It’s a Matter of Knowing Better, not Picking on Them

Why do I focus so much on Christians not walking the way they should, but leave the world mostly alone?

‌Jesus and Paul give me that example. We are able to judge, but ultimately, God’s job is to judge humanity. Our job as believers is to live a life by example and bring glory to His name.

The lost are lost because they don’t know God, so why would I spend my time rebuking and calling them out instead of showing them why our God is a God worth serving?

Let’s look at an example from Paul’s letters:

“Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10 [ESV]).

In context, Paul is telling us not to associate with those who are sexually immoral. But he clarifies he means those who call themselves Christians who practice such things.

We should judge among ourselves, because the world will do what the world will do.

My stance for the past few years here has been that Christians don’t actually understand what sexual immorality is, so it might seem like I attack the faithful more than people who don’t know God, but that’s the difference.

The world does not know our God. The Bible says all people are without excuse and innately know there is a God. Creation screams of a creator.

You can’t look at a flower, a sunset, a baby, or humans and dismiss the possibility that this universe has a purpose to it.

The reason I focus so much on Christians not walking things out right is because they DO know God.

We are to judge among ourselves, and Scripture says we will judge the world in the world to come.

But Christ is the ultimate judge, not Bryan Rivera-Rivera or Jim from down the street. The marginalized need care. The homeless need something to help them up on their feet. The world needs the gospel.

I don’t deny the reality of eternal judgment, but because I stick to what the Bible says alone, I don’t preach eternal hell, because hell is not eternal torment. It’s a Lake of Fire that doesn’t exist at this moment here on Earth, that will kill the truly wicked in a second death.

I don’t want anyone to perish.

But I don’t know the heart of every person I come across in my own life or online, so how am I qualified to judge those outside of my faith family?

We are playing God if we pretend to know someone else’s motivations, or why they don’t walk with God.

I think evolution is ridiculous, but I understand why secular people buy into it.

“O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands” (Psalm 7:3 [ESV]). 

This psalm of David begins with, “If I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands.” We should always judge ourselves first, because no one ‌on this Earth has not sinned before.

Treat others with the love of Christ, who even died for us while we were still sinners.

When our identity is in Christ, our sin has no power over us. He takes our place in the curse of the Torah, especially the penalty of death.

But we must be careful in judging others fairly, because how we judge others, we will also be judged (Matthew 7).

He died so that people like me would have a hope and a future of restoration and salvation.

I want to love all people as Jesus taught us to do. But that also means adopting His stances on religious hypocrisy. The world can’t be hypocrites to God if they don’t know Him, but Christians can be.

It’s not that I don’t see sin in the world; it’s that saints should know better, but also know what sin actually is.

I pray your week is blessed with favor and understanding from on high.

May God open your eyes to wonderful things and may your week be easy.

Shalom.