Many professing believers claim to understand and practice the love of Christ towards others,but fail to examine themselves and their motives...while scrutinizing those of others.
If we were properly evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged,1 Corinthians 11:31 (HCSB)
Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, he is not in you. (2 Corinthians 13:5 ERV)
Oftentimes , people like that are attempting to make themselves appear innocent , and will say things such as, "I don't see how they can call themselves a Christian, I just don't see it!" When people make condemning remarks lsuch as that, they're putting themselves on a pedestal, as an arrogant self-righteous display to others .
Everyone in this world , including Christians, has made and will make erroneous judgements and mistakes , but only GOD sees the hearts and motives of each one of us .
"… but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart….” (1 Samuel 16:7 ERV)
People acting self righteously will judge a person based on what they see and hear about others , using a filter of condemnation in order to smear the reputations of others to make their own appear flawless.
We don’t dare put ourselves in the same class with those who think they are so important. We don’t compare ourselves to them. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing. But we will not boast about anything outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our boasting to the work God gave us, but this work includes our work with you. (2 Corinthians 10:12-13 ERV)
When encountering or dealing with such people in our lives, GOD encourages us to to pray for them, and bless them even though they curse us. Remember , He sees all and knows all...and is the only One who can judge us.
“People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do that, know that great blessings belong to you. Be happy about it. Be very glad because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did these same bad things to the prophets who lived before you. (Matthew 5:11-12 ERV)
When Jesus saw the crowds of people there, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came and sat next to him.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. (Matthew 5:1, 43-47 ERV)
