Monsterlizard - Born Again

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  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? 4How 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? 5You 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.

 6“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:1-6)

We all have sin.  We have all done and continue to do bad things, and what Jesus is saying is that we cannot judge others while we are not perfect. 

5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (1 Corinthians  4:5)

10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11It is written:
   ” ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
   ’every knee will bow before me;
      every tongue will confess to God.’ “^[a] 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 
 13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. (Romans 14:10-13)

This is not a small charge, it is repeated in the New Testament.  This is not saying that sin is ok, it is just that we are not worthy to be judges.  In John 8:1 - 11, Jesus shows the men attempting to stone the adulterating woman that since they are not without sin, that they cannot kill her.  However, he does admit that what the woman has been doing is wrong, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

We should attempt to help each other get away from sin, not judge each other for that sin.

I was lead to this chapter today (Romans 14), and decided to write about it instead of continuing with Matthew 5.  I will get back to Matthew tomorrow, but I felt this couldn’t wait.

Romans 14 really gets at what I think the Laws of Moses stand today.  So many questions I have had are answered in these verses.  The LORD alone is our judge.  We should not do things just because someone else tells us it is the right thing to do.  God gives us the answers in our conscience, we just have to listen.  In the same right, we should not judge others who choose to do things different from us.  If someone believes that what they are doing is correct, then it is.  Paul, in Romans 14 uses food to make this point.  I would imagine the diet restrictions of the Laws were on a lot of early Christians minds, just as they have been on mine.  However, I think food was just an example here, and anything in our modern lives can fit this teaching.

The teachings of Jesus were of loving your neighbor.  He taught to feed the hungry, to cloth the naked, to reconcile with your brother.  In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus says, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”  He doesn’t say, make your brother follow rule X, or do Y.  He commands that we reconcile.  I would think that reading this says that even if your brother has done something that is so vile (enter any number of atrocities here) you want nothing to do with him, that it is your duty to let it go.  Don’t push him away to make yourself feel better.  Never once can I find in the Scriptures where Jesus said to condemn anyone for anything.

So, we must remember that everything we do, we do for God.  Likewise, everything others do, they do for God.  We all will be judged alone.