We can also see in Romans 2:1-16 and 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 the Bible's clear warnings about judging one another. God alone is the judge—the righteous judge with perfect judgment. We have no business usurping God's work of judging humans.

We do need to make judgments about right and wrong, good and evil. The Bible is clear that we are to cling to God's righteousness and do battle against evil. Sometimes evil is obvious to all people of good faith, as in the stories of child sacrifice in the Old Testament (e.g., Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; 32:35). Sometimes people of good faith disagree and struggle to judge what is right, as we see regarding matters of worship and sacrifice in the book of Acts and the New Testament letters. So we struggle to make judgments about right and wrong—but that can easily slip into judging another's soul.

I have enjoyed the luxury of having studied in five very different seminaries and serving as a trustee for a sixth. It is a privilege to have experienced from the inside out a wide range of theological traditions. I have also seen how people of good faith can horribly misjudge each other because they do not know each other. They have only argued and debated with each other.

Years ago I stood in a Professor A' s office as he said sarcastically about Professor B of another school across the country, "I have heard that 'B' is a person of some faith, but given what he has written, I can hardly imagine how he could be." It just happened that Professor B was a dear friend of mine (Professor A, of course, did not know this). I had dined in Professor B's home with his family, prayed and studied the Bible with him, and taught his child in my youth group. I know no more faithful follower of Christ than Professor B. But because of a methodology Professor B had published in a scholarly work, Professor A had judged that he was most likely not a Christian. And Professor A is a very intelligent Christian man of good faith and good intention.

People of good faith who love Christ can disagree and argue about things. But it is costly to Christ's witness when the members of his body cannibalize one another because of their disagreements.

"First remove the log in your own eye," says Jesus. My first response is to reach for a mirror and do this myself. But in Jesus' day most mirrors were polished metal. Glass mirrors were only introduced in the first century, and they were optically challenged (remember 1 Corinthians 13:12). To clear your eye just might mean you must submit to examination by another.

Another meeting of the General Assembly is approaching. I once again pray and work toward the end that we will be able to disagree thoughtfully as we together seek the mind and heart of Christ. And I pray that we will be able to leave to God the judging of one another.

Psalm 50:6 is always a good reminder: "The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge."

Next month:
A new way of loving