To Live is Christ — hating sin, loving sinners

In our part of the world, when someone is introduced, the other person often asks, “What do you do?” Without the introduction and exchange of names, when someone is asked who they are, they often give their job title or occupation. People closely identify themselves with their occupation to the point that retirement can mean a huge loss of identity.

This came to mind when I read this morning that I am to judge actions, not people. It sounds good. Christians often say something similar — Jesus loves the sinner and hates the sin. Yet even thought this sounds good, it is easier said that done, perhaps because of our tendency to identify ourselves by occupation and what we do. Even the Old Testament says that a child is knowing by their actions (Proverbs 20:11).

The idea of judging actions and not people is part of a section on how to apply today’s verses to my life. These verses warn about a kind of judgment that God forbids. He is not condemning discernment or making decisions or assessments per se, but saying I should not make critical condemnations of people. 

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Matthew 7:1–2)

The Bible says I am to make “righteous judgments.” I can and should do this when someone is violating the will of God. But these verses are not about that kind of judgment. Instead, I’m forbidden to judge people because they have violated my will or because I don’t like them as a person.

Today, I’m remembering of another kind of wrong judgment, the kind where others are judged because of their race, religion or gender. A milder term might be “stereotyping” but whatever we call it, God calls it prejudice and these plus other verses condemn it.

For example, I’ve heard a person say that every Muslim is a hot-headed demander and should be sent back where they came from. That is prejudice and a judgment of a people group rather than the actions of individuals, regardless of their racial origin.

Other examples are when people say that all women are bad drivers, or that all Christians are hypocrites. Behind these generalities usually lies the poor behavior of a few, yet all innocents are included in this unfair judgment. The person doing the judging has decided that everyone is guilty because of their belief system or background, or even because of their genetic code, rather than because they have done something wrong.

The Bible says that the reason people do bad things hasn’t got anything to do with the color of our skin or our gender. Even a person’s belief system isn’t the culprit. We do bad things because we are sinners. Sinful actions are to be recognized, but because we are all sinners, none of us have a right to critically condemn anyone else. 

My faith gives me hope. Although I often fail to do all that God commands me, I am forgiven and God cleanses me from sin as I confess and repent. However, sin is such a permeating and dreadful thing, that it keeps popping up. The day that Jesus takes me into His presence, I will be like Him and without sin. Until then, I’m thinking about the way He judges me. He is never harsh or unfair. Instead, He points out my sin (usually privately) that I might be forgiven and renewed.

As I think of these verses from Matthew, I am trying to put myself in the place of someone being judged. Jesus said to do unto others as I would have them do to me. If I did something wrong, like telling a lie or slandering someone, I’d far rather be confronted with, “That was not a Christlike thing to do” than, “You are a mean and deceitful person.” The first offers hope and encouragement to change how I behave. The second reinforces Satan’s lie that “YOU will never be any good or amount to anything.”

In other words, the right kind of judgment is loving and restorative. The wrong kind is critical without hope or encouragement. Today’s reading illustrates this by the prayer at the end. It asks the Lord to “teach me to decide without judging, to discern without condemning, and to assess without being critical.”

To live is Christ means that I should hate sin and even confront it, but my motive should always be love and concern for the spiritual well-being of sinners. Judgment should never tear a person apart or be given for any reason other than deeply desiring godliness for sinners — and glory and praise for God.