I often hear comments against such ‘liberal’ views that some Christians have. Those people who ‘live by grace’ that they almost ignore ‘the law.’ Those who place freewill above predestination. Those who seem to let anything go. Those people who ‘true Christians’ use to compare themselves with so that they can be sure that they have it right.
And yet there are two issues that need to be addressed here. The first is an extrapolation of John 8 with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus tells the Pharisees that those who are without sin should cast the first stone. The second is Jesus’ view of judgment in Matthew 7: he doesn’t say, “Don’t judge,” he says that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others.
It’s not that we are not allowed to judge other people, but that we must remember who it is that will be judging us... and the standard he uses to judge us is the one that we set. Jesus warns the Pharisees that if they cast a stone against the woman, they are allowing God to cast a stone against them.
So as Christians, let’s remember that when we pull down other denominations and degrade other Christians for not having the same views as us, let’s remember that God will judge us in the way that we judge. If we judge harshly, it’s going to be tough. So maybe, just maybe, ‘those liberals’ are actually onto something. By being seemingly carefree at times, they are withholding judgment of others. Maybe it’s time to learn a lesson from them.
And yet there are two issues that need to be addressed here. The first is an extrapolation of John 8 with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus tells the Pharisees that those who are without sin should cast the first stone. The second is Jesus’ view of judgment in Matthew 7: he doesn’t say, “Don’t judge,” he says that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others.
It’s not that we are not allowed to judge other people, but that we must remember who it is that will be judging us... and the standard he uses to judge us is the one that we set. Jesus warns the Pharisees that if they cast a stone against the woman, they are allowing God to cast a stone against them.
So as Christians, let’s remember that when we pull down other denominations and degrade other Christians for not having the same views as us, let’s remember that God will judge us in the way that we judge. If we judge harshly, it’s going to be tough. So maybe, just maybe, ‘those liberals’ are actually onto something. By being seemingly carefree at times, they are withholding judgment of others. Maybe it’s time to learn a lesson from them.
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