Devotion #2: Standing Alone

Whenever I read a passage on judgment, I feel majorly convicted. We are regularly warned against unrighteous judgment in the Bible (Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 4:5; and John 7:24) because God is the ultimate Judge, and we are called to simply love and care for people. In today’s culture, it is very common for people to comment on other people’s appearance or how they speak or act. Honestly, it is much easier to look at someone else’s life and talk about what they could do better rather than look at our own life to fix that.  

In Romans chapter 14, judgment on others is addressed again. In verse 10, Paul says, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” He continues the thought in verse 12. “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” I think the key thing here is this last part, “each of us will give an account of himself.” We are not going to be asked what we saw our neighbor do, or our aunt or brother, but we are going to stand before the Lord, and He is going to judge us solely on what fruits we bore during our time on Earth. Some may find this to be scary, or it may make you nervous, but that is the opposite of the feeling you should have! Praise God that I am not responsible for other people’s actions. Let that bring peace to you, knowing you only have to worry about yourself.  

Do not get me wrong; we are to help keep each other accountable. We are to look out for our brothers and sisters to make sure they do not fall. Yet, when we stand or kneel before the Lord at the Bema Seat Judgment (the believers’ judgment), the Lord will focus solely on each of us individually. 

So, I want to challenge you. Are you spending all of your time telling other people how to change and be better while you continue doing the exact same thing? Or, are you going to focus on making sure your own heart is in the right place and spread the truth of God’s Word, showing them the love that the Lord has commanded us to show?