Tuesday, July 07, 2015

"Judge Not..."

RNS: You say Jesus was the “most holy” and “least judgmental” person. But some would say that Jesus is actually portrayed as the great judge who sits at God’s right hand to judge us all. What am I missing?
HH: What is missing is simply Jesus’ human posture vs. his eschatological posture. Jesus as a man, walked among men and women who were constantly “‘in sin,” yet he postured himself as a friend, an advocate, and an insider to the outsiders. But as the final king of history, as the true messiah, the one every person will bow before when history comes to a close, he gets the final call. According to the Bible, Jesus will judge Satan, demonic forces, injustice, and men and women who reject him outright. It’s the difference between the final call vs. how he lived day to day as he walked in our world.
This is a critical difference. We are never told to be the final judge, but rather to live as Jesus lived.   Christians should stop trying to make the call of heaven or hell, in or out, dirty or clean, and instead model our humanity after Jesus’ humanity. If every Christian actually followed Jesus’ lead, the Christian movement would be the least judgmental but most influential movement the world has ever seen. 

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