God is the Only Judge

For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

─ Romans 14:9-10 NIV

“Why do people do that?” Ryan asked his sister Jan, as they set the table for a small family get-together.”

“What?”

“Push their own personal convictions onto others like it’s one of the Ten Commandments,” he retorted in a loud whisper. “Uncle Marcus has a lot of weird rules. He says the Lord told him not to drink coffee.”

“He has his own set of convictions,” Jan added. “He’s judgmental and pushy. He thinks everyone should follow the rules the Lord set for him.”

While we should stand against those things that are expressly forbidden by Scripture, we are each accountable to God, not to others. We should not define additional edicts and present them to one another as equal to the laws God has set forth in His Word.

Our verse today says, “For this very reason the Anointed One died and was brought back to life again, so that he would become the Lord God over both the dead and the living. Why would you judge your brothers or sisters because of their diet, despising them for what they eat or don’t eat? For we each will have our turn to stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:9-10 TPT).

Sadly, Christians sometimes set their moral compass toward opinions, personal dislikes or cultural bias rather than toward the Word of God. God’s Word should be the authority we look to align our lives with.

When we stand before God, it won’t be about what others did or didn’t do, but only if we have lived in a way that pleased Him.

Today’s One Thing

Do you ever find yourself judging others because they don’t conform to your own specific personal convictions? Or perhaps it’s just the way they choose to live differently. Ask God to search your heart for any unlovely, judgmental attitudes. Then ask for His forgiveness and help in seeing others as He does.

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