In this article I begin by examining Jesus' commandment against judging others, thus demonstrating the folly of condemning others due to an exception of one of the Commandments of God.
For it is our love for one another as Christians who help each other realize the value of being nonjudgmental and accepting of other faiths.
In Matthew 7:1-3, Matthew, one of the followers of Jesus, wrote:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
These verses advise us to be nonjudgmental since we each see life from our own point of view, and rarely see it from another person's view point. Yet, through compassion and love for others, it is possible to see the whole picture by simply listening to their story about their lives.
In John 8:1-11 is the story of the adulteress. A woman is accused by scribes and Pharisees of adultery, but Jesus told them "he who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone." After realizing their consciences were not clear, all of the men left, until just Jesus and the woman remained. He asked if any of her accusers remained to condemn her, which she replied "No man, Lord." In response, he said "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more."
This quote tells us not to condemn others. With the verses in Matthew 7 and John 8, Jesus' commands are clear: judge no one, not even yourself and condemn no one of a sin.
By condemning that woman, the scribes and Pharisees will have committed the sin of murder despite their exception to God's commandment of it.
Only a person who is innocent of all sin may judge others, yet few of us are of such innocence. Yet, by repenting of a sin, we are ready to learn from the act of repentance to refrain from sinning again.
What Jesus commands is that a god-fearing man ought to refrain from judging others lest they condemn someone and commit a greater sin of false accusation (lying about another person's character or conduct).
In response to sin, Jesus commanded "that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that he love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34)
By loving one another, and remaining nonjudgmental, we as Christians refrain from condemning other people. In the process, the Christian becomes more accepting of others because of her love and respect for both herself and other people.
When it comes time to share your faith with others, it is wise to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:6:
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
In other words, share what is sacred only with people of like mind. For they alone will respect your faith and how you worship.
Be not foolish and preach to anyone who has shown that they refuse to respect your faith, lest they point out the differences between their faith and yours disrespectfully until the both of you commit littles sins in defending your respective faiths.
Instead only share the truth of your faith, be it doctrine or otherwise, using scripture with fellow members of your faith.
Thus, it is wise to agree with your fellow Christians of other faiths on the basic principles of the Christ-centered life: love one another - even your enemies - and judge no one (Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 22:37-40).
No comments:
Post a Comment