It’s one thing for an unbeliever to hold someone in contempt even when it’s a Christian. It’s a completely different thing when a believer, a follower of Jesus does it (holds a fellow believer in contempt).
It happens all the time. You see, certain “followers of Christ” view other Christians and they (the “followers of Christ”) have made a judgment about them (mostly from afar).
Here’s the judgment: They aren’t giving to the poor (like the “followers of Christ” do). They aren’t helping out the needy (like the “followers of Christ” do). They aren’t visiting the prisoner, feeding the hungry (like the “followers of Christ” do). They aren’t sharing the Gospel with the lost (like the “followers of Christ” do). They aren’t loving the unlovely, taking up the cause of the outcast (like the “followers of Christ” do). Quite frankly, they can’t do anything right (like the “followers of Christ” do).
The parable of the Publican and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) was about a man who thought he was “really something” because he did all this religious stuff. The way we know he thought he was “really something” is he looked down on another person who was trying to follow God, too, and he held him in contempt because he wasn’t doing the religious stuff that he did.
The parable of the Unmerciful Slave (Matthew 18:23-35) was about a man with a selfish and bitter heart. He owed the king, what amounts to in our day, 4 billion dollars. But the king forgave him the debt. (What a merciful king!) The problem was the slave went out after having his debt forgiven and held a fellow slave in contempt over a debt owed him ~ a measly $7,000 in comparison.
And let’s just say other Christian people “followers of Christ” are holding in contempt ARE guilty of the judgment being made against them. Shouldn’t they (the “followers of Christ”) lay aside their contemptible Christianity lest they be guilty of a greater sin?
He who has hears to hear, let him hear.
“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'” (Matthew 18:21-22)
You might also be interested in:
About Pastor Mike
(To view old map,
This spoke to me. Thank you for posting it! I don’t have access to a Bible right now but the verse about “how you measure so it will be measured against you” (or something similar) came to mind when reading this.
This spoke to me. Thank you for posting it! I don’t have access to a Bible right now but the verse about “how you measure so it will be measured against you” (or something similar) came to mind when reading this.
I agree that judgment of other Christians is a serious problem in the body. But I’m not sure it’s fair to compare people who are serving the least of these to those who scrupulously followed religious edicts and rituals in Jesus’ day. If they are doing it for show or in order to check something on their list of “how to be a good Christian”, sure. But many (most?) people doing such things are doing it out of great love and concern for those in need. I think the problem is that we have a natural tendency to become unbalanced and then to think that this lack of balance should be shared by everyone.
thank you, I am blessed by your words today!
This is a constant prayer with me almost everyday:
“Lord, I forgive those who hurt me today, and please forgive me”.
We are commanded to exhort, correct and reprove one another. that means we help other follow Christ better AND we allow other to correct us. Iron sharpens iron. All of this is done is true love with the purpose of edifying the body of Christ, not lording it over someone. http://www.smallchurchlove.com