JUDGEMENT!

I have spent the last few weeks scouring my Bible, all of my favorite search sites, talking to all of my favorite people and spending lots of time in prayer. My quest? To better understand the concepts of “biblical conviction” and “righteous judgement”. These are phrases that I became very familiar with in my 20 plus years in the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. I will admit, I never felt fully comfortable with the judgement thing, but when I would ask about it I would hear, as long as it’s “righteous judgement”. Okay!? I guess I should have studied this back then, but I didn’t, so here I am now, doing what I should have done 20 years ago.

First let’s look at the term “biblical conviction”. I was always taught that this is when the Bible or God convicts you of a sin in your life and you feel that little whisper…..is it guilt, the sub-conscience, that still small voice, or a combination of these? Either way, I did become familiar with this whisper….the problem was….I began to feel like everything I did became a whisper! Should I have said that, done that, thought that, bought that, watched that? It no longer felt like a friendly voice, but one of CONSTANT conviction. I genuinely think I was trying to emulate everyone else’s convictions. I began to learn, however, that we all have different convictions! Okay, this confused me, but alright. So, for example, someone might be convicted about drinking alcohol, while someone else is not. Someone might be convicted about only wearing skirts, while someone else is not. Someone might be convicted to not watch certain movies, while someone else is not. At some point along the way biblical conviction became personal for me….that’s good right? I’m to have my own convictions and not pass judgement on someone who has different convictions! However, the definition of conviction is “the feeling of being sure that what you believe or say is true”, but in Romans 14:13-23 we are told to never put a stumbling block in the way of a brother. If what we are eating bothers him, we should honor that, if what we are wearing bothers him, we should honor that. The Bible says that the kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy. I’m confused….again! So I am to honor YOUR biblical convictions and you are to honor MINE, however…..what I learned next is that it is okay to use YOUR “biblical convictions” to pass “righteous judgement” on others. How is that possibly justifiable, if 1. biblical convictions are personal, 2. not everyone is convicted in the exact same way and, 3. there is disagreement on what constitutes sin, (ex. women speaking in church, clothing types, ways to plant fields, wearing of jewelry, eating of certain meats, drinking alcohol, being gay, etc…) How can you possibly pass righteous judgement on someone when there is no agreement on the accuracy and authenticity of, as stated before, YOUR PERSONAL biblical convictions?

Okay, let’s look at “righteous judgement” for a few minutes. I quote the following, from the “Truth Immutable” website. “Righteous judgment requires total and absolute humility, the laying down of self and the complete submission to the will and the Word of God.” This author further states that it is nearly impossible to reach this right level of righteousness. In another similar evangelical site we are taught that judgement should never be superficial (John 7:24), should never be hypocritical (Matthew 7:1, Matthew 7:3-5), should never be harsh or unforgiving (Titus 3:2), should never be self-righteous (James 4:6), and lastly, should never be untrue (Proverbs 19:5). I would also add, that your judgement, sure as HELL better be based on a proper interpretation of scripture! Additionally, Romans 3:10 says that there is none righteous, no not one. So, let’s summarize quickly, that’s a lot of info! 🙂 We have biblical convictions, that vary greatly and that are very personal. They are based off of scripture, but our interpretations of scripture vary and diverge and yes, change with time and culture….they just do! So therefore, your “biblical conviction” is going to look NOTHING like someone else’s….yet you want to argue that you are passing “righteous judgement” on someone based on YOUR personal “biblical conviction”….when that other person’s conviction looks nothing like yours! Back to Romans 14:13-23, you are never to use YOUR conviction or lack there of as a stumbling block to someone else’s. In conclusion, if you feel you meet ALL of the above criteria to pass “righteous judgement” on someone….I strongly suggest….you might want to re-check that “righteousness”, because it is quite likely it has turned into pride.

My post so far has been lots of meat and potatoes, let’s get to the dessert! I have a daughter who is gay! I am blessed by her beyond words. We have had plenty of attempts at “righteous judgement” passed on us, because of someone else’s “biblical convictions”. I have shared articles, videos, older Bible translations (the KJV isn’t the oldest y’all!), that show how the word for homosexual was not even in the Bible until the 40’s, the word for man with man was translated incorrectly and should have said man with boy. Explained the various societal issues of the times (pedastry, incest, idol worship), and yet the judgement and lack of understanding persists. It is unfathomable to me that a person could have their evangelical blinders on so tightly that they are completely unable to, at least, deduce that there is some possibility that they could be wrong about this issue. Are you reading? Are you studying? Do you care enough to even examine the issue? When I tell you that countless people are being abandoned, mistreated, kicked out of their homes, landing in shelters, becoming drug addicts, selling their bodies and their souls to survive and even killing themselves, you still refuse to say…..I think we need to re-examine a thing or two!

OKAY….I’ll do it, let’s re-examine a thing or two! First, let’s re-examine sin. Sin is defined as anything that displeases God, okay, I’m with you so far. Sin, therefore, is again based on our interpretations of various verses and what constitutes sin in 2021 verses 1821 (be honest, it’s different)….you know you aren’t abiding by the rules of Leviticus, you no longer justify slavery and antisemitism, women haven’t “kept their mouths shut in church” for years and I see everyone in those pants, gold jewelry, and braided hair. We have already proven that people have a variety of biblical interpretations about hundreds of potential “sins”, and everyone’s biblical convictions look differently than others. YET, you are going to “righteously” convict someone of a “sin problem” that MANY other people, through research, study, knowledge and prayer have deemed is not actually a sin at all! Second, let’s just look at a few sins. LYING….hurts self and others….we can choose not to lie. STEALING….hurts self and others….we can choose not to steal. IGNORING POVERTY….hurts self and others….we can choose to help people. PRIDE….hurts self and others….we can choose not to be prideful. LAZINESS….hurts self and others….we can choose not to be lazy. ANGER….hurts self and others….we can choose not to be angry. BEING GAY….in a loving, faithful, consensual relationship HURTS NO ONE….we can not choose to be UN-GAY! Why, EVER, would someone choose something that means they will potentially lose family, friends, church, support….something that potentially pushes them into homelessness, prostitution, drug addiction and death……READ THE STATISTICS……8.4 times more likely to commit suicide, 5.9 times more likely to be severely depressed, 3.4 times more likely to use drugs, 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ+, and 60% of these homeless youth have attempted suicide. AND BEFORE YOU SAY IT’S THE “SIN” causing all of this….for youth that are supported at home the numbers decrease to nearly identical to the non LGBTQ+ youth population.

It’s literally about being told that who God made you to be is wrong! It’s literally about being told that who you love is not valid. It’s literally about being denied basic love and support. It’s literally about NOT loving and accepting people where they are! NON-AFFIRMING CHRISTIAN, in large part, it’s YOUR fault! We, as Christians, are on this earth to be Jesus’ hands and feet. Your “righteous judgement” is founded in erroneous translations, and hateful, inaccurate doctrine. I know that was a lot, and yes I’m fired up and yes I’m kind of angry, so I will conclude with Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus cautions us about improper use of judgement and says that in this measure you shall also be judged.

And, BTW, quit knocking people over with the plank in your eye while trying to get the splinter out of someone else’s.

**truthimmutable.com **gotquestions.org **biblehub.com **www.merriam-webster.com