Judge Not?

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned."

Luke 6:37

When Jesus says we should not judge others, He doesn't mean we shouldn't evaluate another person's actions, their beliefs or the things that they teach. If this were the case, then we would accept whatever is presented to us, whether it is right or wrong. The judgment Christ is talking about is the judgement that condemns; that is self-righteous. This judgment looks down on another person and assumes we know the motives of their heart. In our extreme attempt as a culture to be tolerant we miss the necessity to be discerning. And discernment is something we're called to be. "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them,  tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17 

("Gentile" and "tax collector" in this case would describe an unbeliever. Someone who is unrepentant.)  The Apostle Paul instructed the church to discern also. "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13) Clearly Christ's words in Luke 6:37 do not mean we should disregard the sin in other people's lives.

Walk His Way

"Thus says the LORD, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, 

Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. 

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’"

Jeremiah 6:16

Just as a traveler would be foolish to set out on a journey without first inquiring as to which road he should take, so we would be foolish to embark on a spiritual journey without determining the right way to go. God wants us to know Him and walk with Him. He has given us His word to study and learn "where the good way is". Once we have found it we find soul rest. But only if we obey what we have learned. "When you have found the good way, go on in it, you will find abundant recompence at your journey's end. But if men will not obey the voice of God and flee to his appointed Refuge, it will plainly appear at the day of judgment, that they are ruined because they reject God's word." (Matthew Henry)

Always Faithful

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."

2 Timothy 2:13

God's faithfulness does not depend on our faith or lack of it. To those who believe, He is their Savior and He will remain so forever. To those who don't believe, who reject Him, He remains faithful to save them, if they call upon His name in this life. But if they don't, there will come a time of judgment when they will give an account for their decision. For God to act any other way would be contrary to His nature. God's holiness demands justice, but His mercy drove Him to the cross.

Perfect Love

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

1 John 4:18

God doesn't want His children to live in fear of judgment. The man who has placed his trust in Jesus Christ has nothing to dread. The woman who knows Christ as her Savior can approach God confidently. We "fear" God in the sense of reverence, as a child respects his father, but we do not cringe before the Lord.  A believer in Jesus Christ has no fear of the past, present or future. Our sins have already been judged at the cross and God will not bring them against us again. God now treats us as He treats His own Son, whom He loves. There is nothing to fear in the future, for we can never be separated from the Lord. Death only ushers us into His glorious presence where He welcomes us home. If you are living in fear of God's judgment, it can only mean one of two things. Either you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, or you have not yet been "perfected in love", which means you have not matured in your relationship with God.  Fear departs from us as we grow in the love of the Lord.