I've been seeing a lot of people claiming that Christians are commanded to call out sin, and I'm going to go more in depth at a later date, but that is a lie. I have dug deep into the Word to find the scriptures wherein Christ or any of His Disciples commands us to condemn the sins of others. I have seen where He described how to react to when someone sins against us, I have seen where He and His disciples give advice on what actions we should avoid and what kinds of people who claim to be Christian but act otherwise should be avoided, I have seen where He commands us not to condemn others and many places where He commands us to forgive over and over, and I have seen His three commandments, but I cannot find where He or His disciples tell us to condemn others with our speech.
I'm going to be honest, I approached this with fear, abject fear, deep in me that froze me with every new verse I looked at. Why? Because, in all the time I've known Him and followed Him and His teachings, I have never felt Him call me to judge others, or pass judgement onto others based on my own understanding of what is or isn't sin, with the exceptions laid out in the Gospels as I mentioned above. I was scared that I would find the verse, the passage, the message wherein He or His disciples told us to go to the unsaved and tell them they are living in sin, to tell them that they are condemned, to condemn then with our very words. I grew up being raised by a brilliant Charismatic preacher, and I spent most of my young life in Evangelical or Charismatic churches, so I expected to find what I did not want to.
But all I could find was love, grace, and mercy. All I could find was commands to be gentle, to lift others up, and to avoid those who refuse to do so. All I could find was the same God I had known all my life telling His people, His followers to love others and leave judgement to Him. I was so scared that I was wrong, that my understanding of His love was so wrong, but I couldn't find the proof that it was; instead, I found His word reassuring me that loving others without judgement is the right thing to do.
If you read this and feel that I am condemning you, consider two possibilities: first, you may not actually believe in the Christianity of the Bible, where the teachings of Christ are primary, those of His disciples secondary, and the history is to understand what all we were saved from, and it's okay to believe something other than what I do; second, you may be this kind of Christian, and as described in the Bible and in both Charismatic and Evangelical tradition, the Spirit may be convicting you to look at your own actions, and the state of your heart, and telling you it's time to grow and heal with Christ's help. There are other possible answers, of course, but these are the two that come to my mind.
And if you read this and feel angrily vindicated: I understand, but please, in your anger do not commit acts of hatred, whether they be driven by malice or indifference or ignorance. Treat others as you would be treated, at the very least.
And to my brothers, sisters, and others in Christ, I leave you with this reminder from Christ's own words: "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for Me."
God bless if you'll let Him, and have an otherwise great day.
