October 25, 2019
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
New International Version (NIV)
                In Athens a few years ago I stood before the Bema, the judgment seat where justice was meted out.  Have you ever sat in that seat?  Who has the right to judge others?  Often when people describe God they will say, “I like to believe in a God who does not judge but just loves.”  Of course, true love involves caring enough to seek the very best for others.  Is there ever a time when Christians should stand in judgment over others?  It sounds uncomfortable.   Is it possible to judge without being judgmental? 

                The church at Corinth would not tell an immoral person in their group to stop being immoral.  At the same time they were dragging each other into court over legal matters, trusting a non-Christian judge to adjudicate their financial disputes.  Paul was appalled.  In the first case, he empowered the church with the promise that he was with them to put the immoral person out for a season in order to redeem that person.  In an intimate relationship with his father’s wife, this Christian’s immorality even exceeded the standards of licentious Corinth.  But the Corinthian believers could have sung the line from the Luke Bryan song:  “I believe you love who you love; ain’t nothing you should ever be ashamed of.”  (I like Luke but I don’t believe he is right.  The situation in Corinth was a shame.)  “It’s not our business,” the Corinthians proudly said.  “Who are we to judge?”

                “The church,” Paul answered.  “You are the church.”   Paul is not saying that each of us should individually judge each other.  But if a Christian is unrepentantly living outside the bounds of scriptural teaching in the Christian community, the church has the right to ask them to stop.  If they will not, Paul says the church should put them out for awhile until they come to repentance “so that their spirits might be saved on the day of the Lord” (2:5).  The purpose was redemptive, not punitive.  Their souls mattered more than their hurt feelings.   Actions which threaten the message and mission of the church should be confronted.  But, Paul says, Christians are not to judge unbelievers. 

                Is it just me or have we gotten this totally backwards?  Christians so often judge the conduct of unbelievers, holding them to Biblical standards when they don’t even know Christ to empower them to live differently.  Tim Keller says when we judge non-Christians we are putting ourselves in the place of God and he says, “Get out of my chair.” 

               On the other hand, we would feel out of place holding a Christian sister or brother accountable.  Paul rearranges our thinking.  We hold each other accountable, but we do not judge the behavior of non-Christians.  This will take some work, but we should know that this actually works.  We can bring out the best in each other if we will.   The impact of the church depends on our willingness to live what we believe, expecting the very best of each other, forgiving each other as we repent.  
Pray with me:      
Father, we trust in you our just Judge.  Forgive us, please for getting in your chair and judging non-Christians.  Forgive us also for failing to hold each other accountable to a lifestyle that matches scripture.  Let us speak the truth to each other in love.  Conform your church to your perfect Son, Jesus, in whose name we pray.  Amen. 
This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan.  Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download 
the app at readscripture.org.  Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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