Don’t judge, or else you will be judged. But if a Christian judges you – even if they’re wrong – should you go along with it out of love for your brother or sister in Christ? For non-doctrinal, non-salvation types of questions, you probably should.
Matt Jones has an excellent article about how, when, whether, Christians should judge. One of his points was a reminder that we are called to judge (i.e. hold one another accountable) within the church, but that those outside the church will be judged by God and we are not intended to usurp His authority.
So then each one of us will give account concerning himself to God. Then let us not judge one another any more, but rather judge this, not to put a stumbling-block or an offense toward his brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing by itself is common; except to him who esteems anything to be common, it is common. But if your brother is grieved with your food, you no longer walk according to love. Do not with your food destroy him for whom Christ died. Then do not let your good be spoken evil of, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is well-pleasing to God, and approved by men. So then let us pursue the things of peace, and the things for building up one another.
(Romans 14:12-19 MKJV)
In John Piper’s sermon, We Will All Stand Before the Judgement of God from October 30, 2005, it’s clear that the “judgement” referred to in this verse is not the type of “accountability” judgement referred to by Matt Jones. As Piper says,
I take this judgment (“Why do you pass judgment on your brother?”) to mean, first, don’t be critical of your fellow believer without the manifest affirmation of brotherly affection. In other words, I am leaving room for the biblical admonitions to correct and admonish and rebuke each other (2 Timothy 2:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Timothy 4:2). And, second, I take it to mean, don’t judge your brothers to be unbelievers because of these non-essential things.
Today it’s questions on Halloween, Harry Potter, LOTR, Santa Claus, and coming soon, on Narnia as soon as the movie is released. I include LOTR because that actually happened to me – a fellow church member was truly horrified that we would consider attending the movie when the Fellowship of the Ring first came out. She didn’t know that Tolkien was a Christian, and in fact one of the main reasons that C.S. Lewis came to Christ, or the Christian symbology and themes in the books/movies. And if she did know, it might not have mattered. LOTR had wizards and magic and was therefore verboten. Similar arguments about Harry Potter ensue, but without the justification that they are written by a Christian writer and therefore must be okay. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have skipped the LOTR movies, because even though all things are allowed, all things are not beneficial. I don’t think those movies harm me – but my viewing them might well have harmed her. In verse 21, “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.”
When the day comes for me to be judged by God (Romans 14:12), I would prefer that the list not include petty selfishness like upsetting a brother or sister in Christ over a movie. I may think that woman was silly or misinformed for objecting to my watching the LOTR movies, but she was genuinely upset that I was harming my faith and my witness by watching it. I put a stumbling block before her. John Piper said,
But I want you to feel the weight of what Paul sees at stake in these verses. Just look briefly at verse 20: “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” And verse 23: “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats.” Those are very serious words: “to be destroyed” and “to be condemned.”
I am going to try to show in the weeks to come that Paul’s point is this: If we play fast and loose with each other’s conscience so that we cause others to act against their conscience and take lightly whether they act with assurance of conviction, then we may lead someone to become spiritually calloused and to forsake the faith and perish. It’s the same concern Paul has in 1 Timothy 1:19 where he urges Timothy to go on “holding faith and a good conscience.” And then he adds with utter seriousness, “By rejecting this [a good conscience with faith], some have made shipwreck of their faith.” That’s what is at stake in Romans 14.
With rights comes responsibility – we have the right and obligation to judge other Christians, within specific parameters and after a thorough examination of our own behavior. You may think some things other Christians you know get upset about are silly. I specifically state, “Christians you know” because if Dobson or some other public Christian figure makes a strong recommendation that you disagree with, you can do as you feel led and no harm will come to them – they don’t even know you. But in the circle of people God has seen fit to surround you with, for minor disagreements, you have the responsibility to serve, even when you feel you have been judged unfairly, even when your brother has judged you on a non-essential thing that he should not have.
For he who serves Christ in these things is well-pleasing to God, and approved by men.
(Romans 14:18 MKJV)
Another great post (and thanks for your compliments to mine)! The issue of judging is such a touchy one for many people. The Church as well as Christian community in general is crucial for many reasons; edification being a big one (which we gladly embrace) and correction another important one (which we love to easily brush of with the “log in your eye” mentality).
