Thou shalt not condemn

If God expressed the same attitude towards wrong in your life that you have towards others, what would that be like?

Call it what you want, but condemnation can be a bit of a bad habit. Condemnation of ourselves when we get it wrong, and condemnation of others. Both are destructive in different ways and put people off of the beauty of the gospel and bring ourselves down, stifling our growth. But the focus of this blog is regarding what Jesus said in John 12 verse 47. Jesus expresses an attitude which leaves any judging to God and gives us an example of our approach to those who both reject Jesus himself, but also who reject his teaching. Jesus simply said that he didn't condemn them.

Theologically, John 3:16-21 explains that people who reject Christ stand condemned already, but again, it was not Jesus' job to do the condemning, therefore, as we are meant to be followers of Christ, this should be our attitude as well.

It can be so easy to point the finger of condemnation at others and with the internet, there are so many who are doing so and it is so easy to join in. It is also very easy to fault find.

We are encouraged in Romans to not conform to the pattern of the world, I don't know about you but I see a lot of condemnation in the world. It is certainly not limited to Christians. The media quickly condemn people when they feel like it. Everyone condemns. Liberals condemn conservatives, conservatives condemn liberals. Christians condemn non Christians, atheists condemn religious people. Everyone condemns politicians at times-don't deny it ;-).

Whenever I spend time researching various preachers online I always find that someone somewhere has a website about how they are a heretic, sometimes this is based on very little such as a few lines from a sermon or some behaviour they have judged (without knowing if they changed afterwards).

The reality is we seem to find it difficult to find a balance between engaging with truth and discernment without it becoming a fire attack on others. Truth is meant to be spoken in love, speaking truth does not in itself automatically mean you are being loving-don't forget:

Satan will speak truth, but that doesn't mean he loves anyone!

Jesus' attitude of not condemning is exemplified with the woman caught in adultery, found in John 8. He showed her love, respect, compassion and grace, and then challenged her sin, but with a spirit of gentleness.

Now, I understand, Jesus was quite outspoken at times with others, Pharisees, money changers and at times even his own disciples. Yet, not with those who were just getting on with their own lives. The disciples came under Jesus' authority, the Pharisees and teachers of the law openly challenged and opposed Jesus. Different types of relationships and relational dynamics allow for different responses. But condemning people is not one of them.

It is easy to pick on others, there are lots of listed morals and attitudes in scripture we can draw on to check how other people are doing or use them to despair at how bad the world is getting and how terrible this or that person/group is according to our own belief systems and interpretations. But the writings in scripture is God's way of teaching us how to live, not a way for us to point the finger at others. Jesus' attitude in John 12v47 demonstrates this-those who reject his teaching, he does not condemn.

Our job as believers is not to condemn but to live a powerful Godly life, following Christ and growing in him and through him more every day. Pointing the finger at others actually interferes with this process. While we are focussed on the sin in others, we are not dealing with the sin in ourselves. It actually is one of the Devils traps to stop us from growing (a trap where he actually uses truth). Condemning others can also be used to help us cope with our own sin and failures as we look at others who we believe are worse than us. Yet, if we live in Christ more deeply, we are not under condemnation ourselves and we will realise that reality so there is less and less reason to not condemn others.

The other issue is plain old pride. Condemning others can give you a sense of power and superiority. It can feel good, but it is not what God wants for you. Scripture teachers us so much about who we are in Christ, royal priests, seated with Christ in heavenly places, the righteousness of Christ, redeemed, loved, forgiven restored and so much more. When we live in this truth, the need for a sense of power and authority fades away.

Removing condemnation from our lives will help us become more empowered as believers in so many different ways. Condemnation traps others, and is a trap for ourselves. It hinders growth, hides us from our own sin that needs to be dealt with and distracts us from growing in the full truth of Christ which I have only briefly mentioned. But living free from condemnation will raise our compassion, prayers, peace and allow us to live more of that life to the full that Jesus mentioned in John 10:10. It will also allow us to engage with others with great love and compassion, even those we strongly disagree with, bringing the good news to people, not the condemning news.