For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5: 10-11
This is what leads Paul to declare in our key verses that it is not his place to judge those in the world that is left to God. All will have an opportunity to hear the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and decide for themselves if they want that relationship or not.
The church is the instrument God uses to deliver that message to the fallen world. But what message are we delivering? Is it a message of love?
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:34-35 (NLT)
This is a new commandment for us to follow given by Jesus Himself! It is through love that the world will see we are the disciples of Christ. Not through faux righteousness and pseudo-morality. The healing of the land starts with the church. It starts with those who are called according to His name not those who are walking in the darkness of the world.
What message are we delivering? Is it a message laced with condemnation? Is it a message that seeks to place us above the recipient? The Apostle Paul had evangelized the known world and written the principle doctrines that would become the New testament, yet here was his opinion of himself:
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"--and I am the worst of them all. 1Timothy 1: 15 (NLT)
It is not about the sinner it is about the Savior. That is the ultimate price for the distraction we fall too easily for. The enemy wants us to be judgmental to a fallen world because it accomplishes two goals for him. First it takes our eyes off of our own walk and makes us feel better about it by comparing ourselves to the world. Secondly, it takes our eyes off of Jesus. Imagine it this way we are holding the keys to a jail cell that is holding someone captive. We approach the cell and instead of giving them the key or opening the door we proceed to reprimand them for being in the cell in the first place.
