Do not Judge

Do not Judge
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.
If you claim to be a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus you must obey what he said here. We as Christians have no right to judge. Especially those outside the church.
The American evangelist Billy Graham said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge

 and my job to love,” 

                       Billy Graham

Baruch Sinoza wrote,
“It is imperative that freedom of judgment should be granted, so that men may live together in harmony, however diverse, or even openly contradictory their opinions maybe.  In proportion as the power of free judgment is withheld, we depart from the natural condition of mankind." Baruch Spinoza.
God has given everyone complete freedom to do as they wish. As Christians we may not agree with what others my do but we have no right to judge them. I’m sure Paul and the other Apostles did not agree with what they seen around the Roman world of their day. Yet they never spoke against it. They never judged anyone outside their faith.
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
The apostle Paul also told believers,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”Romans 12:18.
Jesus, and the Apostles knew that the only way to reach a person for Christ is to live at peace with them.
If we as Christians judge anyone then we run the risk of pushing them away, potentially into a Christless eternity.
Please think about it.

Freedom

Freedom
Baruch Spinoza said,
“It is imperative that freedom of judgment should be granted, so that men may live together in harmony, however diverse, or even openly contradictory their opinions maybe.  In proportion as the power of free judgment is withheld, we depart from the natural condition of mankind.”
                                                                                                                               Baruch Spinoza.
Freedom the most sought after thing by mankind. Yet there are people in this world that would restrict the freedoms of others even in a democracy.
It is my opinion that as long as someone’s freedoms do not impinge on my rights or hurt anyone then they should have the right to do as they wish.
I like what Spinoza said, “In proportion as the power of free judgment is withheld, we depart from the natural condition of mankind.”
God gave man a freewill. That freewill in order to be truly free had to give man the right to do as he wished, whether it is right in the eyes of other men or of God. Likewise that freedom even includes the right to believe in God or not.
No person has the right to tell another what to do or how to live their lives, providing they are not harming another.
All too often, and I see this as Christian, I see Christians groups trying to restrict the freedoms of others. This should not be so.
      Nor should others attempt to restrict the rights of Christians or any other religious group or anyone period.
Jesus told us,
“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
If we judge others it is only natural that they judge us the same way. If we try to restrict the freedoms of others it is natural that they will come against us and try to restrict our freedoms.
Jesus told us,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”
 Matthew 7:12.
Doing to others what we would want them to do to us is the corner stone of a free democracy.
We cannot be truly free if we restrict even the rights of just one person, whether we agree with them or not.
Please think about it.