Those critical of judging others are hypocrites because they are judging others for judging others!

        In today’s “politically correct” world, most people do not want to hear anyone saying that someone else’s beliefs are wrong. This is a controversial subject that is often avoided at all costs. In the early days of the church, men did not avoid subjects that were “too controversial.” The message of Christ was extremely offensive to the non-believing Jews, but notice Jesus’ reaction to it: “Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matt. 15:12-13). Jesus did not go back and apologize to those who were offended by Him preaching the Truth. These same people who were offended later tortured and killed Jesus and almost all of the apostles for declaring their controversial message.
        People of the world have politically correct attitudes, but sadly, many people who claim to be Christians have become influenced by it. Some who call themselves Christians consider it wrong to teach against what others believe or to say that someone else is wrong. I wonder if these people have considered the fact that when they claim to be Christians, they are saying that their faith is the only valid faith, and all others are wrong. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). By agreeing with Jesus’ teaching, Christians are rightly saying Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Christians must then conclude that people who follow Buddhism are wrong, and the same is true for people who follow Islam, Hinduism, or anyone who fails to faithfully follow Christ (Matt. 7:21).
        If people claiming to be Christians are afraid to admit it, then they should take notice what Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). To say there is nothing wrong with other religions is to deny that Jesus is who He said He was —the Savior, the only way to Heaven (Acts 4:12). To say that Christ is not the only way to Heaven is also equivalent to saying that Jesus died in vain. There is nothing wrong with someone saying that false religions like Islam are wrong, and there is nothing wrong with exposing the teachings of Buddhism or any other false teaching and religion.
        At this point someone may say that as long as we are all teaching under “the umbrella of Christianity,” we should not say that someone else is teaching falsely. This is basically saying that doctrine is unimportant. If that were the case, then why would the Bible warn us so many times about false teachers and false doctrine (cf. Matt. 7:15-20; 2 John 9-11; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Titus 2:1; 1 Tim. 4:16; 1 John 4:1; Rev. 2:15)? If doctrine is unimportant as long as one believes in Jesus, why were the Galatians lost (Gal. 1:6-9; 5:3-4)? Why were Hymenaeus and Philetus and their followers lost (2 Tim. 2:17-18)? Why would the Bible give us examples of children of God who were corrected by faithful Christians for errors in their teaching or actions? Notice what Paul did, “...When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation” (Gal. 2:11-14; cf. Acts 18:24-26)?
        Correction among proclaimed followers of Christ is not only necessary, it is demanded. However, it should always be done out of love. The term “judging” is often used in a negative sense to describe someone who is trying to correct people because of an unscriptural belief or practice. The accusers are making it sound as if it is wrong to correct other followers of Christ when the Bible teaches we are to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24; Matt. 7:15-20). They are also being hypocritical themselves because they are judging others for judging others! If it is wrong to correct others, then Aquila and Priscilla must have been wrong to correct Apollos (Acts 18:24-26) and Paul must have been wrong to confront Peter (Gal. 2:11-14). The truth is, they did what was right. They were merely correcting the erring ones out of a love for them and those on whom they had an influence.
        If a sincere person holds an erroneous belief or is doing something wrong, he should want someone to correct him. “...Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Prov. 9:8-9; cf. 19:25; Psa. 141:5). “He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue” (Prov. 28:23). “Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:5-6; cf. Gal. 4:16). “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools” (Eccl. 7:5).
        Just as Christians should try to reach those who do not claim to follow Christ, we should also try to reach and teach those who are striving to be Christ’s followers, yet are lacking in some way. If they are sincere, they will appreciate it. However, God will be pleased with us, whether they appreciate it or not.
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Compassionate Christianity is characterized by action. We cannot say that we are truly compassionate to the needs of our fellow man and not engage in personal evangelism.

        Compassion is defined as “sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help.” It might also be defined as “to have the bowels yearn” for the well-being of another. It means for one to have a deep, inward yearning for the good and welfare of another person —even in cases where they are not deserving of our sympathy. The word for compassion is used several times in the Old and New Testaments.
        In the New Testament, the word compassion is combined with an action in connection with the expression of sympathy. Simply stated, we need to act compassionately toward those who deal with various physical, mental, and spiritual afflictions. If we wish to be like the Master, we should have the same type of compassion within ourselves.
        It is not enough for us to acknowledge that a person has a need and do nothing in connection with their problem. This problem was addressed among those who lived in the diaspora (Jews who lived outside of Israel). James 2:14-16 says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” The poor brother was dismissed from this assembly to fend for himself. This is not characteristic of genuine Christianity.
        Contrariwise, Christ was moved with compassion upon the people He encountered in His earthly ministry. He showed compassion to the man possessed with a “Legion” of demons (Mark 5:19). He had compassion upon a leper (Mark 1:41). Jesus had compassion on over five thousand people that he fed with five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:34). One could say that His entire ministry was characterized by compassion.
        One might reason that the most compassionate act of Jesus’ earthly ministry was His final —laying down His life at Calvary for the sins of the world. Jesus did not deserve to die for our sins. Without His atoning sacrifice, our sins would eternally condemn us. Paul says it well in Romans 5:6-10. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
        Compassionate Christianity is characterized by action. The church was not purchased with the precious blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28) for the purpose of warming pews. Just as Jesus was about the business of His Father (Luke 2:49), we need to be about the business of the kingdom (cf. Col. 4:11).
