No right to judge

No right to judge
The Psalmist writes,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
What this portion of scripture tells me is that God knows you intimately. God knows you right down to the DNA level. He knows exactly why you are the way you are. That is why only He can judge you. That is why Jesus tells us,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  Matthew 7:1
We as mere mortals cannot judge another person especially when it comes to where they will spend eternity, simply because we do not know why a person is as the way they are.
That being said Jesus warned.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1,2.
The apostle Paul said,
"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.
As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we have no right to judge those outside the church. Even when we judge those inside the church it should only be to tell whether or not they are presenting the gospel of Christ correctly.
Where an individual spends eternity is entirely up to God.
Tony Campolo the American Evangelist said,
“We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.” Tony Campolo
Do you?
Please think about it.

Closes doors

Closes doors
Jesus said,
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."Matthew 7:1,2.
Let me state here that there are certain circumstances when we must judge people. Particularly when it comes to our personal safety or the safety of others. The apostle Paul even says,
"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.
Paul here makes it clear we can judge someone inside the church but this only extends to judging whether or not they who claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ are teaching the truth about Jesus. We have no right to judge anyone with respect to where they will spend eternity.
If we choose to judge those outside the church we will get backlash and doors will close, preventing us from presenting the Love of Christ to them.
We have no way of knowing why the person is the way they are. Only God knows that.
Billy Graham the great American evangelist said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God's job to judge

 and my job to love,”  

                         Billy Graham.

If we look in the book of acts at the apostle Paul presenting the gospel message in Athens at no time does Paul call those present sinners. He mentioned that God will one day judge the world, but he doesn’t call his audience sinners. That wasn’t his job. His job was to present the gospel of Christ to them.
Which is what we are to do.
Thus my question, if you consider yourself a believer in Christ Jesus are to judging people or are you in love presenting the gospel of Christ to them?
Please think about it.

Christians and Judgment

Christians and Judgement
Jesus said,
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2.
This makes it clear to anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ Jesus. We are not allowed to judge. I believe this to be especially true when it comes to where anyone will spend eternity.
The apostle Paul makes it clear that Christians have the right to Judge other Christians but only with respect to what they are teaching. Paul states,
“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 can judge those who claim to be Christians because by the fact they are claiming to be Christians they are saying I believe the teachings of the Jesus and the Apostles. If they don’t we are to cast them out of the church.
As for those who are not Christians we have no right to judge them at all. Only God has that right, because only God knows what is in the heart of an individual.
Only God knows why a person is the way they are.
The job of a follower of Christ Jesus is made clear when Jesus said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
We are to make disciples of all nations. At no time does Jesus ever tell his followers to judge anyone. No should we.
We will never win souls for Christ by judging and criticising them. It is only through love and developing a dialogue between ourselves and those around us, that we will win souls for Christ.
Thus my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus. Do you judge others, intentionally or otherwise?
Please think about it. 

Who's going to Hell?

Who’s going to Hell?
Jesus said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
Jesus also said,
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2
Christians have no right to judge where anyone will spend eternity. That is God’s decision and we must as believers in Christ Jesus must always remember that.
The Eleven O Clock Parable
It’s eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community, a nation, waits. 
Will the new law be legal? 
Outside the court house men and women with placards chant. 
On one side of the street stand a group of gay men and women. All in favour of the new law.
On the other side of the street separated by a line of police stand radical evangelicals, denouncing the new law.
One man among them screams angrily . “HOMOSEXUALS ARE GOING TO HELL!!!”
Approached by the media he says it again, “homosexuals are going to Hell.” 
From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man an Christian?”
Wasn’t it Christ who told us not only to love our neighbour but our enemy also?
Wasn’t it Christ who told us not to judge, lest we be judged likewise?
Wasn’t it Christ who said go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation?
Is this man showing love?
Is this man judging another? 
Can this man be effective in reaching the whole world of which a percentage are homosexual?
Is this man even a Christian?
A question keeps rolling through my mind for which I know the answer, “Can we truly know what is in someone else’s head?
Do we really know why a person is like they are?”
For a moment I stare down at the crowd. All the time asking myself who is on the way to Hell this day, and how can I reach them for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, “Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law.”
Question one, What is the right answer?
We as Christians, especially here in the west live in a secular democracy. A multicultural state similar in many ways to that of the Roman empire that the first century church lived in. With a government that does it’s best to accommodate all people regardless of their faith, lifestyle or sexual orientation.
We are called to reach out to everyone with the love of God irrespective of who they are. We are told not to judge anyone.
I firmly believe two things when it came to the early church.
1/ God used the multicultural nature of Rome and the relative freedoms it gave its people to spread the gospel message and to show us how to spread that message.
2/ I believe the apostles and those within the early church kept their hearts and minds focussed on spreading the Gospel message and thus were not sidetracked by politics or trying to decide where anyone will spend eternity, or anything else.
It is a lesson we in the twenty-first century church need to heed.
As long as we keep our hearts and minds focussed on presenting the message of Christ to the world around us we will win souls for Christ.
If however we are distracted in anyway we run the risk of failing in our mission something that has eternal consequences.
Please think about it.