Hmmmnn...Some really good thoughts, Nooley

>>We simply decide if what was done was against God's word and what punishment goes with the circumstance<< This is really good stuff.

I agree with you. And it goes back to looking at the fig tree and determining whether the tree is fruitful, or whether it has produced bad fruit or no fruit at all.

I think the problem stems from people jumping in too quickly to determine the fruit and judging before the time. It can also be a matter of the heart, ie. motivation. We can decide if something is running contrary to God's Word and try to deal with it in a truly Godly fashion, or we can take it upon ourselves to point fingers at someone for a million other reasons beside the person's best spiritual interest. In this case, discerning and judging the motivations for judging are necessary also.
On the other hand, we say 'do not judge', over and over, and yet some manner of passing judgement is completly unavoidable. Perhaps in some people the real reason to voice the 'no judgement' stance, is simply a desire to avoid responsibility for their actions, rebellion even.
So once again, the operative words have to be: Discernment and Scriptural Balance. Tweet