In this episode, Mark and Emily kick off a brand new series called Since We Tolerate, a look at the "respectable sins" Christians often overlook or excuse. They start with one of the most culturally relevant: judgment. Drawing from Romans 14, Mark unpacks how Christians can fall into a pattern of casting judgment on brothers and sisters in areas where scripture doesn't demand a single answer, and what it looks like to pursue edifying love instead.

Episode Highlights

00:34 — Introducing the new series: Since We Tolerate and the idea of "respectable sins"

01:13 — Why Christians often tackle the obvious sins but miss the subtle ones

01:57 — The framework for the series: a four-part process for killing sin

03:26 — Defining the process: remember the gospel, remember your identity, starve the sin, feed the spirit

05:13 — Introducing the sin of judgment and its grounding in Romans 14

06:12 — The Jewish-Gentile tension in the early church as the original context for Romans 14

08:10 — What makes a matter "gray" — and why gray doesn't mean unimportant

10:26 — Judgementalism as a "crowning vice of modernity," amplified by social media and cable news

13:33 — When judgment is right: distinguishing disputed matters from clear biblical teaching

17:00 — Diagnosing a judgmental heart: the BAM vs. WAM test (Best Available Motive vs. Worst Available Motive)

21:28 — Practical steps to starve the sin: study it, hate it, flee it, confess it

27:00 — Feeding the spirit: cultivating edifying love as the antidote to judgment

30:34 — A preview of the next episode: gluttony

Resources

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges: Purchase
Cornerstone Sermons: Listen Online

Ask Mark a Question!

Suggest a topic or question for Mark to discuss on a future episode of the Equip Podcast!