Tag Archives: judgment

Where did that verse come from?

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1 Corinthians 6:7
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
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This is a passage I would like to forget exists, just skip over it, and it seems I am not alone. Whenever I hear folks talk about lawsuits the standard in the church seems to be “Don’t sue Christians. Instead, take it to other Christians to mediate the matter.” That is what the “really spiritual” folks do – “sue” in church not in the courts.

But this passage presents even a higher standard.
1. If you sue at all, you lose already (you are completely defeated).
2. Take the hit. Absorb the wrong and move on.

Where would Paul get such a whacked idea? That isn’t justice! That isn’t fair! If I do that then I end up getting burned when someone else did the wrong. They go totally free with no punishment. Who would ever do such a thing?

Hmmmm. I think I see where Paul, or should I say the Holy Spirit, who wrote this through Paul, got such a whacked idea. That is just what Jesus did for us. We offended a holy God but He didn’t drag us before the court. He took the offense, absorbed the penalty. So the Lord is saying that if we want to really win, not be “defeated already”, we should follow His example.

I gotta admit, I like the way we have translated this passage better, “Don’t sue in court.  Instead, drag ’em before the church but make sure, one way or another, you get what is coming to you.  Don’t let those scoundrels get away without paying for their wrong against you.”

Lord, when I face such a situation, please give me grace to follow Your example of forgiveness and entrust the ultimate outcome to a God who judges justly.
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NOTE: Some might be thinking, ” But God will one day judge men for their sin” so He didn’t do what it says here, forgive them without them have to pay for their sin. Think carefully with me.  It is a fine line but men will not be judged for their sin as much as they will be judged for their response to what Jesus did for them. For example, when we stand before God the question is not, “Did you sin or do good in life?” The question will be, “What did you do with the Son? Did you accept or reject Him?”. Make sense?

Jesus and Paul disagree?

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1 Corinthians 5:3
For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.
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It seems one Scripture many people know and enjoy quoting is Jesus saying “judge not that you be not judged”. This is a handy one to bring up when confronted with sin in our lives. So is Paul disobeying this command of Jesus when he says “I have already passed judgment” on this man?

Most who quote Matthew 7:1, “judge not”, aren’t aware that 14 verses later Jesus says, “Watch out for false prophets”. How can I do that if I do not make some judgment about who is speaking truth and who is speaking lies? Clearly Jesus was not saying close your eyes to all evil, all false teaching, swallow whatever comes your way with no discernment. So what was He referring to?

In short, there are things I can know and things I cannot know. I can know a man who is openly engaged in immorality is living in sin because God’s Word tells me such behavior is sin. I can know a man teaching things contrary to Scripture is a false prophet. What I cannot know, and therefore am not to judge, are the motives of his heart.

To point out evil and call it evil is not judging. In fact, it is following the example of Jesus, Paul, Peter and others. In fact, it is following what we are often commanded to do in Scripture – “overcome evil with good”. It is “good” to warn someone of something in their life that will destroy them. It would be unloving and evil to see symptoms of a deadly disease in someone’s life and not warn them. The disease would only kill the body. How much more unloving to not warn them of a disease that will destroy their soul?
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Just a few of many passages that command us to judge actions: Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17,18; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Galatians 6:1; Titus 3:10,11; Leviticus 19:17