Why is it that christians always pick and choose which rules to follow?

Question

The bible says you shouldn't judge others, but christians are the first to judge anyone who doesn't believe the way they do?
Christians are the first to condemn someone's lifestyle if it doesn't agree with them. It seems like they just pick out bible verses that reinforces what they want to think and ignore the rest.

Answer 1

Not all christians

Answer 2

Christians are not *supposed* to pick and choose which rules to follow. They are supposed to pick the ones specified by the bible, in particular the New Testament.

It's true that *many sects* play Cafeteria Christian with the *Old* Testament, but these sects generally ignore the clear instructions in Acts and Paul's letters.

Please don't lump all Christians with the Cafeteria Christians.

As another answerer rightly suggested, passing a *moral* judgment on "someone's lifestyle" is not forbidden. In fact, if your intention is to teach that person about salvation, it is *mandatory*. However, as Paul clearly stated, we are only to *judge* (i.e., pass sentence on) fellow Christians, not on non-Christians.

1Co 5:9-13 (New American Standard Bible)
9. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10. I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world.
11. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler not even to eat with such a one.
12. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13. But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

I hope that this helps to explain things.

Jim

Answer 3

Oh, the stereotypical Christian question. I don't pick and chose what rules to follow. A question for you: Why do you non-believers feel it necessary to paint all Christians with the same brush. Maybe you should try the Bible some day. It's quite a lovely book actually.

Answer 4

Some Christians trust & obey and some are disobedient Christians. Obedient Christians renew their mind in the Word of God. This is washing in the Word. Some have never read anything, nor go to Church & hear the Word preached. Faith comes by hearing & hearing a Word about Christ / God.

If we sin, we confess our sin, & He (Jesus) is faithful & just to forgive us our sin & cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And this cleansing is by washing in the Word & the Holy Spirit renews our minds in Gods truth. The truth sets us free.

The bible doesn't write we shouldn't judge others. But it writes we shouldn't judge others or be judged likewise. And there are disobedient Christians who critically judges their sister or brother in Christ because of the speck in their eye, while there is a log in their own eye. The log is a result of making rules to follow for themself & judging others for not following the rules they think they should. This is self righteousness. Not Christ righteousness.

But we, as Christians, are given the gift of discernment, where the Holy Spirit compares spiritual with spiritual & teaches us the difference between good & evil or right & wrong. Washes us in Gods Word & renews our minds. This is for Christians who trust & obey. And we discern if someone is a Christian or not. For me, I ask God from what I know of this person. And God knows if they are sealed with the Holy Spirit yet. There are true Christians who don't believe the way I do. But there is always the same foundation. They have gotten on the Rock Foundation; Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. Through an act of faith & through saying & confessing Jesus Christ their Lord, Savior & Resurrection. While believing in their heart. You have to have both, an act of heart faith. Action & faith. Works without faith is dead works. Faith without works is dead. You need both to receive the creative miracle of spiritual birth. This is a new birth & person is whole; body, soul & spirit. This is also how God created everthing. By the Faith of God and by God spoken commandment..."Let there be light...". And there was light.

Answer 5

There is a big difference between true and false Christians. There is also a big difference between saying what YOU think is wrong and saying or showing what the Bible says is wrong or right.

For true Christians, it is not a matter of picking and choosing. "All scripture is inspired of God and beneficial..." and "All things written aforetime, were written for our instruction, that through the comfort of the scriptures we might have hope." (2 Tim. 3:16; Romans 15:4)

Answer 6

We all seem to pick and choose comfortable belief systems. We condemnn those who have done things we think we would not and accept ourselves despite evidence that says we should not.

Ironically we won't be able to condem the condemners without being the ones we condemn.

Answer 7

I'd certainly have to agree with what fourmorebeer said. The "rules" are so rigid and unforgiving of the slightest deviation, that it's no surprise to me ever, when I hear about somebody known to be "ultra-religious" who's gone completely off the deepend. You only have to listen to some of 'em in those religion chatrooms to tell they've got some real problems in the upper compartment.

