“Can you talk more about judgment?”

Not a question I get every day, but it was in response to something I said during a Sunday morning message.

Here is my recap of what I said: "I am a very judgmental Christ follower." I had completely misunderstood the judgment passage from The Sermon on the Mount. “Do not judge” is a popular mantra I've heard for most of my life. I think it’s misused. I can use this passage as a self-righteous defense mechanism against something I don’t want to hear or because I want to avoid conflict. I make decisions all the time. So, I have to make judgments. It wasn’t until I read the whole scripture did it begin to make sense to me. Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)

So, what measure are we using?

It’s the way we judge where we need to have Christ-honoring intentions. This is tricky because we are to judge from a transformed heart. So, what is a Christ-like transformed heart? Rather than focus on external practices, the Apostle Paul focused on the condition of the heart. Using circumcision as a metaphor, he says that only the Holy Spirit can purify a heart and set us apart to God. Ultimately, circumcision (behavior) cannot make a person right with God. The Law or even practicing the means of grace is not enough. A person’s heart must change. Paul calls this change “circumcision of the heart.” The idea of “circumcision of the heart” is found in Romans 2:29. It refers to having a pure heart—vulnerable, laid open and bare, with the external protection cut away, being holy and separated unto God.

So, what’s your heart condition? How do you know if you have a circumcised heart? Identify the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life. Consider your fruit. The Apostle Paul gives a list. 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Let’s not make this more difficult than it has to be. Do some assessment.

1. What is the current environment in my life?

2. Do I strive to live a Holy Spirit inspired life?

3. Do I witness the evidence of the Holy Spirit active in my life and in my relationships? Would others agree?

4. With what kind of motives do I make judgments?

If you want to go to the depths of our own human depravity, consider what Paul presents as evidence of the way people are really living: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

I cannot identify something I don’t already know. I learned a phrase in Kindergarten: ‘it takes one to know one.” I judge from the fulness of my heart, whether it is circumcised or not. Paul identifies the nitty gritty in the previous chapter, Romans 1. God has always been clear and open with us. When we went our own way, he gave us over to our ways. We exchanged the truth for a lie. I don’t want to live that kind of life. I don’t want to surround myself with people who purposely live that way either. Either I remove myself or the Lord removes them from my life.

I always begin with me.

I have to do my own soul searching first. So, when someone accuses me of being toxic or creating a toxic environment, I ask the Holy Spirit to confirm or affirm what that person is saying. Am I toxic? If yes, how am I creating toxicity? Is there something I can do to stop or reduce this toxicity? Am I hurting, depressed, angry or grieving? I start with identifying my own sin and deal with it. I fight the temptation to place blame and shame on someone else. The Holy Spirit will convict someone in his own way. I don’t need to identify sin and junk in the lives of others. I distance myself from the situation and in some circumstances cut ties with people so I can get a better view. I wait on God. I fight making unholy judgments that sound a lot like what Paul identifies in Romans 1.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:29-32)

I promised to do “Round Two” on Sunday. We will dive deeper into the transformed heart. I pray you will join me and let us commit to learning together.

Pastor Jen