Many in our day will judge and consider a believer not saved or born-again if they do not meet a specific man-made standard. If a believer is not overcoming 100% in a specific area, or is partaking in some worldly activity, one may judge and claim that believer is not saved. Such merely outward judging is not spiritual but an immature and dangerous thing to do. Of course, if a believer is blatantly continuing in outward sin he must be dealt with in gentleness and love. As God taught us through the Book of Acts and Epistles of Paul, corrective measures as determined by the Holy Spirit might be necessary. This may include asking a believer to leave the Assembly for a period of time.
In the early Church the Holy Spirit was doing such a work of purifying that all who joined their ranks were quickly corrected by the Lord if they were wrong in an area.
Those that grieved the Lord to the point of great compromise ended up in some cases dead!
The result of this Holy Spirit purification was even greater unity amongst the brethren: “All the believers were one in heart and mind.”
We must have a high standard for the Church, the Gospel, the Scriptures and ourselves, for God says: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
We must likewise have the highest standard for exercising the love of Christ and His great mercy. Without love we are nothing. Jesus exemplified His love and mercy for us when He died for us while we were yet sinners.
He taught us through living examples when dealing with the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, the tax collector and many more, how to walk in love and mercy. Jesus calls us hypocrites if we make ourselves better than the sinners who ask for God’s mercy.