Judgmentalism or Tolerance

Judgmentalism or Tolerance

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" [Matt. 7:1-5 (ESV)].

Lately it seems as if Matt. 7:1 is one of the most often-quoted—and misunderstood—verses in the Bible. Whenever Christians proclaim the biblical perspective about gay marriage or other gay rights, abortion, or any other sin that society has declared fashionable, we are accused of disobeying Christ's teaching. Many Christians find themselves wondering, "Am I in sin just because I said these people are sinning? Am I wrong when I think people should not do such things?" We are tempted to bow before America's new idol: tolerance.

Perhaps we should take a closer look at Matt. 7. We will see that it does not teach the sort of tolerance that most Americans now think is the greatest virtue. Rather, it shows us how to "love the sinner and hate the sin."

A close look at the context of this passage proves that Jesus did not mean we should pretend that "anything goes." Right after this teaching, He told His disciples not to cast their pearls before swine, and not to give anything holy to dogs (Matt. 7:6). Obedience to such a command requires us to make a certain moral assessment about people.

In fact, most people who accuse Christians of judging others would never accept total tolerance in all areas of ethics and morality. The same people who defend gay rights and legalized abortion will not tolerate drunk driving, wife beating, pedophilia, or other socially-unacceptable sins. They are certainly judgmental towards judgmental people! The person who misuses Jesus' teaching in Matt. 7 is either a hypocrite or fool, or has been deceived by Satan.

Furthermore, other Gospel accounts that show us Jesus' supposed "tolerance" also show His zeal for righteousness. When forgiving the woman caught in adultery, He did not approve of her behavior because it involved two consenting adults. Instead, He told her, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:10-11).

On the other hand, the Bible does not condone the sort of judgmentalism that we see among many Christians. Elsewhere, Jesus tells us to use "righteous judgment." How should we do this?

First, as we see in Matt. 7, we must first judge ourselves. Before trying to deal with the dust in another person's eye, we need to make certain there are no planks in ours. We must never pretend that we are better than other people. Instead, we should confess our sins as often as necessary. Whenever we pray, we should ask God to reveal to us our sinful actions, attitudes, thoughts, words, and intentions. No Christian is completely delivered from sin in this life. In fact, as we mature in faith, we will usually find God revealing more deeply rooted sins than He did in our younger days. While baby Christians may frequently confess more obvious sins (cursing, lying, etc.), a mature believer may find God addressing his motives and attitudes.

Second, any assessment about others should be intended to build others up. We do not take note of another's sins so that we can belittle them, gossip about them, or think about how superior we are. Instead, we should commit ourselves to building others up: correcting them when necessary and praying for them always. We should seek their deliverance, not their downfall.

Our most basic attitude should be to judge sin, not to judge people. For example, as a Christian, I believe homosexuality is a sin. However, so are other forms of sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage: adultery, premarital sex, pornography, etc. Before rebuking the homosexual, I need to be certain I am obeying the Word of God in this area of my life.

We must be especially careful to avoid labeling people in broad, amorphous, negative categories. It is tempting to think of someone as a "jerk," "idiot," or to slap any of the hundreds of similar insulting labels on a person. Even calling a person a liar or pervert could be considered judgmental. Instead of saying "You idiot" or "You are such a liar," you might be better off focusing on specific behaviors: "You really should not drive so fast"; "That did not seem like a completely honest answer to me"; "The Word of God says you should not do that."

In the book of James, we read that if somebody breaks one part of the Law, he has broken the whole Law (James 2:10). Christians sometimes err by categorizing sins. We think some sins are worse than all others (adultery, homosexuality, abortion, perhaps drug or alcohol abuse), while others are not too bad (lying, gossip, pride, greed, self-centeredness, stealing pens from the office). However, the self-centered arrogant gossip needs to repent just as much as the homosexual does!

Today, Christians fight spiritual war on several fronts. In addition to the usual personal spiritual attacks, we wage war against a demonic enemy who attacks the very fabric of our society. Biblical values are challenged every day in the schools, on television, in newspaper columns, in the federal court system, and in the halls of Congress. We must declare what the Lord has said, and we should not back down because worldly people tell us we are not supposed to judge others. We must stand for God and His Word. However, let us remember to stand for His entire Word, seek to live by that Word, and love and pray for those who have not discovered the joy of obeying Christ.