|
Should
we judge others?
"Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged."
(KJV Luke 6:37)
That's
what the Bible says. It's very clear, we should not judge others
in any way. We should be TOLERANT of everything and anything someone
else wants to do -- as long as they are not harming others.
NOT!
- That's not right. That is not what the Bible says.
So
that means Christians are intolerant bigots.
NO
- That also is not right.
Let's
take a look at judging and tolerance.
What did Jesus
mean when he said, "Judge not, and ye
shall not be judged"?
(KJV Luke
6:37). He said this as a part of teaching about love and forgiveness.
He tells us to love everyone, including our enemies, and that we
should not judge them. We should forgive them.
First, we need
to note that Jesus is talking about our personal relationships with
other people. Our one-to-one relationships.
Second, we need
read the entire BIble, not just one verse. Note that in the above
verse Jesus is talking about loving and forgiving other people.
He does not say we should love what they are doing (or saying).
In the Bible there is a distinction between people, and their behavior.
The Bible also
tells us there are things that we are supposed to hate -- sins.
Sins are behaviours
and thoughts that separate us from God.
"--your
sins cut you off from God."
(NLT) - Isaiah 59:2
"Don't
you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom
of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin,
who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,
thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers and swindlers--none of
these will have a share in the Kingdom of God."
(NLT) 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
God hates sin
and so we are also to hate sin.
"There
are six things the LORD hates--no, seven things he detests: haughty
eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that
plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours
out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers." (NLT)
Proverbs 6:16-19
As Christians
we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin.
This means Christians
are to be tolerant of others, but intolerant of sin. We are to love
other people, and treat all other people with love, but that does
not mean that we accept their sinful behavior. On the contrary,
we are to detest and hate all sinful behavior and thoughts.
Judging
- Page Two
Here is an email
commenting on how the NLT translates one of the above verses. |
