“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;” -Romans 14:10
Paul exhorts both parties to cease their unseemly criticisms toward one another. His use of brother here implies that there exists, by virtue of a shared salvation in Christ, not only a fraternal bond but an equal station in the family of God.
One who passes judgment on the other in such matters of days and diets takes upon himself the office of a judge, an office that does not belong to him. And the one who despises his brother in such matters of days and diets similarly acts outside of and beyond his capacity to judge his brother’s conscience.
And Paul is not alone in his exhortation. James, the brother of our Lord, preached the same in his letter to the saints: “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” -James 4:12
Let us beware! For we do not possess the authority or the ability to judge such matters. They are reserved for God alone to judge. We will, however, stand on the other side of the bench, before the judgment seat of God, as those who will be judged. Moreover, let us heed the words of our Lord Jesus in this matter of judging another’s conscience and motive:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, 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 7:1–5
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