Judging : when ? why ? how ? by Derek Prince DPM, 2002 128 pages £6.99
You don’t really need to use a concordance to see how frequently the words ‘judge’ or ‘judging’ or ‘judgement’ occur in holy writ (nearly 3 pages of small print in Cruden’s Complete Concordance).
By this measure alone it is a constant theme in Scripture.
Apart from any other references, believers will be familiar with mention of the Last Judgement or, as often occurs in the Old Testament, ‘the Day of the Lord’. More than a few sermons will have been preached on Romans 14 v 12 – ‘So each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Yet, at first sight, there is an easily discernible paradox in the statements of Scripture.
Some passages say we are not to judge (eg Matthew 7 1-5); others state that we are to judge (eg John 7 24).
How can these conflicting passages be justly and reasonably reconciled ?
With his background in philosophy and years of experience as a Bible teacher, Derek Prince tackles the difficulty head on with clarity, sharpness and precision, offering sound and effective Biblical exposition.
The Bible’s perspective and understanding of ‘judging’ may well come as a surprise to many as it is at total variance with the practice of judging in modern democracies.
Here, the executive (lawmakers) and the judiciary (courts) are kept apart but that is not the way that Scripture sees it.
Just taking the Old Testament book of Judges, it is clear that rulers (kings) and judges were combined in one and the same person. Think of King Solomon, later in the Old Testament, renowned for his wisdom; he was both king and judge.
Time after time, the Old Testament tells us that rulers were also judges. That was the accepted norm.
In the Christian era, it was Emperor Constantine who effectively made Christianity a state religion, a system which obtains in the UK today.
Yet France and the USA, among others, have decided to separate church and state.
In this book, Derek Prince concisely and precisely opens up the Biblical teaching on the concept and practice of judging; when judgement is called for; what we, as believers, are authorised to judge; judging others (believers and non-believers); the judgement seat of Christ; who is authorised to judge and how to judge prophets and prophecy.
Two appendices treat the often troublesome questions of how to recognise apostles and cases of true and false prophets.
All in all, a sober examination of the Bible’s teaching of a subject often ignored or misunderstood.
First class material, well worth acquiring and reading.