The Church’s Greatest Witness: Love or Judgment?
What must we do?
Recently, I came across a local thread where people in my area were asked why they no longer attend church. One response appeared in almost every comment:
"Church people are judgmental, hypocritical, and made me feel like an outsider."
While many respond to these criticisms with witty remarks or personal stories about overcoming these feelings and finding a church where they belong, I want to take a different approach. Rather than focusing on defending the church or debating those who feel this way, I want to issue a challenge to the church.
As a pastor, I can tell you—perhaps more clearly than most—that the judgment people feel from churches is real. It exists everywhere in the world because we are sinners. Whether you walk into McDonald’s, attend a high school football game, or join any other human community, you’re going to encounter judgment.
But here’s the question: What makes the church different? Why do people specifically call out the church when they make these complaints? The answer lies in who we are called to be. The church is the community of Jesus Christ, and we preach a message that should align with His values. Yet, when people perceive that our actions don’t match what we preach, the church loses credibility.
This inconsistency is, in one sense, unavoidable because we are imperfect people. But in another sense, it is unacceptable because we are called to grow in both our faith and our love. So, the question becomes: How can we grow in these areas?
Paul offers encouragement in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, where he writes:
"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing."
In this passage, Paul commends the Thessalonian church for their growth in faith and love. This should be our goal as well. But before we can address the complaints of outsiders, we must first turn inward and ask ourselves some difficult questions:
Is the church judgmental?
Is the church filled with cliques?
Is it hard for outsiders to feel welcome?
If we’re honest, many of us will have to answer yes to at least some of these questions. And if that’s true, then the next question we must ask is this: Is this biblical?
The answer is clearly no. Judgment, exclusion, and hypocrisy do not align with the teachings of Christ. Jesus called us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35), to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), and to welcome the outsider as He welcomed us (Romans 15:7).
So how do we address this? How do we ensure that our churches reflect the love and grace of Christ?
It begins with humility and repentance. It begins with recognizing that we fall short and asking the Holy Spirit to help us grow.
It’s simple in concept but difficult in execution: We must grow in faith and love.
God has placed us within our churches and communities for a reason. He desires that we grow in faith, trusting Him more each day with our lives. And as we do this, we must also grow in love—recognizing that every person around us is made in the image of God. We are commanded to love them, and that love must deepen.
This means moving beyond our stereotypes. It means stepping out of our cliques to love and minister to those who are different from us. Jesus made it clear that the greatest witness we have to a lost and dying world is our love:
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35).
So, church, let’s rise to the challenge. Let’s grow in faith. Let’s grow in love. And let’s be known—not for judgment or exclusion—but for the radical love of Christ.