We have heard many times about being careful in judging others. We can be overcomers in this area when we depend on the Holy Spirit. In Luke 6:37 we read, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.” When we judge, it is a pharisaical nature. When we judge we are taking the place of God and condemning others. When a judgmental attitude is there in our lives, we are putting ourselves and others in bondage. In Romans 2 we read that there is never an excuse to judge others. Whenever we point a finger at others, we need to remember the areas in our lives that are lacking. Looking into ourselves will help us to be humble and to judge ourselves. If we find a judgmental attitude in ourselves, we need to repent as quickly as possible. There may be weakness in other brothers and sisters but if we are not given the spiritual authority; we have no authority to judge them. By being stubborn and not forgiving our fellow brothers, we are bringing judgment upon ourselves.
In Romans 14:1 we read of how we need to accept brothers and sister even though they have a different level of light than us. When we break bread this is of utter importance. God will lead another to repent, but if we judge – it is we who are at a loss. We are condemning ourselves by judging others. In Romans 14:13 Paul encourages us to determine not to judge another brother. We also need to make sure that we are not a stumbling block for a brother. By our words, deeds or actions another brother should not fall into sin. May God give us light in this area.
In 1 Corinthians 4:4 we are reminded that it is the Lord who examines us and also that we shouldn’t judge before the time. Whenever the Lord prompts us of something in our life that we need to repent, we should be quick to repent. God will judge our motives and intentions and He will reward accordingly.
In the verse we first read that “pardon, and you will be pardoned”. People might have hurt us in the past, but we need to forgive them and release them from hatred. We should have a forgiving heart. If we don’t forgive, the Father in heaven won’t forgive us. We need to be merciful just as the Father is merciful. While we take part in the Lord’s table let us remember these things that the Lord has spoken to us. In Mathew 14 Jesus had told Peter that we need to forgive a person upto 70 times 7. What Jesus meant is that whenever someone asks us for forgiveness, we need to forgive and not keep a grudge. Jesus paid a huge debt for us on the cross. But unfortunately we find it hard to forgive another’s debt. May the Lord teach us to be merciful and compassionate. Jesus explained this through the parable of the unforgiving servant – even though the master forgave the servant’s debt, the servant was not merciful to one who had borrowed from him. We need to learn to forgive from our heart and not just in words. Let us release those who have hurt us. Let us honestly ask the Lord for help. The Lord sees our desires and He will surely help us.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:31,32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” This can only be done if there is God’s love in our hearts. We read in 1 Corinthians 13 about the characteristic of true love of God. Is our love to our fellow brother like this love? Let us judge ourselves. Let us love our brothers and sisters with all their strengths and weaknesses. Love is the perfect bond of humility. We need this when we are part of the Church. May God bless us all.
