Loving, Not Judging One Another

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

The Bible tells us that not everything is a matter of absolute truth and morality. As a matter of fact, biblically speaking, one could argue that very little is. When God wanted to summarize Israel’s moral obligation, He did so in just 10 commandments. Jesus further summarized this to two: Love God and love your neighbor.

According to Scripture, therefore, one of chief ways that we are to love our neighbor is by making room for their differing opinions. The Bible invites us to give one another much room for matters of conscience (Romans 14).

It is for this reason that I must be careful not to stand in judgment or disdain of my brother or sister who feels greater freedom or greater hesitation on matters not addressed by Scripture. Rather, I am to accept them and think and speak well of them. Even more so, I am to do my best to accommodate them. In the words of Romans 14, I am to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual building up” (Romans 14:19).

This is hard work. You have to swallow a lot of pride and a lot of personal comfort. But it is the hard work of loving my neighbor. It requires me to value the perspective of others as highly as I value my own (Philippians 2:3-4). Such a mentality is the very essence of love.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother….

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

~ Romans 14:10-13, 19 (ESV)

Thank you for listening to and supporting The Kingdom Perspective! The Kingdom Perspective is a ministry of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. To hear more episodes you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts. To donate or to find out more about the ministry and resources offered by Christ Redeemer Church visit www.christredeemerchurch.org.