Don’t Judge – But Don’t Condone, Either

The statement caught my eye. It’s been expressed many times, but merits reviewing again: “Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.” Ponder that for a moment.

There’s much wisdom in that statement. Because, the Bible asserts, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As a wise theologian noted, “When the Bible says ‘all,’ it means…ALL.” It also says, in even stronger language, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).

Wow! That sounds all-inclusive. No exceptions. So who are we to judge the sins of others?

The Bible states judging isn't 
our job. God doesn't need help. 

It’s easy to feel judgmental about the bad behavior of others if we can’t identify with their practices. For example, if you’ve never wrestled with a weight problem, it’s easy to “judge” someone who’s obese. But anyone that’s had a tendency to overindulge in alcohol can feel sympathetic toward someone with a drinking problem. Does this make the overweight person a worse sinner than the drunk? Certainly not. They both, as the passage above states, have fallen short of God’s glory, His perfect standard. As we all have, each in our own ways.

Years ago a friend called whom I hadn’t talked with in several years. He was distraught and needed someone to talk with. We met soon afterward, and he confided to being a self-described “sex addict.” His job required him to travel extensively, and he'd been diligent to feed his addiction wherever he went. Remorse came after his sins "found him out." 

Admittedly I was surprised. I’d known this fellow for years and never suspected he had this kind of problem. But I didn’t respond with words of condemnation. Nor did I wave a cross in his face, telling him what a terrible person he was. Neither did I pat him on the shoulder and say, “Hey, man, no problem. It’s all good. Nobody’s perfect.”

Jesus made it clear: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). At the same time, He didn’t instruct us to condone, endorse, or even ignore the sins of others when they become evident.

We find a classic example in the gospel of John, when Jesus is confronted by religious leaders prepared to stone a woman caught in adultery. After listening to those “teachers of the law and Pharisees” describe the circumstances, He tells them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Perhaps shamed in being forced to confront their own guilt, one by one the men walk away, leaving behind their “weapons” as they go.

There it is – don’t judge the sins of others. Jesus was making that clear. However, sometimes we forget what happened next.

After the men have departed, Jesus and the woman are standing there alone. He asks her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She responds, "No one, sir." Jesus then replies, "Then neither do I condemn you," but doesn’t stop there. He concludes by telling her, "Go now and leave your life of sin." Or as other translations say, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:3-11).

So we're not to judge others – because we all sin in different ways and are equally reprehensible before a holy God. And yet, we’re never instructed to condone or endorse wrongful actions, even though the prevailing culture of our times seems to insist we must.

While He did not condemn the woman clearly caught in sin – Jesus knew the law – the Lord did not excuse her. He didn’t say, "Hey, girl, it's okay. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do." No, He simply told her, “Go and sin no more.”

That, to me, is the biblical model of how to react to the sins of others. We’re not to judge – that’s God’s job, and He doesn’t need our help. But contrary to what “tolerant” society advocates, we’re not instructed to blindly accept, justify or applaud the sins of others, whatever those might be.

In love, with grace and understanding, we’re to offer support and encouragement for broken people trying to deal with and overcome their sins, recognizing our own brokenness and knowing we also have fallen far short from God’s perfect and divine standard.

And we’re to apply the words of Jesus to ourselves. He’s telling us as well to “go and sin no more.” In our own ability, this often seems difficult – maybe even impossible. That’s why it’s important to remember, echoing the words of the apostle Paul, “I can do everything through him (Jesus) who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). We can’t – but He can.

Why Good Isn’t Good Enough

Imagine being at a restaurant and the server brings your favorite beverage, but before setting it down, as you’re watching, he spits into it. Hard to imagine, right? But think about it, how would you react? You might consider a number of options, but one thing you wouldn’t do is drink it. Right?

Consider another scenario. You’re starving. You haven’t had anything to eat all day, and finally arrive at a cafeteria that looks promising. But somehow, just before you take your first bite, you learn the food you’ve been served has been tainted accidentally with a pesticide. Despite your hunger, I’d bet you wouldn’t proceed to eat.

In both instances, scientifically speaking, the food and drink are probably 99 percent acceptable. If chemical analyses were performed, in terms of atoms and molecules, they would consist mostly of the drink ordered or the food served. But the remaining one percent – be it saliva or a poisonous substance – has spoiled the entire drink or meal, making it unacceptable and potentially lethal.

There's an important spiritual parallel. How many times have you heard someone say something like, “I consider myself basically a good person,” or, “God understands we’re not perfect. He’ll accept me because my good outweighs the bad.”

From a human perspective, that makes sense. It’s true, we’re not perfect. So it’s futile to expect perfection from ourselves or from others, whether at home, in the workplace, or anywhere else.

  

But God doesn’t judge according to “human perspective.” He has only one standard, and that’s perfection. For instance, Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10 declares, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” In the Old Testament we read, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). And Psalm 143:2 agrees, “no one living is righteous before you (God).” Harsh words, no doubt.

Does that mean that, according to the Bible, God sees everything we do as totally evil, utterly disgusting and without value? No, but like spit in a drink, or a dash of poison in food, sin – our failure to keep God’s laws and standards – taints all we do, making it unacceptable to God.

Christian theology offers the concept of “total depravity,” the belief that even our best thoughts, words and actions are contaminated by sin – selfishness, pride, self-sufficiency, and other impure motivations.

Jeremiah 17:9 explains, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  In other words, even when we’re doing good things, can we be certain we’re doing them for the right reasons?

In human relationships, when we mess up we can apologize, ask forgiveness, and try to salve the harm done by doing good – buying gifts or flowers, performing chores without being asked, planning a nice evening out to help heal the wounds. Outweigh the bad with good. Offer the “nobody’s perfect” plea.

Heaven and earth - where divine perfection
and human imperfection collide.

But God has already judged our performance and, to borrow an educational term, we’ve flunked the course. No matter how much good we do, in terms of earning His favor it’s about as effective as trying to rinse off rotten meat with water and serving it for dinner.

So what’s the solution? If this is true, is there no hope? Yes, there is. But we have to fall back on the plea men, women and children have uttered through the centuries: “Lord, have mercy!” As Titus 3:5 tells us, “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

That passage brings up another term that people outside the Christian tradition find problematic: “Washed in the blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ).” Sounds yucky, doesn’t it? But it’s a proper, biblical term describing Christ’s crucifixion, shedding His own blood and offering purification for the sins of mankind. In Revelation 7:14 we find this description: “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Hard for the human mind to conceive, but from God’s perspective, that is the only solution to the dilemma of sin pollution, the “total depravity” that otherwise disqualifies us from entering God’s perfect and holy kingdom.