3 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:1, 5
Church discipline is by far one of the most misunderstood and malpractice areas of the Christian life. There is a place for correcting and admonishing one another, even judging fellow Christians. (1 Cor. 5:12) The context of the passage in Matthew speaks of not judging or maybe a better description is not condemning. There is a call on the body of Christ to build one another up and help each other grow into the person that God wants us to be.
The standard we use in judging is the standard that will be used to judge us. (v.2) So do we give our brother in Christ the smackdown or do we pick him up, dust him off, and give good help? The natural response we receive when we correct others is not pleasant no matter the approach, so be prepared. Jesus, Peter, Paul, and James all write to believers correcting them of their sins and holding them to a higher standard. What we don’t need to do is to condemn.
Jesus says in John 3:18 that we don’t need to condemn people who are lost. They are condemned already, that is why they need to repent and follow Jesus. Paul says, there is no condemnation for those that follow Christ and are called according to his purpose. The passage in Matthew verses one through six, makes the point that we need to check ourselves first before helping someone else. We tend to see other people’s problems as huge and ours as small or non-existent. If we are going to become better people, we must be honest about our condition, be humble, and be teachable.
If you want to grow into the person that God wants you to be, then you need other people to help fortify you, encourage you, correct you, and even judge you. This is part of becoming a disciple of Jesus, we are developed within a community with the same goals and hearts. It is iron sharpening iron so we are ready to be used by God.
Do you have difficulty judging without condemnation?
Reading Plan: Psalm 97, 99; 2 Chor. 29::1-3, 30:1, 10-27; 1 Cor. 7:32-40; Matt. 7:1-12
No comments:
Post a Comment