Do Not Judge One Another

Do Not Judge One Another

These are the simple words written in Romans 14:3 that the Apostle Paul tells the church to live by. They echo the words of Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount. "Do not judge so that you will not be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

Many Christians forget that this is a major point of biblical christianity. We are not given the responsibility of judging. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t live a life without making judgments and discerning right from wrong. That’s not what the Bible is talking about. It’s talking about judging other people in a way that puts them down and condemns them.

Most of us forget that we have our own faults, too. There is nothing quite so painful as watching a person criticize someone else while their own faults are even worse! We are supposed to love and encourage, not criticize and condemn.

I remember the first time I was caught criticizing someone for something that I was guilty of myself. When someone pointed out my hypocrisy, I tried to bluster my way out of it.

"Okay, maybe I do that, too, but I'm not as bad as him!"

What a hypocrite I was. I learned to love him that day. I knew better than anyone the pain that he endured because of his problem. I was supposed to be praying for him and encouraging him but I had judged him instead. How does that help him?

It doesn't. God is not pleased when we try to do His job for Him. He asks us to do what He said; love others and pray for them. Let God be the final Judge.

It’s worth remembering that there is only one Judge and you are not it. We aren’t judges or even the jury. God told us to love others and let Him worry about the other stuff.

It’s not that hard, really. Just remember the words of Paul:

1 Corinthians 6:11

“Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”