Legalistic and Judgemental

When I was growing up and finding my feet in church and the teaching of Scripture, the worst thing that anyone could say about you, was that you were legalistic and/or judgemental. The words would come in a torrent of criticism and almost spat out, yes even by other Christians. We should not want to be legalistic like the pharisees, or judgemental in such a way to give others an excuse not to give the Christian faith a chance in their life. But are both of these characteristics for ever and always an error of our salvation?

In today’s world and church, we have become so PC that we dare not offend anyone, whether those in the church or outside. It follows that the ten commandments and Jesus’ words are laws, and by definition that makes them legalistic. When we read the old and new Testaments, there are many occasions when the patriarchs, apostles, and even Jesus Himself would pass judgement. Again, that makes these judgemental acts. So what was, and still is, seen as the problem?

When done in a spirit of Christian love, it can be right and proper to point out the commandments (laws) of Scripture, and Jesus. It is also fitting that we are able to discern wrong or false spirits and teaching, and thereby passing Bible based judgement on these actions. In both cases, when acting in love, we must be careful to point to the error, and not the person. The old way of saying this was, “hate the sin, but love the sinner”, and I don’t think there is a better way of saying it.

Next time someone, Christian or not, says you are legalistic and/or judgemental, when you speak in love, it may just be the case that you are shining a light on their own shortcomings, and this is the best defence they can come up with. Let’s face it, this is a very poor defence and tells a much bigger story! The other side of the coin applies too. Next time you point out without love, the flaws, failings and sins of another, be aware that this can be a poor defence, and also tells a much bigger story about ourselves. It can be so easy to say we are speaking in love, but we must be aware that others may see our actions in a different light. Romans 12:9 NKJV says it this way: Let love be without hypocrisy.

If I had the gift of being able to speak in other languages without learning them and could speak in every language there is in all of heaven and earth, but didn’t love others, I would only be making noise. 1 Corinthians 13:1 (TLB)