Tag: judge

Job and His “Friends”

Many know the story of Job, how Satan inflicted great pain and suffering on Him to try to show God that He only praised Him for His blessings. It was a test. This is a hard read, and I am sure I will not do it justice, but I will try.

As with all of us, He didn’t pass all of the test, but He kept his integrity and faith, even through his doubt and questioning. Job lost his children, his house, his wealth, his friends and family more or less abandoned him, even his wife told him to curse God and die. He was inflicted with disease, pain, and great suffering, but in the end, He stayed strong in his faith in God and eventually repented of his pride. But he had some so-called friends that came to him to explain why he was suffering based on their own experience and short-sighted knowledge. From the end of chapter 1 through chapter 31, the author writes of the debate between Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, as well as Job’s complaints against God. You should read through this on your own, but I will give some of the highlights. In another post I will write about God’s reply and the encounter between God and Job, and God and Job’s 3 friends. Between these events, another person comes into the scene, Elihu, and reveals some flaws in the arguments of both Job and his friends. So this younger man, after listening and respecting his elders, gave his opinion which contradicted the other men, explaining the character of God and the shortcomings of their argument. God does not rebuke Elihu as He does his 3 , but reminds everyone who He is and His power and righteousness, and sets them straight.

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To Judge or Not to Judge

Each of us have strong convictions about certain things. Others may have different opinions. When you interact with someone who disagrees, how do you handle it? I was listening to a study on Romans where they talk about disputes within the church. Some of these disputes are based on the gospel and salvation and should be disputed. While other matters are opinions, and we ought to respect other’s convictions and learn to love each other first and not quarrel over things that do not matter. That is what Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable.

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Tolerance vs. Being Judgemental

There is a lot of talk about being tolerant in today’s society.  What does that mean? When Jesus said, “Judge not” what odes that mean?  And what is the context of it?  As Christians, we are to love all people.  Does that mean to accept what they are doing even if we know biblically it is wrong?  How do we talk to that person without being judgemental?  What does it mean when someone says, “love the sinner, hate the sin?”  Why is this offensive to some people?  Where do we draw the line between being self-righteous, judgemental, or “fruit inspectors” and being tolerant and compromising?

I had a person talk to me about churches and she was looking for a good church that isn’t “holier than thou” as she put it.  We both agreed that God is a loving God and we are saved by grace.  She talked about tolerance.  I mentioned that some churches are too tolerant (and compromising) and do not want to teach about sin.  We parted ways when she asked me my stance on gay marriage.  She said churches should be tolerant and welcome all people.  I agreed we are to welcome all people, including homosexuals.  But, we are also to teach the truth and Romans 1 is very clear on this subject.  She told me that I almost convinced her to come to my church until we talked about gay marriage.

So, how do we handle these touchy issues?  Most people will quote Matthew 7:1 to basically tell Christians to mind their own business.  I think many times they are right.  We are also to share God’s word.  I believe we must show God’s truth (we must teach and learn all of scripture, not just the part we are comfortable with), but our attitude must be in a loving manner but without compromising our faith and belief. Continue reading “Tolerance vs. Being Judgemental”