Pilate would gladly be free from the blood of the innocent Christ, so not only does he wash his hands, but he says of himself, “I am free.” But a basin of water from the local spring can do nothing to free us from the stain of sin. The only effectual cleansing for a heart racked by sin is the washing of water by the word (Eph. 5:26). We must personally partake of the Water of Life if we desire to be thoroughly clean and truly free.   

And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.(Luke 23:22).
How often are we backed into a position of choice between taking our stand alone with Christ or succumbing to the jeering crowd making a mockery of our God? At this mock trial of Christ before the people, with Pilate occupying the judge’s seat, he finds himself in a similar predicament. He must either condemn this Jew whom he believes to be innocent or identify himself as an enemy of Caesar. That is precisely the choice put to him by the religious leaders who initially brought Jesus to Pilate, “He that makes himself a king as this man does is an enemy to Caesar, and if you let him go, you are not Caesar’s friend,” (John 19:12).
Pilate is afraid of either choice and would happily spare both Jesus and Barabbas, but that choice is not an option. And so, he chooses to spare himself rather than Jesus. The religious leaders brought Christ to trial out of envy (Matt. 27:18), and Pilate delivers him over to the executioners out of fear. Pronouncing Christ’s innocence and publicly washing his hands of his blood guiltiness only serves to secure his own eternal condemnation, for innocence either absolves the prisoner or condemns the judge. To say, “Take him and crucify him,” and yet, “I find no fault in the man,” (John 19:6; Luke 23:14) turns the point of Pilate’s sword into his own heart and makes the bench the bar.
With his wife’s dream and our Savior’s confession on the one side (Matt. 27:19), and the people’s willful violence and the threat of being identified as Caesar’s enemy on the other, Pilate’s soul is bound for destruction. How soon does he discover that his own conscience is a worse enemy than Caesar? Guilt at once kindles in the heart both shame and horror (Matt. 27:24), and it is so fierce a fire that the basin of water before him cannot put it out. For what can a little water in a bowl or even Jordan’s floods do toward washing those stained hands that had the power to release innocence and yet chose not to (John 19:10)?
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Elder, it is your job to make sound moral judgments, to shine light into dark places. Morality is an invisible reality and the sheep under your care are looking to you for moral clarity. They look to you to speak with clarity and conviction on what is right and what is wrong. This is not optional; it is a duty. Therefore, you must learn God’s law intimately so that you may judge rightly, both for your sake and for the sake of the sheep under your care.

Evil is Inconspicuous
What does evil look like? If you are reading this you are probably a fan of Lord of the Rings (LOTR). Part of what is so appealing about LOTR is that the bad guys look like bad guys. They are dark, slimy, hideous creatures and when you see them you have no doubt, “That is evil!”
Sadly, the moral landscape for us humans is much less obvious. In fact, the moral landscape is not a landscape at all. There is no material reality that you can appeal to in order to make moral judgements. To say that another way, morality is not a material or physical reality, it is a spiritual and invisible reality.
I am not saying that morality is not real, it is quite real. I am simply saying that any moral standards that you live by are not based primarily on anything material. And yet, everyone, even your friendly neighborhood materialist-atheist, lives by a set of morals which are not grounded by any physical reality but are based on a set of invisible and spiritual beliefs.
This stands in stark contrast to Tolkien’s middle earth which is filled with witches, orcs, or some other dark creature creeping in the shadows. Sadly, as they have been played and replayed on our TVs, these fantasy worlds have taught us to believe one powerful lie: “If you ever saw something truly evil, it would be obvious.”
This has been proven false time and time again in Scripture. The pharisees were revered by men like you, good men who feared the LORD and longed for the Messiah, and yet Jesus identifies the Pharisees as children of Satan. In contrast, John the Baptizer was a dirty, smelly, and grimy looking man who eventually wound up in prison. Looks can be deceiving.
Let’s go back to the beginning. The book of Genesis, Chapter 3, the fall of mankind. 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty…”
Pause there. Here we have the Serpent, the incarnation of Evil, and the father of lies. How is he described? Crafty, cunning, shrewd. He is a master of disguise, father of lies, and much smarter than you and me. The crafty one will not let himself be exposed. Unlike a movie villain, you will never hear a cruel monologue from Satan. He will not wear devilish horns. His strategy is much more subtle than that.
Instead, over the course of the next 6 verses Satan uses very precise words to break down Eve’s belief that God is for her. Everything he says has some piece of truth in it, and nothing he says makes Adam or Eve suspect his evil intentions. “[the Serpent] said to the woman, “Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”
The point is this: evil is not obvious. Satan is a strategic mastermind – he will never raise a flag above his head that says, “I AM EVIL.” Why does this matter?
Elder as Judge
It matters because as Christians (and especially as elders) we have a duty to make righteous judgments. In 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for their unwillingness to judge saying, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”
Not only are we commanded to judge matters in this life, but we will be tasked with judging the world and the angels. If we are going to be faithful to our calling as judges, we MUST understand what righteous judgement looks like. Thankfully God’s word has much to say about it.
Principles of Righteous Judgement
What is the Basis of righteous Judgment?

