I am certain of only a few things. One of my certainties is that there is an essential set of beliefs, without which one would not consider themselves a Christian. That set of beliefs will vary according to many things, not the least of which is which particular faith one subscribes to. E.g., the smallest number of beliefs might be that God exists, that Christ was a real person and sent by God, and that He was crucified dead and buried. But there are hundreds of additional concepts that some believe, and others do not require. A Catholic might require a belief in the Holy Spirit coming from God and the Son together, while an Eastern Orthodox might believe that the Spirit comes only from God, but through His Son Christ.
What about Judgement? Are we to believe that to judge others is a sin?
Who has not been troubled about judging others? We learn about some egregious behavior and cannot help but form an opinion about it. Then we judge it against ourselves or some standard that we impose. Then we are told that that is not what Christ asked of us.
Matt 7:1 says âDo not judge, or you too will be judgedâ. Also Rom 14:13 âlet us stop judging one anotherâ. But can we not show discernment? If we are not to judge, how can we discern false prophets, or avoid throwing âyour pearls before swineâ? That was a part of Christâs message from the Mount. Jesus wants us to tell right from wrong. Certainly He did not mean to imply that all actions are equally moral or that truth is relative. So calling a lie a lie is to pass judgement on the statement, and to call adultery or murder a sin is to judge the actions. How else are we to deal with sin?
We even have a book of the bible named Judges. Those judges of the OT were raised up by God himself and todayâs judges are necessary in society. So what should we not judge?
Appearances : Jn 7:24 says to âstop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctlyâ.
Superficial : Jumping to conclusion before knowing all the facts, e.g.
Hypocritical : In Mt 7:1, the command not to judge others is preceded by comparisons to hypocrites and followed by a warning against the hypocrisy of pointing out the sin of others while we commit the same sin.
Harsh : An unforgiving judgement is wrong. It is the merciful who will be shown mercy in Mt. 5:7
Self-righteous : God calls us to humility, and God opposes proud (James 4:6). God sees our heart and may not forgive the sin of self-righteousness (Lk 18:9-14).
Untrue : That is bearing false witness, forbidden in Proverbs 19:5.
Christians who speak out against sin are not wrong even as they âjudgeâ the sinner in the process. We always see that it is the sinner who tells you not to judge him. And you cannot silence the truth. Remember that John the Baptist incurred the ire of Herodias when he spoke about her adultery with Herod (Mk 6:18-19). She certainly had him silenced but could NOT silence the truth.
Even Christ commended âright judgementâ in John 7:24 and also "we are to gently confront erring brothers in Christ (Galatians 6:1) and to âspeak the truth in loveâ Ephesians 4:15. So I choose to believe that I can and should judge others, but only after culling for the 6 categories above. Iâd love to hear otherâs thoughts on this.