When Is It Okay For A Christian To Judge?

Well, the answer to your question is never.

But  what if –

Nope, never.

Yeah but they –

No.

But –

NO.

Yeah but they’re –

NEVER.

Here’s the deal, my friends, family, and wonderful readers. The answer to the question when is it okay for a Christian to judge is never, at any time. Why is this? Well in short, you’re just as sinful and tainted as the person you’re trying to judge, so it’s kind of like the pot calling the kettle black and you look like an idiot doing that.

The long answer is this. Throughout scripture, AKA the Bible, AKA THE WORD OF GOD, you are never once in the entirety of that book from Genesis to Revelation called to pass judgment on another human. Ever. It doesn’t matter if they’re gay, black, white, Jewish, transsexual, bisexual, fat, tall, short, skinny, ugly, pretty, a porn star, a virgin, a nun, a teen mom, a pot head, homeless, rich, smart, mentally handicapped, or anything and everything in-between any of those. It. Does. Not. Matter. It does not matter if they are currently the most popular gay porn star in the industry, it does not matter if they’re a renowned serial killer. It is not your place, not your job to pass judgment on them.

Here’s what you are commanded to do; according to the book you claim you follow with your entire life.

1. Love one another as He has loved you.
2. Love your Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength
3. Love your neighbor
4. Follow Jesus
5. Forgive one another
6. Pray for your enemies
7. Walk by faith
8. Proclaim the name of God
9. Help the poor
10. Embrace persecution

These are just paraphrases, and just a few of the things that Jesus told us to do, and to expect in scripture. Now, I don’t know all the answers. Maybe I’ve missed some tiny foot note in the armpit of Exodus somewhere that says go ahead and judge the gays, by all means throw them on out of the church!

But I don’t think I have. So here’s the deal guys. As a Christian, I see both sides of it. I see the side of wanting to keep true to God’s commandments, to the call to stand against sin. But I also see the side of how destructive that has been to the church and Christians as a people group. The church itself is a people, not a building. It is the body of Christ. If the church is spewing hate, giving off the feel of un-acceptance or judgment, then that means there is a poison, an illness, a toxicity in the body. Guys, the problem isn’t that gay people want to get married. The problem isn’t the amount of teenagers getting pregnant in high school; the problem isn’t the homeless population out on the street corner begging for a dime. The problem you guys? The problem is US. We are the problem. We have allowed ourselves to take a position that we are neither worthy of nor called to take. It isn’t our job to hate people. In fact, that is literally the exact opposite of what we need to do. The fact that so many people feel so hurt, so burned by those that claim to be Christian, by those that are part of the church…that is not okay. That is so incredibly not okay. It is detrimental, my friends. It is detrimental to the one thing we are absolutely called to do, and that is to glorify God. To spread His love.

Jesus sat down on the street and ate with the prostitutes. He welcomed sinners; he brought love to the people who the rest of the world had written off. Yes, I absolutely believe in the importance of trying to separate ourselves from sin, but if you cannot do that while at the same time loving people and treating them the way Jesus would, the way that Jesus did, then the problem is not them, its you.

Look at the Gospel. The part of the Gospel that is so huge, so important, so vital is the part where the love of God overcame the sin of the world. The love that Jesus showed on the cross outweighed the power of death; it cancelled the devastation of the human condition. God is love, people. He is love. He isn’t closed doors and upturned noses. He isn’t looking the other way when you see someone on the street with a cup for spare change, he isn’t protests outside of court houses with the signs that say “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” He is love. He is forgiveness, redemption, grace. He is the King of Kings, and He is the only true and ultimate judge.

The time we have here on earth is so, so short compared to eternity. Use it well. Use it wisely. Instead of tweeting how upset you are about whatever bill was just passed that allows same-sex marriage, tweet something about how the love of Christ has changed your life. Jesus didn’t approach crowds with this air of superiority and hatred. He helped the weak. He reached out to the hated. He loved those who were so incredibly far from righteous and he made them new. So instead of avoiding that girl in your class that supposedly had sex with half the football team, or the boy who openly holds hands with his boyfriend around campus, invite them to church. Be their friend. Get to know them. Make them feel like they’re worth something, because they are. Break the stereotype of Christians being judgmental jerks. Make the term Christian something that people aren’t afraid of, or bitter towards. Break that stigma. It’s our time to change the world, guys. One girl with a blog can’t do it on her own, but you can bet your last buck I’m going to try.

To every single person who has ever been burned by the church, to everyone who has ever felt exiled, judged, ridiculed, hated, unaccepted, I am so sorry. I love you. Jesus loves you. The sin that you were judged for is no worse than the sin that I have in my life. We are all broken, and all in need of someone to save us from ourselves.

End the hate. End the judgment. End the stereotype that false Christians have brought upon the world. Love someone. Love everyone. Love your Lord.
There’s a part in the Gospels where Jesus sits down to eat with the sinners. People were asking him why He was doing that, and you know what He said?
“Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Mark 2:17
There’s this quote “The church isn’t a museum for the good people, but a hospital for the broken.”

Jesus didn’t come down just to hang out with people who were considered “good.” He came for the sinners. He came for the same people that so many Christians are closing their doors to. That’s who He came for, and shame on us for turning our backs on the very people He entrusted us to love the way He loved us.