Just imagine this…

You arrive at the airport and line up to check in your baggage and collect your boarding pass, and after the usual frustrating delays in the queue and with time moving on, it is finally your turn to present at the next available counter space for some service. The Airline staff member has some bad news for you: “Sorry Sir, that flight has been over-booked and we will have to wait-list you for the next available flight instead.” But that is the flight that you absolutely must get yourself on. You have another connection with another airline, and you already knew that all their other flights were booked out, and as well as that, you are due to speak at the conference you are attending as the organization’s featured guest speaker. All this has been arranged weeks in advance, and, and.. “Sorry Sir, that flight has been over-booked and there are no available seats…” repeats the cloned parrot in Airline uniform.

After the awful hassle getting yourself to the airport in the driving rain with traffic jams and the realization you had left behind the extra package you had put in a safe place then forgotten to pack, you have just about had it up to… no, just right over the top… well, nevermind. The uniformed parrot asks you to stand to the side so she can attend to the next poor hopeful and points to the man at another counter (yes, you will have to queue up again) to see about being wait-listed. You are dismissed.

Well, all that pent up frustration has to go somewhere, and you are pretty concerned about how the conference is going to manage… “Yes sir, we can put you on the flight that leaves in 8 hours time” says the man. “What!” comes the explosion - an amazingly polite explosion at that! In exasperation your foo-foo valve lifts and in a jet of steam you sound off about the hopeless Airline that you wish you had never bothered booking on and how someone will hear about this and it is not good enough and what are you, that man, going to do about it. Phew! That told him! Now what?

The man says “Sorry Sir” and tries to explain. You think that if you hear another “sorry sir” again it won’t just be a foo-foo valve lifting… but what was that? “The Airline…” Yes, the Airline. No, not the man. The Airline. The man is not the Airline. He is only the man at the counter whose unfortunate job is to wear the full facial vent from everyone’s foo-foo valves BUT he did not over-book the aircraft and nor did he personally aid and abet your misery or anything else about your most unpleasant day. He is only the man at the counter.

It is often rather like that when Christians point to something that is written in the Bible. That something might come over as rather distasteful. Yes, I can think of such a thing… “Wives, submit to your husbands.” What! In this day and age, that is totally outrageous! What intelligent woman in her right mind would want to throw away her autonomy and do a dumb thing like that? And what about husbands who would like nothing better than a wifely slave to run themselves ragged doing their bidding? Well, not a truly loving husband… but how many of the truly loving types are there around these days? That is a tough call indeed. OK, that’s just one side of the story - there is much more to it than that, and husbands don’t get let off lightly at all. But on the face of it, hearing something like that is enough to make one want to eat the poor soul who dared to point out that contentious verse. But is it right to eat the poor soul? He or she didn’t write that verse. It really is there, right there, in the Bible - Ephesians 5:22, Ephesians 5:24, Colossians 3:18. Oh dear.

The Bible also says many other very unpopular things - the famous Ten Commandments for starters, and much more besides. God defines sin, and we are told that we are to turn from sin. Jesus says things about leaving behind everything to follow Him, about going the extra mile, loving one’s enemies and doing good to those who hate you. There are lots of toughies in there. As a Christian, I sometimes find myself with the task of pointing out those things to someone else by the way of information. They don’t always like it, and when it is one of those moral imperatives, I may also get Matthew 7:1 thrown back at me. Who am I to judge another? Only God can judge another.

Two Kinds of Judging is a brief essay that addresses this subject.

God judges in the temporal arena, and the eternal. In this life God will judge a person’s actions, but always (except when the person has irrevocably rejected Him) holds out the chance for turning back and repenting. Only on the Last Day, at the great white throne judgment will God pronounce eternal judgment on a person, forever determining his or her destinies. From this judgment, there is no appeal or second chance.

The Christian, on the other hand, is never given the right or the responsibility of eternally judging anyone (unless they have clearly rejected Christ permanently). Christians cannot correctly weigh action, motives, opportunities, nor know all things about any individual: God alone is capable to do so.

However, Christians are to make decisions (appraisals, discernments, and even take corrective actions). But even judging in this aspect is intended to be remedial, and leaves the door open to the person for repentance and reconciliation. Any judging on the part of a Christian which does not, is a false aspect of Christian judgment. We are called upon to ”judge righteous judgment” John 7:24 and failure to do so is to be negligent in a crucial aspect of our Christian calling.

Repeating myself from elsewhere (regarding homosexuality) because this reaction I receive frustrates me ever so much:

It is God who defines what is sin - not me. I am not proffering punishment. Punishment, if and when it is forthcoming, is the sole perogative of God - not me. I also leave these things up to God, and to God alone. Yes, He is our judge - and in this (sexual immorality) and many other matters, He has already made His judgement known through His word. He calls these acts immoral - sinful. But when it comes to the moment of accountablilty before God, He will judge each one of us with His perfect judgement that takes into account of all things. Life is indeed not black-and-white, but God's justice will be perfect in every way for each of us. I am not the judge, and I am not doing the judging either. These are not my judgements - I am not the One making them. They are those of God as can be determined by traditional exegesis of Scripture. I shall be judged by them also. I have said this all along, and have never said anything contrary to this. As I have said before - please don't shoot the messenger! The messenger did not make the judgements, is not doing the judging, and indeed, may not like certain judgements either, but that does not change the fact they are those of God, the only One who ultimately has the right to make them.

For another Christian view on this subject:
Who Are We to Judge?
Did Jesus forbid us from judging others?
~ written by Lewis B. Smedes, professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

“Don’t judge me! The Bible even says ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.”

The world often takes this verse (out of its context) and uses it to accuse Christians of being “judgmental” when they speak of sin. In the context of the verse Jesus is telling His disciples not to judge one another, something the Bible condemns (see John 21:21-23, Romans 14:10, and James 4:11). He speaks of seeing a speck in a brother’s eye. In John 7:24 He said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” If a man steals, lies, commits adultery or murder, etc., the Christian can make a (righteous) moral judgment and say that the actions were morally wrong, and that these sins will have eternal consequences. Chuck Colson said: “True tolerance is not a total lack of judgment. It’s knowing what should be tolerated - and refusing to tolerate that which shouldn’t.”

Source