Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 4-5
Meditation Verses: 4:2-5
Thought
"Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time." What a strange thing to write, when he had already asked the Corinthians to judge what he writes and he will shortly warn them that he is coming to discipline them and that they should judge the immoral man in their fellowship! In his instructions about communion, he tells us to judge ourselves so that we will not come under judgment! Should we judge or should we not judge? This cannot be a blanket injunction against judging, but a reminder that God ultimately will judge all things, and so we should be prepared to survive that judgment, as far as it depends on us. Indeed, we need to be sure we're judging ourselves and all other things according to His standard, and not another. This is especially in regard to fulfilling a trust and commission. The one who entrusted the commission alone has authority to judge the recipients of the trust. We may not like how Paul exercises his ministry, we may not like the content of his teaching, but ultimately he is accountable to God, not us. If anything, this establishes Paul's position over the rest of us, and affirms that we should trust and follow what Paul teaches, because his commission didn't come from us but from God. Our only hope is that he is carrying out that commission as pleases God. We can't judge things hidden in darkness; we can't know for sure the motives of another person's heart. The only heart we can judge is our own, and like Paul, we should endeavor to keep our consciences clear in all matters, to the best of our understanding. But ultimately, we will have to submit ourselves to God's judgment. The better we know His standard and follow it, the more confidence we'll have in the judgment, though we may yet have missed some things. In judging another, all we can do is judge them by their actions, according to what God has clearly said. This is really what he asks the Corinthians to do when he calls them to imitate him when he sends Timothy to remind them of his way of life.
Application
There is an awful lot of judging going on in this book for someone who just said, "judge nothing." Clearly, Paul doesn't mean that I can go on my merry way without thought or concern for how I live, because there's no way to know for sure at present if I'm pleasing to God or not. Rather, this is specifically in regard to Paul and the trust he has been given, whether or not he's carrying it out correctly. If he's violating that trust, God will condemn him; if he's upholding that trust, God will praise him. Do I believe that Paul fears God sufficiently to be careful to fulfill the trust given him as God intended? I think there's ample evidence from Paul's life to affirm his devotion and obedience to the commission. But God is the final and only meaningful judge of that. The real question I need to face is, Do I fear God sufficiently to be careful to fulfill every command and instruction He has given through His Word? That's the standard against which I'll be judged! If I want God's praise, then I need to devote myself to walking in God's ways as recorded in the Bible. I may not get everything right, but I should get many things right!