One of the things we hear so often these days is, “You can’t judge me!” Whether it’s somebody flagrantly living a life of sin or someone else cutting a bigger piece of cake, the admonishment to not judge others is a big deal.
While there are plenty of scriptures that people quote out of context, one of the most flagrant ones has to be Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned…” It has almost become the equivalent of “don’t tell me what to do” or a declaration of a license to sin without accountability.
“Our Savior is quoted as if He meant that we should never make any judgments regarding the moral behavior of others and that He is just fine with licentiousness,” as my daily devotion reminded me a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, that’s not the case.
While it’s not our place to condemn someone to hell or declare that a person is fit for heaven — those are definitely God’s prerogatives — Jesus never told us never to call out sin or gently correct those we love.
Instead, what Jesus told us in that chapter of Luke was to avoid a constantly critical spirit and to not make a habit of judging others without first examining our own lives.
Related: Sunday Thoughts: the Weight of Our Sin
After all, Jesus told His followers:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
“Jesus is warning against harboring a judgmental spirit that is overly interested in the faults of others and is exhorting us to develop the same patience toward others that we show toward ourselves,” the devotion continues.
The Bible also tells us how important it is to help others turn away from sin.
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent,” you must forgive him.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
“In declaring that God will use a similar manner in judging us that we use in judging others, Jesus is not saying that God will abandon His law or that we can avoid condemnation simply by being nice to others,” the devotion concludes. “The only way to eternal life is to believe the gospel. Christ’s point is that we have no right to expect God to show mercy to us if we do not imitate Him in showing mercy to others. If we do not show mercy, we do not know the gospel.”
In other words, we’re not supposed to be running around pointing fingers at others all the time, but we can engage in “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) to the ones we love. I hope we can all live that way.
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