It seems to be the ultimate cop out. My recent conversation with another believer spotlights a hole in the ozone of God’s Holiness from our human perspective. Criticism or being held to the discerning lamp of God’s Holy Bible seems to almost be taboo in our time. My rant this time was about a particular person who openly professes being a Christian but practices life contrary to God’s Word. “How contrary is it really?” is often the first step onto this slippery slope. It questions the veracity and validity of our individual interpretation of what it means to be Christ-like. “Yeah hath God REALLY said?” Pick a topic, premarital sex, cohabitation, consuming copious amounts of alcohol for pleasure, not tithing, adoring ungodly movies and their actors, Common cursing, pretending same sex relationships are approved by God, on and on and on. Any of these narrow topics will fall under the umbrella of “yeah hath God said”.
It often comes with the reply “You’re judging them”. What is meant is that because you are guilty of sin yourself, you have no authority to hold someone else’s actions up to scrutiny. It is a false premise but one often surrendered to. And it is a ridiculous presumption. If it was the measure of judgmental authority, there would be no laws nor civility in life. Pastors who have ever yelled at their wives or children should be forbidden from teaching on family relationships based on this concept. Judges who have ever driven faster than the speed limit could never convict anyone brought into traffic court.
Since partly true often destroys or at least partially blurs the difference between right and wrong, “You’re judging them” is a shield many hide behind. However truth does not hide nor is it changeable. If I hold someone accountable to my standard then I am indeed judging them. If however I hold myself to the same standard as others and the standard is God Holy Word then it is not I that judge but Christ who sits on the throne of Heaven who judges them. One of the commandments says that no one is allowed to commit adultery. Adultery is any sexual intimacy outside of the sanctifying bonds of Holy Matrimony. In other words if you are not married to that person you can’t have them, touch them, hold them or think about them in a sexually intimate way. To do so is sin. It transgresses or breaks God’s laws.
That covers premarital sex, man or man or woman on woman or human on animal or viewing pornography or lusting after someone or something for sexual fantasy or any other aspect which perverts God’s stated and intended relationship in marriage. In this case it is an unmarried person living as husband and wife while attending church, promoting a love for Jesus, warning others of the consequences of sin and even speaking the truth of God’s Word. It is the responsibility of every believer to pray for those who are practicing life contrary to God’s Word. It is the responsibility of every believer to submit to the instructions and authority of God’s Word. It is the responsibility of every believer to help others see their shortcomings and to acknowledge their own when brought to their attention. It is NOT the responsibility of believers to excuse sin, overrule God’s Word or ignore the consequences of sinful practices by saying “You are just judging them”.
It is not I who am a sinner that judges, for I have no perfection nor authority within myself. It is the written Word of God which judges. It is the rebellion and selfish desire of the flesh which affronts God’s ways and proclaims that though He may be Creator and Lord of the universe, He is wrong about sin. NO, NO, NO, a thousand times No. If there is a conflict between God and man it is sin. Sin is the transgression of the law. It is sin to tell or show God He is wrong in your eyes. He is never wrong. If God says it is sin it is. If it was ever truly sin, it is always surely sin. It is not short skirts that are sin, it is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life which is sin. It is not failing to tithe which is sin, it is the denying of God’s promises that He will poor out a blessing you cannot contain which is sin. We who do so make God a liar and His truth is not in us.
So then where is this authority found? It is all of the Holy Bible. Holy because every word is God breathed so we might know the heart and mind of Him who is without sin. When Paul wrote to the Romans he included the conflict of the spirit and the flesh in chapter seven. He says “that which I want to do, I can’t seem to do and that which I want to avoid I am drawn to” (my paraphrase). Yet he makes no excuse for shining the light of God’s truth on sin in anyone’s life. It is Christ that created and man that fell. It is Christ who died and man who was redeemed. It is sin that destroys and grace that restores. Without the law I had not know sin. But now I have no excuse for my willful disobedience, for I have accepted Jesus, the Christ of God, as my salvation and my Lord. And if anyone be otherwise minded then it is not the judgment or consequences of sinful acts but the eternal wrath of almighty God they must fear.
So, yes, I agree. I am casting the light of judgment on their lifestyle, their rebellion to God’s Holy standard and their heart relationship with Him. Yet it is not I that judge but the authority of God’s Holy Word. The letter of First John directs a focused beam upon the soul of each individual and dares to ask “what makes you think you are really His child when you act that way?” If we indeed have the love of Christ in us then grace is not abused as a license to sin but revered as a measure to pursue. If His love is foreign to us despite what our mouth says, then all of the “perfection in living as He requires” we can muster, is vanity. In stating that it is sin in your life, I am also stating that it is sin in my life. And though I may be free from the sin which plagues you, I am keenly aware of those which I have surrendered to in violation of His Word.
If you feel this is directed at you then it is. Not by me but by God the Holy Spirit. He convicts us, convinces us and changes us. Your responsibility is the same as mine; admit it is sin, stop doing it, turn back to the ways of God. If you are really His child, then repent and walk in His ways. If you are only Christian in name, as a label, then get serious. Hell is the real reward for those who never accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as the payment for the penalty of their sin. As the publican cried out in Luke chapter eighteen, “God be merciful to me a sinner”, go and do likewise. Sin can only be defeated by the indwelling Holy Spirit of God and only when you cooperate with Him. And I stand in judgment of that.