Who Made You Judge?
James 4:11-12
We are the family of God. As the family of God, we must look upon one another as brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters were never meant to sit in judgement of one another.
To begin with let’s talk about what it means to judge. Judging is making a determination of character, now in and of itself making a determination of character may not be wrong. The spirit in which it is done is key. If your judgements are the result of lies, half truths and slanderous inuendos then the spirit of your judgement is wrong. The other thing that we as brothers and sisters must be cautious of is harsh criticism. This is what I call, stone throwing. It is not meant to be loving correction, but instead it is meant to slander or defame. Again the spirit of this type of interaction is contrary to the loving nature of God.
And there is a warning for those who would dare to judge in these manners. We become guilty of judging the law. As we know from Matthew 22:37-40, we are all subject to the law of Jesus. So what exactly is the law of Jesus. The law of Jesus commands that we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. We are also instructed to love your neighbor as yourself. It is imporant that all of us realize that our judgement of others says more of what we think of God’s law than what we think of the other person. When we sit in the seat of judgement we are no longer a follower of the law, but a critic. Our judgement says that God’s law is not expansive enough to extend to the other person.
There is only one judge, He was never voted in and He will never be voted out. He was, is, and always will be. God is the only lawmaker and judge. Only He can make the rules and only He can render judgement. And because He is the judge, He can save you. He has provided Jesus as the way. Jesus is the remedy under God’s law for the sinfulness of man. We must also be aware that He can destroy when we fail to yield to His will. Just consider Sodom and Gamorrah.
As you look upon your brothers and sisters in Christ, remember that the playing field is level. We are all sinners in need of grace. Recognize that you have only experienced God’s grace through the blood of Jesus.
