Passing Judgment

Passing Judgment
Romans 14:1-12
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:


“ As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Footnotes:

1. Romans 14:6 NU-Text omits the rest of this sentence.
2. Romans 14:9 NU-Text omits and rose.
3. Romans 14:10 NU-Text reads of God.
4. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23

I want to start with verse 10 where it says "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For shall we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
As Christians why do we pass judgment on others? Do we think that because we are Christians we have all things figured out, that "God is on my side I can say whatever to whomever." Salvation does not give us the right to point our crooked sinful fingers at others to say how better we are than them. We are not the judge, God is the judge we all will one day stand before Him.
It breaks my heart to see Christians who are to be Christ-like judge and condemn others. I have no room to be passing judgment on others, because though I may be saved I'm still a sinner as we all are. Now what about trying to help or witness to those around us, Matthew 7:5 says
"Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Deal with sin in your own life first. There is a difference in passing judgment on someone and being a witness to them. For example, if I had a friend that I seen was doing something wrong and thought maybe I should talk to them, first thing I would need to do is "remove the plank from my own eye". Next rather than point my finger at my friend and judge, I should come to him or her with love and grace and be a friend and share my thoughts on what is going on. Remember we are not the judge that title belongs to God Almighty we have no reason to be judging others because it will come back to us. Matthew 7:1-2 says
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

In the twilight of His coming
Dan