Do judge! (1Cor 5:12-13)

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. (1Cor 5:12-13)

Matthew 7:1 has become one of the most quoted verses in the entire Bible. “Do not judge so that you will not be judged”. It’s commonly used as an attack against Christians who are willing to say that the Bible condemns certain sins. If someone ever throws this verse at you, ask them if they think it’s wrong for you to judge others. When they say yes, ask them to kindly stop judging you. And if you feel up for it, try to explain to them the difference between judging someone and telling them what the laws are.

We understand from the context of Matthew 7, that the kind of judgment Jesus is talking about, is a self-righteous hypocrisy that sets up a higher standard for others than for self. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop differentiating between right and wrong. To the contrary, not only do we have to differentiate, but when someone claims to be a christian, and consistently acts in a way that brings reproach to the name of Christ, then the church is not only authorized but commanded to judge them. Not with an arrogant attitude, and not with a higher standard than we use on ourselves, but with humility, concern and genuine fear for the eternal destination of their souls.

When it comes to those who are outside of the church, they are not under the church’s jurisdiction. We are not commanded, or even allowed to pass similar judgments on them.

If you think about it, that should be quite obvious. You can’t kick someone out of the church if they’re not in it. And excluding someone from the church is as far as our authority goes. Once someone is outside of the church - whether they are under church discipline, or they have never been part of the Church - God has it from there. The church doesn’t make eternal judgments. It doesn’t decide who goes to Heaven and Hell. That is God’s office.