Judging
Judging
Judging is a big issue and is commonly raised in the context of this debate.
We need to consider various aspects of it.
We have already shown that there is a clear distinction between judging those outside the church and judging those inside. You can review that in the page on Did Jesus Say We Are Not To Judge?.
Here we simply need to repeat the fact that Christians are not called to judge those outside the church. Paul was explicit that he did not want Christians to withdraw from contact with sexually immoral people of the world (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). He then says, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?... God will judge those outside” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13.)
Society tends to see the church as being judgemental. Christians can be perceived to think of themselves as morally superior. That is inevitable even when Christians speak graciously about the truth but if that results from Christians actually being judgemental of those outside the church, that is clearly in breach of the Bible‘s teaching. Unfortunately, that has sometimes been true. Some Christians have felt a particular disgust for homosexuals and have felt morally superior. Some of the rhetoric has been full of condemnation and nastiness and a society that is increasingly sympathetic to the homosexual, doesn’t like it. The next page asks if Christians like condemning others.
The remaining aspect, however, is to consider what the Bible says about judging those within the church - something God says we are to do.