JUDGE NOT, LEST YOU BE JUDGED YOURSELF. Essay 1 [Judging the Sinner with Love] July 2015 June 2016

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1 JUDGE NOT, LEST YOU BE JUDGED YOURSELF Essay 1 [Judging the Sinner with Love] July 2015 June 2016 By: Roger W. Haserot Preface: Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the issue of same-sex marriage/unions. While God s words in the Bible are specific regarding homosexuality, we need to be reminded that these are contained in God s Holy book (Leviticus 18:22; 1 Timothy 1:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The words in these scriptures are from God; He is the one who provides for the condemnation of those practicing sinful actions. Through Jesus, those who do not accept God s view of a moral life will be judged in the end times, not by man, but by God upon His return on judgment day. This subject has been gnawing on me for some time. The reason for my concern is that as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am called to be like Him in all areas of my life. While I know some who practice homosexuality and desire to be humanly fulfilled through a marriage or civil union, how I personally handle my feelings, attitudes, or opinions on this subject and others must forever be aligned with my relationship to my Lord. In praying about this issue, God impressed upon me that Christians, followers of Jesus, those who desire to be like Him, including myself, must revisit that relationship in light of challenges to those areas we believe are the tenets of our faith. According to Charles Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, GA, prayer is the key to establishing our intimacy with God. The sole purpose for our being is to have a personal, rich, vital relationship with our Lord. Outside of that relationship, the problems of the world are His battle, not ours. We must continually posture our daily living with our connection to Jesus, praying constantly and seeking and soaking in intimacy with Him. Our human, sinful nature draws us into the snare of Satan s deception. But, we have been redeemed by Jesus death on Calvary s cross, AND his resurrection to life. Because of Jesus sacrifice, we know that even in our humanly death, we will be returned to live with Jesus forever in His kingdom. When He returns to judge the world, those who do not know Him and do not claim a personal relationship with the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, these will be condemned to a permanent death, separated from God for all eternity; and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. God Can Handle It! Each day I read a daily devotional. From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, the message for July 3 states: My children make a pastime of judging one another and themselves. But I am the only capable Judge, and I have acquitted you through My own blood. Your

2 2 P a g e acquittal came at the price of My unparalleled sacrifice. That is why I am highly offended when I hear My children judge one another or indulge in self-hatred. If you live close to Me and absorb My Word, the Holy Spirit will guide and correct you as needed. There is no condemnation for those who belong to Me. [Bible References: Luke 6:37; 2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:1] In reading this passage over several times, I realized that our sinful human nature drives us to not only come down hard on ourselves, but we are quick to judge others. As I seek that vital, intimate relationship with God which I so desire, I must also be mindful of not offending Him when I judge the actions of others. But, if I judge others, then I do offend Him. In 1 Corinthians 5:12, Paul says: What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you. We are not to criticize people by gossiping or making rash judgments. Paul is talking about the Christian dealing with problems or sins of other Christians within the church with love. If we are to mentor or disciple those outside the church, we are to do so with love the same love that Christ has for us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and through His GRACE, loves us and accepted us. While we are not called to accept the sins of others, we are called to accept the sinner as Christ did. A well known and great example of this is the woman who was about to be stoned for adultery. Jesus, in a calm demeanor, simply made a statement to those with rocks in their hands: Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Those who felt convicted of their own sin dropped the stones and went away in shame. Jesus then turned to the woman and said with love and acceptance: Where are they? Has no one condemned you?... Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin. [John 7:53 8:11] When Jesus says to leave your life of sin, He is simply inviting the sinner to accept a new life with Him. As the Apostle Paul has written in Romans 8:11: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." So what gives us as followers of Jesus the right to condemn those who walk after the flesh and are void of the Spirit? Are we not then taking on God s business and responsibility, therefore putting ourselves in the position of God? We have no business condemning, and therefore judging. As followers of Jesus, we are called to love as He has loves us. We must also remember that while we are now redeemed by Christ, we were once sinners still are but are not condemned. Who are we to judge one sinner judging another sinner? Jesus who was not a sinner, but pure because of His relationship with God, was sent into our presence in the form of a man to show us how to live our lives as God had originally envisioned for us at the creation. God had a plan in the Garden of Eden with the creation of Adam first, then Eve. But they screwed it up (using today s colloquialism), and were tempted by the lies and deception of Satan the serpent the devil Lucifer, the disobedient angel cast out from the heavenly realms for his craftiness and rebellion against God. God had said to His first human creations to not eat from the tree in the center of the

