Judging among believers

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. We thank God for His goodness, His faithfulness, His lovingkindness and His peace.

Primary Text

“What [business] of mine is it and what right have I to judge outsiders? Is it not those inside [the church] upon whom you are to pass disciplinary judgment [passing censuring sentence on them as the facts require]?” 1 Corinthians 5v12 (AMP)

“I’m not responsible for what the outsiders do, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.” 1 Corinthians 5v12 (MSG)

Paul continues his letter to the Corinthians still on the issue of the man who was sleeping with his father’s wife. He tells them, while it is not their place to judge those who are outside i.e. outside of the body of Christ, they cannot be complacent about those who are inside the church. Earlier, he had written that though he was away from them physically, he had passed his judgment already (1 Corinthians 5v3-5). As we see in 1 Corinthians 6v1-4 below, Paul is saying there are things that should be resolved in the church and not taken to unbelievers. If something isn’t going right among believers, we should be able to resolve it.  

Supplementary Text

“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues?” 1 Corinthians 6v1-5 (NLT)

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the body of Christ. We pray that You will help us to accurately judge and resolve issues that arise among ourselves in Jesus name, amen.