“Judge”

For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. (1 Corinthians 5.3)

Are you willing to judge others within the church?

The church in Corinth had problems. One of the problems was that there was a member of the church that had a sexual relationship with his own stepmother. This man’s sin was even scandalous to the pagans, and it had brought shame upon the name of Christ. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to address the fact that the church had turned a blind eye to the man’s sin. The church needed to rightly judge the man’s behavior and address it. If the man was a Christian, he should repent. If he refused to repent, he should be put out of the fellowship of the church. Church discipline was necessary to protect the witness of the church, to protect other church members, and to bring this man back to Christ. The issue was well known, and Paul addressed it directly. Paul judged the man and his refusal to repent and told the church to deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Corinthians 5). In other words, the man should not be ignored but judged by treating him as a lost person. He should reap what he was sowing in sin (Galatians 6.7-8). His unrepentant life of sin showed no evidence of being saved. If the church would not judge him, he would likely never be saved.

We have all heard it said that we should not judge others. Some even cite Jesus’ words from Matthew 7.1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Context is important. Right after Jesus makes this statement, He goes on to explain how we are to judge. We are not to judge self-righteously or as a hypocrite. We must judge others with wise discernment, and the first step is to judge ourselves and repent of any sin. Only after we repent of our own sin are we able to deal with the sins of others. Another important point from this verse and from 1 Corinthians is that we are only to judge our brother or sister in Christ (Matthew 7.2-6). This judgement is for accountability in the church. We are to pursue holiness together, and we are not judging to condemn a person. If a Christian is living in sin, they need to repent. We can never help a backslidden Christian unless we first judge them. We are to first pursue them privately one-on-one to lead them to repentance. If they refuse to repent, we are to bring one or two other Christians to lead them to repentance. If they still refuse to repent, we are to bring them to the church body. The reason is so the church can pursue them and lead them to repentance. If they still refuse to repent, we are to view them as a lost person that needs Jesus (Matthew 18.15-20). An unrepentant life of sin shows no evidence of being saved (Matthew 7.15-20; 1 John 3.7-10). If the church will not judge a professed Christian living in unrepentant sin, that person will likely never be saved.

Have you ever said that we should not judge others? Not addressing a professed Christian’s unrepentant life of sin is actually unloving. Are you turning a blind eye to somebody’s sin in the church right now? Ignoring sin in the church can lead others to sin, it can create a barrier to the gospel for a lost person, and it may give a professed Christian false assurance about their own salvation. Have you hypocritically judged others? Jesus tells you to first address your sin and then address the sin of others. Has God used others to call out your own sin? Pay attention to what God is trying to tell you.

God, thank You for the church. Thank You that I have Christian brothers and sisters that love me and are willing to pursue holiness with me. Convict me of my sin. Give me ears to listen to the rebuke of others. Give me wisdom to judge others for Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

------------------------------

Judge | 1 Corinthians 5.3
Weekly Bible Devotional

Written and Produced by:
Reverend David Lyda
Little Stevens Creek Baptist Church
Edgefield, SC

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.