3 3 P a g e Garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (or they would surely die). Satan twisted those very words in convincing Adam and Eve that they would not surely die (we know die and death as the end of physical life, and that was Satan s deception). God was referring to death as the removal from His presence and protection in the Garden, and not a physical death although physical death would ultimately come to mankind because of the fall. God s defined death as separation from Him because we as sinful humans chose to separate ourselves from the creator of the heavens and the earth by our willful disobedience pretty much wanting to do things our way, make our own decisions devoid of a relationship with our Lord, and reject his desire to make us more in his image. Image in God s view is not just to look like him, but to become a reflection of his character or nature, which includes: Temperament, personality, disposition, spirit, and moral fiber. Sometimes we have heard the phrase: Be careful what you ask for. Realistically, its requirement is to make sure you know what the basic thing is that you want, and that you have thoroughly gone through a thinking process to understand both positive and negative aspects including any possible consequences. Think before opening your mouth and inserting your foot. In 1 John 4:20 (NIV) we are told: If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. This applies to anyone who is a child of God. Are you that child? As a Follower of the Way, we have the responsibility to take this passage into our heart being, our souls, meditate on it, and seek God s full understanding on how to personally live this scripture. You may ask does that mean I have to love a sinner? Well, Yes! It is because another scripture tells us to love others as you love yourself. You are also that sinner. Does that mean I have to love (Godly love) a homosexual. Yes you do! You love the sinner as you love yourself also a sinner but you then allow Jesus through the cross to take on the sin of homosexuality. Jesus went to the cross to take on the sins of the world so that mankind could be redeemed. The only requirement we have as sinners is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. God takes care of the rest. If you ask but the Bible is very explicit about homosexuality, my response is, So what. We are to love the sinner DESPITE the sin. Remember, our charge from Jesus is to live like Him. Let God take care of those things that He can handle so much better than we can. And, let us not forget that He still controls the battle in the final days and His judgment will be on ALL mankind. What if I have a business that caters to the general public? Our Lord talks about that perhaps more subtlety in Scripture. We are under the law(s) of the government. When asked about the payment of taxes, Jesus used a coin bearing Caesar s image. He said, (in Matthew 22:15-22) - "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" He was saying, decide who is your god. I see this as meaning we must obey the laws of the land even if they are wrong, unfair, targeted toward a specific group or faith, or deny your U.S. Constitution granted rights and privileges. Does this mean that we roll over and get trampled on by those who desire to have complete power and control over us? No, because we have other avenues as citizens to combat injustice.

4 4 P a g e However, you could ask the questions: What happens if I don t render unto Caesar? What do I do, if out of faith conscience do not want to serve those my faith say are acting contrary to the tenets of my faith? The answer is clear: The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12 that... everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. If as a Christian you challenge the government by not participating in a lie or obeying evil based on your faith in other words, refusing service by breaking what may be an unjust law or regulation, you stand to lose: your house, your business, your money, your job or your car. You are clearly showing the tenets of your faith exactly who your god is, and as Joshua stated in the Old Testament... As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. As a Christian, a Follower of the Way, a Jesus believer or any other way you express your faith in Jesus the Christ as your Lord and Savior -- YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED. The reward for your faithfulness to the Lord, however, is not of this world, but life for all eternity in the presence of Jesus. We are called to LOVE, and NOT JUDGE. The Bible gives us the perfect guide to how we should Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (English Standard Version) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Or the same passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (New International Version) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus calls us to imitate His life adopt and integrate His ways into our daily living. So if we are to be like Jesus in all that we do, we must learn to love like He loved. The Bible once again shows us that a loving God has a plan for our lives by not only showing us how to live, but how to treat or work with others. We are to live our lives in such a manner that we become a positive example of Christ living in us. How we show ourselves in relationship to living like Jesus how others see us. Our goal is to have a positive impact on the lives of others. Jesus calls us to be disciples. However, you cannot do both: Be a judge or be a disciple-maker. In Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV), we are instructed very specifically about judging: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

5 5 P a g e 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother s eye. Or the same passage from the Message (MSG), to give you a little different slant on the same verses: Don t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, Let me wash your face for you, when your own face is distorted by contempt? It s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. Judge not, lest you be judged. Love the sinner because that is living like Jesus. Recognize that you are equally a sinner with other mankind. Yet, you are redeemed through Jesus crucifixion and your acceptance of Him as Lord and Savior, just as others who have taken the same step of faith. And finally get out of the way and allow Jesus to be the judge of those who don t acknowledge Him and His Lordship. PennantPacificDesign Roger W. Haserot June 2016