false christ and the whore—who will contain many that seemed to be our brethren.

It will not be easy and the temptations to the sins of rage and condemnation will peak. If we remain with a repentant heart that is introspective, humble, and shows proper fear of the Lord, we will be safe from that temptation. “Take heed to yourself” no matter how righteous you think you are, then make your stand in the truth boldly trusting in the Spirit of God to do the work as we speak His words and His judgments instead of our own, corrupt judgements. Trust in the grace of God that is for you no matter what you suffer and trust that the blood of Jesus has redeemed you from sin.

I know that I said I would write about corrupt judgments of our time. Not quite yet. I need to finish the work that focuses on the church so that we can remain humble, seek mercy, and grow in things that make us ready to stand strong against the forces of darkness in this world (the These Things Saith He work). Then we might get to the other. If the Lord wills.

This article is part of a series that considers the Parables of Jesus. Right now, we are looking at the statements Jesus made during His Sermon on the Mount, to which He referenced in His Parable of the Building on Rock and Sand. Visit the link for quick access to all articles written within this series.

PREVIOUS POST IN THIS SERIES: Judge Not That Ye Be Not Judged (Part 2) – knowledge of Good and Evil

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