Judge

Ever see someone who claims to be a Christian and almost immediately, everything about their life begs to differ? No reverence, no peace, no joy, no worship...nothing other than occasional “religious speak” that would give any indication of faith whatsoever.

Few words cause dissonance the way the word “Judge” does. In most “Christian” crowds, a conversation about judging usually divides people into one of two camps: Those who are too quick to judge and those who resist it all costs.

Interesting thing is that everybody uses the saying - "Don't judge me." whether they're religious or not. It makes me wonder if we've defined things the way the world does or are they misunderstanding it because of us.

Here's The Word;

1 Corinthians 5:12 - 13(a)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

This verse may strike an odd chord because life 'inside' the church doesn't look like it's supposed to. We are called to love each other which assumes a "knowing". We're called to bear one another's burdens which assumes a "knowing". However, it seems that many of us just take our own personal protective bubble everywhere we go...even church. This is not how God intends.

Christians, we have a high calling on our lives. It’s so high that we’re not, in the least, expected to carry it out on our own. We’re given The Holy Spirit to help us understand, and make choices about things that are impossible without Him. We’re called to consider many, many things; our own progression in the faith, love of the brethren, discipleship, gentle restoration of those at fault (who are repentant), guarding the flock and being aware of the tricks of our true enemy, the devil.

Not everyone in church is a Christian, and it is ultimately God who knows whether we’re “GENUINE” or “FAKE” but as the Bible tells us that we are to be able to recognize a tree by its fruit, we have a response to what we encounter.

Our response should look one of two ways; if you encounter a genuine person, you can usually tell but you still investigate for clarity sake. The Bereans knew who Paul was but they still checked the Scriptures to make sure what he said was right.
Matthew 7 has the familiar passage that says "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Less popular is John 7 that says "Judge righteous judgement." Are these verses in conflict? not at all, they're just looking from different angles. Too many people are quick to judge, and do so more harshly using only the surface appearance. Don't be. Look deeply, ask questions, seek truth before you determine what comes next.
If the person shows NO FRUIT of spiritual conversion, it’s still not in your hand to condemn, but you’re also not at a place of privilege to be comfortably negligent in avoiding sin. Galatians tells us to “gently restore” – gentleness being a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.

I believe that humility is the key, humility on our part to seek grace and the words to help our brothers and sisters. Also we look for grace in our brothers and sisters to receive our sincere pleas for God’s best in their lives. The bible says that God gives grace to the humble. It may not be immediate but if you do express concern with a brother’s walk – they may say “Don’t judge me” but it’s not judgement, it’s the love we’re supposed to show one another in desiring God’s best for each other. If they can’t receive you in gentleness and if they continue in this rejection, the problem is truly theirs, not yours. God resists prideful hearts.

I'll leave you with this sober reflection: The Bible says "Don't be fooled, God is not mocked." Galatians 6:7
Which can also be said as "If you're a mock Christian, God is not fooled.

People assume that Christians are always supposed to sound a certain way. I don't have room enough here to list out the examples where Christians(even Christ) spoke in a manner that we would define as judging and harsh. I'm not advocating harsh speech, but they signify the importance of our mission and we can't just disregard them like they aren't there. That's why we pray for discernment, so you can judge for yourself.


In Him,
Cros