Judgement and Mercy

For whosoever keeps the Law as a whole but stumbles and offends in one area has become guilty of breaking all of it.

For He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the whole Law.

So speak and act as people should who are to be judged under the law of liberty, the moral instruction given by Christ, especially about love.

For to him who has shown no mercy the judgement will be merciless, but mercy exults victoriously over judgement. James 2:10-13

We must always keep in mind that we are all saved by Grace. We cannot assume that because one of us may have a weakness in an area that seems to be a more "severe" sin than our own sin that we are better than our brother or sister in Christ.

James makes it very clear here with the comparison of adultery and killing someone. James is pointing out that sin is sin. Sin is sin. When we accept the free gift of Salvation we are free from the bondage of sin...but that is another lesson altogether. :)

Our sin v/s another's sin:

When we show no mercy and judge others, we are forcing God to judge us with no mercy. We must never assume that we are better or know more than another. They may be struggling in areas that we do not struggle in, but we all have our own personal struggles to deal with.

I know of many Christians who judge others by the "degree" they place on their sin. For example; many Christians have a not so nice attitude towards gay people. They never get to know the person and build a relationship so that they can share the love of Christ with them. No, they judge them and hate the person instead of the sin.

Or, we see a news cast about a Mother who killed her children. We get all high and mighty and never feel any compassion towards the person...the lost soul...who committed the sin. We act as though their sin is much worse than ours.

We put labels on sin. To God, we ALL fall short. We ALL sin. That is why He HAD to send His Son Jesus to redeem us ALL from sin. All sin. Sin is sin.

Who are we to judge ANYONE? We were ALL sinners before we accepted the Blood of Jesus Christ. We ALL fall short. There is not ONE person or ONE sin that we have ANY right to judge. ONLY God has that right and authority.

Our ONLY job is to LOVE. Love the sinner. Hate the sin. Love the person and reach out to them with LOVE, MERCY, and COMPASSION.

We, as Christians are FREE from sin. However, even with this freedom through the Blood of Jesus Christ, we still struggle. We ALL struggle with something. For example; smoking, swearing, over eating, lying, gossiping, unforgiveness, judgemental, unmerciful, stealing, self made idols, etc.

Oh, yes, Christians struggle in these areas. Who are you or I to judge though? It is no different to to rob a bank than it is to lie to your sister in Christ when you want to avoid having to spend time with her because she "annoys" your flesh. Sin is sin.

However, if we choose not to judge, and show love, mercy, and forgiveness. Pray for that person, and try to help that person, then we are operating in the realm of mercy and we have no worries. We have removed any judgement from us. We will also be judged with mercy.

This goes for self too. Don't be so hard on yourself when you mess up. Take it to God, pick yourself up, and try again. The wonderful thing about God is that He is faithful to forgive when we repent. He loves you. He forgives you. Put yourself in His Loving Hands and He will help you through your struggles.

Let's Pray,

Daddy God, forgive me for times when I have been judgemental and looked down on another. Forgive me for not showing love, mercy, and forgiveness to those who have wronged or hurt me. Forgive me for taking on the a job that is not mine. You are the Judge. I am not. I release all judgement and now, by faith will operate in the realm of Mercy. The same Mercy that You show me every day of my life. Thank You, Daddy. I love You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

Copyright © Lara Velez

Note: All Scripture is taken from the Amplified Bible, unless otherwise stated. Also, the Webster's dictionary, Random House Thesaurus, Strong's Concordance, and/or The Complete New Testament Word Study may have been used.