Um...I think my mom is using The Bible to judge people...

The only judging should be toward determining if a person may have never believed in Jesus for God's free gift of Eternal Life. So if they ave not a believer, a believer may tell them how to receive God's free gift of Life.

Other judging could be done by a mature believe toward a baby believer. If they are not growing in their faith and living more worldly (committing sins).

Righteous judgment involves discerning good from bad using God's word/Jesus' example with humility, love, and compassion, rather than condemnation or personal bias, focusing on correction and healing, not shame.

A well-known example of righteous judgment in the Bible can be found in the story of the woman caught in adultery, as recorded in John 8:1-11. In this account, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman before Jesus, claiming she has been caught in the act of adultery. They remind Jesus that the Law of Moses commands that such a woman be stoned. Instead of simply condemning her or affirming their judgment, Jesus responds with wisdom and grace. He says, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7). One by one, the accusers leave, recognizing their own shortcomings and sinfulness.

Compassion Over Condemnation: Jesus does not condemn her but instead offers her forgiveness and a chance to change her life.

Examples of righteous judgment:
Deciding not to hire someone to babysit your children who has a bragging, violent past, despite their charm, is righteous judgment based on assessing potential harm from actions, not just words. Or, gently guiding a friend away from substance abuse by helping them see the spiritual harm, rather than just shaming them, reflects righteous judgment.

Judge the situation- not the person!

JacquelineDeane55 said:

I am not comfortable with it. I have never judged anyone a day in my life. Call it a personal preference, I don't know. But I am not accustomed to pointing my finger at people and judging them. Seems mean and cruel to me.

My mom is a born-again Bible believing Christian (she is an Independent Baptist and I was raised in her denomination because she always took me to church when I was a baby), and she tells me it is OK to sometimes judge people because its in the Bible!

I don't know what to make of it honestly. I had always heard that God is love, He loves people unconditionally and as His followers we should too.

She and I got into a huge argument about the Bible. We were quoting Scriptures at each other! I have some knowledge of Bible Scripture (that I learned in church all those years I attended it), but its nowhere near on the level that Billy Graham's was. People called him The Walking Bible.

I guess I don't know a lot about this subject, what the Bible really says about judging people versus loving them. Is she right, or am I right?

I guess someone who is experienced in Bible Scripture should tell me...

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Without knowing the back story it is difficult to determine the error by your mother , if there is one. I can only share my personal experience with my own mother.

My mother was certainly judgmental of her three daughters. I was the least effected because I knew she was right and never felt offended.. However, my other two sisters basically tuned her out, became angry and reminded her that scripture tells us not to judge one another in other words, they used scripture against her guidance.

One of my sisters is a christian, a tongue speaking charismatic and claims to be filled with Gods Grace. As she set her stage of purity through His Grace , she is now on her eleventh marriage. My mother has long passed away, but her voice echoes in our family as she warned my sister over and over to repent from her continual marriage and divorce activities. My mother's efforts were all in vain , obviously , as my sister's unrighteous behavior still continues. My mother delivered the Gospel message to my sister over and over and over. My sister scoffed at my mother but she loved my sister so much that she endured it, prayed for her and when my sister married the next man, my mother continued to faithfully condemn the action. My mother died shortly before my sister's tenth marriage.

Today , our family lives with my sister's continued legacy. Her entire immediate family has basically disowned her. My sister has obviously reconciled her actions and no amount of judgment will help her at this point.

So why relay this story to you?

I relay this story to show that while you believe judging is "mean and cruel," the most painful thing a mother can do is remain silent while her child wanders into a life of wreckage. My sister used the same argument of "Grace" and "Love" to justify eleven marriages, essentially turning God’s mercy into a license to ignore His Law. I share this because my mother wasn’t being cruel; she was being a watchman, and though her warnings were rejected, she fulfilled her biblical duty to speak the truth in love. Ultimately, true love does not ignore the cliff a person is walking toward; it shouts a warning, even if the person walking calls that shout "judgment.


Be blessed.

JacquelineDeane55 said:

I am not comfortable with it. I have never judged anyone a day in my life. Call it a personal preference, I don't know. But I am not accustomed to pointing my finger at people and judging them. Seems mean and cruel to me.

My mom is a born-again Bible believing Christian (she is an Independent Baptist and I was raised in her denomination because she always took me to church when I was a baby), and she tells me it is OK to sometimes judge people because its in the Bible!

I don't know what to make of it honestly. I had always heard that God is love, He loves people unconditionally and as His followers we should too.

She and I got into a huge argument about the Bible. We were quoting Scriptures at each other! I have some knowledge of Bible Scripture (that I learned in church all those years I attended it), but its nowhere near on the level that Billy Graham's was. People called him The Walking Bible.

I guess I don't know a lot about this subject, what the Bible really says about judging people versus loving them. Is she right, or am I right?

I guess someone who is experienced in Bible Scripture should tell me...

Click to expand...

What does your father say in all this? Presuming he's still around and a believer himself ...

The Bible calls us to discern / form an opinion / judge / recognise what is good or bad. We're called to stay away or even expel sinners from our midst if they are unrepentant. We don't have to condemn .. that is up to God.

JacquelineDeane55 said:

My mom is a born-again Bible believing Christian (she is an Independent Baptist and I was raised in her denomination because she always took me to church when I was a baby), and she tells me it is OK to sometimes judge people because its in the Bible!

Click to expand...

Your mom's not the only one, and because of this, Christians war with sinners. In our view, we think the bible applies to everyone when the bible is meant to be personal and for your Christian congregation.

Some families weaponize the bible but that's true of a lot of people who are not true believers.

Righteous correction, or debate, shouldn't really be viewed as judging. We, as believers, are not supposed to ignore when another believer sins. We are supposed to help them through correction. Some people mistake this for judgment but that is an error.

Hello Jacqueline
Salomon is reported to be wise, and he 's famous for his judgment

JacquelineDeane55 said:

Huh?



Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you want me to read his writings! OK, I will do that.

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Not necessary to read about his life, however useful it might be. (Spoiler, if you didn't know about him : His wisdom came from God..)

i guess there are some old movies about his deeds as well.
But a mere wikipedia search might be informative and not time consuming

Maria Billingsley is right. We need to know more about the situation in order to guide you in the right direction.

@JacquelineDeane55 Can you provide examples of your mom being judgmental?

Every one judges others to some extent at least sometimes.

The Bible doesn't actually teach us not to judge, but warns us that we can be judged in the same way, to the same extent, in the same measure. If that judgement comes from God, that's a rather heavy thought.

We are directed by Jesus to take care of our own sins, failings, and problems before trying to address someone else's.

The same God tells us to seek justice and to be merciful. Jesus said those who give mercy will receive mercy.

Justice involves judgement. Mercy implies judgement has taken place first. What is there to be merciful about if the person isn't in need of mercy for something?

I have yet to meet someone who passes no judgment. The judgment to avoid is hypocritical judgment, and condemnation. Generally, the people I have met who claim to judge no one have turned out to be the most hypocritical because they were blind to their judgment.

JacquelineDeane55 said:

I guess I don't know a lot about this subject, what the Bible really says about judging people versus loving them. Is she right, or am I right?

Click to expand...

We cannot judge others without judging ourselves,
because the moment we judge, we step into a role that belongs to God alone.

Paul says this directly in Romans 2:1:

“For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

Three truths sit inside that one line:

• Judging others exposes our own guilt.
• We hold others to a standard we ourselves fail.
• Judgment belongs to God, so when we take His role, we place ourselves under the same judgment.