The church is supposed to judge.

Read this Scripture in 1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I have written unto you not to keep company,

if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer,

or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”

Verse 12 says the church is supposed to judge people that attend church and claim to be a Christian but are living in certain sins and PUT THEM OUT.

In 1Co 6:1 “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not BEFORE THE SAINTS?

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that THE SAINTS SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD? and if the world SHALL BE JUDGED BY YOU, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

1Co 6:3 Know ye not that WE SHALL JUDGE ANGELS? how much more things that pertain to THIS LIFE?

1Co 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

1Co 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

1Co 6:6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

1Co 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another.

Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

1Co 6:8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators,

nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

Verse four and five tell how this is to be done in the church.

God does the eternal judging. The Church is to judge between its members and we as Christians must judge all sorts of things throughout life and we are commanded to.

Other words that mean the same as judge are decide and determine.

As Christians we have to do this type of judging everyday.

Churches not judging is one of the main reasons most churches are so far off track. Scripture to back this up is found in John 7:24 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” We are to investigate deeper into things and see if it is true or false. This is the kind of judgments that my post was and is about.

Please consider this too. Judging is how we keep the church on track. A lack of judging by the churches is why most have gone so far astray. As Christians we are to judge or determine things and people by their fruits. This is essential. The Bible backs this up in Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Note: SOMEONE HAS TO JUDGE WHO IS TRUE AND WHO IS FALSE.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS. (THIS REQUIRES JUDGMENT.)

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

Another meaning for JUDGE IS DISCERN.

Discernment is a gift from God and is almost entirely missing from the modern day church.

We are told how to run God’s Church and most refuse to do it the way God said. Even in prophecy the elders in the church are to judge if it’s true or not and if it’s of God or not. Most churches today just take everything in as being from God and fail to realize that the way false prophets and false doctrine is kept out of the true church is that the elders judge what’s said and done. What’s true is allowed to stand and what’s false is kicked out.

Another area of judging that is so badly needed today is personal judging. The Bible says in 1Co 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” The way to avoid a real bad experience on judgment day is to judge ourselves today by the Word of God and make the necessary changes. We are to daily pray and study the Word of God and apply it to our personal lives so that on judgment day we will not be guilty of violating any of the Scriptures. We are to judge ourselves.

There are some Scriptures that have been twisted by many to seem to say that we are not to judge at all.

When this Scripture is brought up it almost always is brought up by a person that is living in sin and is trying to use the Scriptures to get the conversation off of their sin. When this Scripture is brought up it almost always is a sign that the person knows very little about the Bible as a whole. What the Bible actually teaches is that Hypocrites are not to judge. We are not to judge others and be guilty of the same thing. If a person steals they are not to go around judging people that steal. Same with other sins. The Bible teaches that whatever judgment we make and put on others that will be the same standard that we are judged by.

Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

The answer to these Scriptures is found in verse five. THOU HYPOCRITE. These verses are not telling Christians not to judge. They are telling hypocrites not to judge. It is the church’s place to judge.

The Church and Christians have to judge but we must remember that we will be judged by the same judgment. Let’s us all seek God in meekness that we may be able to fulfill His command to make righteous judgment.