Allowing for Change
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy: who art thou that judgeth another (James 4:12).
People, even Christians, tend to judge others harshly, lock a person into that label, and never change their opinion. Thankfully, God never does that, and he doesn't want us to either. We are commanded to forgive. Branding a person as a certain kind of sinner, and never allowing for change is not forgiving them. We say God changes people, but we often don't act like it, and our job is to love like Christ.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37).
Paul's life is a good example of why we should forgive sinners and allow them to move on. Paul had severely persecuted followers of Christ. Men like him had been the reason many of the early Christians had scattered from Jerusalem to other locations. Paul was a devout Jew and thought the new believers were an affront to God.
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone... (John 8:7b).
Paul and Barnabas |
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