If you’ve engaged in any kind of public evangelism, you’ve probably run into the unbeliever who says, “Doesn’t the Bible say don’t judge?” By rejecting the gospel the unbeliever judges himself unworthy of salvation. Here’s a new way to answer this common objection.
Exposition of Acts 13:46
A couple of Sundays ago, my pastor, Mike Reid, preached a sermon titled: “The Gospel Heard by the Elect.” It was an exposition of Acts 13:42-52.
While I appreciated the entire sermon, one of several things that stood out to me was my pastor’s exposition of Acts 13:46.
“And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
One of the things I love about the Bible is that it is what it says it is: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God is alive–unchanging, but alive. While it is unchanging, it’s work in the life of the Christian is new every day. The Bible is active.
I’ve read the Bible, cover-to-cover, many times over the last 32 years. I’ve repeatedly read some portions of Scripture more times than I can remember. For instance, I love Acts 13:48. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” I’ve read it and discussed it many times. It is such a clear affirmation of God’s sovereignty in salvation. Everyone God appoints to salvation will be saved. We have God’s Word on it.
Nearby is Acts 13:46. Like verse 48, I’ve read verse 46 many times. But it never stood out to me the way it did when my pastor exposited the text. That Sunday morning it was new (new to me). It was fresh, sharp, and active. Here’s the verse again:
“And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
What stood out to me in Acts 13:46, looking at it and listening to my pastor’s exposition of it through the lens of evangelism, was my pastor’s emphasis and exposition of the phrase “Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life.” Unbelievers, by their unbelief, by their conduct toward and rejection of the gospel, condemn themselves. When the unbeliever sees himself as too good for the gospel and not needing or wanting salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, his rejection of the gospel is a theological declaration that he is unworthy of eternal life. The unbeliever doesn’t realize he’s doing this. Again, he believes himself to be above the need for salvation. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find” (Proverbs 20:6, KJV).
Theologian Albert Barnes explains the unbeliever’s self-condemnation this way:
“And judge yourselves – By your conduct, by your rejecting it, you declare this. The word ‘judge’ here does not mean they ‘expressed such an opinion,’ or that ‘they regarded themselves’ as unworthy of eternal life – for they thought just the reverse; but that by their conduct they condemned themselves. By such conduct they did, in fact, pass sentence on themselves, and show that they were unworthy of eternal life, and of having the offer of salvation any further made to them. Sinners by their conduct do, in fact, condemn themselves, and show that they are not only unfit to be saved, but that they have advanced so far in wickedness that there is no hope of their salvation, and no propriety in offering them, any further, eternal life.
“Unworthy … – Unfit to be saved. They had deliberately and solemnly rejected the gospel, and thus shown that they were not suited to enter into everlasting life.”
Puritan John Gill exposits the phrase this way:
“…and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life; no man is worthy of everlasting life, on account of anything done by him, for it is the free gift of God; and all who are sensible of themselves, and of the just demerit of sin, conclude themselves unworthy to inherit eternal life; but this was not the case of these Jews, nor is it the sense here: but the meaning is, that the Jews, by this act of theirs in rejecting the Gospel, did as it were pass sentence upon themselves, and determine against themselves that they ought not to be saved, since they despised the means of salvation; or that they were not worthy to have the Gospel preached to them anymore, which may be called eternal life, because it is brought to light by it, and revealed in it; and because it points out the way unto it, as well as gives some account of it.”
A Better Answer to a Common Objection
As my pastor continued to preach through Acts 13:46, my mind wandered to a common objection by unbelievers–one I’ve heard too many times to count. The objection is usually made in the form of a demand and a complaint and comes from a misinterpretation of Matthew 7:1. It goes like this:
“STOP JUDGING ME!” Or, “JESUS SAID, ‘DON’T JUDGE!'”
A response I’ve used over the last several years, with some effect, is to point out to unbelievers that they are doing the very thing they accuse me of doing. By insisting I am judging them, they are judging me. This sometimes works to show the unbeliever the inconsistency in and hypocrisy of his position–“I can judge, but you can’t judge.” However, it can also lead the conversation down a deteriorating road–a road that could end someplace like THIS.
It has been my experience that this tactic rarely segues directly into the gospel (not that every apologetic tactic must do so) and can, at times, in fact, distract from the gospel. The tactic can be useful in pointing out the obvious flaws in an unbeliever’s worldview. And we should do that in an effort to prepare the unbeliever’s mind to have his worldview deconstructed and to then hear the basis for a biblical worldview. However, it can be a tactic that does little more than ready the unbeliever for an argument. Or, it might puff up the pride of the Christian as, maybe, he thinks to himself, “Got him with that one!”
To be clear, I’m not saying the tactic should never be used. Again, I’ve used it for many years. But after hearing my pastor’s exposition of Acts 13:46, I think there is, at least for me, a better way to handle the “Don’t judge me!” objection.
I’ll explain what I mean in the following hypothetical roleplay.