I struggle with Paul’s “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” Part of me just thinks that people who can’t handle things like LOTR or Harry Potter are just young in their faith and I can just brush it off. But if I take Paul seriously, I might need to think differently. I still don’t have problems with watching many things that others may have problems with, but relationally I need to figure out how that plays out with others.
One thing I do want to encourage other Christians (well, myself included) in is breaking out of our safe Christian “bubble”. While the woman may have felt justified in being worried about LOTR because it has wizards in it, I would want to look at the root of why she would not want to see the movie. And on the same lines, why does finding out that Tolkien was a Christians and great friends with Lewis mean that it is somehow now “ok” to watch? I would also want to go that next step into looking at films/books/whatever that deal with large issues such as good vs. evil regardless of their creators’ faith. If Tolkien hadn’t been a Christian, the books would still be huge in terms of the battles of good vs. evil and should not be passed over simply because the author might not be Christian. I think there are many secular authors/creators that can comment on big themes that Christians should be aware of and take engage with.
I am REALLY looking forward to Narnia and hope they hold to Lewis’ intent and message. Ok, this has become a bit of a ramble, thanks for the post!
I agree there is plenty of entertainment that is not harmful; except insofar as everything is harmful that distracts us from Jesus… when you read the writings of the Puritans – say, Jonathan Edwards – the passion and depth they had was pretty astounding. But then, they weren’t spending a couple hours a day watching CSI, and didn’t have a library with Tolkien, Tom Clancy, etc.
I struggle with this, and my tendency is to want to do as 1 Corinthians 10:23-33; ask no questions for concience’ sake. And I agree that educating people who are young in the faith solves the problem permanently. But that education, coming from me after being called to account for the “offense” will probably not be well received. Looks too much like rationalization. (sigh)
I’m also looking forward to Narnia, the trailers look good, and WETA did the effects so we can at least know THAT part of the movie will be awesome.
Well said. It is difficult not only in appearance to others, but within our our minds/hearts as to what we might be rationalizing. If someone calls us on that, it is our Christian duty to take a look at the complete issue with the other person so as to figure out all angles (and sometimes agreeing to disagree, but hopefully not rationalize).
Yeah, by all accounts so far, Narnia should be great. Even just getting a glimpse of Aslan roaring gives me chills, I can imagine it will just make me cry to hear it in full THX surround.
Having the passion and heart that Edwards had would be a lovely thing and definitely something to strive for.
It is quite interesting how God makes us accountable through the eyes of our Christian siblings. Paul also said not to eat anything offered to idols for we should have nothing to do with demons. I think that goes a long way to explain why the question of what to eat and drink even came up. In LOTR, the “heros” do not violate Christian principles. In the Potter books, Christian principles are greatly violated and it seems that the end justifies the means. That is what I object to in those books, not the wizards or magic. It is fiction and meant to entertain, not meant for theological study. Does that make sense?
As a matter of fact, that is the first objection to Harry Potter that I’ve heard that *does* make sense to me. The main characters DO cheat, lie, and steal in the cause of the greater good. Thanks, Gina!
How is that not a good analogy to the Christian walk?
Oh, it IS a good analogy, we all sin, and we all rationalize about it… but that doesn’t mean it’s edifying, and maybe we ought not to reinforce those character traits by viewing entertainment that glamorizes it. Mind you, there’s still a pretty good chance I’ll be sitting in the theatre for Goblet of Fire… I’m going to have to really consider it though. (sigh)
I don’t think the books glamorize it. Most often the behavior is called in to question or punished and if it is not, it plays a very minor role. I think it can be healthy for Christians to see that they are not alone in struggles of sin in their quest for Ultimate Good. I think of Anne Lamont’s Travelling Mercies and how she is very real with her faith. There is no use in hiding that we a fallen and pretending with each other that we are not, is not a good thing. When we realize that we are all fallen (and not just in some theoretical sense, but in REAL, DAILY occurances), we can join together to help edify each other. Knowing that Potter and his friend are fallen and that they can see it in themselves is edifying because they encourage each other on to that ultimate goal.
I have tickets to opening weekend at the IMAX.
I’ll be looking forward to your review!