When it is right to Judge Part 4

Passage

"For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world."
1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (NKJV)

Pondering

Lastly, it is right for the us to judge our own faith first.

Actually, this is where it all starts! As we daily judge ourselves by the Word of God we will become more and more like the Righteous Judge Himself, Jesus. That is our goal. But how many Christians daily ask the Holy Spirit to reveal their sin or wrong attitudes, allowing Him to shine the light of His Word on their hearts?

The following thoughts from "Our Daily Bread, January 9, 1994" are helpful here:

"State employment officials in Tucson, Arizona, posted an interesting sign over a full-length mirror. Directed to all job hunters, it read, "Would you hire this person?" In another office a mirror and sign posed this question: "Are you ready for a job?"

Self-evaluation was what the apostle Paul called for in 1 Corinthians 11. Believers in Christ need to judge themselves, he said, to avoid being judged by the Lord as unfit for His service. In the Corinthian church, the "appearance problem" was especially serious. Those Christians "looked" awful. They were actually getting drunk and quarreling among themselves while going through the motions of celebrating the Lord’s Supper. So Paul said, in effect, "Look at yourselves. What a mess! If you don’t get your lives straightened out, the Lord will have to do it for you." Then the apostle added the sobering fact that God had already begun to cleanse the church by sending some of them to an early grave. This is a hard truth, but one the church still needs to hear today."

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of God, experiencing His judgment. Therefore let us judge ourselves first and start living as we should. Only then can we stand as righteous judges. If we fail to judge ourselves properly then we will be like the Jewish leaders in Jesus' time who were speck inspectors with huge planks in their own eyes.

Poem

Lord shine Your light upon my heart
So I can judge and clean out sin,
Before You come as judge to start
A terrible process I don't want to begin.

Prayer

"Father, help me to daily come before You so Your Spirit may show any sin in my heart and I can come clean before You through the blood of Jesus. Let this be a regular habit so that I need not come under your terrible hammer of judgment. Amen!"