Photo credit: Max Anders
I recently preached a sermon and published a blog post on censoriousness, which is having or showing a tendency to criticize someone or something severely (Censoriousness What Is It? The Sin of Censoriousness). In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His followers to not be censorious and He does not want his followers to be hypocrites either.
Here’s the way that the Message Bible puts it.
Matthew 7:1-5 MSG “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
Jesus was saying, “Look at the ridiculous role you are playing. With a glaring flaw in your own life that everyone else can see, you nitpick at the small problems in the lives of others.”
Hypocritical and judgmental Christians are jealous.
Jealous people are always censorious, and it is manifested in disdain and anger. That's a problem for Christians because Christians aren’t supposed to be jealous or angry, so They put on a mask to try to cover their sin of censoriousness. They cover their hypocritical censoriousness with a mask of self-righteousness. The self-righteous hypocrite justifies their anger by claiming to serve as a reflection of God’s attitude toward sin because after all God hates sin.
Judgmental people are jealous people in disguise. If their jealousy manifests itself as indignation and anger, which masquerades as righteous anger, the questions are: Jealous of what? Jealous of whom?
Judgmental people are usually jealous of the people they judge. The harsher the judgment, the more jealous they are. What happens is that they judge the people who are doing what they wish they could do and get away with.
They defend their indignation by enthusiastically praising Christian values and virtues. They remind everyone of how much God hates sin. They resent the freedom of their non-Christian friends and acquaintances. They envy their carefree pursuit of pleasure. They resent them because they want to do what they were doing, and their Christianity prohibited me from doing it. So, they judge them. They secretly look forward to the day they would reap what they were sowing while wishing they could sow right along with them.
Judgmental people secretly revel in the calamity sin creates in the lives of sinners. It vindicates them. It makes their sacrifice, obedience, and faithfulness worth it. However, let me let you in on something, the proper new covenant response to sin is not jealousy. It’s not anger. It’s not even righteous anger. Salvation while providing forgiveness of sin does not eradicate sin.
The ability to sin is not erased at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit can help us resist temptation; however, all Christians will continue to sin. Since we are equally guilty of sin, we must not judge others nor condemn others.
Romans 3:10-12 NIV As it is written: “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.”
Many Christians are quick to judge others based on outward appearance and behaviors. The right thing to do is to never condemn others. Condemning others will result in the other person feeling attacked, belittled, and rejected. As believers, we should ever cause another person to feel rejected or cause them pain. Rude stares, impolite gestures, and judgmental tones and statements are not to be practiced by Christians. Christians are to be kind, compassionate, and caring to all people whether they are Christians or not.
Galatians 6:10 NIV Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Rather than condemning others because of sin, it is important that Christians respond without judgment. Try to imagine yourself in another person’s shoes before you even consider condemning them. God could have condemned us all to hell, but He chose to love us and redeem us through His Son’s death on the cross.
It can be easy for Christians to condemn others based on outward appearances, such as if the individual has a tattoo, smokes, drinks alcohol, or is a homosexual. A Christian cannot condemn others based on these factors. Simply because these sins are more externally noticed does not mean they are “worse” sins than other sins. All sin is sin, and all sin is equal in God’s eyes.
James 2:10-11 NIV For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
Jesus Came to Save (The following is from Why Do We Condemn When Jesus Came to Save? by Vivian Bricker for the complete post click this LINK)
There are dangerous risks in condemning other Christians and unbelievers. If a Christian condemns an unbeliever or judges them, it could result in the unbeliever becoming disenchanted with the idea of Jesus and completely turning away from the faith. As believers, we are to reflect Christ to the world.
If we condemn and judge others, it will present Christ as condemning, judgmental, and hateful to others. We should never misrepresent our Savior and Lord. Jesus never condemned other people as He showed them love, forgiveness, and kindness. Christians need to do the same today.
If Christians condemn other Christians, it can cause friction to erupt among the body of believers. Within the family of God, there should not be any hate, disrespect, or judgment brought upon another believer.
Christians can help other people if they are struggling with a sin, but a Christian should never condemn a person for a sin. Jesus freely offers forgiveness, and He does not hold grudges. Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Therefore, Christians should not condemn others, but love others. This does not mean you accept every sin. However, it does mean we should never condemn another individual. We should reflect Christ to others, which means since Christ did not condemn others, neither should we.
Each Christian struggles with their own sin and we should not condemn other Christians or other people because of sin in their life. We all fall short of God’s glory, which means we are in no place to condemn others.
