This month has been a whirlwind of emotions, feelings, and thoughts. I started off the month knowing what I wanted to talk about, but after a conversation that was a constant trigger to me, I decided it’s time I got something off my chest! Every day, we make decisions in our lives, judgement calls as some may refer to it; the key word being judgement. We are all guilty of it in some shape or form. Sadly, I am noticing this growing trend amongst “Christians” who are condemning other believers who cast judgement, picking scripture out of context to enforce this narrative that only God can judge. This same narrative, I hear from non believers who like to throw scripture back at christians (the same scripture taken out of context) telling us we have no right to enforce our views upon them. To be honest, they kinda have a point. But when I hear my brothers and sisters in Christ using this same argument, I get angry!
I have noticed a pattern. When Christians don’t like being “judged,” it’s usually because they are doing something they shouldn’t and don’t want to be called out on it. The call of our flesh is strong, and when we like how our sin makes us feel, we don’t want to come out of it, so we make excuses of why it’s good and convince ourselves that God wouldn’t care about it, we even go as far as saying that we are being led by the Spirit! When someone tries to tell us that we are wrong, we use scripture out of context to make ourselves right and the person trying to help wrong. Once you get to that place, it’s a slippery slope, and you often see people start to descontruct and fall away from the faith. Christ is the best thing that happened to me, but its not easy to walk with Jesus, especially when we live in a world that promotes the love of self and encourages you to do what ever you want if it makes you happy. It’s the opposite of what Jesus tells us. I know the stuff that I did before I found Christ was what made me happy, but it saddened and angered God. Because I don’t live for myself anymore, there is a lot of things I do that if I am honest, I don’t want to do all the time, but my desire to please God is why I do it. Every so often, we have to ask ourselves, who are we living for?
So, let me just start by saying we are not called to judge non-believers. God will judge them fairly when the time comes, so when they shout from their mountain tops that we shouldn’t judge them, I make them right. They don’t know any better. They don’t have the Holy Spirit leading them in the ways of the Lord. We are to be compasionate, like our Father in heaven.
1 CORINTHIANS 5:12-13 IT ISN’T MY RESPONSIBILITY TO JUDGE OUTSIDERS, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS YOUR RESPONSIBILTY TO JUDGE THOSE INSIDE THE CHURCH WHO ARE SINNING. GOD WILL JUDGE THOSE ON THE OUTSIDE; BUT AS THE SCRIPTURES SAY, “YOU MUST REMOVE THE EVIL PERSON FROM AMONG YOU.”
I guess I could leave that verse right there and go about my merry way, but let’s go deeper. Paul addressing the church of Corinth about sexual immorality going on within the community is pretty tame to what we see happening within churches today. But his judgement still stands today for us as believers. He was what some would call harsh and definitely would be amongst those condemned as being too judgemental in todays standards. But he stood on business as the young folks like to say. He had no problems calling out sin and enforcing church discipline. If Paul thought it was good to do it, why is it so hard to do it today? Why do churches run from correction? Correction is good. There are so many good verses in the bible about the wisdom of correction, one of them being PROVERBS 3:11-12 “MY CHILD, DON’T REJECT THE LORD’S DISCIPLINE, AND DON’T BE UPSET WHEN HE CORRECTS YOU. FOR THE LORD CORRECTS THOSE HE LOVES, JUST AS A FATHER CORRECTS A CHILD IN WHOM HE DELIGHTS.” These verses are a comfort to me. They humble me and keep me at my knees before God. One thing is certain, we will always need correction, and I will always welcome it!
This world has started to affect the churches. This idea that we can’t call something wrong is causing us to become luke warm. The fear of losing numbers has overtaken the fear of God. Churches have become a money cow and pastors refuse to risk being out of pocket, so they prefer to stay silent and make the Word more agreeable. Now churches have become motivational ted talk centres that refuse to mention the word “SIN.” So, now, when the Word clearly instructs us to pass judgement and correct, we are being told that it’s not christian-like. We are being silenced by our very own community! You can’t make this up!
