Are You a Judge Dread?

Have you ever been put in a situation where someone wants you to judge them? I don't mean in anything “legal.” They’re just looking for a “social” statement from you so they can attack you for being judgmental. Which is - in my opinion - how many Christians are viewed (and some act) in society. My sister and her husband were visiting my wife and I a while back. While we were sitting around the kitchen table, my sister asked, “Is Dave going to hell because he’s Jewish?” My wife very wisely stated that as Christians, we don’t make that call. It is not our job to say who goes where after this life is over. Now, I know we have a hand in this process but, it is not because of our judgment. We then went on to briefly discuss what the Bible says, and that as a Jew; Dave may want to spend a little time looking into who Jesus said he was. He is also a Jew, and (in our hearts and minds) the most influential person of all time. No one comes close. The entire Jewish testament (known as the old testament) all points to Jesus.

Another time we were asked to tell someone their fate was at my brother’s wedding. Our cousin who is admittedly gay or bisexual, was verbally accosting another brother’s wife about being a Christian and how what she believes is judging him due to his “choices” in life. I don’t know if my cousin knew that my sister-in-law’s brother is also gay, and she’s currently not a biblical judge. Either way, I stepped into the discussion/one-sided argument as my sister was crying over this verbal attack. My cousin knew I was a believer in Jesus also and his first statement to me was something like, am I going to hell because I did this “blank” to a man? “Wow!” I thought. This is pretty heavy off-color conversation for a wedding. Thankfully, I knew my wife was physically and spiritually right behind me praying and asking God to give me His words to share. I explained to my cousin that those judgments are not mine to give out. I recalled to him that he went to a Catholic church as a young boy and he knew a lot of the stories we were taught then so he had heard about Jesus before. I then went on to say that his real question should be, “Who is Jesus to me?” He had round after round and tried to get me to judge his lifestyle and I continued to tell him that after he read God’s word and answered the question about Jesus, he could read the answer to his first question in a few other books from the Bible. But the first question I mentioned needed to be answered first. He kept telling me to inform him of his current destiny and I said that if I did, it would just be Jim’s word at a wedding, and not God’s. If he really believed in God and wanted to know the answer to his questions, he should open a Bible. His answers are there. I wished that I had one with me at the time as we could have done this together. (Everyone should do this when they have questions, and look at the Bible because you’ll truly get God’s perspective. Instead of God and someone else’s interpretation muddying up the inquiry.) So, was I a chicken in this discussion and not a faithful Christian sharing the good news of Jesus? Maybe. I was trying to be shrewd and not ratchet up an already heated situation with someone I love, my cousin. Also, I perceived that he was not asking me about Jesus and the forgiveness we all need. He just wanted validation for an argument. My intent was to plant a Jesus seed for my cousin to germinate. Sometimes it's a challenge to know the timing of what we should say, and how to say it. I have tried to not bowl people over with my faith because I value the relationships we have, and hopefully with time; they will ask the question about who Jesus is to me. At least they will hopefully see my faith in my actions. Which the Bible says brings questions. I don't know the timing of this but, God does and I just saw it again in His familiar word the other day.

We all (Christian and non-Christian) know John 3:16 (NIV), “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But, what comes next is what has helped me see that in the two discussions above we were on the correct track with our answers to my family. In addition, we all (believer and not) need to know the next verse, which is the answer to all the judgment questions Christians receive. John 3:17 (NIV) states, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” See? I am not a judge, nor is Jesus at this time in history. Salvation is what is being offered through Him. That is what we should be talking about. The bible does tell who judges who and when. It is not now. I suggest we all do a little consistent reading to find these things out. The entire chapter of John 3 is actually a wonderful description of our faith and the current situation in the world. It also answers my sister and cousin’s question clearly, if you read verse 18. So, judge for yourself.