Judgement, correction, and forgiveness: Another way to address these points

While at work last night I was talking to a couple and the subject of “judgment” came up. Now, I`m not talking about judgement from the biblical standpoint, but rather, the world`s general statement about judgement which is exemplified perfectly in the above meme.Veering off the main topic for just a second, let`s just remember that Satan knows and uses scripture too.

So, there we were talking about judgement and, of course, they came from the world`s viewpoint as they attempted to quote scripture, “It says that you shouldn`t judge!” To which I answered, “Yes, Jesus did not give me the authority to judge, He tells me to love my neighbor.” We were unfortunately interrupted, and the conversation went in a different direction. In my reading this morning, I found an answer to this most typical of human conversations.

If we analyze this conversation, we see a one-dimensional aspect of judgement and one that Satan uses to allow Christians to stay in their sin and nonbelievers to throw scripture at Christians. This is such a well-known Scripture and argument; however, it`s an enormous fallacy.

In the first place, Christians should not judge nonbelievers for several reasons, but that does not mean that they cannot give a nonbeliever counsel or correction. We do not have the authority to “judge” another person`s soul—that belongs to Jesus alone. But we should love our neighbor enough to counsel them in love (with a huge emphasis on love).

As I was in my Bible study this morning, I was reading Matthew 18, and I was struck by a deeper dimension of God`s word on this topic. Jesus talks about the master who forgives one of his slaves that owes him tons of money—a lifetime of wages—and how this same slave confronts another man that owes him money but refuses to give the guy a break, and the guy only owed him a minuscule amount of money. The slave was just forgiven by the master, yet, he was unwilling to forgive someone that owed him. Now that is a far deeper example of judgement.

While I was reading this story, it hit me that we often use the wrong arguments when the world says to us, “It says not to judge!” The real argument, or the real counsel at that point, one that is oozing with the love of Jesus, is to tell the story about the master and the slave that he forgave that owed him so much.

If we tell this story, we are not only confronting the matter of judgement, but we are also, and more importantly, discussing the far greater principle of forgiveness.

If I have another opportunity to have this conversation it might go something like this:

Them: “Well you know that even the Bible says not to judge…” 

Me: “Yes, it does, but more than that, it tells me to forgive because I have been forgiven for so much myself.”

I might even tell the people I witness to the story about the master and the evil slave that he forgave that was unwilling to forgive others. This goes to a much deeper level of “don`t judge.” Rather than getting caught up in the semantics of judgement, we can go deeper to the subject of forgiveness which discards judgment altogether and shows the love in God`s kingdom.

The rubber meets the road—here

                                        Cartoon source: mightymag.org

As a new Christian, I`ve learned a lot about our Lord the hard way. Like so many others, I thought I knew God, Jesus, and what church and religion were all about. I had scales over my eyes and a heart that was fooled into a false sense of security. This is indicative of those that don`t get into the Word enough to know better. That was me. As I continue to walk with the Lord, I continue to see and hear more of his word with ears that hear and eyes that see. My heart of stone has been made into a heart of flesh and I cannot ignore the truth about the way that Jesus calls us to follow Him as a disciple.

One of the hardest things in life is to let go of the human ego. I`ve come to believe that there are two necessary victories in the Christian walk if we are to be more like Jesus: to love the unlovable (and our enemies), and to have no human ego (true humility). I think these two battles are at the core of almost every battle we face in our Christian walk. It`s hard to turn the other cheek when you have busted heads your whole life, or when you have been abused in the past and don`t trust people. It`s hard to love those that hurt us or hate us for no apparent reason beyond the imaginary voices in their heads. Resentments are like our own personal teddy bears that we love to snuggle and hold. It`s so much easier to resent or remain angry than it is to love. We nurture these resentments. We cling to them like a treasure chest. In reality, we drink a poison that we hope kills the person we resent—it kills us, not them.

“But what if I`m right,” you say; this one is the hardest of the hard. I`ve seen people that have been Christians for decades that cannot take an honest look in the mirror and see their own flaws; however, they are darn good at seeing flaws in others. Even if we are right, even if we have been wronged, we must forgive. We don`t have to forget, but it sure helps in the forgiveness department. Justifiable anger is a tough customer; it`s where the rubber meets the road. It`s the hardest thing to forgive someone when we have a justifiable reason to be angry with them. Jesus shows us that this is a true test of maturity. He says even the tax collectors love those who love them (Mathew 5:46).

