Don’t judge me, bro!

strangerarray (63)in #religion • 7 years ago

This is the seventeenth, of a hopefully weekly series, that explores faith, religion, and Christianity. The idea is to share with you my faith, issues I am working on, and to promote discussion.

Please check out the end of this article for links to previous Sunday posts.

This week I have the pleasure to present to you a Guest Post written by my brother Joshua.

He says that sometimes it feels as if he gives the Apostle Paul a run for his money as the chief of sinners (don’t we all…?), yet Josh is thankful that salvation is nearer now than when he first believed.

Without further ado, the following is his message:

My brother (Michael) recently shared Carey Nieuwhof's Facebook status:

Judgment is a terrible evangelism strategy. People don’t line up to be judged.

If you want to keep being ineffective at reaching unchurched people, keep judging them.

This status got me thinking and one of the things I thought of was the following passage from John 8 (NLT):

As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

In this account, the religious leaders of the time ushered a woman to Jesus for judgment (side note.. she wasn’t committing adultery by herself.. why didn’t they bring the man as well? If you are going to judge people, do it right.. right?). Instead of judgment, the woman finds mercy, forgiveness, and an invitation to a changed life.

The scene reminds me of the words to an old Michael Card song (‘Jubilee’):

To be so completely guilty and given over to despair
To look into your Judge’s face and find a Savior there

Jesus was the ONLY ONE with the right to condemn her. But he didn’t. He loved her. He had compassion on her.

Oh, how I fall short of this radical, Jesus, GOSPEL love.

My wife and I often say “You can’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians.” It is hard enough for Christians to act like Christians. Like Rich Mullins sang:

Lord, it's hard, oh it's hard,
You know it's hard to be like Jesus

I could stop writing at this point if it weren’t for the last 5 words of the passage - “Go and sin no more.”

Jesus didn’t condemn the woman. He also didn’t condone or wink at sin. He called her to repentance. He called her to a changed life.

Similarly, in Mark 1 (NASB), Jesus said:

Repent and believe in the gospel

John 3:17 (NASB) tell us that:

God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him

To quote another Michael Card song (‘Chorus of Faith’):

Jesus came to be for us

God loves us. He is FOR us. He sent the Son (Jesus) that the world - you, me, and Bobby McGee - might be saved through Him! Jesus offers us the same thing he offered the woman - forgiveness and mercy.

And, as He exhorted the woman, He also calls us to turn from our sin. He calls us to new life.

I pray for God to help me show radical, Jesus, GOSPEL love to the people in my life. I also pray that each of us might embrace God’s forgiveness and that it would change our lives.

"God bless us, every one!" - Tiny Tim in ‘A Christmas Carol’