Title: To Judge or Not to Judge / Topic: Responsibility

Today's Reading: Job 34; 1 Corinthians 4; 1 Corinthians 5; 1 Corinthians 6

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:4-6; 5:12-13
4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written."

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Observation: These two sections of scripture seem to contradict each other. The verses in chapter 4 say that even if our own conscience is clear, it does not necessarily mean we are innocent. We don't always know the motives of our own heart so we can't possibly judge the motives of others' hearts. Paul promises that God will come to sort it all out and that we should suspend judgment until he comes. Then Paul says we are not to go beyond what is written. This is key to understanding the later verses in chapter 6 which clearly indicate that it is our responsibility to judge those in the church. We are to judge the behavior of fellow believers by what is written (standards of behavior in the Word). We cannot be sure of judging another believer's motives if the behavior is within bounds of what is written, even if the motives may be impure. That judgment belongs to God.

Application: We need to understand what is our responsibility and what is God's. If we can keep that clear we will have fewer problem in the Body of Christ. We will leave certain judgment in God's hands and also fulfill the responsibilities hi gives us to judge other things.

Prayer: Father, help us to be wise in how we conduct ourselves. Give us wisdom to determine the difference between what is under your dominion alone and what you have given us dominion over. May we not cross the line.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.