Judging without being Judgmental

In the last century, “fundamentalism” was born out of the controversy over the inerrancy of the Bible. Fundamentalism was perceived as narrow-minded and judgmental. In the last two decades, conservative churches have distanced themselves from fundamentalism. For example, most conservative Baptist churches have abandoned the name ‘Baptist’ for more neutral sounding names, like “Fellowship” or “Community.” One San Jose church names itself after the local mall.

In our culture of political correctness and conflict avoidance, anyone who embraces the inerrancy of Scripture and its claims to exclusivity is perceived as judgmental. But then wouldn't Jesus have to be called judgmental for exposing sin and hypocrisy, calling for repentance, warning of false teachers? How do we comply with Jesus' command to “judge not”? (Matt 7:1)

Well, Jesus also said, “Judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). The Greek word for judge meaning, “to call into question.” As Biblical people, we must question all things in relation to truth, judging false teachers and their false doctrine, and when necessary, “rebuking them sharply” (Titus 1:13). If we succumb to political correctness, the truth will suffer. May it not be said, as it was in Isaiah's day, "truth has stumbled in the streets" (59:14).