This topic strikes a nerve for me because I have lived through it—harsh words, false assumptions, and even being told I wasn’t saved. People have “put me in hell” countless times for no reason other than their own assumptions about my walk with Jesus. And let me tell you, it shook me. It made me wonder if I was truly loved by God or if I was somehow unworthy of His grace. At one point, I almost walked away from my faith altogether.
But Jesus. 🙌
Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that no man is my judge. Only Christ Himself will judge my life.
The truth is, when Christians judge each other, it’s not only damaging but directly opposed to what we’re called to do—to love one another. Jesus didn’t say, “They will know you are my disciples if you judge each other’s progress.” No, He said:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
(John 13:35)
Love Is the Foundation
Before we talk about judgment, we need to talk about love—because without love, we’ve missed the very heart of the Gospel.
The Bible is saturated with commands to love God and to love people:
Joshua 23:11: “Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.”
1 Corinthians 8:3: “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.”
John 17:26: “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
But what is love? 1 Corinthians 13 paints the clearest picture, and when we dig into the meaning of these words, we find something profound:
- Love suffers long (patience in the face of imperfection).
- Love is kind.
- Love does not envy or boast.
- Love is not puffed up or arrogant.
- Love doesn’t seek its own way or keep a record of wrongs.
- Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Love never fails.
If we approached each other with this kind of love, how much division, gossip, and judgment would disappear from the church?
Scripture is clear that judgment belongs to God alone.
“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4)
Every Christian is on a journey. Some walk faster, some slower. Some stumble often but get back up. Yet how quick we are to point fingers when someone struggles.
Let me give you a few questions to consider:
If someone is saved but still battles a particular sin, is it your place to determine how quickly they should overcome it?
If someone’s walk doesn’t look like yours, does that make their faith less real?
What if God is doing a deep, slow work in their heart—one that you cannot see?
I’ve been judged harshly by those who believed they had the right to determine my spiritual standing. I’ve even been called a “double-downer” (as if I was fully controlled by Satan!) by someone who never even met me. This person claimed God told them I was going to hell. Yet when confronted, they admitted they knew nothing about me.
This is not discernment. It’s gossip. It’s spiritual pride. And it’s sin.
Correction vs. Judgment
Don’t get me wrong—Scripture does tell us to correct and reprove each other when we fall into sin. But correction should come from love and a desire to restore, not from a place of superiority or condemnation.
“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
If someone is unrepentant after we lovingly confront them with God’s Word, Scripture says we can walk away. But we still don’t judge them. Why? Because the ultimate judgment belongs to Jesus, not us.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Saved by Grace, Not Performance
If salvation depended on our performance, none of us would stand. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). The same Jesus who died for you also died for your struggling brother or sister in Christ.
Before you look down on someone for stumbling, remember that Jesus died for them while they were still a sinner—just like He did for you. (Romans 5:8)
The Heart of Christ
When we spend time with Jesus, we start to reflect His heart. And His heart is love. He loved sinners, He dined with the outcasts, and He extended grace to those everyone else condemned.
So let me leave you with this:
If we can’t love one another, how can we expect the world to see Jesus in us?
If we are busy pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye, are we forgetting the plank in our own? (Matthew 7:3-5)
If we speak with judgment but have no love, we are nothing more than a “sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
Let us return to the simplicity of the Gospel: Love God. Love people.
Instead of criticizing a brother or sister’s walk, pray for them. Instead of gossiping, speak life. Instead of assuming the worst, believe the best.
Because in the end, love—not judgment—is what changes hearts. ❤️
