Sign up ×

On one hand, I see some verses, in which Paul encourages the believers to judge:


If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? (1 Cor. 6:4-5)

On the other hand, there are also verses in the same epistle, in which Paul tells the believers not to judge:

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come (1 Cor. 4:3-5)

Can anyone, please, explain this apparent contradiction?

share|improve this question

2 Answers 2

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Short Answer: Paul wanted the Corinthians to address blatant immorality in the congregation, and to be able to work through legal disputes within the context of the Church, but he didn't want them going around criticizing people and fault-finding.

Words have a semantic range, so it is always important to look at what the author was attempting to communicate by reading each statement in context. Let's look at what Paul is talking about in each of these cases.

1 Corinthians 5:12 In Context


Paul had previously written to them instructing them not to associate with immoral people. What he meant was that they should not associate with so-called "Christians" who were living immoral lives. What is in view here is not simply a person who stumbles here or there, but a person whose life is marked by some form of immorality. Well, the Corinthians were apparently confused by this instruction, and thought that he was telling them not to talk to non-Christians. His response here is: "of course that's not what I meant!" He points out how absurd that thought is by asking a rhetorical question: What do we (Christians) have to do with judging the lives of non-Christians? Nothing! But we do have a responsibility to recognize a person in the church who is living an immoral life and respond appropriately. In this context, "judging" refers to recognizing when a so-called "brother" is living a life of immorality. Christians are commanded to "judge" in this sense.

1 Corinthians 6:4-5 In Context


Here Paul is talking about lawsuits, and taking your brother in Christ to court. He was outraged to find out that Christians in Corinth were dragging their brothers in Christ into secular courtrooms instead of settling their disagreements within the Church. In this context, "judging" refers to settling disputes between Christians. Christians ought to be willing to "judge" in this sense as well.

1 Corinthians 4:4-5 In Context

For this one it helps to know a bit of historical context (largely determined exegetically from a thorough reading of both 1 and 2 Corinthians.) The Corinthian church, which had been planted by Paul and served by Paul for many years, had fallen victim to false apostles who were essentially self-exalting extortionists. The Corinthians really liked these men who honored themselves and ripped off the church, but the more they listened to these false apostles, the less they thought of Paul and his companions. So many accusations had come forward from the Corinthians about Paul and his inadequacy as an apostle. So Paul had to put a lot of energy into explaining to them that he was in fact a credible apostle, and they were looking for the wrong kind of fruit in his life. You don't want a man who exalts himself and abuses the church, you want a humble servant, commissioned by God, who can bring the truth that Christ preached and who has a life that shows that he lives by that truth. Against that backdrop, here is the immediate context of the verse:


What Paul is saying here is that he is a servant and a steward, and that his responsibility is to be faithful with what has been entrusted to him. He goes on to say that it doesn't really bother him at all if they want to scrutinize his life, because he's not aware of any glaring spiritual problems in his life. He concludes by exhorting the Corinthians to knock it off and stop criticizing him! He reminds them that the Lord is the One holding him accountable, and that the Lord will bring all things to light one day. They don't need to play "accuser of the brethren," or "adversary," or "fault-finders"... God is watching and God will bring all things to light. In this context, "judging" refers to critiquing someone's life. Christians need to be careful not to sit in God's seat in this matter.


Paul wants the Corinthians to stop scrutinizing his life and trying to find fault with him. He also wants them to stop ignoring blatant immorality in their church, and to stop taking their brothers to court instead of resolving disputes internally. Throughout the book he is urging these Christians to love each other and stop treating one another (and him) so terribly. It is terribly unloving to play the "fault-finder" in someone's life. It is also terribly unloving to overlook blatant, ongoing immorality in a person's life (both to that person and to the congregation.) It is also terribly unloving to drag your Christian brother into a secular courtroom instead of working things out in the context of the Church. So there is no contradiction here. Love one another and don't do nasty things. That's the theme throughout all of these passages. What makes it confusing is that the KJV uses "judge" in a whole bunch of different ways, and when we see the same word, we sometimes think it's the same concept. But a careful reading of the context will almost always resolve such alleged contradictions.

share|improve this answer
Well thought-out, well organized, and well expressed! Don –  rhetorician Nov 24 '13 at 3:44

The following comments add very little, if anything, to Jas 3.1's fine answer. They may, however, have some relevance to the "judgment phobic" culture in which we live today in America.

Christians are to use good judgment in the appropriate circumstances, whether the context is church discipline, or the context is applying wisdom and discernment to a given situation, individually or corporately.

Christians are not to be judgmental by thinking we can make judgments about people without bothering to gather the facts about them in a biblical manner, such as by enrolling the testimony of one or more witnesses, for example (see Mt 18:15-17).

None of us has the ability to see into the heart of another person in the way God does. To attempt to read a person's true motives is a very risky business, and for this reason Jesus warned us not to judge, unless we are willing to be judged by God as strictly as we judge others (Mt 7:1-5).

As an aside, unbelievers today, I have found, are much too quick to say "You Christians are so judgmental! Didn't Jesus tell you not to judge?" This is not to say their accusation is never without merit.

A Christian, for example, who is strongly opposed to abortion under any circumstances might unwisely and un-lovingly accuse an unmarried teen of being a murderer when she chooses abortion over carrying the baby to term. Such a Christian may in fact deserve the "judgmental" label and is in the wrong, I suggest.

A better approach would be for the Christian above to refer the teen to a pregnancy crisis center run by Christians who will treat her with the love, compassion, and respect she deserves. Oh, and let's eighty-six the name calling.

On the other hand, exposing the darkness that is in the world by shining the light of God's word on it is not necessarily being judgmental, but it may in fact be the right thing to do (see Eph 5:6-21, especially v.11), provided it is done in a Christ-like and Holy Spirit led manner. Jesus, for example, did not rail against sinners with words of condemnation, but He did come down hard on hypocritical religious folk who should have known better, but didn't. (See Matthew 23:13-33, and Jesus' eight "woes" against the scribes and Pharisees.)

share|improve this answer
Your answer didn't just add "very little". In fact, it added a lot. It made me think now that we, as Christians, should definitely be ready to call sin a sin, however, we should be twice careful when it comes to a particular person. In fact, if we are not forced to pass a judgement on someone particularly, than we better refrain from doing that. –  brilliant Nov 24 '13 at 13:13

Your Answer


