Dealing with Sins

Why We Must Stop Judging People - Part 4

As far as I can see in Scripture, there are only three situations in which it is appropriate to judge the behavior of people, and these all must be done within the context of the Church body and the oversight of Church authority:

1. Settling disagreements between believers, as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 6.

2. Dealing with specific sins, as Jesus instructed in Matthew 18:15-17, and as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 5.

3. Dealing with error in doctrine, teaching, and prophesying, as Jesus warned the churches in Revelation chapter 2, and as Paul instructed in 1 Corinthians 14:29.

In dealing with sins, we are always to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). We don’t overcome evil with more evil by judging, criticizing, and condemning people.

Jesus gave us a very specific steps for dealing with sin when it is apparent in the lives of our brothers and sisters.

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.”—Matthew 18:15-17 (AMP)

In Jesus’ steps for dealing with sin, we see that our motivation needs to be to “have won back your brother.” That is the goal. If there is a need for discipline in the church, the goal is to deal with it quickly, in humility and compassion, and to restore our brother or sister to full fellowship.

No Due Process

Too often, when churches discipline people, there is no due process. People are summarily judged, rejected, and excommunicated without even being given an opportunity to tell their side of the story.

I know this is true because it happened to me.

Too many times, people have been removed from Christian fellowship because it seemed that the leaders just “wanted them outta there!” No due process was given. Jesus’ instructions were brushed aside in a rush to judgment just get rid of the person.

When we do this, we are repeating the unjust process that led to the condemnation of Jesus Christ, as Nicodemus pointed out.

“Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, ‘Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?’”—John 7:50-51 (NKJV)

Jesus said, “when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40 NLT)

When we rush to judgment without giving a person due process, we become the Pharisees and Sadducees, crucifying Jesus all over again.

We are once again judging without taking time to listen and truly understand a person, their reasons and motivations. We are once again unjustly condemning the Lord Jesus Christ in the person of our brother or sister, and in essence, crucifying Him afresh, as we judge and condemn our brother or sister, cutting them off from us and ending our relationship with them.

A big problem with doing this is that there is no allowance in Scripture to cut off relationship or excommunicate a believer without having a plan to restore them to fellowship after they repent.

Paul made this very clear to the churches of Galatia:

“Brethren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.”—Galatians 6:1 (AMPC)

Even in the case when the Corinthian church had expelled a man who was living in an immoral relationship with his own step mother, after the man gave evidence of sincere repentance, Paul urged a quick restoration without delay.

“For such a one this punishment by the majority is sufficient, so instead [of further rebuke, now] you should rather [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reinstate him in your affections and reaffirm your love for him. For this was my purpose in writing, to see if you would stand the test, whether you are obedient and committed to following my instruction in all things. If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive [that one]; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of [and with the approval of] Christ, to keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”—2 Corinthians 2:6-11 (AMP)

Rushing to Judgment Leads to Big Mistakes

We must be very careful in dealing with what we perceive to be sin in someone else’s life. If we do not give them due process and allow them to share their side of the story, we could make terrible mistakes.

In our secular courts, even a murderer has a right to a fair trial and an opportunity to share his side of the story. Shouldn’t we give the same opportunity to our brother or sister who is accused of something much less serious?

In their rush to judgment, early Jewish believers almost made a huge mistake in condemning Peter for taking the Gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 11. After Peter was allowed to tell the full story of how God led him to minister to the family of Cornelius, they realized how wrong their judgments had been!

“When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’”—Acts 11:18 (NKJV)

The early disciples also almost rejected the Apostle Paul until Barnabas stepped up to vouch for him. In Acts 9:26, we see that the disciples were on the verge of judging Paul unjustly as a liar and excluding him from their fellowship. They absolutely would not listen to Paul and would not believe him. If Barnabas had not stepped up to vouch for Paul, the Church was very close to unjustly judging and excommunicating one of its greatest Apostles! The consequences of that one unjust judgment are unimaginable.

Even after that, if Barnabas had not intentionally reached out to Paul to pull him into the ministry in Acts 11:25, the Church could have missed out on the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

In Genesis 38, Judah rushed to judgment against Tamar, his daughter-in-law. Without taking time to listen to her side of the story, Judah declared that she should be condemned unmercifully and receive the full sentence that the law allowed.

So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”—Genesis 38:24 (NKJV)

But when they brought Tamar out to be judged, Tamar informed Judah that he was the cause of her sin. There would have been no sin at all had it not been for the actions of Judah.

After seeing her proof, Judah was forced to admit, “She has been more righteous and just than I” (Genesis 38:26 AMPC).

When there is a need to confront a brother or sister over an issue of sin, we must follow the procedures that Jesus gave us in Matthew 18:15-17. If we rush to judge someone without hearing their side of the story and without giving them due process, we will inevitably make mistakes in judgment.

And then, as Jesus warned, “You will be judged in the same way you judge others. You will be measured in the same way you measure others” (Matthew 7:1-2 NIRV).