You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Romans 2:1 NIV

Have you ever made a bold statement like “well I would never do that” or “I can’t believe he would do such a thing”.  Tread very carefully with those type of judgmental statements my friend.  I have lived this verse out and I promise you it is no fun.

Years ago, someone wronged me and hurt me deeply.  I swore that I would never do such a terrible thing to someone else.  I judged that person and thought all kind of terrible things about them.  In time, I was able to give it to God and let go.  However, I did not escape punishment for it.  You see years later, I would do that same thing.  Yep, little miss self-righteous, holier than thou would stoop low enough to do the same thing that that miserable pitiful sinner would do. I was very angry with someone and felt justified, I felt that God would understand.  This is not the case. So with this scripture passage, I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

There are things that each of us think we would never do, we would never cross that line.  Now, it’s good to set that kind of standard for yourself and I think we should do that.  However, when we turn our nose up and judge someone who does that, watch out!

Now you may be sitting here thinking that is terrible, there are things I would never do.  I hope you hold to that, but I have seen on numerous occasions people pass judgement on someone for doing something that they considered to be unconscionable and then turn around several years later and do the same thing.  As a matter of fact, the person that hurt me had judged a relative of theirs that did the same thing several years prior.

We like to think that we are in complete control of what we do and this is where we often get into trouble.  We need to accept that without God’s help we are just as pathetic and miserable as every other sinner on the planet.

We spoke yesterday about having secrets.  Unless you are planning a really nice surprise for someone, chances are your “secret” is something that you are ashamed of and hope that no one ever finds out.  Your secret is a sin.

If you are living a secret life or if you have sin in your life that is no secret, there is hope.  There is a way out. You can turn to God.  You can confess everything, even though he already knows, and you can give your problems to Him.  Only Jesus Christ can save you.  You can’t do it on your own.

Now if you are at a fortunate place in your life where you have already turned your life over to God and you are past that point where you live on that roller coaster according to how things are going in your life, then that is awesome!  But, the devil is after you now.  The devil sees you as a threat.  The devil desperately needs to destroy your witness.  So be careful, the Bible tells us that he is prowling around seeking someone to destroy.  Pride offers the devil a big old doorway to walk through.  God hates pride, but the devil can use it as a wonderful tool to destroy your witness.  When we judge someone, we are being prideful.

So the bottom line here is don’t judge others.  My maternal grandmother used to tell me not to judge someone unless I had walked a mile in their shoes.  I try to use that today, but sometimes I fail.

Just last week, I heard a rumor.  This was something that I already suspected about someone that I have come to admire over the last few years.  I suspected it, but tried to tell myself that it wasn’t true. Just last week someone confirmed what I had suspected.  Initially I was so disappointed in that person, angry even.  But God immediately convicted me.  This person is a good Christian person just as I have come to believe.  This person just fell into sin.  It happens to the best of us.  So I prayed for this person.  My prayer is that they have repented and gotten themselves right with God.  I certainly hope that is the case.

You have probably heard it said, “but for the grace of God, go I”. Keith Urban even wrote a song titled “But for the grace of God”.  This comes from 1 Corinthians 15:10 that says “but by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.  No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”  In this letter to the Corinthian church Paul credits God with the work that he has done through Christ.

If you are reading this this morning then I hope that you are doing so free of self-righteous judgment against anyone else.  When we judge others we just set ourselves up for a fall.  The Bible also tells us that we are not to rejoice when our enemy stumbles and falls because this will cause God to turn His wrath away from our enemy.  Now the Bible doesn’t say this but I fear that if He turns His wrath away from the enemy He may turn it on me for being mean and judgemental, just saying…

So if you are judging someone else, stop.  Stop and pray for that person and their situation.  You don’t know what they are going through or what they have been through.  Pray that they will be convicted for any wrongdoing and come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  You can also go a step further and help them if they are willing to listen.

Remember as you wake up to each new day that it is a gift from God but it also comes with the awesome gift of God’s mercy and grace.  However, there is a catch to this gift, we have to extend mercy and grace to others.  So if you see your enemy stumble, pray for them.  If you see a friend falling into sin, talk to them. Let them know that you are not judging them and that God will forgive them.  Lovingly try to get them out of the quicksand of sin that they have fallen into. Help guide them safely out of the trap that the devil has laid for them.

Most importantly, be careful, when we judge the Bible clearly tells us that we will be judged and this scripture passage goes on to tell us that we will fall into the same trap that we are judging someone for being unable to break free from.  That’s scary stuff there.

So, how do you avoid judging others and falling into the devil’s trap?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Pray.  Start your day in close relationship with your savior, Jesus Christ. Read your Bible daily and pray.  Even if you only have two minutes, you can read your Bible and pray.  Stay close to God and He will stay close to you.  You are going to need Him as you go through the day.  Ask Him to daily renew the Holy Spirit that is inside of you.  He is faithful and His mercy and His grace are never ending.  Thank God for that, I need them often.  Pray for Him to help you to not judge others, but to try to help those in need of help.  If you are not close enough to them to talk to them, then pray for them.  Pray that God will send someone to help them through this difficult time.

So as you go through this weekend, remember to avoid judging others.  And if may be corny, but ask yourself what would Jesus do?  If you recall, when they wanted to stone the woman who had committed adultery, Jesus told them to let the one without sin cast the first stone.  Well, we know how that worked out. If you don’t know what I am referring to, read John chapter 8.  So remember our job is not to cast stones, but to help those that are willing to accept our help and pray for those that aren’t.

Have a great weekend!