Judgmental

One of the big things that the self-righteous liberals like to be judgmental and intolerant about is people who are judgmental and intolerant. Never mind the double standard. Never mind the failure to grasp the meaning of "tolerance" (which requires there to be a difference of opinion to tolerate). They concur with "Only God can judge me" (with the implied "and He won't") and require everyone to stand aside and keep your mouth shut. So when a Christian points to God's Word and says, "That thing you're doing is sin," they have breached the "code of ethics." "You can't say that. You shouldn't be so judgmental." It is said that the best known verse in the Bible is "Judge not, that you be not judged."

The Bible, of course, disagrees. Let me be more specific. Jesus disagrees. Jesus gave instructions. "If your brother sins against you," He began and laid out the proper approach (Matt 18:15-17). It is a four-step approach. First, you go and tell him his fault (Matt 18:15). "Oh, no! That's judgmental!" Jesus thought it was right. Jesus said, "If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." The second step is to take two or three witnesses (Matt 18:16). If he repents, you're good to go. If not, the third step is to take it to the church (Matt 18:17). Again, if he repents, we're golden. If not, the final step is to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." See him (or her) as unsaved, an unbeliever. Outside of the fellowship. Deeply in need of Christ. It's called "church discipline." It is from the lips of Jesus.

It seems judgmental, but we have very good reasons to engage in such distasteful behavior. There are two primary concerns. The first Jesus lists here. "If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." His welfare. Paul wrote in Galatians 6, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted" (Gal 6:1). The point is restoration, not punishment. James wrote, "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20). Saving, not condemning. Covering sins, not magnifying them. In Paul's version it includes "in a spirit of gentleness" and a healthy dose of "each one looking to yourself." Not some self-righteous church lady image. In the best interest of your fellow believers, we are supposed to help them in this way.

Paul lists a second reason. In 1 Corinthians 5 we read about a church member engaging in a sin "of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles" (1 Cor 5:1): he is sleeping with his step-mother. The Corinthian Christians prided themselves on their nonjudgmental attitude and Paul says, "You have become arrogant and have not mourned" (1 Cor 5:2). So he takes the astounding step of turning the man over to Satan "for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor 5:5). Note that same primary concern -- the sinner's best interest. Yes, there is pain to come, but it is so that "his spirit may be saved." But he goes on to give the second reason. "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?" (1 Cor 5:6). We often disregard this second even more than we disregard the first reason. We fail to see that unaddressed sin in the camp will become a much larger problem than if it had been handled when it was small. For the health of the body of Christ, we must address these things.

Our modern world would like to tell us that the really loving thing to do is to just back off. Let them be who they will be. Don't say anything about their "indiscretions" and "faux pas." Jesus disagreed. The really loving thing to do is to gain your brother. The really caring thing to do is to restore a sinning saint. The really healthy response to sin is to seek to restore the sinner. We do this for the person who is transgressing God's commands, but we also do it for all of the rest of us. To fail to do so is to hold the cure for cancer and withhold it because "I want to be tolerant and nonjudgmental." A lie from the father of lies.