Based on God’s moral law [10 Commandments] (Exodus 20, Mark 7:8) and not on man-made or personal rules (Mark 7:8ff).

What exactly is being judged?

Judgment is based on real actions, not assumed or imputed motivations. Judges the deed, not the man (1 Cor. 2:11, Rom 14:4).

Who is in a position that should be judging?

Ordinarily from a superior to an inferior within a legitimate authority structure. i.e., parents to kids, judge to accused, elder to church member. (James 3:1)

What is the end goal of righteous judgment?

End goal is to glorify God, restore the sinner, while clearly articulating the truth of what happened (Gal 6:1, Matt 18). It should not be done in order to humiliate and assert dominance, although a guilty verdict will bring some level of humiliation. (Matt 20:25)

What is the Ethos of righteous judgment?

Motivated by love/care (1 Cor. 13:1-3) and carried out with gentleness & patience (Gal 6:1) rather than ruthlessly and to grab power. It is blind, AKA it does not give preferential treatment based on ethnicity, status, gender, etc. (John 7:24).

Other categories for elders to consider:
Christian vs. Outsider – Are they claiming the name of Christ? The rebukes and corrections from an elder should primarily be directed towards those who claim the name of Christ.

1 Cor. 5:11 -12 “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you.”

Sheep vs. Wolf – Is the individual simply wandering, or are the actively bringing others with them to destruction? A wolf should be corrected more directly, publicly, and severely than a sheep, in order to protect the sheep from destructive lies.

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
James 3:1 – “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

God’s Judgment vs. Man’s Judgment

Never forget that ultimate justice is in God’s hands. Any judgement you carry out will be imperfect and foreshadow the final judgement that God will administer perfectly since he alone has complete knowledge of the deeds and the motivations. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Rom 12:19)

Why is judgment so important for elders? Because Satan is a master deceiver and his lies are not easy to spot. Evil is not obvious. In this world, evil is not an orc or a goblin. It is far more subtle and will not label itself as evil. In fact, it will claim the moral high ground. Elder, it is your job to make sound moral judgments, to shine light into dark places. Morality is an invisible reality and the sheep under your care are looking to you for moral clarity. They look to you to speak with clarity and conviction on what is right and what is wrong. This is not optional; it is a duty. Therefore, you must learn God’s law intimately so that you may judge rightly, both for your sake and for the sake of the sheep under your care.
Brandon Hawkes is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Assistant Pastor in Christ PCA in Clarkesville, GA.
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Everything could fall apart. The darkest things imaginable could happen, except one: that God would lose one of us who has been saved by faith and fail to complete the work He has begun in us. We will see Jesus face to face in all of His glory. One day, all believers will inhabit a place without sickness, without tears, and without death. A place where it can no longer come undone, but this is not it.

There is something about me that always wants to be in control. If I am sick, I want to outlearn the disease and overcome it. If relationships start to fail, I want to be able to charm them back to life. We all desire control. I think this is why we buy into so many fad diets promising snake-oil results. I do not say this as a judgment on eating right; it is wise, but how much stems from the desire to bend reality to fit our ideals? If there is something I can do, then it is something I can control. “I am the master of my ship.” The desire to govern this world has even entered Christian circles. “If you can muster enough faith, all will go right. Positive thoughts create positive results.” The problem is it is not true. We could do all of this, and it could still fall apart. We are not the masters of our destinies.
With every peal of thunder, I realize that I am not the center of the universe. When it comes to orchestrating the master plan for creation, I am no more special than the other 7 billion people on the planet. We all tend to live as if we are, but it is a delusion. You and I could come into contact with something in this fallen world that could end our lives within a matter of days, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Once we are gone, our co-workers would remember us and then replace us. Sure, they may even put up a picture for a few years to commemorate our contribution, but they would continue without us. Our demise would most likely hit our family the hardest, but our children would move on with their lives just like we would want them to. Even the one we love, if the Lord wills, would find someone else to love and with whom to share the rest of their life.
I dislike thinking about these things, but it is good. It reminds me that the world is not yet how it should be, so I should not put my trust and hope in it. There is something eternal that deserves my devotion and attention. Something else should be my refuge.
Though storms swell around us, we have found salvation in the cleft of the rock: Christ Jesus. All the sins that caused us to be fearful of God have been forgiven. The great and righteous judge of the universe has reconciled us to Himself through the cross. Yes, we, sinners, are friends of God. He calls us His children.
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