Luke 23:40 "...Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" This said by one of the thieves that hung on the cross with Jesus to the other thief.
Condemnation/Krima (Greek) - a decision for or against a crime. Often used in reference to damnation:
Matthew 23:14 "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hyprocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
Or judgment.
Matthew 7:2 "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged..."
Krisis (Greek), translated as condemnation, infers a decision often made by a tribunal. It implies justice and even divine law.
John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
Romans 8:1 "There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
"Condemnation" in the above verse is the Greek word "katakrima" and it means an adverse sentence or verdict.
Today, we often throw around "Do not judge" and neglect the actual meaning. Yes, we shouldn't judge, meaning to sentence a person, counting their action a crime.
However, we do need to use discernment.
Hebrews 5:14 "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Discern here is the Greek word "diakrisis". Did you notice that the last part of this word is the same as above in reference to the justice executed by a tribunal? The root of this word, however, is "diakrino"--a verb which means to separate, withdraw from. "Diakrisis" means an inclination to critically think.
We need to think critically about what is good and what is evil. If we go around, not judging (aka not discerning) we are unable to separate or withdraw from evil because we aren't evaluating.
Note that discernment here relates to actions. Judging is directed toward a person.
When a person uses discernment and then separates himself from those who do evil, his actions can convict others. That is when those from which he separates cry, "Judgmental Pharisee!"
The fact is, as Christians we need to live separate from the world. No, I don't mean we live in colonies and never interact with other people. However we should not partake in the things the world does that God calls evil, and should take care to not yoke ourselves to those who do things contrary to Scripture.
This is a hard truth. Are you prepared to let go of the world, the things your 'flesh' enjoys, in order to live a victorious life in Christ? We have victory already when we believe in Christ to salvation. We'll not lose our position as God's children. However, we can, through Christ, live free from the bondage of the world, of sin, of the flesh. That separation from the world enables us to live free from bondage. We can live after the Spirit, who will never call us to live contrary to the Bible, God's Holy Word.
And the key here, is to live after the Spirit. The fruit (note: not plural) is:
"...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..." Galatians 5:22
If we are living after the Holy Spirit, i.e., if we are Spirit-controlled, we will exhibit all of the above list because it IS the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The only person's opinion you need to concern yourself with is God's. Are you, at the moment you feel judged, living after the Spirit and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit? God knows and time with Him will help you to know and to walk in confidence of His leading.
