I had just heard Paul talk about this list of "godlessness and wickedness" where God's wrath will one day come into play come judgment time. Things like greed, envy, murder, deceit, arrogance, disobedience, slander and shameful lusts among others. Just after Paul shares this in chapter 1, he comments in chapter 2 that we should not pass judgment on someone else when we're doing the same things. I heard myself ask out loud, "So are we not to judge or are we not to sin?" I almost choked on the words as they came out. That was it. Paul was telling us not to sin.
See in the world today, I so often hear people comment "Judge not lest ye be judged." They quote this from Jesus' Sermon On The Mount where Christ talked about judging in Matthew 7:1-5. And I often remind people that judging is about eternal destiny, not correction for behavior. The Lord expects us to correct one another, especially using Scripture to do so. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." We are absolutely to tell our brothers and sisters when they're behavior is not in line with the Word by using the Word. Even Jesus comments in Matthew 7:5 "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." According to the Savior, we absolutely can correct ... if we have repented, if we have cleaned house, if we are obedient to our Lord. Want to call someone out on their sin? They you better do some soul checking to make sure you don't have something you need to repent of first.
It doesn't mean, however that we should never correct our brothers and sisters when they sin. Good gracious, based on our track record with sin, there would be no morality in this world without that correction. God would give us over to our "sinful desires" as explained in Romans 1. We need to be held accountable to the Word our Father as given us. Paul explains, "The righteous will live by faith" (Romans 1:17) and our faith is based on the Word given us.
If we are to look at Christ as our example, look at his behavior with the woman caught in adultery. He asks her who has condemned her. When she replies, "No one, Lord," he says, "Neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more" (John 8:11). She's not being judged to eternal damnation ... she's being forgiven and told to never do it again. Do you see the difference?
We are not to turn a blind eye to our brother and sister's sin. We are to correct gently. Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently."
Next time you hear someone quote, "Judge not lest ye be judged" examine your hearts for conviction of sin to be sure, but remind gently that we are most certainly to correct. And be careful that is the intent and not condemnation. When correcting those who sin, we're not be be hurtful or shaming. We are to gently restore them based on the Word God gave us. Too many point fingers, badmouth and criticize rather than have the intent to draw that soul into a faithful, obedient relationship with our Lord.
What is the goal of correction? It's repentance and restoration. But first, be sure you are obedient yourself.
