Wherefore, defenseless are you, O man! everyone who is judging, for in what you are judging another, you are condemning yourself, for you who are judging are committing the same things. Now we are aware that the judgement of God is according to truth against those who are committing such things. Yet you are reckoning on this, O man, who art judging those who are committing such things, and art doing the same, that you will be escaping the judgement of God?
Paul to the Romans 2: 1-3, Concordant New Testament
I'd heard the whispers plenty of times while I was a regular church attender. "You Christians are such hypocrites!" Usually, I passed these comments off as that of the sinner. Yet I soon came to see that passing the judgement of God upon others is indeed a common practice for those who claim to believe. That it is not just the domain of the unsaved. I have been reminded of this on a regular basis recently by a good gym rat friend who never ceases to remind me of the coming judgement of the Lord. Now, I cut him a bit of slack in his behavior as I know all too well where it is that he learns such things. For I once counted myself among the pews of the churched crowd as well. I remember all too well the teachings of condemnation that came from the pulpits. That although I was saved, that I would still stand before the Lord to be judged. How does that work? Didn't Christ give Himself willingly on the cross that I would be found blameless in the eyes of the Father? Was He not the innocent blood shed for me {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}? Did Jesus somehow miss or overlook some of my sin as He died on the cross? Did God simply hold back on my forgiveness only to hold it against me later? Does this sound like the love and forgiveness of the Lord? Not to me! For not only do we continue to judge others, but all too often we ourselves indulge in that very same behaviors in which we are condemning others. I do not use that word condemn lightly, because that is exactly what we are doing when we judge others. We are taking up that responsibility which lies solely with God and passing it on to those around us. We often justify our condemnation by proclaiming that "It's in the scripture!" True, but it is also scriptural that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus {Paul to the Romans 8:1}. That Jesus Himself did not come into the world to judge, but that all the world would be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:17}. What freedom is there in condemnation?
Religion has actually convinced people that there is a invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money. He always needs money. He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money
~George Carlin~
I have come to the point of knowing in my own faith that I am confident in my identity as Christ Jesus who I now live my life within {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. That my life is now in He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}. This revelation has not come without questions on my part. Indeed, there have been many years of mainstream church doctrine which I have needed to overcome. The trouble is that I often cannot relate my experience to those who remain within the church system without it turning into an argument and my being condemned to the Lords judgement. This DOES NOT promote feelings of being in Gods love and grace, trust me. If the freedom we find in Christ Jesus includes passing the judgement of the Lord upon others, then I want no part of that. Fortunately, this isn't how the love of God works. He has not provided for our eternity in Him only to condemn us at some future point. There IS NO condemnation within His love. The apostle Paul asks the question, if Christ died for us, who is it that condemns us {Paul to the Romans 8:34}? I'll tell you who, we do! It has never been the intention of the Lord to hold His judgement over our heads. However, it has been His purpose to reconcile what was once considered lost unto Him once again {Paul to the Romans 5:10}. Being reconciled to God through the death of His Son. Ask yourself, who is it that condemns you?
~Scott~
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