For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him
Johns Account 3: 17, Concordant New Testament
The conversation this week centered around judgement, or our judgement for that matter. Are we judged? Will we be judged in the future? This is one of the issues which has been hijacked by those within the mainstream church over time. The that men could, and often do, predetermine the final judgement of their brethren. A good friend of mine brought up the point that he has never felt more judged than when he was in the halls of the church. I would agree with him. For I would challenge any believer to recall if they were never threatened with an eternity in hell if their behavior did not match Gods standards. I know that I have been. I recall that a few of my so called brethren threatened me with burning in hell, forever removed from the presence of God, if I did not get my pornography addiction under control. I felt as if the promise of salvation which I had been given had been reneged on. Well, is God an Indian giver? Would He promise us one thing just to pull it away from us once we trusted in that promise? I believe in my heart that God would never do this to us. Yet in all honesty, this is what I once believed to be true as spoken through those in the church. Of course, these days I have a much better understanding of my own life within the Father than I did back then. These days I trust in the promise of God that I have been found to be blameless through the given sacrifice of His Son on the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}. We're told that Christ Jesus was not sent into this world that He should be judging the world, but that ALL the world would be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:17}. So, if Jesus is not judging us, why do we judge ourselves? Or, better yet, why is it that we judge those around us? Has God granted us the authority to be the sole judge of His creation here on earth? I would answer no to that. But that has not stopped those within the church from bestowing judgement upon those whom they feel deserve the Lords judgement. But it doesn't stop there, we see this judgement from believers and non-believers alike. The mistaken belief that it is our duty to condemn those who we feel are deserving of Gods judgement.
Nothing, consequently, is now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Not according to the flesh are they walking, but according to spirit
Paul to the Romans 8: 1, Concordant New Testament
When I speak of those who have taken it upon themselves to bestow Gods judgement upon others, the finger is pointed at me as well. For there have been many times in which I have passed judgement upon those who I deemed unworthy of Gods eternal gift. Of course, we all know that I was mistaken in my judgement of others. Can we also admit that those within the church have been just as mistaken in their judgement of others? I would say so. But I am still waiting to hear from those in the church that they messed up in their judgement of others. I don't see that admission coming anytime soon. One thing that I would hope that others get from this post is that it is ultimately not our job to place judgement upon others. That we, as believers, have not been granted some special authority from God in order to do so. Again, I include myself in this conversation as well. One of the most common complaints I receive in my conversations about God with other people is that Christians themselves are too judgemental. This is the label which we have plastered upon ourselves. We've gone from speaking the love of the Father to condemning others in His name. The apostle Paul poses the question in his evangel, who is it that condemns {Paul to the Romans 8:34}? Has God condemned us? Hs Jesus condemned us from the cross? No! What we have through the finished work of Jesus is redemption and reconciliation, never condemnation. I believe that this is the message which we all are in need of hearing. For it is man who condemns, not the Father.
~Scott~
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