If you refuse to judge, then God won't judge on your behalf either.

[Chrysostomos]

Enough about Tolstoy!

I've quoted for you Jesus' teaching on this several times now. You seem to have some kind of fixation on Tolstoy, there is no need to project that onto me, you only lead yourself astray concerning our conversation. Forget about Tolstoy, Listen to Jesus.

Much love!

I’m not fixated on Tolstoy. The real fixation here is yours—on the word “love.” You drag it into every thread, including this one about judgment and justice, preaching that we should love and show mercy to criminals. That’s not what Jesus taught.

You’re pushing a warped “love everyone” narrative that crumbles under scrutiny.
Let’s start with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The key is “whoever believes in Him.” Salvation is for those who believe in Christ, not every unrepentant rejector of Him.

John 3:18–20 and 3:36 (NIV) make it crystal clear: “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already” and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” God’s love in John 3:16 is an offer of salvation to a fallen world, but those who spurn Christ stay under His wrath.

So how do you leap from this to claiming Jesus teaches us to love:
- Criminals: pedophiles, murderers, rapists, thieves, swindlers…
- Military enemies
- Satanists: sorcerers, witches, devil-worshippers

Jesus Himself gives an exception, even for personal enemies. In Matthew 18:15–17 (NIV), He says if a brother sins against you and refuses to repent, even after church intervention, “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Tax collectors, though Jewish, were Roman collaborators, despised as outsiders—not personal enemies.
Jesus explicitly allows treating an unrepentant believer as an outsider, not requiring love or kindness.

How did Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries understand this? They loathed Roman pagans and tax-collecting collaborators (Matthew 9:11, Luke 19:7). If Jesus says to treat even an unrepentant brother like a pagan or tax collector, what does that say about loving:
- Criminals: pedophiles, murderers, rapists, thieves, swindlers…
- Military enemies
- Satanists: sorcerers, witches, devil-worshippers

If even a sinning brother gets cut off, why would Jesus demand love for those under God’s wrath?
Your logic is absurd, cherry-picking verses to coddle God’s enemies.

Read more in the topic: "Do Not Murder vs. You Must Kill: Understanding 'Kill' and 'Murder' in Biblical Commands"

 

[lforrest]

But there’s another side to this coin that’s often ignored.

When Jesus says, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2), it’s not just about being kind instead of cruel. It’s about judging justly—standing up for the oppressed, defending the widow and orphan, and delivering the robbed from their oppressors (Jeremiah 22:3, Psalm 82:3-4). If you refuse to judge—if you say, “I’m staying out of it” and turn a blind eye to evil—you’re sowing passivity. And what you’ll reap is God’s refusal to stand up for you when you’re the victim. If you don’t judge righteously, God won’t judge on your behalf either.

Too many twist “judge not, lest you be judged”. They use it to justify staying silent, saying, “I don’t want to get involved,” while wickedness spreads. That’s not love or mercy—it’s enabling lawlessness.
Deuteronomy 32:35 shows what happens next: when Israel failed to judge sin, God’s vengeance came, and it crushed everyone. Refusing to judge doesn’t keep you safe; it invites divine wrath on the whole society.

The carnally minded only obey when there is fear of immediate repercussions. This is why cults are so authoritarian. Should Christians use the tactics of the enemy to coerce obedience to God in the hope of improving society? No.

We are not here on the earth to live in an illusion of peace and to keep the status-quo. We are here to grow the eternal kingdom of God. Obedience at the tip of a sword is not condusive to growing the kingdom. Our struggles to love God and our neighbor while suffering in a fallen world shows the world we are different. We hope that with our example people's hearts will open to Jesus. There is a whole aspect of spiritual warfare going on, and we can not beat the enemy at their own game. It is for Christians to take the high road, which is forgiveness and turning the other cheek.

 

[marks]

I’m not fixated on Tolstoy.

You bring him up in every post. Yes, you are fixated on Tolstoy to the point that you cannot even read my posts with comprehension.

It's sad, but still Jesus commands I love you as Jesus loves us. It's a high calling, and I see that you do not understand His meaning of Love.

But don't put that on me.

I don't think there is anything further I can say to you.

Much love!

 

[marks]

You’re pushing a warped “love everyone” narrative that crumbles under scrutiny.
Let’s start with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The key is “whoever believes in Him.” Salvation is for those who believe in Christ, not every unrepentant rejector of Him.

Don't ignore the part . . . For God so loved the world . . .

Much love!

 

[Chrysostomos]

I’m not fixated on Tolstoy.

