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…

 

[Growing in Grace]

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.