Bible Devotions

Judge Not?

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)


Judge not, lest you be judged....We've all heard it. It's in the Bible, in Matthew 7:1, where Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged."

But let's understand these words in their proper context. A better translation of the statement would be, "Condemn not, that you be not condemned." In other words, God is the final judge. He decides who gets into heaven and who does not. Greg Laurie doesn't decide that. You don't decide that. No one else decides that. We are not to condemn, meaning to pass final judgment.

But we are to judge, in the sense of making evaluations-even corrections when necessary-regarding fellow believers. Paul addresses this very subject in 1 Corinthians 5:

"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world....For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?" (verses 9-10, 12).

Paul was saying that it is our job to judge those inside the church. But a lot of believers ignore this. They say, "Oh, no. Just be loving." But I would respond that they don't really know what love is. Love cares enough to confront.

We are so into loving everyone--not even understanding what the word means--that we have lost our sense of discernment in standing up for what is right. When we do take such a stand, we should do it with compassion, concern, and humility. But sometimes love means making the hard choice, and taking the hard stand.