Do Not Judge!

Other than unbelief, perhaps one of the greatest sins among the saints is the attitude and action of judging others. The Bible strictly forbids us against judging anyone because none of us can stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ without the grace of Christ.

Jesus Commands Us Not To Judge

The new commandment which Jesus gave us tells us to love one another (John 13:34; 1Jn.2:8-11; 2Jn.1:5).
Jesus commanded us under the New Covenant not to judge anyone (Matt.7:1).
He showed us the reasons why we should not judge anyone.
--All of us have sinned and stand condemned without the mercy and grace of Jesus (Jn.8:7; Rom.2:1)
--Jesus did not come to judge but to save (Jn.12:47; 3:17)
--He taught us that anyone who judges others is worthy of hell fire (Matt.5:22)
--He taught that the one who judges others must not think that he is better (Matt.7:2-5; Luke 13:1-6)
--He taught that we must focus on correcting ourselves before trying to correct others (Matt.7:2-5)

New Testament Reasons Not To Judge

--We all stand or fall by faith, according to the grace of God, not by any merit of ours (Rom.11:20)
--By judging others we condemn ourselves (Rom.2:1; James 5:9)
--There is only one Judge and He is coming soon (James 5:9)
--God justifies the sinner who humbles himself than the Pharisee who condemns others with a self-righteous attitude (Lk.18:10-14).

Why People Judge Others

--They lose sight of the imperatives of the grace of God over their own lives (Matt.18:32,3; 2Pet.1:7-9; Eph.4:31,32)
--They allow the spirit of jealousy (1Sam.8:8-10)
--They allow the spirit of bitterness over past hurts (Eph.4:26,27, 29-32; Heb.12:15)
--They allow the spirit of doubt and evil suspicions (1Tim.6:4)

Receiving Each Other with Brotherly Love

--Aquinas and Priscilla show us example of how they received Apollos positively and helped him (Acts 18:24,25)
--We must lovingly and patiently accept the ones who are weak in faith (Rom.15:1; 1Cor.8:1)
--We must not allow our knowledge to become a stumbling block for others; in other words, there are certain aspects of liberty that we may need to forego in order to win some (1Cor.8:9-13)
--If anyone is caught in sin, we must be willing to gently restore them (Gal.6:1).
--If anyone persists in sin, the elders must rebuke with the attitude to save, not to condemn (1Tim.5:20; 2Tim.2:25)
--We must not listen to gossip and be influenced by slander (Prov.20:19; 26:20)
--Do not listen to accusations against any spiritual elder without two or three witness (1Tim.5:19)

What Must We Do?

--Love all with the love of Christ (Eph.5:2)
--Do not give in to the spirit of suspicion or negative assumptions; don't listen to feelings (Exo.20:16)
--Think through their eyes (Job 6:1-3)
--Speak God's truth in love (Eph.4:15)
--Be patient with people (Rom.15:1; Eccl.7:8; 1Tim.5:14)
--Don't get offended (1Cor.13:5)
--Don't think evil; but, always look at the better side (1Cor.13:5)
--Consider others as better (Phil.2:3)