Can We Judge God?

I believe we are hesitant / resistant of the term 'judging' because of all the stigma sinners are stamping on us.

All people with an IQ > 20 can judge. Brains = free will = ability to judge. A Christian has greater ability to make judgement calls because of the indwelling Holy Spirit 1 Cor 2:15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things.

Judge = form an opinion or conclusion about.
Discern = recognize or find out.
Condemn = express complete disapproval of; censure.

Judging God is an important part of our conversion. Christians judge Him as good. The unGodly, as evil.

Discernment is not judging. We use discernment to judge.

God wants us to judge Him. Decide / conclude...this day on whom you shall serve Josh 24:15.
 
I believe we are hesitant / resistant of the term 'judging' because of all the stigma sinners are stamping on us.

All people with an IQ > 20 can judge. Brains = free will = ability to judge. A Christian has greater ability to make judgement calls because of the indwelling Holy Spirit 1 Cor 2:15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things.

Judge = form an opinion or conclusion about.
Discern = recognize or find out.
Condemn = express complete disapproval of; censure.

Judging God is an important part of our conversion. Christians judge Him as good. The unGodly, as evil.

Discernment is not judging. We use discernment to judge.

God wants us to judge Him. Decide / conclude...this day on whom you shall serve Josh 24:15.
was first alarmed to see the title! But I knew you would not deviate from the truth :)

A very clever way of putting.. Never thought of the word Judge to mean this..
 
The term "judge" in the Word is weightier then this. It is not just forming an opinion....it is taking action with that opinion. God judges the just and the unjust....and we all know the consequences of His judgement.

*350 anakrino an-ak-ree'-no from 303 and 2919; properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine:--ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search. see GREEK for 303 see GREEK for 2919

" When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.[f] 14 But people who aren’t spiritual[g] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate* all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”[h]But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:13-16. The Words are coming from the Spirit.....to reveal the Truths of God's mind to us Christians. There really is no room for putting the judgement of God in there (or forming an opinion about Him!).....it is a one way street. :)

God is good because He is. Not because we judge Him to be so. "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8. His Word says it so it is final. Now humankind can accept His Words as Truth or reject the Word.....and have the appropriate eternal ramifications. And we come to know God and serve Him not because we judge Him, but because He has drawn us. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." John 6:44. Even our salvation is the work of God. "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6. Friend....to be frank....we DON'T have the brains to judge God. We can know which path is right but He is the one that reveals it to us. If not for the Spirit's work....we would not know God to be good - we would not know God period. We are completely reliant on the Spirit! "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." John 13:16.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12.

Judging implies having authority...God judges us and the world. We judge doctrine with the Authority of the Holy Spirit....throwing away what is bad and keeping what is good. These are important. Truth is important......but judging the Lawgiver of that Truth.....this I will not do. For it is the other way around - HE is my Judge.

Good discussion....
 
The term "judge" in the Word is weightier then this. It is not just forming an opinion....it is taking action with that opinion. God judges the just and the unjust....and we all know the consequences of His judgement.
God's judgement leads to sentencing. Ours doesn't. Hence scripture says we must fear Him who can send / sentence us to hell. That does not mean we can't judge. It does not mean the word ''judge'' is weightier. It just means you are grouping judging with sentencing / condemning.

*350 anakrino an-ak-ree'-no from 303 and 2919; properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine:--ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search. see GREEK for 303 see GREEK for 2919
" When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.[f] 14 But people who aren’t spiritual[g] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate* all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”[h]But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:13-16. The Words are coming from the Spirit.....to reveal the Truths of God's mind to us Christians. There really is no room for putting the judgement of God in there (or forming an opinion about Him!).....it is a one way street. :)
God reveals Himself to all who seek Him James 4:8, not just Christians. It is our judgement of Him when we know Him that leads to us accepting or rejecting Him. I agree as Christians we can evaluate further as the lights are on. But the lights are on because God has nothing to hide. He is 100% open to judgement by anyone, because He is 100% good.

God is good because He is. Not because we judge Him to be so. "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8. His Word says it so it is final. Now humankind can accept His Words as Truth or reject the Word.....and have the appropriate eternal ramifications. And we come to know God and serve Him not because we judge Him, but because He has drawn us. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." John 6:44. Even our salvation is the work of God. "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.

I, like you trust scripture. But there was a time I didn't. I only serve God because I judged Him as good.

You would serve a God you can't judge as good? Judging is simply = form an opinion or conclusion about. We are Christians because we judged God / formed a conclusion about God.....that He is good. Hence the million dollar question to all the unsaved is ''how in the universe can you judge / not serve / not desire to know more about a man who called Himself God....who died for you''. How in the universe was that not good...and how in the universe can you not deal with / accept / thank Him for that without being 'bad'.


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6.
Friend....to be frank....we DON'T have the brains to judge God. We can know which path is right but He is the one that reveals it to us. If not for the Spirit's work....we would not know God to be good - we would not know God period. We are completely reliant on the Spirit! "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." John 13:16.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12.

Of course we do. The only limiting factor is... in His dealings with us. We don't know if He sent aliens to hell without a fair trial. But we DO know that all those humans going to hell will be fully aware of their faults. Nobody will be able to accuse God of any 'evil doing'. The power to accuse or excuse God = power to judge. Of course we judge according to our intelligence levels. Our intelligence is currently at a level where we can discern partiality / favouritism / right and wrong. Hence, we are ourselves open to judgement 1 Cor 11:31.

Judging implies having authority...God judges us and the world. We judge doctrine with the Authority of the Holy Spirit....throwing away what is bad and keeping what is good. These are important. Truth is important......but judging the Lawgiver of that Truth.....this I will not do. For it is the other way around - HE is my Judge.

Free will = brains = ability to judge whom we serve. How is it true free will with your view? Would you serve God if you never judged Him as good? It is the only reason I get on my knees and follow Him.
 
God's judgement leads to sentencing. Ours doesn't. Hence scripture says we must fear Him who can send / sentence us to hell. That does not mean we can't judge. It does not mean the word ''judge'' is weightier. It just means you are grouping judging with sentencing / condemning.

all judgement carries a sentence .. either pro or con ..
like in Matthew 25, God judged some "faithful" and the result of that judgement (decision of action/sentence) was "enter into heaven" ..
I believe every judgement I have ever made also led to "a decision of action" in some form or another ..

I think this boils down to semantics ..
I agree with Tressa in her biblical commentary ..
God IS ..
therefore any judgement by us of God is irrelevant, as we cannot pass a decision of action onto God (just onto selves) ..

Isa 29:16 You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

so the verse is saying, if we judge God Himself, then we are putting ourselves as equals ..

yet I do see what you are saying, but I add "observation" to your mix so I can agree with it .. a non-believer must make an accurate observation (see the truth) that God is love, and then by that "observation" he then makes a judgement concerning herself/himself, NOT of God, but what is good for her/him .. which leads to a decision to follow Him or not ..

so we don't have a right to judge God (because He is the potter/creator) but we do have a right to judge if following God is in our best interest (after hopefully making an accurate observance of WHO God is) ..

Rom 9:21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?

God Bless you ..
 
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