However, for those who are not yet mature—like Jews who were immature by God’s standard—their joy is disturbed when they see others doing something they regard as breaking the law. This helps us understand why Jews who understood the law readily judged others, even when those judgments were made from a legal perspective. They would often try to impose sanctions, such as stoning and cutting off hands. What matters most for us as children of God is to put on the person of Christ. If someone only knows the law about right and wrong, they are still prone to judging others. But if we put on the person of Christ, we will not judge our brothers and sisters, God’s own, and will not say that others are accountable to oneself. So, when someone transgresses according to God’s law, that person answers to Him; everyone must answer to God. Truly, we should think that we are responsible toward others in the sense that we do not want to harm, wound, or cause others to stumble by our actions. We must not demand that others be responsible to us. If we know the law—about good and evil, permissible and forbidden—and someone does something wrong or forbidden, we do not need to be disturbed and react to condemn or punish them.
Therefore, we must learn not to be disturbed by those who sin. Honestly, often we feel disturbed. In that attitude, we are effectively demanding something from the sinner. We must be careful in every step of life because we do not want to harm, wound, or trouble others with our mistakes, much less cause them to stumble. It is as if we are responsible for them all. Yet we do not demand that others be responsible to us. Frankly, we ourselves often make mistakes. For example, when someone cuts in line, we may say nothing but feel anger or annoyance inwardly. Now, let us learn not to respond that way. We must learn to have the right inward attitude. Remember, no one in this world has the right to judge another.
To claim God’s law as one’s own means demanding that others answer to oneself. If someone breaks God’s law, we demand they answer to us—but truly, everyone answers to God. We should care for others without causing them harm. But we must not demand that others answer us. If we know right from wrong and someone acts wrongly, we need not react by punishing or condemning them.
James 4:11–12 says, “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, he who can save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” Truly, only God has the authority to judge, for He alone is the righteous and just Judge in His judgment (Rev. 16:7). Judgment is not a human right. Therefore, we must not place ourselves in God’s position. God takes God’s place; God’s demand of us is the measure by which we judge others.
Matthew 7:1–2 says, “Do not judge, that you will not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” Those who “judge” others also find it hard to forgive. And those who do not forgive others will not be forgiven. So, if we do not press the faults of others, our own faults will not be pressed and may even be blotted out. Therefore, why should we press the faults of others when those people are not responsible to us?