Let’s define what I mean by conservative and liberal Christians. A conservative is one who often is doctrinally-centric. They have a very high view of scripture which is good. They filter everything through a Bible lense. They try their best to “color within the lines.”
A liberal Christian wants to live out loud. They may not be as Bible focused. They tend to have a more social focus than doctrinal. They may emphasize being more community oriented. Some of them are pro abortion and may support LGBTQIA+ which many Christians who are conservative say is toxic empathy and sin. It may be hard to determine if they are truly saved because there is no visible good fruit. They attend churches with a progressive pastor who’s more democratic and social justice minded than theocratic. He or she is emotionally and performance driven rather than Theologically astute. These types of Christians are described as carnal. Both groups judge each other harshly.
The model we must follow is our Lord Jesus. We MUST study His life and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the courage, strength, boldness, discernment, love, truth and grace to imitate Christ. This means we need to always read the gospels to see how Jesus related to the people of His day and transfer that to today's godless culture.
Unfortunately, too many Christians are trying to be so relatable to the world they compromise and become unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Others are going over the top to separate from every non believer. We cannot do that for they are the harvest- the ones we must share the gospel with. We need to engage them without being corrupted by their evil ways. In other words, we stand for truth no matter what.
The Bible tells us although we are in the world, we can’t be of the world. We have been saved and we are new creations in Christ. We are commanded to be holy for our Lord is holy ( John 17:16; 2 Cor 5:17; 1 Peter 1:16).
It seems to me both groups could learn from one another. We have to remember that each person is different and develops at different levels. What is very concerning is when someone has been in the faith a long time and there is no growth at all. That person needs to be take inventory of their lives to find out why there is no developing fruit in their lives. Could it be they are not actually saved, just self deceived?
We need to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10-11).
Problems facing both groups
The liberal Christian is on a slippery slope. Why do I say this? Because they are living their life so carefree, their light is not shining for anyone to see. No one can tell if they are a child of God or not. Nothing they do is spiritual. Many are ashamed of the gospel and are afraid to speak out for God when the opportunity is in front of them. They are not ready to give a defense for the gospel. This sorry posture will lead to doubting the salvation they claimed when they made an initial profession of faith. Its time for that person to humble themselves before the Lord, repent of their sins and start again. They have fallen - very hard, but they can get back up, dust themselves off and re-commit their lives to the Lord.
We must not use our liberty in Christ as a license to sin.
Now for the conversative, they are good at crossing the T's and dotting their I's. But for some, they are cold hearted, graceless and compassionless toward their fellow brothers and sisters that are not like them. Oh! They will not verbalize it, but some of them believe they have cornered-the-market on how the Christian life is to be lived. Let's be honest. Even seasoned veterans in the faith struggle mightily in their desire to walk right. It is important that none of us get too smug in the fact that we may have a strong fidelity for the word, but are we loving our neighbor? Are we kind to strangers? More importantly, are we restoring those in the Church who have succumbed to sin realizing that same temptation may be crouching at our door ready to devour us (Galatians 6:1)?
We need to be very careful how we treat others in the body of Christ.
Judge yourself first before judging others
The matter of judging will always be a touchy subject because of the tension it brings. Can we as Christians judge one another? Should we judge one another? If so, in what way are we to do it? When we think of someone judging, we automatically think of someone condemning and casting sentence on us like a judge would in a court of law. No. That is not the way we are to judge each other. The way we are to judge each other is by discerning what problem(s) a person has and helping get them to get through it with the word of God. In other words, we are to examine the problem and or sin, counsel them (if they want it), love and pray for them so that they get right with God. In James 5:16 we read, “Confess your faults to one another and pray for another that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of the righteous avails much.” We all are guilty of judging each other without context, no evidence of why the person behaved the way they did. Most of the time it is simply what we see, rebellion. Many other times people see no harm in doing what they are doing, but other Christians see it and are repulsed by it. These pharisaical Christians I call the moral gatekeepers of the Church. They are often the hypocrites of the Church. They see a speck in their brother's eye, but will not get rid of the plank in their own eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
Jesus commanded that we do not judge based on apperance, but judge righteous judgement ( John 7:24).
The writer's advice in dealing with one another is to not be quick to judge another Christian's actions when you do not know what the back story is. Believers know when they are in sin, even those who are young in their faith. We have to be very concerned when we see a pathlogy of unbroken sinful behavior. That means something very serious is going on with that person, and intense prayer and intercession has to be administered - spiritual holy war is going on. Satan is on the prowl and perhaps at that time the brother and/or sister is too weak to acknowledge the root cause of their rebellion - they need undergirding from the body of Christ.
So lets take a godly approach. We can't ignore the sin for that is why the intervention has to take place. Speak the truth to them in love (Ephesians 4:15). Try to reason with them and find out what is going on. Be a listening ear, let them vent their frustrations, and then offer counsel that hopefully offer solutions to their problem and pray for them. Express to them the neccesity of repenting of their sins to the Lord to get back in right relationship with Him (1 John 1:9). Let them know you love them and you're here for them. That type of judging will always go much further than one acting like a judge, jury and executioner in a court of law.
Remember, we are to judge righteously and lovingly without hyprocrisy. Never offer judgment if your sins are equal or greater than theirs. We are NEVER to condemn each other. Jesus Christ is the final judge (John 5:22).
P.S. - Take heed to yourself and your doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you
- 1 Timothy 4:16