There have been many harsh words exchanged in judgment amongst Christians. It seems that some individuals are quick to lash out at their brothers, at pastors, or anyone else they see so they can 'expose their wickedness'. Some almost seem to enjoy it. Other Christians claim that it is not within our authority to judge each other or those in the world. Their cry is grace, mercy, love, and "Can't we all just get along?"
So which side is right? What does the Bible say about this topic, and what is the proper way to apply that knowledge to today's church environment?
Key Biblical Passages
1 Corinthians 5
The primary passage that is used to explain judgment of a brother/sister in Christ is 1 Corinthians 5. Here's the story:
Paul has planted several churches in Corinth. After some time, reports come to him that there is a man in the church who is sleeping with his 'father's wife' (which means she was either his mom or his step-mom). The believers in the church don't seem to be bothered by this. Paul is grieved, and rebukes them in his letter we call 1 Corinthians. He demands they expel this man from their congregation as he is a bad influence on them. Later, when 2 Corinthians is written, Paul states the man has repented and requests the church lovingly take him back in.
After reading this passage, I would certainly agree that the Bible seems to be providing support for calling believers into accountability. Let's take a look at a couple of other verses before we dig more deeply into that passage.
Matthew 7:1-5
Interestingly, Matthew seven is commonly quoted by both sides. Verses one and two by those who say we should not judge, and three through five by those who say we should:
"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."
In this passage, Jesus is speaking about hypocrisy. In verses 3-5 he does seem to imply that we may judge one another, but it seems to me that more than anything he is saying be EXTREMELY careful because it is easy to be a hypocrite when passing judgment. Let's face it, if we dig around deep enough, we can find dirt on anyone, and they could do the same with us.
Romans 2:1 reiterates that point when Paul writes, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."
1 Corinthians 6
Paul writes that believers should not take each other to court, but rather take up issues with one another before fellow believers. He states, "Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!"
To Judge or To Live and Let Live?
I believe the verses above provide a pretty clear message. We are given the authority to call fellow believers into accountability and to even judge disputes between believers. However, taking either extreme stance of 'we-shouldn't-judge-each-other' or 'judge-everyone-you-see' is wrong.
I do want to warn believers not to get overly zealous in their excommunications. We need to understand a few things:
The example provided in Corinthians is an extreme case. Paul said that even the Pagans would have found this man's behaviour unacceptable.
This man found nothing wrong with what he was doing. He wasn't struggling to overcome a certain vice that he found difficult to beat. He was proudly having sex with his mother/step-mother.
In continuation of #2, struggling with immorality and simply not caring to live a moral life are two completely separate ideas. We are warned to stay away from those who call themselves Christians, yet purposely live like the world.
My last and final point in this section is something that we in America seem to have a hard time understanding. It is not our place to judge the world. Those who are not believers in Christ will be judged by God (1 Cor 5:12-13). The Religious Right seems to have this idea that we are not only supposed to judge everyone, but that we are also to legislate morality in America through our elected officials. Though I am certainly not advocating anarchy, I do not believe it is the church's call to force God's moral standards on the world (but that's a completely separate message which I address in the blog Why a Washington DC Focus Won't Work).
Judging and Tough Love
So we've established that calling a fellow believer into accountability is within our authority. Now, how do we go about doing that? The first question to ask is, "Do I love this person?" I mean really love and truly think and care about the well-being of this person. The second step is pray for that person and for yourself. Jesus talks about how easy it is to fall into the trap of being nit-picky about other's struggles, but missing our own big vices (such as pride).
Everything MUST be done in love. Paul writes in great depth about love in 1 Corinthians, which is quite appropriate since this is the letter from which most of our arguments for judging one another stem. If judgment is not done 100% in love, then it is sin. I have seen times where judgment is carried out in forceful, unkind, and (honestly) hateful ways. Christians like to call this 'tough love'. I disagree with that. Tough love is laying down your life for others, tough love is loving your enemy, tough love is feeding and taking care of those who hate you, tough love is turning the other cheek when someone strikes you (verbally or physically), tough love is saying 'forgive them Father, for they know not what they do' as you are being tortured and crucified. What most people refer to as 'tough love' is often times self-righteousness masquerading as love.
I'm not saying love cannot have standards. It certainly does have the strictest of standards since love 'rejoices in the truth.' But if the only approach you know in regards to accountability is 'tough love' then you may need to do some soul searching.
Conclusion:
The Bible is clear that we have the authority to call fellow believers into accountability; however, it is not our place to judge those outside the church. I do not believe this authority is granted for past sins for which a person has already repented. Gossiping about someone or treating them without love simply because they messed up at some point (or several points) in their life is uncalled for. When you notice a believer in sin, and you have prayed about it, and you know that you can confront this person in love, then Galations 6 states "If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." Notice it says gently?
A real life example of this may be you inviting the person out to lunch (and paying) and talking to them about what is going on in their lives and then what you have noticed. If the person has a bit of maturity, you may even find they know about the sin, and are actually nervous, but relieved to be able to talk to someone about it. Of course, you may also find that you completely misunderstood the person and they are in fact NOT in sin (that has happened to me). That's why a little bit of gentleness can go a long way.
If the person is in sin and they refuse to listen to you, then the Bible advises that the issue be brought before an elder in the church.
As far as 'sins' of celebrity Christians go (for example if you happen to not like Joel Osteen or John Hagee), we Christians can often be too loose with our tongue. Most of us are honestly not in a place to call those people into accountability; but if you feel you need to then I believe the best route to take is a lot of prayer and a letter to that minister/person addressing (in love!) the vice(s) you have observed. I addressed this issue more in-depth in a previous blog, which you can find here: Is Joel Osteen The Devil?
0 comments:
Post a Comment