Instead of cultivating a judgmental attitude, Christians should allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and produce the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Condemnation is not needed in a Christian’s life nor is hate, pride, or discord. Jesus did not condemn others, therefore, Christians should not either.
Here’s the way that the Message Bible puts it.
Matthew 7:1-5 MSG “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
Jesus was saying, “Look at the ridiculous role you are playing. With a glaring flaw in your own life that everyone else can see, you nitpick at the small problems in the lives of others.”
Hypocritical and judgmental Christians are jealous.
Jealous people are always censorious, and it is manifested in disdain and anger. That's a problem for Christians because Christians aren’t supposed to be jealous or angry, so They put on a mask to try to cover their sin of censoriousness. They cover their hypocritical censoriousness with a mask of self-righteousness. The self-righteous hypocrite justifies their anger by claiming to serve as a reflection of God’s attitude toward sin because after all God hates sin.
Judgmental people are jealous people in disguise. If their jealousy manifests itself as indignation and anger, which masquerades as righteous anger, the questions are: Jealous of what? Jealous of whom?
Judgmental people are usually jealous of the people they judge. The harsher the judgment, the more jealous they are. What happens is that they judge the people who are doing what they wish they could do and get away with.
They defend their indignation by enthusiastically praising Christian values and virtues. They remind everyone of how much God hates sin. They resent the freedom of their non-Christian friends and acquaintances. They envy their carefree pursuit of pleasure. They resent them because they want to do what they were doing, and their Christianity prohibited me from doing it. So, they judge them. They secretly look forward to the day they would reap what they were sowing while wishing they could sow right along with them.
Judgmental people secretly revel in the calamity sin creates in the lives of sinners. It vindicates them. It makes their sacrifice, obedience, and faithfulness worth it. However, let me let you in on something, the proper new covenant response to sin is not jealousy. It’s not anger. It’s not even righteous anger. Salvation while providing forgiveness of sin does not eradicate sin.
The ability to sin is not erased at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit can help us resist temptation; however, all Christians will continue to sin. Since we are equally guilty of sin, we must not judge others nor condemn others.
Romans 3:10-12 NIV As it is written: “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.”
Many Christians are quick to judge others based on outward appearance and behaviors. The right thing to do is to never condemn others. Condemning others will result in the other person feeling attacked, belittled, and rejected. As believers, we should ever cause another person to feel rejected or cause them pain. Rude stares, impolite gestures, and judgmental tones and statements are not to be practiced by Christians. Christians are to be kind, compassionate, and caring to all people whether they are Christians or not.
Galatians 6:10 NIV Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Rather than condemning others because of sin, it is important that Christians respond without judgment. Try to imagine yourself in another person’s shoes before you even consider condemning them. God could have condemned us all to hell, but He chose to love us and redeem us through His Son’s death on the cross.
It can be easy for Christians to condemn others based on outward appearances, such as if the individual has a tattoo, smokes, drinks alcohol, or is a homosexual. A Christian cannot condemn others based on these factors. Simply because these sins are more externally noticed does not mean they are “worse” sins than other sins. All sin is sin, and all sin is equal in God’s eyes.
James 2:10-11 NIV For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
Jesus Came to Save (The following is from Why Do We Condemn When Jesus Came to Save? by Vivian Bricker for the complete post click this LINK)
There are dangerous risks in condemning other Christians and unbelievers. If a Christian condemns an unbeliever or judges them, it could result in the unbeliever becoming disenchanted with the idea of Jesus and completely turning away from the faith. As believers, we are to reflect Christ to the world.
If we condemn and judge others, it will present Christ as condemning, judgmental, and hateful to others. We should never misrepresent our Savior and Lord. Jesus never condemned other people as He showed them love, forgiveness, and kindness. Christians need to do the same today.
If Christians condemn other Christians, it can cause friction to erupt among the body of believers. Within the family of God, there should not be any hate, disrespect, or judgment brought upon another believer.
Christians can help other people if they are struggling with a sin, but a Christian should never condemn a person for a sin. Jesus freely offers forgiveness, and He does not hold grudges. Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Therefore, Christians should not condemn others, but love others. This does not mean you accept every sin. However, it does mean we should never condemn another individual. We should reflect Christ to others, which means since Christ did not condemn others, neither should we.
Each Christian struggles with their own sin and we should not condemn other Christians or other people because of sin in their life. We all fall short of God’s glory, which means we are in no place to condemn others.
Instead of cultivating a judgmental attitude, Christians should allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and produce the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Condemnation is not needed in a Christian’s life nor is hate, pride, or discord. Jesus did not condemn others, therefore, Christians should not either.
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