Tag: bible

From the series “The Commands of Christ — Love in Action”

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”
— Matthew 7:1, NASB 1995

This verse has become one of the most misused and misunderstood words of Christ—quoted by those who reject accountability and often avoided by those who are called to speak truth. But Jesus was not forbidding judgment. He was forbidding hypocrisy.

He was not calling His people to silence.
He was calling them to purity of heart before speaking.

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
— Matthew 7:3

The command is not “never judge,” but “judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)
To love as Christ commands is to speak truth—not with pride, but with humility.
Not with arrogance, but with a heart willing to be examined first.

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Hypocritical judgment crushes.
It condemns without compassion.
It sees clearly in others but is blind to its own sin.
It says, “Let me fix you,” while refusing to be sanctified.

“First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
— Matthew 7:5

This is not a call to silence truth—it is a call to truth that flows from repentance.

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The early Church knew this danger.
They preached boldly—but they also examined themselves continually.
They spoke of sin—but never from superiority.

Clement of Rome (c. AD 96):
“Let each of us examine himself first… for judgment must begin with the household of God.”
— 1 Clement, Ch. 56

The Didache (c. AD 50–100):
“Do not hate any man; but some you are to reprove, and others to pray for. Yet do nothing without examining yourself first.”
— Didache, Ch. 2–3

Judgment without self-awareness is dangerous.
Correction without humility is damaging.
But silence in the name of comfort is not love—it is cowardice.

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To obey Christ here is to walk a narrow path:
We are called to confront sin with clean hands and a broken heart.
We are called to uphold righteousness without self-righteousness.
We are called to correct others only as those who are also under correction.

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So before we speak, we must kneel.
Before we confront, we must repent.
And if we are unwilling to let God deal with us first, we have no business pointing at the sins of others.

Because love does not seek to shame.
Love seeks to restore.
And judgment without mercy is not Kingdom love—it is Pharisaical pride.

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📚 Sources & References

Do Not Judge Hypocritically

Scripture (NASB 1995):

• Matthew 7:1–5 – “Do not judge… first take the log out of your own eye…”
• John 7:24 – “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Ante-Nicene Sources:

• Clement of Rome, 1 Clement, Ch. 56.
  “Let each of us examine himself first… judgment must begin with the household of God.”
  [Available at: NewAdvent.org]
• The Didache, Chapters 2–3.
  “Do not hate… do nothing without examining yourself first.”
  [Available at: EarlyChristianWritings.com]

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From the series “The Commands of Christ — Love in Action”

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
— Luke 9:23, NASB 1995

This is not a call to comfort.
It is not an invitation to moral improvement.
It is a summons to die.

To follow Christ is to walk the road He walked.
There is no other path to life but the one that leads through death—death to self, to sin, to pride, to reputation, to everything the world says is valuable.

The cross is not a symbol of inconvenience.
It is a tool of execution.

And Jesus didn’t say, “Take it up once.”
He said, “Daily.”

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The command to deny yourself flies in the face of everything our culture worships.
The world says, “Love yourself. Express yourself. Exalt yourself.”
Christ says, “Crucify yourself.”

Not literally, but spiritually.
Not in despair, but in obedience.

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
— Galatians 5:24

This is the heart of discipleship.
Not that we add Jesus to our lives—but that we surrender our lives to Him completely.

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To take up your cross daily means you no longer belong to yourself.
Your time. Your body. Your rights. Your dreams.
All laid down in loving surrender.

“He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:15

The early Church did not water this down.
They didn’t lure people in with promises of ease.
They preached Christ—and Him crucified. And they embraced suffering, rejection, and even death, because they had already died to this world.

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Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 107):
“Let me be food for the wild beasts… that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. I no longer desire to live according to the flesh, but to suffer for Christ.”
— Letter to the Romans, Ch. 4

Tertullian (c. AD 200):
“To bear the name of Christ is to bear the burden of the cross… not only in suffering but in denying our sinful nature daily.”
— On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Ch. 23

They did not cling to their comfort.
They clung to the cross.
Because they knew: to lose your life for Christ is to find it.

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This is not a one-time prayer.
It is a daily surrender.
It’s not about perfection—but persistence.

Every day, you wake up and lay your life down again.
Every day, you choose obedience over pride, holiness over comfort, truth over popularity.

And every day, the world may look at you and see loss.
But heaven sees love.

Because no one loves Christ more than the one who is willing to die for Him—and live for Him every single day.

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📚 Sources & References

Take Up Your Cross Daily

Scripture (NASB 1995):

• Luke 9:23 – “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily…”
• Galatians 5:24 – “Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh…”
• 2 Corinthians 5:15 – “No longer live for themselves, but for Him…”

Ante-Nicene Sources:

• Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Ch. 4.
  “Let me be food for the wild beasts… I no longer desire to live according to the flesh.”
  [Available at: EarlyChristianWritings.com]
• Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Ch. 23.
  “To bear the name of Christ is to bear the burden of the cross…”
  [Available at: NewAdvent.org]