“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Romans 14:4
It’s very easy for us to judge other people. It’s part of our human nature, driven by our flesh – the selfishness, thinking we are better than other people; the envy we have of other people who have more stuff or more abilities than us; the self-absorption that makes us think we are always right. All of these, if left unchecked, will lead to us having a judgemental attitude towards other people.
We might judge someone who is in ministry in our church. Perhaps you’re looking at someone, thinking, ‘I can sing better than them – why are they up there and not me?’ I must admit that I do struggle with this kind of thing from time to time. But it’s a verse like this one that puts me back in my place, hopefully the place God wants me to be. Those people who are serving in some ministry, are (or at least should be) serving the Lord. They are not serving you. Therefore they are not accountable to you, and you have no right to judge them. They are accountable to God, and He is the one who will judge them: rewarding them for their faithfulness, or rebuking them if they have acted with wrong motives.
Instead of judging people, we should seek to edify others. Paul went on to say, “Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Rom. 14:13), and “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19). If someone is serving with wrong motives, God will deal with them in His time. We are to leave the judging to Him, and get on with what He has called us to do.
Paul also taught in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 that we are to have nothing to do with one who professes Jesus as Lord and continues to live in sin. It is not an issue of judging them but an issue of holding them accountable to the word of God. Just as we each will be held one day at the final judgment. Very Good blog enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteHi Brian, thanks for your comment. Yes, we are to judge the works of others, if their works and lifestyle are not consistent with the Bible, we should call them to account. But we cannot see someone's motives or their heart, so we must not make a judgement as to whether a person is saved or not. I agree, these are two different and separate issues.
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