Day: June 27, 2015

If I were to describe the state of my heart at the moment, this song has perfectly describe what I’m really feeling for the past few weeks:

With all the tensions happening in the world today, and the sorrow I’m feeling in seeing how this world is going as what the Bible has described in the last days, I really can’t help but feel homesick and long for the coming back of Jesus. But I also know that it would be so selfish of me to ask God to comeback soon when I know that there are still a lot of people who are yet to hear the good news.

1 Corinthians 7:23-24, 28-37, 39-40

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.  I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.   If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now. I know that Jesus gave this command not to judge anyone for we shall be also judged and the measure we give when we pass on our judgment to anyone will be the same measure God will use against when its already time for Him to pass His judgment. The bottomline is, it’s wrong to judge.

But then whenever I share the Gospel and tell people to repent and turn back to God or else they will go to hell, I can’t help but feel guilty or condemned for telling people that we are sinners and not fit for heaven. Who am I to say that they can’t go to heaven anyway? My sister even told me once who am I to judge people and tell them whether they are going to heaven or not? Though I am very sure that the Bible tells us that can tell who will go to heaven or not according to God’s standards, I chose not to answer her back so to avoid debate. Besides, I really don’t know how to answer her appropriately during that time.

Then I’ve heard the same word again recently from the most prominent religious leader in the world today. He said, ‘if a person is gay and seek the Lord and is of good will, then who I am judge.’
At first glance these words sound true and inspiring. But when I’ve heard this word for the first time, I really felt uncomfortable and thought that there’s something wrong with the statement. First and foremost, the Bible has made it clear that homosexuality is a sin and God said that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9). We are also commanded to speak the truth in love so we need to tell the people that it is wrong to practice homosexuality.

My point is, yes it is true that we are told not to judge people. Instead, we commanded to love them. However, the Bible also said that love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth (1 Corinthians 13) so part of loving them is telling the truth and not tolerating the wrongdoing.

Going back to the statement ‘who am I to judge?’, I felt convinced that telling people what is wrong or right according to God’s standard is just the right thing to do. However, I also can’t shrug off the feeling of being judgmental for doing so, so I asked God if am I really being judgmental?

I Praise the Lord for some enlightenment a few days ago, when I read these words during my bible reading:

Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! – 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

So I thought, we are really meant to judge the world. But this statement should be taken carefully because the Bible said we are to judge the world, not people, specially if these people do not know the truth yet. The only time we are allowed to ‘judge’ people (i.e. correct or discipline them) is when the people we are dealing with belong to the same body of Christ (1 Cor. 5:12).
So for those who don’t know the truth, we are commanded to stand firm and speak the truth plainly and boldly, out of love. Because the Bible said, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Romans 10:17)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14-15)

So my conclusion, we are not being judgmental when we preach the Gospel. We are just plainly delivering God’s message. Judgment comes to people when they heard the message and yet they refuse to believe and accept the truth. And so this has become my motivation for preaching the Gospel.