Are We Christians Judging Others?

[Goodboy]

Are We Christians Judging Others?

Some people have a problem with Christians as they say we are judging others who do not believe as we do. They say we don’t have a right to judge others who have a different belief or lifestyle. If you are a Christian you may say that we do have a right to judge them. If that is what you think you would be wrong.

Think about judging and what it means. It means deciding what is right or wrong or whether someone is guilty or innocent. Is that what a Christian should do?

Before you disagree with me, let me go ahead and make my point. I will start with a child example. Let’s say that you are 10 years old and your brother is 12. Your parents are going out and tell you both that you are not allowed to go outside. When your parents leave, your 12 year old brother starts to go outside and you tell him not to do it. Are you judging him? Not at all, your parents are the ones who judged that he should not go outside, not you.

So now let me use an adult example. If the speed limit is 25 and someone goes 50 and you say they are speeding, are you judging them? Not at all, whoever came up with the speed limit is the one who judged how fast someone should go on that road.

So let’s jump to the Bible and Christianity. We Christians are instructed not to judge others. You may say, aren’t we judging them when we say they are sinning. Not at all, because we did not ourselves come up with what sin is. Even saying that Jesus is the only way and what they believe won’t get them saved it not something we came up with, it is what the Bible says and we believe the Bible.

So are there times when Christians are judging? Yep, a lot of Christians judge others all the time. They may say something like so and so is going to hell. Rather than if so and so does not accepted Jesus as their Savior they will go to Hell. You see the first statement is their opinion and the second statement is just stating what the Bible says.

What is my point? Don’t get caught up trying to respond when an unbeliever says how can you judge so and so because his does this or that. Just respond to them that you are not judging as you did not make the rules, you just believe in the rules stated in the Bible. With that said you should be sure that whatever you claim is actually in the Bible, not what you happen to believe or think or you would be judging.

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Goodboy!

 

[Andy C]

I try not to judge, but at times Im guilty.

 

[Goodboy]

I try not to judge, but at times Im guilty.

As sinful humans all we can do is try!
I am proud that you not only try, but admit that at times you may end up judging!
I think this is true for us all.

 

[mattfivefour]

I have found that judging individuals, ascribing motives to them, etc is wrong. How are we to truly know a person's heart? That's God's job. But judging behavior is almost never wrong. In fact the Bible tells us that we should judge the actions of others. We cannot describe motives; we cannot speak about the state of a person's soul; but we can speak as to whether their behavior is wrong or not according to scripture. We are to do this for two reasons. The first is for the sake of the soul of the person whose behavior we see is contrary to God's will as shown in scripture. The second is to protect others from being led astray into the same errors. But when we do so we must not do it from a superior attitude, but from a humble heart. We must be gentle and considering ourselves...because we ourselves are quite prone to error and to living according to what seems right to us. All of us need to remember we are all made of the same flesh. All of us need a Savior, because all of us are guilty without Him. As God has been loving and merciful and patient with us, so too should we be with others who fail.

 

[Andy C]

As sinful humans all we can do is try!
I am proud that you not only try, but admit that at times you may end up judging!
I think this is true for us all.

Isn’t pride a sin, but hey, who’s judging…

 

[Hol]

We must be gentle and considering ourselves...because we ourselves are quite prone to error and to living according to what seems right to us. All of us need to remember we are all made of the same flesh. All of us need a Savior, because all of us are guilty without Him. As God has been loving and merciful and patient with us, so too should we be with others who fail.

Sometimes if my emotions get stirred up by either disappointment or anger seeing a brother or sister in Christ sin, I need a 'time-out' to focus on what you say here Pastor. It is so easy to commit the same error that I see others doing.

 

[Bethlehem57]

I try not to judge, but at times Im guilty.

So do I, however, there’s a difference between judgment and discerning, which is what unbelievers accuse the brethren of often.

 

[mattfivefour]

We may --indeed we are called to-- judge behavior as it applies to the Christian witness. This is part and parcel of God's command of love-- Love towards Him and love towards our fellow man. But we are never to judge a person's motive, because nobody knows the heart of another human being, except God. Who are we to usurp God's place in another's life?

Now, occasionally, God may reveal someone's heart to another Christian. But when he does so it requires great sensitivity and total submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit to know what to do with that knowledge. For one thing it is never to be shared. Secondly, the usual thing to do is to pray for the person. This, in fact, maybe the only thing God calls you to do. But, if God clearly and definitely leads you to approach the person, it had best be done in the conscious fear of the Lord, with great humility, and with Galatians 6:1 clearly in mind, permeating your being, and seasoning every word. And you, and the brother or sister, and God must be the only ones who will ever know. For the judgment God pronounces upon you if you violate this trust will be greater than any He might have pronounced on the one whom you approached. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. It is better far to keep one's mouth closed, rather than to speak in ignorance or haste.

 

[Bethlehem57]

We may --indeed we are called to-- judge behavior as it applies to the Christian witness. This is part and parcel of God's command of love-- Love towards Him and love towards our fellow man. But we are never to judge a person's motive, because nobody knows the heart of another human being, except God. Who are we to usurp God's place in another's life?

