'Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5, NIV

 

Every person makes mistakes. Paul underlined this in Romans 3:10-12: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” There is not one person who can claim entry into heaven by their own good deeds. Every one of us needs God’s grace to be saved and to become new persons in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

When we have been children of God for a long time, we have hopefully grown in holiness. The Spirit of God is daily busy transforming us to the image of Christ. And those who believed for a longer time, should be further on in the process of being recreated in the image of Christ than younger believers. In this walk of faith, it is necessary to not be judgemental. We were saved by grace. We are no better than any other sinner. Our transgressions might just be hidden better than other people’s.

 

There is a place for loving reprimand in the Bible. We help each other to grow in the image of Christ when we correct one another, but there is a proper way to do that, for example in 1 Timothy 5:1-2.

 

There is also a proper place for judgement in society. It is the responsibility given to government to see that the citizens live orderly and in peace (see Romans 13). Judges are appointed by government to judge according to the law of the country – that is their civil duty. However, this verse is aimed at us in our individual lives. No person has ever been saved by the judgemental attitude of a Christian. We can testify to the goodness of God in our own lives. We can be used as mentors by God in younger Christians’ walk of faith. We can, in the safe environment of a personal relationship with others, lovingly correct Christians when they are straying from God’s path. However, we never have the authority to judge another believer, making them feel cut off from the grace of God.

 

Let’s take the positive from this principle in today’s verse. We are not called to judge others, but to lead the way by our examples in our faith communities. That would encourage much more positive change in someone else’s life.

 

Prayer: Lord, you have shown me so much grace in my life. You have such perseverance with me, even though I make so many mistakes in my life. Teach me to show mercy and compassion to those around me, when I think they are in sin. Help me to set an example of your love in such circumstances. Amen.