Judge Not!

October 19, 2022

Devotions:

“Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”

‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Dear friends, as part of God’s family, never speak against another family member, for when you slander a brother or sister you violate God’s law of love. And your duty is not to make yourself a judge of the law of love by saying that it doesn’t apply to you, but your duty is to obey it! There is only one true Lawgiver and Judge, the One who has the power to save and destroy—so who do you think you are to judge your neighbor?” ‭James (Jacob)‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭TPT‬‬

“Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Jesus teaches us to judge the fruit of a person’s life, not the person. We are to walk by the law of love. The law of love is being ever ready to believe the best about everyone. When we speak evil or gossip about a person we are not walking in love with them but we are judging them. There is only one qualified to judge and that is Jesus and instead of judging, He took our penalty and died under the penalty. We learn from Paul’s experience that when we persecute or speak evil of believers we are persecuting and speaking evil of our Lord Jesus Christ. The fruit of our life is to be the fruit of Love. We must spend time daily in the presence of the Lover of our souls, our Father God and Jesus. When tempted to criticize or gossip, hold your tongue until you can bless instead.