Introduction

The call to Christians to love each other is a basic tenant of Christianity. At the very least, to be a follower of Jesus is to commit to:

1. Love God
2. Love each other
3. Bring the good news (gospel) to the world

This morning, I want to talk about the second one: our challenge to love each other. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 7, that call to love requires a clear understanding that we are NOT the judge, but God is.

What does it mean to judge someone? It doesn’t mean we are not to use our judgement. People can be truly harmful in many different ways, and we need to have the wisdom to be able to recognize them. Soon after these words were uttered by Jesus in Matthew 7, in that same chapter, He told the people to “beware of people who are wolves in sheep’s clothing;” false prophet’s intent on leading the people astray are not to be ignored.

What Jesus is talking about here is that we are not to make pronouncements or draw final conclusions about the worth of another human being. Actions need to be judged appropriately, but not people. That is God’s job, and His alone.

Judging Today

And yet, we know that making this distinction is a lot harder than it sounds – especially today! This pandemic has brought out much good in people: helping neighbours; people willing to sacrifice their rights for the sake of others; sharing resources. But it has also brought out much division and discord.

Speaking only for myself, I know that when a person or group speaks of COVID as a hoax or refuses to take the simple precaution of wearing a mask when asked to do so, I find myself judging them. I judge their intelligence, I judge their character, I judge their hearts. I see how infections are out of control in the United States and don’t understand how someone could conclude that it isn’t real.

And on top of this, most of these people identify as evangelical Christians; my own brothers and sisters in Christ! I find myself feeling embarrassed and angry, and so I judge them. And when I do, I am sinning.

I am not saying I believe I have the facts wrong, in fact, I truly believe that I don’t. I’m not talking here about their sin. I believe the threat is real and so does the leadership of this church – the proof being all of the precautions and protocols that have been put in place to make this experience as safe as possible.

But what I do need to apologize for, is where my heart sometimes goes. Sometimes I villainize those anti-maskers. Sometimes I wish they would stop talking about their faith in public. Sometimes I declare myself as judge over them, and that is out of line. That is my own arrogance. That is my sin. That is me struggling with being the kind of Christian Jesus is calling us to be in Matthew 7.

Passage: Romans 14:1-12

Situations and conflicts of opinion like this have happened in the church throughout history and can be traced right back to the first century. At that time, one of the big issues the church faced was the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, as we read in Romans 14:1-12:

Romans 14:1-12 New International Version – The Weak and the Strong

¹  Accept the one whose faith is weak,  without quarrelling over disputable matters.  ²  One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.  ³  The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.  ⁴  Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵  One person considers one day more sacred than another;  another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.  ⁶  Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.  ⁷  For none of us lives for ourselves alone,  and none of us dies for ourselves alone.  ⁸  If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  ⁹  For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life  so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰  You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?  For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  ¹¹  It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’  says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
        every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹²  So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

In the Roman world, it was customary to offer animal sacrifices to the various gods in the city. These sacrifices were not burned up but were consumed, usually resold in the marketplaces as meat, often at reduced prices. The issue for Christians was this: was it permissible for a follower of Jesus to eat this meat, or should this be considered a blasphemy to God and avoided at all costs?

This was a big deal and was a very divisive issue in the day. People would be looked down upon for this perceived compromise; even shunned; definitely judged.

Paul here is saying that this is not an issue to divide over, but one where Christians need to exercise grace. Those who considered themselves free to eat it should not think they are better in their freedom, and those who refrained should not think they were more holy or obedient. Judging one another over this was not an option. In fact, Paul tells us that NO ISSUE justifies judging one another. We are all brothers and sisters.

I like the image of the church as family: brother and sister. Most of us have siblings who are quite different from us. We may have had the same parents and home growing up, but that is where the similarity ends! And yet, our differences are overshadowed by the bond of family. Holidays and family gatherings often bring together people you would normally have little to do with if you weren’t related. When a church is a strong one, our own gatherings can be much the same.

These days those bonds are being tested as never before. We have no idea how many people will return to our congregation when this pandemic ends. What we do know is that there are those who think we should be doing more in terms of ministry on Sunday morning; and those who believe we are already doing more than what they are comfortable with, so they stay home.

This is the challenge. Will we respect each other even though our opinions and differences are significant? Even though we are thoroughly convinced in our own minds that our conclusions are right? Even though harmful words are said? Will we choose to not judge each other?

I believe many of us (myself included) need to ask God for forgiveness because in our hearts we sometimes dismiss those who have chosen to ignore the science. It is possible to be right and wrong at the same time! I can be fully convinced that the truth is on my side, but still sin through my judgemental attitude.

It is your and my place to learn the facts and discern the truth with the wisdom God gave us and the guidance He provides. But it is God’s place to be the judge.