JUDGING BY APPEARANCES

I Cor. 4:5 So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.

Don’t jump to conclusions about another person’s soul. We are so prone to do it. We see what we think determines the status of one’s soul and judge whether or not someone is a child of God or not. While there are certain things that should be true of every believer’s life, we must be very careful about this. We don’t know the heart, only God does. Only God is able to determine whether or not a person is worthy of being his child or not.

We must understand that not everyone has the same knowledge and understanding of God’s ways. We are responsible for living by what we know to be true. The more aware we are of God’s ways, the more like Christ we must be. There is no excuse for disobedience. We must live by what we know is true.

I believe as well that if we are ignorant of God’s way yet have the opportunity to learn and know His ways that we will be held responsible for not knowing. We cannot plead innocence when we fail to take advantage of the opportunities we are given. God requires of us responsible learning.

The Lord will expose all of our heart’s hidden secrets. He will examine our every motive. He will determine rightly and justly every soul and reward those who are truly His. It is not our right or role to judge another’s soul. Instead, we are to love one another with the love of Christ. We are to build each other up and not tear each other down. There is no room in God’s family for self-righteousness that leads to condemnation.