MATTHEW 7:1-2 “DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS, AND YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED. FOR YOU WILL BE TREATED AS YOU TREAT OTHERS. THE STANDARD YOU USE IN JUDGING IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH YOU WILL BE JUDGED.” I am sure we are all familiar with this verse. This is a popular verse used not only by believers but also non-believers to enforce the narrative that we can’t judge them. The mistake often made is to stop at verse two and not continue reading. We are not told not to judge but to be careful how we judge. There is a correct way to do it, which we rarely see done successfully. When done incorrectly, it is dangerous and damaging to ones faith. I have heard many stories from fellow believers who have been hurt and left broken by it. So when they find themselves in a situation that would call for correction, they tend not to be responsive to wisdom and are usually left triggered and become very defensive. Judgement becomes a bad word, and correction is never accepted. We all fall short of glory, that’s why we need mercy and grace daily. The Word tells us we are sinners, imperfect beings with bodies who still respond to the call of sin. We all have different struggles, but they are still struggles all the same. When we serve the one who is perfect and Holy, anything that falls short of that standard is sin. It would do us well to remember that when we cast judgement on others, and that is what the verse in Matthew continues on to say. Before we judge others and point out their short comings, make sure your house is in check first. MATTHEW 7:3-5 “AND WHY WORRY ABOUT A SPECK IN YOUR FRIEND’S EYE WHEN YOU HAVE A LOG IN YOUR OWN? HOW CAN YOU THINK OF SAYING TO YOUR FRIEND, ‘LET ME HELP YOU GET RID OF THAT SPECK IN YOUR EYE,’ WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE PAST THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE? HYPOCRITE! FIRST GET RID OF THE LOG IN YOUR OWN EYE; THEN YOU WILL SEE WELL ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THE SPECK IN YOUR FRIEND’S EYE.” Jesus doesn’t tell us to not help our friend, but to make sure we sort out our own problems so we can see better to help our friend! Because the measure we use to judge our friend will be the same measure used against us.
Maybe this is all a sign that we are not reading our bibles enough. Have our feelings become the ultimate decider on what is true? These are things I often ponder when in conversations with fellow believers. Everybody wants to do Christianity their way. Why has following the Word become outdated and irrelevant within the faith? The flesh seems to be winning over the Spirit these days. The Word is good for instruction, rubuke, and correction. We should be as dependant on it as we are oxygen, for it is life!
GALATIANS 6:1-3 “DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IF ANOTHER BELIEVER IS OERCOME BY SOME SIN, YOU WHO ARE GODLY SHOULD GENTLY AND HUMBLY HELP THAT PERSON BACK ONTO THE RIGHT PATH. AND BE CAREFUL NOT TO FALL INTO THE SAME TEMPTATION YOURSELF. SHARE EACH OTHER’S BURDENS, AND IN THIS WAY OBEY THE LAW OF CHRIST.”
Are you gentle? Are you humble? When you are helping your brother or sister, what is your heart saying? We are called to do everything in love, and that includes our righteous judgement. Our judgement should be helping to bring people back into repentance, but instead, we are bringing condemnation without grace or mercy. That is wrong. I would never respond to that kind of correction because it is not fruitful. What is beautiful about the bible is that we get clear instructions on how to deal with these issues within the church. From dealing with someone who is repentant to someone who continues to live in sin. We have the blueprint in our hands, and that is definitely the goodness of God. Some instructions may seem hard and even unfair, but we serve a God who is fair and just, and we have to trust that His way is good and right. PROVERBS 12:1 “WHOEVER LOVES DISCIPLINE LOVES KNOWLEDGE, BUT HE WHO HATES REPROOF IS STUPID.” Please don’t be stupid.
I could say so much more on this topic and use many more verses of scripture, but you could see it all for yourself if you only picked up your bible more. The lack of knowledge amongst Christians is gonna be what destroys us. We are called to judge the body of Christ, the church! If you as a believer have a problem with that, then I would ask you to do a heart check and ask yourself who’s voice have you been listening to, because it sure isn’t our Father in heaven. Stop letting your feelings be what leads you. Go back to the Word and find out what God says about it. So when your brother or sister comes to you about something you are doing, you will know whether it is from God and is true. Judgement is helpful, and correction is good!
HEBREWS 12:11 “FOR THE MOMENT ALL DISCIPLINE SEEMS PAINFUL RATHER THAN PLEASANT, BUT LATER IT YIELDS THE PEACEFUL FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT.”
MY CONVICTIONS 