Judging Others
From My Notes by Pastor Ron Campbell
Sometimes we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someone else’s sin. We need to be careful. Of course, we need to speak out against sin, but we must do so in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins but in more socially acceptable forms. For example, a person who gossips may be very critical of others who gossip about him or her.
When we condemned others for their sinful practices, we need to remember that we are just as sinful. If we want to avoid punishment and live eternally with Christ, all of us, even if we’ve been murderers and adulterers or honest, hardworking, citizens, we must depend totally on God’s grace. All sin is enough to lead us to depend on Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. We have all sinned repeatedly, and there is no way apart from Christ to be saved from sin’s consequences. However, in His Grace, God holds back his judgment, giving us time to turn from our sin in repentance.
It may at times be easy to mistake God’s patience for approval of the wrong way we are living. Evaluating ourselves and the way we live is difficult; it’s even more difficult to bring ourselves to God and let him tell us where we need to change. We must ask God to point out our sins, so that he can heal them. It is unfortunate that we are more likely to be amazed at God’s patience with others than we are humbled at his patience with us.
Remember, even though God does not usually judge us immediately for our sins, without repentance his eventual judgement is certain. We don’t know exactly when it will happen, but we know that no one will escape that final encounter with the Creator.