Roleplaying: “You Are Judging Yourself Unworthy”
An open-air preacher (OAP) stands atop a wall on T. Anne Cleary Walkway, on the campus of the University of Iowa. A small crowd of students forms. Some seem to be listening. A few are talking amongst themselves and occasionally giggling. One young lady is standing several feet away, directly in front of the preacher, with her hands on her hips. Let’s just say she doesn’t look happy. She will be our heckler.
OAP: “God has written His law on your hearts. You know it’s wrong to lie, steal, take God’s name in vain, or hate another human being. Because God is good, He must punish sin. The punishment God has determined for sin is an eternity in hell. I don’t want that for you. God has provided one way for you to escape his just wrath and punishment for your sins against Him. That way, the only way, is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus–truly God and truly man, without sin–died on the cross, taking upon Himself the rightly deserved punishment of those who would, by faith, receive Him as Lord and Savior. He then forever defeated sin and death when He rose from the grave. He’s alive today, and He will…”
Heckler: “My god is a god of love! It’s not right for you to be judging all these people!”
OAP: “I haven’t judged anyone. I haven’t even personally addressed anyone. I’ve simply warned people about the wrath of God that abides on them if they are outside of Christ. And then I told everyone here how they can be reconciled to God, through faith in Jesus Christ.”
Heckler: “You’re telling people they are going to hell.”
OAP: “I don’t know who within the sound of my voice right now is going to hell or to heaven. Sadly, though, most people will go to hell. Jesus said the road is broad that leads to destruction. The good news is that salvation can be found; forgiveness can be received, but only in Jesus Christ.
“What’s going to happen to you when you die?”
Heckler: “I believe I will go to heaven.”
OAP: “I hope you do. But why do you believe you will go to heaven?”
Heckler: “Because I’m a good person and I believe in God. I don’t need Jesus to get there.”
OAP: “But Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.'”
Heckler: “So Muslims and Jews and Buddhists and Hindus are all going to hell? Is that what you’re saying?”
OAP: “I’m saying what Jesus–God in the Flesh–said. There is no other way to receive forgiveness for your sins, and to be reconciled to the God you have offended with your sin, but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
Heckler: “That is so judgmental!”
OAP: “Young lady, I’m not the judgmental one, here. You are. Sadly, you are judging yourself. By rejecting the gospel, by rejecting the good news of salvation by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, you are, in effect, judging yourself unworthy to receive the most precious of all gifts. In your case, you are rejecting the gospel because you think you are too good for it. You judge yourself unworthy of it because you don’t think you need the sacrifice of Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.
“No, my friend. I am not judging you. You’re judging yourself. By taking pride in your own perceived goodness, you are actually condemning yourself. Of the two of us, I’m the one who truly doesn’t want you to go to hell. You, on the other hand, have deemed yourself fit for it. I’m not sentencing you to hell; you are. Please, don’t.
“To the rest of you listening: if there is anyone here who is saying to himself or herself, ‘This guy has no idea what I’ve done. There’s no way God is going to forgive me,’ then you are doing the same thing this young lady is doing. You’re just doing it from the opposite direction. She judges herself too good for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you judge God not good enough or capable enough to save you. Like her, you are condemning yourself. Don’t do it. Please, stop.
“Look; neither you nor I am worthy of God’s forgiveness. No one within the sound of my voice is worthy of it. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us, including me, deserve hell for our sins against Him. But I’m here to tell you the good news, that there is hope, love, and forgiveness to be found in God, through faith in Jesus Christ. God is rich in mercy in that He allowed His one and only, perfect, precious, and priceless son to die for unworthy sinners like us. Don’t neglect so great a salvation. Don’t reject your only hope of eternal life. Don’t judge yourself unworthy–either by thinking you’re too good or blasphemously seeing God as not being good enough. Don’t condemn yourself.
“The last thing you should worry about is me judging you. I love you as my neighbor. I don’t want you to perish in your sin. I want God’s very best for you, and that’s salvation in Jesus Christ. What should concern you is how you have judged yourself–how you have rendered yourself unfit for eternal life. Turn to Christ and live while God has given you time.”
Conclusion
The roleplay that you just read is a conversation I’ve had many times, while open-air preaching or during one-to-one conversations. The only difference is the way I handled the “Don’t judge me!” objection. I hope the roleplay was useful in concisely describing how to employ this new response to a common objection.
Both groups of people I addressed–the “too goods” and the “not good enoughs”–are both prideful. It’s their pride that has them on the path to destruction.
My hope is that by employing this new answer to a common objection I will be able to take the erroneous accusation of “judging” off of me, and lovingly place it where it belongs–on unbelievers who judge themselves unfit for salvation, by rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m also hopeful that this new answer will keep me out of tit-for-tat fingerpointing about who’s judging whom. And, I’m also hopeful that employing this new answer will get me to the gospel quicker when an unbeliever levies the “Don’t judge me!” objection.”
If you decide to take this new answer to a common objection out for a spin, I would love to hear how it goes. Email me.
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