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Judging Others

Mar 10, 2007

We once had our minds darkened and without understanding, but now we see. However when we judge those who are still in darkness from our posittion of being able to see do we not elevate ourselves as though we had a part in our ability to see?

 

Eph. 2:1 ¶ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Eph. 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph. 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Eph. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph. 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph. 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph. 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph. 2:9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Comments:

Brother Lazarus



The Older Brother Christian



While we are hopefully compassionate towards repentant Christians who are broken, disenfranchised, divorced and remarried, addicted and seeking freedom, those who have had abortions, those in the grip of lust and pornography, etc—we need to have compassion on the Prodigal’s older brother,as well. Rather than label them as unloving, self-righteous, we should consider that perhaps they are victims of a culture and mindset that rewards the good and punishes the bad. And besides, they are missing out on the party!!!



Let us appeal to them, as the prodigal’s father did to the older brother.. We need to invite the judging individual or church to come to the celebration when prodigal Christians come to their Christian family for forgiveness and restoration.. The story of the Prodigal Sons is surprising, because the Father did not judge or condemn either son. God isn’t angry with the Older Brother church, He is grieved, which means he is sorrowful. He is sad that there should be second-class members in his body. We are all equal in God’s sight. My son is a member of a denomination that will never allow certain individuals to serve in a leadership capacity. Therefore such persons have little or no hope of restoration. The problem with this attitude that it mimics the culture that tends to reject the outcasts, whereas Jesus seemed to favor them.



In the 2nd century persecuted church, those who sacrificed to Caesar (the lapsi), were excluded from fellowship by certain congregations. Other congregations allowed them back into fellowship on probation. This difference regarding treatment of the lapsi caused splits in the early church. Today, the older brother Christian can often use the heavy hammer of scripture against the divorced person who remarries. But that strict view is softened by the attitude of Paul toward the man who was guilty of sexual sin, and also the attitude of Jesus toward sinners and tax collectors. Our position is it is more in the spirit of Jesus to err on the side of grace rather than law. Therefore, the lonely, the rejected, and prodigals who come home, seeking love and forgiveness may be treated with less value than those who never stray.



We believe this spirit grieves the Spirit of God. However, we do not blame, but mourn this attitude. Moreover, we seek to confess any anger or ill feeling we may hold toward the older brother church or Christian who won’t embrace repentant Christians.