But those people who fall into the mainstream of religious beliefs and practises (and I do think they are the majority) try to apply some common sense and rationality to the way they live their beliefs. They realise that no matter how you try to deny it, the people of today's society just ain't the same as the folks who lived a few thousand years ago. Their whole world was as different Jupiter is from Planet Earth. If you were to "welcome the stranger at your door" in the middle of the night asking if he can come in and use your telephone because his car has broken down, it could well be the last thing you do in this world lol. I am not a "theist" at all, but I still respect those who want to believe in the Mysterious Invisible Superbeing, and indeed, i live among a whole slew of 'em. They are all good, decent upstanding human beings who are definitely among those "mainstream" rational believers who just try to apply the basic principles of being the right kind of human being within the parameters of what can possibly be expected of them, living in the 21st century. The reason why the judgemental, fanatical two-faced religious wackoes seem to be more prevelant than the sound and sensible ones is because they're the ones making so much damn noise and fuss, and doing all the trouble-stirring. The latter group are just quietly going on about their own business, applying their faith in their own particular way as best they can in these difficult, challenging, and monumentally different times from the ones that anyone had any clue about when those original "rules of behaviour" were first written - by whoever it was, because nobody really knows.

I believe that the religionists who do all that fingerpointing, denouncing, and judgeing are doing that to somehow placate their own sense of frustration that they can't (and they know they can't) live up to the whole package of those "rules and regulations" that they are making a big, noisy pretence of believing in and advocating for others. Makes me think of that good example Jimmy Swaggert, who spent a whole lot of time in his so-called "ministry" denouncing the ways of the flesh, especially those that had anything to do with fornication LOL. Turns out the whole time he had a nice little thing on the side going on with a "lady of the evening" called... Candy Divine? or whatever her name was. That revelation when it came out, only kept from being downright belly-shaking, knee-slapping, snort 'n snuffling hilarious, by reason of the fact that this "holier than thou" jerk had been conning thousands of gullible trusting believers for years, and making a damn good living out of every scraped up penny his followers sent to him trying to buy a little bit better plot of real estate in the great hereafter

I really don't come into direct contact with any of those "confrontational christians", mainly because I don't go looking for them or seeking them out, and I am satisfied to just be extremely thankful that we live in a day and age where they do not remotely have the power that their ilk once did, hundreds of years ago, when one of 'em only had to point at somebody they didn't like, accuse him or her of being a witch, or "in league with the devil" and that person was more likely than not going to end up down in the village square being slow-roasted over a fire. I think it is the responsibility of all right-thinking citizens (believers and non-believers alike) to make sure that such people never gain any more power than the relatively little they have at this time.

Answer 8

There is a difference between using my judgement to conclude that someone's behavior ir wrong, and "judging" them - i.e.: saying. "You are going to hell"

If I believe someone is behaving in such a way that endangers their immortal soul I will speak up out of love, the same way I would yell "LOOK OUT" if I saw that somebody was about to be his by a bus.

What I WON'T do is say "You are going to Hell", because only God can make that judgement.

It seems that you are the one who has chosen one particular scripture to latch on to, without taking into account the scriptures that tell us to exhort our brother/sister to holiness or to call together the assembly when someone is doing something wrong (Matthew 18:16-17 ).

Answer 9

You know what that is very true,most Christians tend to be selective when it comes to what the bible says we should and should not do. The other thing is we are now under a new covenant,the one of Jesus.When he shade his blood we entered into that covenant and in the old testament there where living in the old covenant of lambs and goats etc. So we are now living under grace but now people have a tough time extending that grace to others.

Answer 10

No offense but did you cut and paste this question?
You're making a lot of blanket accusations here and accusing a whole faith of this one thing.
Christ left His commandments. It's not us who judges you, we will gladly tell you what we believe. That's not judging. If it makes you feel uncomfortable then maybe you should think about that.
When a Buddhist or a Pagan tells me what they believe it doesn't bother me or convict me. I find it interesting how the word of God unsettles some.

-B

Answer 11

Christians are like all other people. It not only Christians that do this, it most ALL people. That just how people are. Be it, Politics, Nature, Sex, Religion etc. IF, a people not believe as we do, then most people will do as you mentioned. Not need to be a Christian or Muslim or Atheist etc., just need to be Human.