You bring him up in every post. Yes, you are fixated on Tolstoy to the point that you cannot even read my posts with comprehension.

It's sad, but still Jesus commands I love you as Jesus loves us. It's a high calling, and I see that you do not understand His meaning of Love.

But don't put that on me.

I don't think there is anything further I can say to you.

Much love!

It seems you read the Bible the same way you read my posts. Out of my entire message, you only noticed the phrase “I’m not fixated on Tolstoy.” And then you throw some absurd accusations at me.

 

[Chrysostomos]

Don't ignore the part . . . For God so loved the world . . .

Much love!

You’re not just pulling John 3:16 out of the chapter’s context—you’re ripping the phrase “God so loved the world” out of the verse itself.

Even within the single sentence of John 3:16, the answer is crystal clear: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The key is “whoever believes in Him.” Salvation is only for those who believe in Christ, not for every unsaved person rejecting Him.

If you read the rest of John 3, it’s even plainer. John 3:18–20 and 3:36 (NIV) state: “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already” and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” God’s love in John 3:16 is an offer of salvation to a fallen world, but those who refuse Christ remain under His wrath.

What’s unclear?

 

[Chrysostomos]

The carnally minded only obey when there is fear of immediate repercussions. This is why cults are so authoritarian. Should Christians use the tactics of the enemy to coerce obedience to God in the hope of improving society? No.

We are not here on the earth to live in an illusion of peace and to keep the status-quo. We are here to grow the eternal kingdom of God. Obedience at the tip of a sword is not condusive to growing the kingdom. Our struggles to love God and our neighbor while suffering in a fallen world shows the world we are different. We hope that with our example people's hearts will open to Jesus. There is a whole aspect of spiritual warfare going on, and we can not beat the enemy at their own game. It is for Christians to take the high road, which is forgiveness and turning the other cheek.

In a world awash with lawlessness, to call the oppressed to show mercy and love toward their oppressors is not love—it is complicity in evil’s triumph.

All these lofty words of love and compassion are but a veiled admission of powerlessness before the reign of wickedness.

 

[lforrest]

In a world awash with lawlessness, to call the oppressed to show mercy and love toward their oppressors is not love—it is complicity in evil’s triumph.

All these lofty words of love and compassion are but a veiled admission of powerlessness before the reign of wickedness.

Evil does not triumph. In due time everything will be made right... By God. In the meantime we retain the power to resist conforming, if even at the cost of more oppression and death. The souls of the martyrs call out for justice, and God will answer.

Recommended reading Psalm 37, Rev 6:9-11

 

[The Learner]

May God bless all with good cooperative families, good health, prosperity, long life, wisdom and someone find a cure for the virus.

 

[Chrysostomos]

Evil does not triumph. In due time everything will be made right... By God. In the meantime we retain the power to resist conforming, if even at the cost of more oppression and death. The souls of the martyrs call out for justice, and God will answer.

Recommended reading Psalm 37, Rev 6:9-11

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). The climax of evil’s triumph is foretold in Revelation, where only divine intervention—the Second Coming of Christ—will finally vanquish and judge evil. Until then, we must confess: we do not fight evil not because we are so kind or loving, but because we are powerless before it. All that remains in our power is to hope for God’s judgment, that He will repay all.

This is psychologically convenient. Man constantly faces insults, humiliations, and injustice in this world, yet lacks the strength to answer all.
There are those stronger, more powerful, or evil so vast it’s physically impossible to confront every wrong.
And when we do respond, we face society’s condemnation, as if we must not defend our dignity but remain humiliated and insulted—such is the world’s decree.

So, it’s easy to think we forgive, we show mercy, as if we are so virtuous.
But where is the line between forgiveness and mere powerlessness before evil’s reign?

 

[The Learner]

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). The climax of evil’s triumph is foretold in Revelation, where only divine intervention—the Second Coming of Christ—will finally vanquish and judge evil. Until then, we must confess: we do not fight evil not because we are so kind or loving, but because we are powerless before it. All that remains in our power is to hope for God’s judgment, that He will repay all.

This is psychologically convenient. Man constantly faces insults, humiliations, and injustice in this world, yet lacks the strength to answer all.
There are those stronger, more powerful, or evil so vast it’s physically impossible to confront every wrong.
And when we do respond, we face society’s condemnation, as if we must not defend our dignity but remain humiliated and insulted—such is the world’s decree.

So, it’s easy to think we forgive, we show mercy, as if we are so virtuous.
But where is the line between forgiveness and mere powerlessness before evil’s reign?