Perfect Humans Condemn Others
Think twice before you condemn someone; God the supreme judge watches!
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:37-38 NIV).
God Will Judge Those Who Condemn Others
People who engage in the business of judging others ought to take the road of personal improvement and live uprightly with God. A person should aspire to improve from his (or her) personal flaws, rather than usurping God’s role and condemning others.
Someone who indulges in the business of condemning other people exposes himself to the judgment of God. It is written, “The measure which you used for someone else shall be used for you! (Luke 6:38).”
Humans should not usurp God’s authority by attempting to condemn other people. It is very dangerous for you to condemn someone who has confessed his sin to God and has received forgiveness!
A person who judges or condemns someone that God has exonerated is setting himself up for the wrath of God.
How perfect are you?
“How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:42 BSB).
Get the fact straight:
Humans are not perfect but God is perfect. Something undoubtedly true about God is the fact that he is interested in building a life than to destroy it. God is loving, merciful and forgiving. He will forgive any offender who repents of his sin.
Let’s delve into the attributes of God – The Supreme Judge
God is the supreme judge of the world.
How Does God – The Supreme Judge, Handles An Offender?
God, unlike humans, is interested in forgiving any sinner and redeem his life. God will not keep a record of an offense like humans would do.
Once God has forgiven a sin, it is forgiven!
Meanwhile, the fact that God is merciful does not remove the fact that he will punish someone who has refused to repent from his sin.
God – the Supreme Judge, is quite aware of any sin committed; he also has the strength to proportionally punish a sinner for his sin.
Despite his supernatural power to exert any kind of judgment, God – The Supreme Judge, does not rush into judgment. He allows a moment of grace to set-in so that a sinner can seize the opportunity to exercise repentance. In other words, God allows people to escape his judgment through repentance.
(Meanwhile, a person should not underestimate God by consciously committing a sin with a plan to beg for forgiveness later. God frowns at hypocritical practices; he won’t allow anyone to abuse his grace).
God’s characteristics towards sin and judgment are summarized as follows:
- Almighty God hates sin
- God forgives sin and forgets
In delving deeper into discussing God’s attributes, someone may ask,
- What is the gravity of a sin that God forgives?
- At what point does God forgive a sin?
- How long does it take for God to forgive a sin?
Here are the responses to the above questions:
What is the gravity of a sin that God forgives?
God knows the details of any sin committed; His standard of punishment for any sin is stated, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20 NKJV). That is, any sin committed – whether big or small – deserves an absolute condemnation from God.
However, the statement about God’s absolute judgment on any sin will lose its ground when repentance is exercised! In other words, when a sinner confesses and repents of his sin, God forgives him – And that settles it.
God completely erases any sin he forgives (Through washing in the blood of his Son Jesus Christ) as the Bible states,
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18 KJV).
At what point does God forgive a sin?
There is no sin that is too big for God to forgive. Also, there is no sin that is too old or too new for God to forgive. That is, God will equally forgive any offense committed 30 years ago as well as an offense committed yesterday. What God asks for is “Repentance!”
Once repentance is exercised, the worst offender will receive God’s absolute forgiveness – irrespective of the magnitude of his sin.
Any repentance exercise expected to fit God’s standard must involve a person to verbalizing his mistake (sin) to God; be remorseful of the sin, and beg God for the forgiveness.
How long does it take to receive the forgiveness of a sin?
It takes a zero-second to receive God’s forgiveness! God will forgive any sin the moment it is confessed and repented of. In fact, the word of God says,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
How much does it cost to receive God’s forgiveness?
God’s forgiveness cost nothing; however, you must be humble enough to admit your sin, repent from it, and ask for God’s forgiveness. The Scripture emphasized,
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV).
What Lesson Must We Learn From Jesus About Forgiveness?
- As Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer and included the clause “Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us” (Matthew 6:12).
- Jesus scolded people who accused someone of harlotry by saying “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7).
- Peter has heard Jesus “I tell you, not (to forgive) seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).
The recap of God’s Eye In The Supreme Judgment
- God will forgive any sin, whether it was committed 30 years ago or it was committed yesterday.
- No one is authorized to condemn another person unless God has specifically assigned him for the task.
- Before you judge someone, first consider you might be a worse offender in the sight of God, deserving hefty punishment.
- Rather than exercising condemnation of others, do an assessment of yourself; discover your personal flaws; repent of your sins, and determine to live uprightly with God.
- Don’t be interested in the downfall of others – You may soon be in their shoes. God is watching!
God asked his people – Israelites – to repent from their sin so that they can qualify for his blessings.
Prayer of Repentance to Enjoy God’s Blessing
A Christian who has backslided from faith can be restored by God. This lesson can be illustrated with God’s behavior to the people of Judah (in the bible). People of Judah were God’s children, but they sold themselves to sinful lifestyle. They became corrupted to the extent that God turned his back against them.
