“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 6:37
Take a look at what Jesus is saying here. He is laying down the foundation of what it is to be a Christian. What we need to be to reach a lost and dying world.
We are living in a world that judges us all the time. How we look, how we act what we say.
We as Christians are faced daily with a barrage of things that we don’t agree with. We live in a Democracy that votes laws and allows practices that are not in keeping with what we believe.
We face people that are at times violently opposed to what we are saying. To all of this Jesus says DO NOT JUDGE. He make it clear that if we do not judge anyone for what they are doing we will not be judged.
If we do not condemn people for what they are doing we will not be condemned. Its that simple.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
"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.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
We may hate the practice of some people, but we are told plainly that we are not to judge. That’s God’s job and He is big enough to fight his own battles.
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Forgive and you will be forgiven. People look positively on someone who forgives.
All to often I here the Phrase “I forgive them but...” forgiveness with a but is not forgiveness.
Jesus who had the right to Judge and condemn never said while on the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do BUT”
He said Father forgive them, period, no but’s. This is how we should be.
When I think about the Christian life it is about forgiving and giving. That can only be done if we have love.
1 Corinthians 13:3-8a states,
“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. Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13: 3-8a
If we truly have the love of Christ in us we will not judge or condemn people. We will give our very life if necessary for the cause of Christ.
We will realize our actions have eternal repercussions and it thus of paramount importance that we show love as apposed to judgement.
Think about it.
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