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Judgment


I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.  (I Corinthians 4:3-5)

          I wish I were more like Paul in this. There are some people whose judgment doesn’t bother me. There are others whose judgment bothers me a lot, and sometimes (often?) in an unhealthy way. I suspect that a lot of people have this problem. As for judging myself, well… let’s just say that it’s a good thing I’m not in favor of capital punishment for any but the worst offenses. At the same time, there are things about which my conscience is clear, but that doesn’t make me innocent. What makes me innocent is the blood of Christ.
          The real key to this passage about judgment is that God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. Jesus talked about this. He told of people who would say, “Lord, Lord, did we not cast out demons in Your name?” And Jesus said that He would reply that He never knew those people. He also told of the Pharisee who boasted about all the laws he’d kept, and the tax collector who beat himself up over what a sinner he was. 
          All the folks who did good in order to impress others, or in order to impress themselves with what wonderful people they are may have a shock coming. People who do good while resenting those who made doing the good necessary may be in for a surprise. Our motives seem to be at least as important as our actions. Who can stand? Certainly not I. 
          So Paul tells us to judge nothing before the appointed time, but in other books, he makes it clear that certain things will be judged. Someone posted something yesterday saying that Jesus didn’t judge this sinner or that. They’re right, but He didn’t tell them they weren’t sinners. He told them, “Go and sin no more.”

         


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