Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

I grew up believing I had the knowledge to judge the salvation of others, specifically those outside of the Laestadian Lutheran Church. Here is what I have learned and my experiences with judging and being judged.

I want to share a story. It may be difficult for some to read, so please proceed with that in mind. I am not sharing this to paint a negative picture of anyone, rather I am sharing it to help others understand my experience.

It was May and the warmth had finally begun to return to Minnesota! We were seeing more days of sunshine and the days were getting longer. I was moving out of my house into another couple's (church members) house in Minnesota because all of my roommates had moved to other states. I was a little bummed I wasn't moving to Utah, my dream state, but it wasn't time to move there yet so I was going to stay with this couple until I decided my next steps. I needed to save a little more money and make arrangements before I could make the big move.

I was grateful to have a place to stay but I was also nervous because I had started to question the church and the husband and wife I was moving in with weren't aware I was on the cusp of leaving. To make matters more difficult, the husband was a minister. I knew I had learned too much in my research to continue "simply believing" what I had been taught by the church and I was nervous they would not be happy with my decision. I also didn't want the discussions with them that were sure to come once they found out. I don't remember how, but the conversation about church came up on my first night in their home and we had an intense conversation that deeply bothered me. I began to share my beliefs and what I had learned with them and I was almost immediately told by the wife that the way I was talking is like the "the other spirit," referring to the other side of the split* (heresy) that was happening at the time. A few months prior, I would have agreed with them about the other spirit but I had been reading the Bible and I knew the Truth, and I was no longer convinced by the church's teachings

*There have been many heresies - where a group has split off from the church and started their own branch - within Conservative Laestadianism and this time period was the start of another split that eventually happened in July of 2022.

The conversation continued and I was also told by her, "if you doubt the teachings of the church, you are not of the right spirit and you need to have that "taken care of" (forgiven)." I had apparently lost sight (I could no longer see things the way they do) because I had not been attending church at the LLC and any doubts I was having about the church were coming from the devil. I couldn't believe I was being talked to the way they were talking to me but I also had never spoken my mind to anyone in the church the way I did that night. Then, we got on the topic of whether we can judge another person's salvation or not. I knew the church members believed that they could judge whether someone was going to heaven or hell, which no longer sat right with me. I had judged countless people throughout my life, believing they were going to hell for wearing makeup and earrings or for not attending our church. While I had been living on my own, right before I moved in with this couple, I had been watching testimonies of people who came from evil and very sinful backgrounds and had been visited by or learned about Jesus, and their lives were forever changed. I asked this husband and wife how these people weren't saved, when by biblical standards they would be saved. Their explanation was that these people hadn't received the "gospel," which to them is the forgiveness of sins from someone in the LLC, so they didn't truly have the Holy Spirit. I told them I believe we do not have the ability to judge another person's heart/salvation based off of them not coming to our church and also that we receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized, after we believe in Jesus and choose to follow Him; and the husband's response was "I'm not judging, the Holy Spirit is judging." I was honestly flabbergasted. They also told me that the LLC is the one true church and all the rest have a "dead" faith, therefore all of those people who had their lives completely changed by Jesus were not truly saved. I had spent the month prior reading the Bible so I could not believe anything they were saying and we had to agree to disagree. I knew that what they were saying was not biblical.

That was a tough conversation and one I will never forget.

I only share this to help you understand the seriousness of judging others and how harmful it can be and to share the truth about judgement that comes from the Bible.

In the almost 2 years since this conversation, I have continued researching many different aspects of the church's teachings, sometimes over and over again when I have needed the reminder that I am not wrong for believing the way I do. I'm sure a lot of others who have left have been in the same boat, trying to make sense of their beliefs and everything they were taught. Sometimes that is all we have to help us stay rational amidst the chaos of leaving all we have ever known.

In my research recently, this is what I have learned about judgement: we have the knowledge to discern righteous from the unrighteous and good from evil, but not what is in someone's heart. We can see the fruits of those around us and whether they reflect the heart of a believer but we cannot condemn others based solely on appearance, such as makeup, earrings, or tattoos or the fact that they don't go to a specific church. Ultimately, God is the judge of the true state of our hearts.

Yesterday, I was reading the Bible and I came across this Bible verse:

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge according to righteous judgement."

John 7:24

Jesus was speaking to the Jews, explaining to them that we cannot judge someone's heart based on outward appearance but we can judge by God's word, through our relationship with Christ. He is not saying we should condemn others, rather he is saying that we can use discernment (righteous judgement) to know good from evil and the righteous from the unrighteous. It is not our duty to nitpick and judge everyone else's actions and beliefs, rather we should focus on our own, that's why we have the Bible, to guide each of US in knowing what is right and wrong, not so we can judge others and tell them they are not believing correctly. We can make evaluations of character but we do not have the knowledge that God does to know whether someone is truly a Christian or not. For example, one person could attend church, only to make it look like they are a believer but not actually believe in Jesus or live a righteous life outside of church, while another could wear makeup and earrings, have great faith in Him, and live a moral and righteous life. Who is the believer? The first appears to be a believer, by LLC standards, but they do not actually believe. The second appears to not be a believer, but firmly believes. This is why Jesus teaches not to judge by outward appearance.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

Many who leave the church are slandered and judged for speaking up and living in a way that is different from those in the LLC. They are told they are going to hell and that God has left them and He might shut the door and never allow them to come back. Members gossip about those who leave the church or who start dying their hair or wearing makeup while still attending church. There are immediately questions of whether or not these people are still believing, simply because their appearance has changed. I will be the first to admit I am guilty of gossiping about people like this while I was still in the church and I am not proud of it. I am grateful God opened my eyes to the wrongness of my ways and that He helped me learn to turn my focus to myself and the many things I struggle with instead. I will be judged exactly the same as I judge others.

In the end, only God can judge our hearts and we cannot know what He sees in the hearts of others. Whether someone attends your church or not or believes the same way as you or not, we still need to love one another and treat each other with respect. There shouldn't be rumors and gossip about those who have left, this is wrong. And hurtful. I have heard horrible things that have been said about ex-LLC members, even completely false stories about who they are or the things they are doing with their life now. I have to ask, why is this necessary? And this is so cliché, but what would Jesus do? He would love everyone and treat them with respect, regardless of how they choose to live their life. If He is our example, shouldn't we be following suit? I say this all out of the goodness of my heart because my heart hurts for those who have been affected by this, and as a reminder to those still in the church.

We are meant to love one another, regardless of our differences.

"11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who are thou that judges another?"

James 4:11-12

This post is straight from my heart and I have a lot of passion for this topic. I will be honest about my beliefs and my experiences and it may not be what others want to hear and I am okay with that, because this is me.

And everyone deserves to share their story.

Who are we if not ourselves?

As you go on with your day, here is a little food for thought:

-When you judge a situation or person, how do you know you are rightfully judging them?

-Are you too caught up in someone else's downfalls to notice your own?

-Are you evaluating/condemning someone based on God's word or based on standards created by man?