Quite some time has passed since I've last blogged—more time than I meant to pass. But with having nine days off from work, I've found some time and inspiration for writing. However, here's your warning: you're probably about to be offended. That being said, here we go.
Constantly, non-Christians gripe about how they feel judgment radiating from the Christian community. This unwavering annoyance is probably due to the fact that non-Christians don’t want anyone to answer to. They have, positively and absolutely, written off the idea that God exists and with that, have decided to live lives filled with self-interested and self-pleasing ways. Now, many of the non-believers I know have memorized and understood the Bible in greater ways than most Christians I know; this is why those non-Christians gripe—because they know that God doesn’t want us judging others because…well, as Matthew 7:3 states “Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” Until we can justify our own actions and halt the sinning in our own lives, can we truly judge another man for similarly sinning?
My pastor has been covering the book of Corinthians for the past couple of months—a book written by Paul to a group of people who were severely lost and misguided. The Corinthians were a group of people that didn’t truly understand what God’s mercy provided and at what cost our lives were bought. Paul, in turn, was educating them. However, this misconception about how Christians aren’t supposed to judge is just…wrong. We ARE supposed to judge. We’re supposed to point fingers and make accusations. However, this issue is two-fold. Firstly, Christians are only to judge other Christians. Secondly, as we all know, it’s not what you say but how you say it.
First things first. When I say “point fingers and make accusations,” I’m talking about accountability. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul says this: “When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.” So right away, Paul tells the people of Corinth that they are not to worry about those who sin (not just sexually) and to avoid those people altogether. The people Paul wants believers to be concerned about are those who DO believe yet still indulge in sin. Those are the people that he encourages the Corinthians to avoid and not even eat with. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’ll eat with just about anyone. But Paul doesn’t even want us to do that. This is a very fundamental example of the common cliché that states that “You are the company you keep.” For those of us that choose to associate ourselves with non-believers, we will soon be among that flock and become similar to those around us. This is an idea I’ve always believed in and have kept conscious of. I know that as soon as I become complacent with who I am around any given group that is not uplifting, I will too become just like that group. However, I don’t think that what Paul is telling the Corinthians is perfectly translated to today’s standards. In a clarified way of stating it, I mean that I think God is okay with us surrounding ourselves with unlike-minded people so long as we are well-developed in our faith and can stand strong in the midst of challenging circumstances. Still, I refuse to continually besiege myself in a group of people that do not have the same standards as I. I do need spiritual growth, and those who don’t even believe in the very God who is the center of my world cannot offer that. Now, here’s what Paul says about judging those who ARE believers in verses 11 and 12: “It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” Simply stated, it isn’t our job to judge those who don’t even live by the same standards. God will judge those people, and that’s something they’ll need to deal with on a personal basis. However, for those who consider themselves Christians and represent Christ in the world, we are to make sure they are a revered representation of Christ. If they are not, we are to remove them from among us. As harsh as it sounds, Christians who sin are not to be allowed to be in our presence. This is a hard pill for me to swallow because I’m a sinner myself (as we all are), so I’m still meditating on this scripture and understanding it. I know that God would not want us to simply push sinners out of the church (we’re not Pharisees here), but at the same time, Paul is telling us that we should keep the body of Christ as holy as possibly. So, in short, Christians should love the non-believers as God would love them but don’t attempt to condemn. The only people we need to be judging are those within the church—the body of Christ. Should our Christian brothers or sisters be traveling down the wrong road, it is our job as followers to point out their faults and wrongdoings. The lack of conviction and accountability is simply a sin on our behalves.
All that being said, it must also be understood that there are ways of convicting others and pointing out their sins in a loving way. In Ephesians 4, we are instructed to be mature in our thoughts and words and to work together as the body of Christ to grow: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” It is indeed our duty as believers to work together and hold each other up. This means criticizing one another when we know sin is being committed. Speak the truth, but speak it in love.
Be convicted, my brothers and sisters. Be convicted of your sins and of the price that was paid for your lives. In the words of former atheist C.S. Lewis, "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." The road to Hell was never intended to be one that was obvious. The devil’s greatest trick is to waste our time, and the more we allow him to do this, the more we will lose this battle. It is simple—if you indulge in a sinful life, you inherit your own little spot in Hell. That’s not to say that the only way to Heaven is a sin-free life, but you can’t know what you’re doing is a sin and continue to indulge in a lifestyle that doesn’t prohibit that sin. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 instructs us that “those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God[.] Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” As Paul states here, do not be fooled—until you receive God’s grace and allow him to make you clean, you cannot inherit the grandness of what God has in store for us in eternity.
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