Before I get into the heart of the
matter here, I would like to clear the air first about a large misconception
about judgment that I feel is hindering a lot of Christians. It seems to me that Christians are labeled as
being ‘judgmental’ for nothing more than believing the Bible to be accurate
when it describes what constitutes a sin.
Christians are shamed by non-believing critics for saying that socially
acceptable forms of sexual immorality, drunkenness, lying, and coveting (and
more) are indeed sins. Because it is
God’s Word that tells us that these actions are sinful, it is his judgment we are affirming, not our
own.
Nor is it judgmental for the
Christian to merely recognize a sin in others.
After all, we are all sinners;
we have all transgressed against God in some way. We humans have eaten the fruit of knowledge
of good and evil and have the capacity to see sin for what it is. Judgment, reproof, correction, and the like
are not the act of recognizing a sin.
Instead, they are one’s response once they have first recognized the sin.
To illustrate, I’d like to revisit
the verses I used last week, beginning with Jesus’ words:
