Any Christian viewpoint steeped in denominational tradition is a limited perspective of God. Let me explain what I mean:

I have been guilty in the past of having a condescending attitude towards other denominations and ministries that did not clearly line up with my perception of what was pleasing to God. Admittedly, any true Christian recognizes that no one is perfectly aligned with Jesus and His word; try as we might we all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) As soon as you identify one area of shortcoming in another, you’ve highlighted an area or two of weakness in yourself as well.

As I came through my deliverance journey and experienced the real power that the demonic spirit world had, I became aware of God’s power and just how great and all encompassing He must be. I realized that somehow I had tied God’s hands in my life: I limited His power by believing He no longer spoke, no longer healed, and no longer did miraculous works. My prayer in my new season of life became an open invitation to God much like Moses prayed in Exodus 33:18 “I beseech thee, shew my thy glory.” As I stopped caring about whether my presupposed theological beliefs were true, I chose instead to pursue God. I realized that I knew a lot about God, but I didn’t know Him personally.

The perspective I have only just begun to see can be described simply like this: we have an incredibly complex God. Our God is the same mysterious God who spoke in dreams throughout every period of Bible history (and still does today), told Isaiah to prophecy naked for three years, and commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute. (Need I continue?) The God of the Bible often uses strange means to accomplish His will — yet I used to find myself surprised, confused, and even sometimes offended by any church or christian that did things differently than the methods by which I was accustomed. (I.e. meets on a different schedule, used worship music, didn’t wear ties, a pastor who preached sitting instead of standing, a different community outreach plan than door knocking, or ministries that didn’t fit my view of a church’s purpose. I had replaced a personal God who calls specific people to specific tasks with tradition.

As I learned more about the complexities of God, He showed me five reasons not to stand in judgement of other Christians or ministries. All of these truths came from my most recent read through of the New Testament, I took notes as God revealed each passage to me and organized them into five distinct truths. I have included a brief description of each passage and how it relates to the overall point, but heavily encourage you to read every passage for yourself. 

Five Reasons not to Stand in Judgment of Other Christians or Ministries

1. Remember that our same God creates different churches for different purposes. 

• • 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 – Not every ministry will look like the one to which you’re most accustomed.

2. Remember that our job is not to determine who is truly following Christ. 

• • Mark 9:38-40 – “He that is not against us is on our part.”
  • Matthew 13:30 – Christ says to leave the Tares for Him to deal with. 
  • Romans 14:4 – “Who art thou that should stand in judgement of another man’s servant?”
  • 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 – Leave judgement to Christ for when He returns.

3. Remember to consider their fruit. 

• • Matthew 7:15-20 – Followers of Jesus will be known by their fruit, not their methods.
  • Also, the pivotal need is doing something in the will of God. Never reject someone for methods that are different than your own.

4. Remember that by standing in judgement of a man or ministry, we could unwittingly blaspheme the Holy Spirit or cause the heart of God to be grieved.

• • Matthew 12:24-33, Mark 3:22-30, Luke 11:15-20, Luke 12:10 – There are lots of opinions about what “grieving the Holy Spirit” actually means, but this is one obvious viewpoint to consider.
  • Mark 3:1-5 – You may grieve God by being hard hearted about what He is trying to accomplish. 
  • Ephesians 4:29-32 – We grieve the Holy Spirit through bitterness, anger, glamour, and evil speaking. 

5. Remember that anyone who stands in criticism of someone today, would have done so with prophets/preachers of old if they had been there. 

• (This includes Jesus Himself, we ALL individually rejected and put Christ on the cross)
•  Matthew 23:29-32, John 9:24-30 – Don’t think you are the exception. 
• 2 Timothy 3:1-8 – Describes Christians in the last days and compares them to Janes and Jambres who withstood God’s man, Moses. 

Simply put, God gives us no right or responsibility to stand in judgment of another person or ministry. He calls each servant according to His mysterious will and no matter how odd or strange they seem, we are clearly expected to let God deal with His servants or the imposters as He sees fit.