Judging People Who Sin Differently

Mercy and Judgment in James 2:9-13

“Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.”

I don’t remember where I first came across that quote, but it’s a powerful one, isn’t it? The Bible teaches us that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), so everyone needs to be forgiven in order to be made right with God. But even though we know in our heads that we’re all sinners, we still like to categorize people based on which ones they struggle with.

“There goes a tier 3 sinner. Good thing I’m only tier 1!”

Your list of mild, medium and spicy sins is probably different than mine, because we all have our own opinions and biases and experiences that have shaped our sense of the how mad God is going to be at different ones.

Not only do we all have different lists, we’re also pretty inconsistent with the way we think God ought to respond different sins. When I sin, then God is obviously supposed to be a God of grace. But when someone else sins — especially someone I didn’t really care for to begin with — then it’s only fair for God to be a God of justice who punishes them for their disobedience.

It’s like our unofficial motto is grace for me and judgment for thee.

If you can relate to what I’ve just written, then keep reading for some words of wisdom from the Apostle James on how we can develop a better perspective on sin, mercy, and judgment.

Words of Wisdom from James 2:9-13

The sin that James has been talking about leading into these verses is the sin of favoritism, which I wrote about previously. James does not want the church to start justifying certain sins by thinking that God will look the other way on the little ones because he’s really only focused on the major ones. The Bible tells us in James 2:9-11 that the spiritual effect of committing a “small” sin (if there even is such a thing) is the same as committing a “big” one—we are convicted as lawbreakers.

I think it’s important to point out there are different legal and social repercussions for different sins, and different types of sin might require more intensive healing or a more in-depth process of reconciliation, but in God’s eyes the spiritual effect is the same: they make us guilty.

In other words, don’t think that some sins are just Christian misdemeanors and that God only cares about spiritual felonies. No—all sin is serious, because all sin can snowball into an of control problem with devastating consequences (see James 1:13-15).

Then in verses 12-13, James points out the hypocrisy and foolishness of Christians judging other people harshly on their sins when one day they will have to appear before God and give an account for their own.

We need to remember God is the judge, not us. If we are judging others, we are usurping God’s authority and doing something that only he is truly qualified to do. Whatever judgments we render are based on our imperfect knowledge of the situation and our limited perspective on reality.

So instead of acting like the judge, we need to humble ourselves and remember that one day we will be judged. That change of perspective is an important one. It’s time to give the gavel back to God instead of wielding it as a weapon against our fellow believers.

Mercy Over Judgment

And besides, if those Christians are smart, when it’s time for them to appear before God and explain why they committed all of those sins, they won’t try to justify anything to God, they will appeal to his mercy. That’s the only way any of us can be made right with God and receive eternal life.

But here’s the rub: you can’t expect to receive mercy from God in Heaven if you aren’t willing to give it to others on earth.

God is the judge — not us. James makes that point later in James 4:12. But if you do decide to pick up the gavel and start making judgments about others, then James tells us to make sure we are giving mercy generously in our judgments. If we judge people harshly and withhold mercy from people, we shouldn’t expect to receive mercy from God (James 2:13).

Jesus says it like this: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” (Matthew 7:2, NIV).

What kind of standard do you want God to use when it comes time to addressing your sin? If you drop the hammer on people in your conversations and relationships here, you’re telling God that you’re ready for him to do the same. But if you’d like to receive the grace and mercy of God, then you need to be willing to extend it to others.

Exercising Good Judgment

That being said, there are plenty of other passages that exhort the church to exercise good judgment. We should balance out this discussion by noting that God does want us to be cautious and discerning when it comes to protecting ourselves physically and spiritually.

Here’s a few examples:

• Paul instructed the elders of the church to “be on guard” against false teachers, whom he compared to savage wolves (Acts 20:29-31, 2 Timothy 4:14-16).

• God gives specific qualifications for those who aspire to be elders and deacons in the church (1 Timothy 3:1–7, Titus 1:5–9, 1 Peter 5:1–4). The church must carefully discern whether candidates meet those qualifications.

• John instructed the church to test Christian leaders who claim to speak for God, knowing that many false teachers have gone trying to deceive people (1 John 4:1).

It’s not a sin to call a wolf a wolf and prevent them from gaining access to the flock. It’s not a sin to exercise good judgment by stopping an unqualified person from being an elder in the church. And it’s not a sin to prayerfully discern what kind of speakers and messages the church ought to be presenting to the congregation. Those are all examples of godly Christians exercising good judgment for the sake of the body.

There’s at least two significant differences between this kind of good judgment and the harsh judgment that James condemns.

• First, good judgment is communal, not individual. The elders (plural) are on guard, the church (as a whole) discerns who is qualified for service, and the church (collectively) compares the message they hear to the Word of God. The communal discernment process helps guard against personal biases and axes to grind.

• Second, good judgment is exercised to protect the church, not justify sinful behavior. Some people judge others harshly in order to feel like a better Christian; good judgment is done to protect the church from physical or spiritual harm.

Application

As the body of Christ, we need to exercise good judgment in order to protect the church. As individuals who encounter other sinners on a daily basis, we need to extend mercy and give people the benefit of the doubt. And we also need to pray for the wisdom we need to balance these two responsibilities in a way that honors God, stays true to the Bible, and protects the church from harm.