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I have committed, it seems, the only sin. The only REAL sin. At least, that’s what I gather from the people who disagree with me. I live in a world, as do you, where any sin can be forgiven. In fact, where every sin SHOULD be forgiven – whether the person has repented or not. Where, I’m told, we should overlook people’s sins, and understand that God works with people where they’re at.That we should understand that people may not be where you are, and so you have no right to correct them or say they’re wrong. And any sin can be forgiven – except the one I commit. Any sin can be overlooked – except mine. For I have broken the 11^th commandment – and apparently, it is the biggest one of all.

I judge people.

What a horrible person I am. What’s more, I haven’t repented.

I have disputed scripture with dozens upon dozens of people. All of whom were, as I termed it, “soft on sin”. In their words, they were “merciful”. What this boils down to, is that when someone comes to church who is committing adultery, they won’t say anything, because they are “merciful/soft on sin”. They’re afraid to correct someone for fear of offending them and driving them away from the truth. Of course, I tell them “Great peace have they which love thy law: and NOTHING SHALL OFFEND THEM.” (Psalms 119:165). And they won’t judge this person whom everyone knows is sinning because of this. They won’t tell them they are sinning because to judge someone is a sin.

So here is the irony – when I judge that same person, (because they didn’t do it!) these people will jump on ME and tell me that judging is a sin!

They wouldn’t tell the person that breaking the 7^th commandment is a sin! That would be wrong! But if I dare to tell them, these people will tell me that I am sinning! They judge me for judging! To condemn me for judging they must judge me as guilty of a worse sin than adultery! And guilty of the ONLY sin which really counts and which must be stopped at all costs!

Do you SEE the irony there? How can you know if I’m judging someone unless YOU judge me?? And this person who has so much MERCY and forgiveness in their heart that they can overlook sleeping around among church members without batting an eye, can’t find the MERCY and FORGIVENESS for me to overlook my judging people!

Not that I’m wanting their so-called mercy and forgiveness – I don’t – but I want to make it clear how ridiculous and inconsistent they are when they don’t extend me the same leniency they extend to a rebellious adulterer!

So apparently, by judging people, I commit the only sin that counts. Of course, in my paper on judging I explain that not only am I – and you – allowed to judge… but we are REQUIRED to judge. This paper isn’t really about the subject itself, but rather WHY people view this as the only sin. Why “Thou Shalt Not Judge” has become the 11^th commandment.

Invariably these “soft-on-sin” people (the ones that judge me for judging) point to Matthew 7:1…

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

And if Jesus had stopped there, they would indeed be right. Thou Shalt Not Judge might indeed be the 11^th commandment. Or something like it. But He didn’t! He kept talking! About the SAME subject!

Verse 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Now right there it goes on to say that with what Judgment you DO judge, you will BE judged! Think about that – it says “with what Judgment you JUDGE” – that means that YOU WILL BE JUDGING! So right away He seems to contradict His earlier statement not to judge at all!

Verses 3-4 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

So they pounce on this scripture and say “Don’t judge me! You’ve got a beam in your eye!”. It seems they don’t realize that Jesus STILL hasn’t stopped speaking – for He makes sense out of the whole thing in

Verse 5 Thou hypocrite, FIRST cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and THEN shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

It doesn’t say that you can NEVER cast the mote out of your brother’s eye! It says to remove the BEAM from your own eye first! Because if you’re judging someone for doing something that is no where NEAR as bad as what you’re doing – I.E., if I were to condemn someone for shoplifting a T-shirt while I was embezzling 2 million dollars – then you will be judged with the same measure you judge them!

But once I repent of embezzling 2 million dollars, THEN I can see clearly to tell that person that shoplifting a T-shirt is WRONG! Now that isn’t complicated at all, is it? All it says is that you shouldn’t judge someone for a smaller sin, one which is less than, or the same as, what you’re doing.

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

You are inexcusable ONLY IF you judge someone AND YOU DO THE SAME THINGS!

I am not presently committing adultery. I don’t plan to. This QUALIFIES ME to say to tell someone who IS, that adultery is wrong! For I DO NOT do the same things! I DO NOT have a beam in my eye! And they, or God, are WELCOME to judge me with the same measure I judge others!

So why is this misread? Why do people insist on believing that Thou Shalt Not Judge is the 11^th commandment?

It’s very simple really. Look at Matthew 7:2 again closely… “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…” That is a promise from God! And a very handy one, if you misread it. Think about it – with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. How you judge other people is how God will judge you.

Oh boy! That means that if you don’t judge other people’s sins, GOD WON’T JUDGE YOURS!

That means if you allow someone to engage in rampant adultery, and don’t judge them, then GOD WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO THE SAME! He won’t judge you for it – HE PROMISED!

Does that make sense? Yes! Is it right? No! Is it how the entire world today acts? Yes! Is that right? No!

Bottom line, God will judge you for your sins. Judging someone who is doing a lesser sin than you might irritate God so that He gets more angry at you, sooner, but you are going to be judged by God either way!

By not judging someone else, you don’t escape judgment yourself. That isn’t at all what God meant, a fact which I’m sure even they would admit, in light of what I’ve said here. In fact, if you don’t tell someone of their sins, and allow them to continue unwittingly sinning against God, you hate them!

Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

If you spare the verbal rod, and refrain from “rebuking them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13), and decide to ignore God’s command to “rebuke, reprove, and exhort” a sinning brother out of so-called “love”, you HATE him – you don’t love him at all!

But beware! If you dare to love your brother enough to tell him when he is wrong, and help him to “cleanse his hands” and “draw nigh to God” so that God can draw nigh to him… you, too, will be committing the only real sin in the eyes of the world! But look on the bright side – God doesn’t think it’s a sin… in fact, He is rather fond of it. And remember always that…

Proverbs 28:23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.