Do Not Judge and You Will Not Be Judged

By the Rev. John Dreyer

In this postmodern era, we are living at a time when people are seeking their identity. As Christians, we go from a Law that condemns us and shows us our sin, to a Gospel that gives us life by the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ's work alone upon the cross of Calvary. But many times we do not know what to do with the Gospel after that. We tend to go back to the Law to show that we are still Christians because we are living the Christian life according to the Bible. But, in some way, the Bible continues to show that we fail to do everything it requires.

To show we are "genuinely" Christian we try to justify ourselves by how we live our life. But the Law only condemns us and plainly shows us that we cannot fulfill the ordinances of the Holy Scriptures. When our Christian life is centered around us and "our faith," we may quickly fall into despair, questioning if we are still Christian. I experienced this with many Christians while I was in the parish. We might even try to escape any judgment at all as we hear such phrases, "you should not judge," or "you respect my opinion and I will respect yours." Somehow, like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we seek to avoid any evaluation of our faith and life by doctrine or by the Holy Scriptures. We seek to justify ourselves instead of finding our justification in Christ.

Not too long ago I preached on the Sermon on the Mount where we hear our Lord say, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 6:1 ESV). Briefly explained, our Lord does not want us to live before others as if this righteousness is our own. For it is not our righteousness, it is Christ's righteousness. In other words, our life is not to grow in righteousness but to grow in the knowledge of our sin (Rom. 5). When we grow in the knowledge of our sin, we then look to Christ and His love, mercy, and forgiveness. Therefore, it is our Lord¹s mercy, love, and forgiveness that shape our life in the Gospel. We live in Christ as we now show others our mercy, love, and forgiveness not centered in ourselves, as we fall short of what the Law requires, but in the righteousness of Christ. Only then can it be a God-pleasing life. Let us examine ourselves that we may know our sin and know our Savior.

The Rev. John Dreyer is an Admission Couselor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.