        We cannot say that we are truly compassionate to the needs of our fellow man and not engage in personal evangelism. The single greatest need of any human being is salvation from sin and eternal punishment. If the church does not understand the nature of its purpose, it cannot possibly accomplish God’s will regarding lost humanity. To that end, Ephesians 3:9-11 says, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
        This is why the church is called upon to show forth the excellencies of Christ. First Peter 2:9-10, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises (excellencies) of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
        When we show compassion to people who have a need, we truly make a difference in their lives. Sadly, there are people who have never truly known what compassion is. Perhaps they have been mistreated their entire lives or even abused. Jude 21-22, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference.”
        Showing compassion would include people not normally within our social sphere of comfort. Jesus lists strangers and prisoners in Matthew 25:34-36 as people that were shown compassion by His followers. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
        God’s people should lead compassionate lives. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
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        In Part One of this article (May/19), I noted where N. T. Wright said that our reward in heaven is like a beer in a refrigerator, and that Jesus will bring this beer to us when he returns to the earth (N. T. Wright; Surprised by Hope; pages 151-152). At the end of “Part One,” I promised to show you something better. Here it is.
        While awaiting trial in Roman confinement, Paul wrote of “having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). Paul knew where Christ was; if going there was “far better,” why would he want to come back here? After reading this some ask, will we go directly to heaven when we die? Jesus said to the dying thief, “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Therefore we conclude that immediately after our death we will rest in paradise while we await the final judgment. However, when Paul was “caught up into paradise” (2 Cor. 13:4), he called it “the third heaven” (2 Cor. 13:2). To reconcile this, I suggest that while this paradise is in heaven, it is not the heaven of our eternal home. When the beggar died he “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). Visualize that as Abraham’s embrace. Jesus was not waiting for the beggar in paradise, because Jesus was on the earth, but Jesus is now in heaven. When I read how Paul desired “to depart and be with Christ,” this makes me think that Jesus is waiting to embrace us on the other side the way Abraham embraced Lazarus. Though Jesus is now in that part of heaven where his throne is, “at the right hand of God exalted” (Acts 2:30-33), I conclude from Paul’s words that there is a sense in which we will be comforted by his presence in paradise as we await the resurrection. After the resurrection, we will depart to be with Jesus in the heaven of our eternal home.
        Elsewhere in Philippians Paul wrote, “Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20-21). That is the King James Version. “Conversation” usually means “manner of life” in the King James Version, but the word translated “conversation” in this passage is not the word usually so translated. This word is better translated in later versions as “citizenship,” hence, “our citizenship is in heaven,” but that is not quite right either. The word translated “heaven” is plural, therefore we have, “our citizenship is in the heavens,” but we are not there yet. The word “whence,” that follows “heavens,” is singular. The singular “whence” cannot grammatically refer back to the plural “heavens,” therefore it must refer back to the singular “citizenship,” but what does it mean to say that we “look for the savior” from our “citizenship?” Because of the grammar, the word translated “citizenship” in this passage, refers to the city where we have our citizenship. The singular “whence” points back to the singular “city” and not the plural “heavens;” therefore a more complete rendering of the passage is this: “The city (singular) of our citizenship is in the heavens, from whence (singular) we look for the savior.” The city in the heavens is our home country. That is why we call this city our heavenly home. If I may borrow from the words of two popular songs, one spiritual, and the other secular: “When we all get to heaven...” we will be “...coming home to a place we’ve never been before.” Christ will come again, and we will “depart” with him for our “city” in the “heavens.”
        Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). Peter did not say that our inheritance was kept in heaven for us to have on earth; he said that we are kept for the inheritance that is reserved in heaven. According to Peter, the heavens and the earth which exist now, will “perish,” “pass away,” “melt with fervent heat,” and be “dissolved,” not to mention “burned up,” or “laid bare” (2 Peter 3:5-12). Peter did not say that the old earth would be renewed, he said that we “look for new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:13). We do not know just what this “new heavens and new earth” will be, and to the credit of N. T. Wright, he said as much in his book (Wright, 107,162). Though the nature and substance of the new heavens and new earth has not been revealed, we know that our inheritance is “ready to be revealed at the last time” (1 Peter 1:5), that it is “incorruptible, and undefiled,” and that it “fadeth not away” (1 Peter 1:4). That is why Christ said that our “treasure in heaven” is “where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal” (Matt. 6:20).
        Peter said that we are “strangers and pilgrims” (1 Peter 1:1; 2:11), and admonished, “pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Peter 1:17). His words recall what we read of Abraham. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:8-10). Abraham was not looking for a city on the earth. His seed would one day inherit the land through which he walked, but Abraham was looking for a better heavenly country. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:13-16). That is the city of our citizenship (Phil. 3:20). Abraham knew that he was just “passing through.”
        Are you convinced yet? If not, then bare with me a little longer; this should make it clear. As you read this, remember that after Jesus rose from the dead, “he was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Tim. 3:16). Now, when Jesus came to walk among men, many of the Jews were hoping for an earthly kingdom. Christ gave us “a better hope.” The text is Hebrews 7:19: “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” This better hope is an anchor for the soul. “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus” (Heb. 6:19-20). Having entered to that “within the veil,” Jesus is “set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Heb. 8:1). Lest there be any misunderstanding, “Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. 9:24). Read it again: “Christ... entered... into heaven itself.” Therefore, he is our “forerunner...into heaven itself.” We will follow him there. If you are doubtful of this, look up the meaning of the word translated “forerunner.” The hope we have in Christ is not that he will return to the earth as an earthly king with an earthly kingdom on a renewed planet, our hope is to follow our “forerunner” to the “throne of the Majesty in the heavens...into heaven itself.” That is “a better hope” (Heb. 7:19). It is “far better” (Phil. 1:23). And, that is why Jesus said, “Great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:12).
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