Have you ever noticed that in society, we have levels of mistakes, or are some failures more acceptable than others? As kids, we would go to the local store and find bins full of individually wrapped hard candy with a scooper. We would then place the candy in a paper bag, and the cashier would weigh it and charge accordingly.

Now, if a person shopping tried one of the candies, one might call it grazing. If a person were to place a handful in their pocket, they would be charged with shoplifting, also known as petty theft. Recently, California passed Prop 47, raising the threshold to $950, and signs began to appear in cities reminding people not to shoplift over that amount, mocking what our politicians had done. All of the above would fall under the 8th Commandment: “Do not steal.”

It is our judicial system that has embedded this idea of levels of crime. Steal a piece of candy, and you might get a misdemeanor; Steal a car stereo and get a burglary charge; Steal a car and get charged with grand theft. Rob a bank, and you can face 25 years in prison. We all grow up with a level in our minds when it comes to penalties for our mistakes or failures.

All these mistakes or failures in scripture are considered a sin. Sin is missing the mark that Jesus modeled for us. Sin is a word society is uncomfortable with, so we tend to use more acceptable words like mistakes or failures. We no longer commit adultery. We have an “affair.” We justify stealing from a corporation as “fair” because they are just greedy corporations. But the Lord said, “Do not steal.” What it does not say is, “Do not steal unless that person has more money than you.”

One of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian who wants to obey God’s word is not to judge. Matt 7 says, “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.”

Then you go to 1 Corinthians 5, and you read, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” Does this confuse you? Is this not judgment? Do we judge or not?

I recently read a quote from the book Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. In that book, he makes a few bold statements. One of those bold claims is that our judgmentalism is one of the most subtle ‘respectable” sins because it is seen as being zealous for what is right; Satan is the master of subtlety. He loves to have us think we are not sinful, and all the while, judgment of sin is poison to our soul and the church body. Jerry points out that often, it is our opinion that what we assume is correct. The author points out that this is where our judgmentalism begins, as we equate our opinion with truth.

This Sunday, Paul will bring some additional thoughts to the idea of judging one another. Paul is no stranger to being accused and judged by others, and he challenges the Corinthians with some thoughts on their judgmentalism that have left me challenged all week. As a nation, we have the idea that the scales of justice are blind, giving the impression that justice is impartial. After this week, I know my judgment is flawed and that God is the only impartial judge there is in all the land.

I look forward to fellowshipping with all of you this Sunday on the patio as we celebrate all the new babies coming this year to Vine & Branch. Remember to bring diapers and wipes to bless these young parents. See you at 9:00 and 11:00 AM for church.

 

In Him,

Pastor Chris