I have been thinking a lot lately about the difference between judgement and discernment.The word "judgement" carries a mostly negative connotation to a lot of people, since many believe it means to look down on someone because they do not agree with them.
In the Word of God, however, there are several different ways the word "judgement" is used.
God is a just God, and because He is a Holy God (Habukkuk 1:13), our sin separates us from Him (Is 59:2, Romans 6:23) Nothing we can do ourselves can restore our relationship with God (Gal 2:20); instead, God has provided the free gift of His precious Son, Jesus Christ; once we repent of our sins (turn completely away from them and walk in the other direction from them), accept His forgiveness for our sins and believe (adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth, Amplified Bible), our spirits are made alive in Christ (Eph 2:4)---we are born again (John 3:3) (the old has gone, the new has come--Christ living in us, the hope of glory!).
When God judges us for our sins, He is judging justly, and that judgement is accordance with His character, just as is His great love and mercy. In the natural, if something happened to someone near and dear to us, and the perpetrator went to the judge, we would expect the just judge to hold the person accountable for his actions. I am forever grateful for God's mercy, but also for His justice (Psalm 85:10); He is always merciful to those who confess their sins and repent (turn from doing them) I John 1:9, Romans 8:12,13.
There is unjust judgement, and the Word is very clear that we should not judge in this way since we will be judged ourselves as we judge others . In this context, the word "judge" implies condemnation of the person (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6), rather than the loving desire that they see and flow in the Truth.
Instead of judgement, I like the word "discernment" to describe what we are called by God to do, especially in present times when the spirit of deception is increasingly rampant. It is not enough to merely say we have studied the Word, that God has revealed His truths to us; we are called to be like the Bereans, searching the scriptures to see if what we hear a teacher or minister say is true (Acts 17:11). Even if you are only espousing another's ministry, and not your own, there is a great responsibility to ensure that the preacher/teacher you are endorsing speaks in accordance with the Word of God (James 3:1, Titus 2:1).
I love the Holy Spirit moving in my life :), but in no way will any way that God moves, speaks, or acts contradict what is scriptural. The Revealed Word of God, the Living Word, is pure and undefiled, and His Truth is the pure stream that we should continue to drink from, delight in, and use to spread the good news. It is only this True and Living Word that endures forever, and is promised to never return void.
How then are we to deal with those that refuse to come under this umbrella of Truth? Are we to argue with the person who persists on not lining up everything they are in Christ with the Truth of His Word, with the knowledge of who God says He is? No, for we are called to be servants of the Lord, able to teach patiently, gently, in Love, without strife or confusion (2 Tim 2:24).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us "hold fast to the sure and trustworthy Word of God as (we were) taught it, so that (we) may be able both to give stimulating instruction and encouragement in sound (wholesome) doctrine and to refute and convict those who contradict and oppose it [showing the wayward their error]. Titus 1:9 AMP.