Now, occasionally, God may reveal someone's heart to another Christian. But when he does so it requires great sensitivity and total submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit to know what to do with that knowledge. For one thing it is never to be shared. Secondly, the usual thing to do is to pray for the person. This, in fact, maybe the only thing God calls you to do. But, if God clearly and definitely leads you to approach the person, it had best be done in the conscious fear of the Lord, with great humility, and with Galatians 6:1 clearly in mind, permeating your being, and seasoning every word. And you, and the brother or sister, and God must be the only ones who will ever know. For the judgment God pronounces upon you if you violate this trust will be greater than any He might have pronounced on the one whom you approached. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. It is better far to keep one's mouth closed, rather than to speak in ignorance or haste.

I wasn’t pointing at you in my comment at all. After I read it again, I apologize if it sounded that way!

 

[mattfivefour]

I wasn’t pointing at you in my comment at all. After I read it again, I apologize if it sounded that way!

Oh, no worries, sister. I didn't take your post negatively in any way; so there's no need for an apology. But God bless your tender heart for wanting to avoid any offence.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Interesting thread. I appreciate your post mattfivefour in that I've encountered what you've described a few times and as you have said, the proper response in those situations was to pray for the Lord's help. And, in those kinds of cases as one is led by God, one on one approaching, according to His Word's instructions in Matthew 18, should be kept private as repentance and efforts to let the Lord's Holy Spirit bring change and healing and accountibility is utilized.

And you, and the brother or sister, and God must be the only ones who will ever know. For the judgment God pronounces upon you if you violate this trust will be greater than any He might have pronounced on the one whom you approached.

I do wonder if there isn't some particular caveats to this (and I'm writing this for the sake of clarification ). My experience has been that there are some secrets which come to light that should not be kept secret lest the body of Christ is injured further and sin, like yeast, spreads.

I do agree that God's leading and great wisdom with sensitivity needs to be exercised in situations like this (as the Matthew 7 speck/log in the eye alludes to - we all know how sensitive the eyeball is with just a little piece of lint in it and how carefully it's to be extracted lest further injury happens), however, I know from experience, there are certain secrets (as the Matthew 18 process unfolds) that must not be kept but rather brought out into the light of Jesus Christ for healing of all people involved. I love Matthew 18 with it's protective layers in order to preserve all people and their reputation as much as possible along with any needed cleansing from sin. But at the same time, there are things, when confirmed that need to be addressed openly

Cases where there's sexual abuse affecting the body of Christ being revealed and coming to light in confirmation (I've seen this happen) I do not believe should be kept secret.

I've seen this being brought to light, resulting in bringing healing to all involved, create accountability and restitution, and also forewarn others as necessary, not to mention legal factors (immediate and down the line). I think in some cases of abuse (such as an alcoholic or drug addict - depending on each situation), wisdom is needed to determine how exposed things need to be, perhaps just those who are directly affected along with an accountablility figure, such as a pastor or Christian counselor and as the person seeks help and counsel, is all that's necessary to be in the know, as Matthew 18 is being applied.

Alexander the Coppersmith of 2 Timothy 4 and Diotrephes of 3 John are some examples of abusive behaviors that others needed to be warned about for the church's protective good and warning to not follow their examples. I think there are lines that need to be drawn, depending on the case, lest one actually becomes participant to another's sin (I'm thinking of 1 Timothy 5:22 here: Do not hurry to lay hands on anyone [ordaining and approving someone for ministry or an office in the church, or in reinstating expelled offenders], and thereby share in the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin -AMP).

Unfortunately, in some cases, a whole church needs to know of confirmed sexual abuse, especially if a church leader is involved (as I've unfortunately have witnessed in regards to moral failures, including adultery), there's a cleansing and protective, proactive aspect to this as 1 Timothy 5: 19-20 says: Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses (through Matthew 18 instructions here). Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.

I'm not saying that people should be running around sharing what they believe the Lord has revealed to them, lest slander or gossip ensues, which is very destructive (in most cases if the Lord has revealed something, I agree prayer is the best thing for the Lord to work as needed and pray for the Lord's very clear leading in any sort of further actions), however, it's been my observation that when certain sins do come to light by admittance of an abuser or several witnesses - such as with sexual abuse or adultery, public awareness (through the Matthew 18 process) has been the best way, painful, but in the long run, the best course of action (especially with church leadership). And then guiding people to any needed counsel or support groups.

When that has happened, the church body affected ends up feeling protected, safe, looked after and cared for. And, opportunity of reassessment of other people's lives can happen if needed, to address any red flags or danger spots.

When my husband and I were searching for a church the one we found was in the midst of such a situation and ironically became the reason we chose the church we now attend. They didn't shove the situation under the rug but rather bravely faced the situation squarely, addressed it privately with everyone involved first in order to bring about a stop to abuse (and get necessary help), help for the victims and then publically addressed it with the church at large. This is the very thing that made my husband and I decide this was the church to be part of. They were honest, forthright and dealt with things in a biblically healthy, sensitive way for all involved with eternal views in focus and have been blessed because of it. Previously, we had been in one where sexual abuse had been covered up, excused, allowed to continue, fester and because there was no public warning many were terribly affected.

I'm writing just to bring out this clarification lest anyone reading misunderstand and perhaps are in a situation that needs addressing further along the Matthew 18 instructions and/or are being pressured to keep secrets that are unhealthy and not good to be keeping.