Riff's Christian Journal

How many times have you pointed out a sin with which someone is involved only to be told something like, “who are you to judge me”, or “remember, the bible tells us that we should not judge another”. Is judging others, especially non-Christians, something Christians should be doing?

In response, I would always use the verses from James 5: 19, 20 to show that it is OK to point out sin in others:

¹⁹ Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

This would seem to say that it is OK to point out the sins of others. Otherwise, how else could you turn someone from the errors of their ways? Well, I’ve discovered that there is more to this than James 5.

Recently, while reading through 1 Corinthians, I came across a verse that I’ve read numerous times but it never jumped off of the page as it did this particular time. The verse about which I’m talking is from 1 Co. 5: 12, 13 which reads:

¹² For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ¹³ But those who are outside God judges.”

Did you catch it? I did, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Paul is asking the people in the church at Corinth “why are you judging those who are outside the church (non-Christians). Leave them alone as God will judge them. it is very clear that Paul here is teaching that Christians should not be judging non-Christians. We are to leave that to God.

So, when you put this together with what James stated, as we read above, only those in the church, they whom we call Christians, are the ones who we should be judging in the sense of letting them know what God has said about the matter and then to bring them back into the fold once they see their sin and repent of it. That is also taught in 1 Corinthians 5, and that is what Paul is telling us. Leave it to God to do the judging of non-Christians.

The answer then to the question of “Should Christians Judge Non-Christians” is an emphatic ” NO “! The reason for this, in addition to what we are taught by Paul, through the Holy Spirit, is that non-Christians will not and cannot understand the spiritual things of God.

Take for example 1 Co. 2: 14

¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Here we are told that the natural man, who is a non-Christian, will not and cannot understand the spiritual things of God. So, we can talk to them until we are blue in the face, so to speak, and they will never accept what we are saying. This is something that used to drive me crazy because to me it was so simple and I would get so upset that the one to whom I was talking would not accept what I was saying. Now I know why… Simply put they cannot do so without the Holy Spirit working in them to give them understanding.

More importantly Jesus makes this even more clear as to why non-Christians will not and cannot understand what we are talking about when we specifically point out their sin, and they will even get angry and argue or fight with us in the process of rejecting what we are saying.

In the Gospel of John 8 we see Jesus talking with The Pharisees and they are constantly asking Him who was He? The response of Jesus in answering them is very telling. They do not understand all that He is saying and He even tells them why they cannot.

First, in verses 42 and 43 Jesus says this:

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.”

You see, Jesus plainly tells them that the reason they do not understand what He is saying is because they are no able to listen to His word. Then He goes on to tell them why.

In verses 45 through 47 Jesus tells them:

⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷ He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

In simple words, Jesus tells them that they do not belong to God, basically they are non-Christians, and because of that they cannot hear God’s words – “you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Again, in John 10 Jesus is talking with the Jewish leaders and they ask Him in verse 24:

²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Pointedly they have asked Him if He truly was the Christ and He answers them in verses 25 through 27 that He has already told them, they didn’t believe Him and Jesus even tells them “why” they don’t believe Him.

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

What Jesus tells them is that He has already answered them and the reason they will not and cannot believe Him is because they do not belong to them; they are non-Christians.

This now brings us back to the question of “Should Christians Judge Non-Christians”? And the answer is “NO”…

Not only will they not believe what you will say but they cannot believe what you will say because they do not belong to God. They are non-Christians and they will not hear nor understand anything you tell them of a spiritual nature.

Now judging non-Christians and sharing the gospel are two different actions. Pointing out specific sin in others who are non-Christians is something that Christians should “not” do, but sharing the gospel and explaining what sin is will be the beginning of the path for non-Christians to follow which will lead them to Christ.

Leave the judging of non-Christians to God. In doing so we can trust in this:

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

1 Corinthians 4:  5