Jesus says many things about forgiveness. For example, He says we must forgive seventy times seven (Mathew 18:21-22). He says that we shall be forgiven in the same way we forgive (Mathew 6:14). In addition, He left us with two things before He ascended to the Father: we are to share the gospels throughout the entire world (the great commission), and we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and love our neighbors as we do ourselves (The new commandment).

If we are not able to do these things, we are not truly living in the will of the Father or the freedom of Christ.

I`ve had to take a hard look in the mirror at myself. I`m not ashamed to admit this. I`ve been called to share the Gospels of Jesus. I`m a writer and I`ve asked God to show me how to glorify His Kingdom with my writing. His answer to me was to share truth. I`m to share experiences and thoughts that I have dealt with in the hope of helping another brother, sister, or someone that doesn’t know Christ to relate and see the truth.

The wonderful thing about a life of pain, and over indulged pleasures, is that on the other side—when Jesus saves us—we have a lot to share. Our greatest tragedies become our greatest assets in winning people to the Lord. I have been particularly rebellious in my life so I have a lot of mistakes to share. I`ve been through a lot of mine fields and I can show others how to step past the mines in the fields of life.

God has called on me to look in the mirror and make sure that I learn, above all else, to love those who persecute me and to drop my ego at the foot of the cross. Humble pie is very tasty once you see its true nutritional value.

Most people enjoy giving advice; however, they detest taking advice. They like to hold a mirror up to show you your much-needed changes, and yet, they hate to look in the mirror themselves. Being able to admit we are wrong is a great show of maturity in our walk with Christ. Then, when we have learned to use this act of humility to find our true selves, we begin to learn to be more careful to hold our tongues and to watch our actions. We get tired of falling on our face before God asking His forgiveness for the same old garbage and we change our behavior. He is patient and kind. His mercy is beyond my comprehension.

This has been my walk. I`m in the midst of learning how to forgive those people that I may never like but that I have to love. I`m learning to forgive those that have wronged me and to smash resentment. I`m seeing that the only thing that matters in this world is my relationship to Jesus, my wife, and my family; the only goal worth pursuing is to share the Gospel with others. Lord…strip me of all other desires!

To those of you that read this—God bless you. I love and appreciate you. I hope this helped you as much as it did me. I hope you`ll share this post with others. SWB 

Forgiveness

I grew up in AA. Alcoholics Anonymous was the bedrock that finally led me to Christ. In all AA meetings (at least those I have attended over a 24 year period) they say the Lord`s prayer at the end of the meeting. One verse in particular changed my life over the last year:

“…And forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…”

I had said these words in 1000 meetings or more over a span of two decades, and yet, I did not live by them. I still attend some meetings now and then. I love some of the friends I have made over the years. If it weren’t for AA I would never have found Christ. When I went through the experience, over a year ago now, of leaving the club I rode with, I had given my life to Christ, but I was still filled with anger and hate. I had years of trash built up inside me, and I had been branded in a way that I knew was false. I wanted so badly to set the record straight, but then, I realized that Jesus gave me the best example of them all.

Jesus went before Pilate and never spoke a word in his own defense. He was accused of many things that were blatant lies. He was beaten and spit on for things he never did. And yet, he never offered a word in defense of his innocence. I`m no saint, but I learned from that example that Jesus is my only defense—he is all sufficient.

I was moved to make amends to some of the people from my past. In the case of my old brotherhood, it was like walking into a den of thieves and asking to be forgiven for stealing, but I had to clean my side of the street. My amends was rejected by most, but that`s okay because it` none of my business. I did the right thing, that`s all that counts.

That was a very personal and difficult action to take. But on a larger scale, how can we ask to be forgiven if we are not able to forgive? This question haunted me. The Lord`s prayer haunted me. I began to see my fellow human beings in a whole new light. The old hate, resentments, and biases began to melt away. I was able to see that people are not the ones who hurt us, it`s the spirit that drives them that does.

I can` be angry or judge those who do to me the same things I have done to others in my past. These are all God`s children—he loves them so very much—and I respect and love my Father in Heaven, so I will respect and love his children. I will forgive their trespasses, their faults, and their actions in the same way I would like to be forgiven myself. 

Forgiveness sets us free. I am so blessed today because I am surrounded by a church body that loves my wife and I no matter what. I wear a patch today that plainly shows I serve Christ. The Bible tells us that if we walk with fools we will become fools. If we walk with men of anger and violence, we will become men of anger and violence. I spent years proving to the world how tough I was—today I want to love people, and smile, and share the joy of my Lord with the world. WP