Judgement of Love

17
Mar

1 Corinthians 11:32—”But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

In this scripture, Paul teaches the church of Corinth about the traditions of men and women, of whether they must cover their head in worship. He also deals with the expectations to partake of the Lord’s Supper. To abuse the Lord’s Supper is to sin against the Body and Blood of the Lord, to provoke God, and to cause judgement on themselves. The Corinthians were guilty of such irreverence. They came to the Lord’s table as they would attend a common feast, not discerning the Lord’s Body —i.e., not making a difference or distinction between the Lord’s Supper and common food. This sinful nature displeased God and He brought judgments (sickness and death) on them. What we must notice here is that, many who were punished had favour with God: because of His divine love, they were chastened of the Lord. The Lord frequently punishes those whom He loves with a merciful purpose – to prevent their final condemnation.

In general, we must not judge others, lest we be judged. But, every man ought to examine and approve himself to his own conscience in the sight of God. We must exact severely on ourselves on our own conduct, and condemn and correct what we find amiss. Then, we will not fall under the just severity and condemnation of our Heavenly Father. When we are judged, we are being chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. This chastening is not a judge condemning a criminal; it is a father dealing with disobedient children. Sometimes, we drift away from our closeness with Christ, but stopping gives us a chance to think and review our lives. That is God’s hand. In Corinth, God enabled the church to take a look at a red flag warning – “You are going too fast like the world around you; you are reflecting some of their attitudes and reactions and adopting some of their ways. Watch out. Slow down. Think it through.” Paul says, some of them even died, i.e., they had rejected God’s tender, loving warnings; they had persisted in their evil to the point where they were “disqualified.” Believers can sin to the point, where they have in some way compromised their testimony so significantly, that they get called home to God.

In His loving concern for us, does God sees us drift into something dangerous that we must stop and rethink — our relationships with others, our attitudes about life, habits that we are forming? A loving Father simply puts up barriers and that warn us of trouble; to stop and take a look. Paul tells us, if we truly judged ourselves, God would not have to judge us. We must honestly deal with ourselves because God always gives us a chance to change. As a professed Christian, we may go on, week after week and month after month doing something — living in a relationship or holding an attitude that we know is wrong — and no judgement shows up, then it is very likely we are not Christians at all. We may be headed for that final condemnation, which the whole world will ultimately face. But Paul says when judgement comes, it is the loving Hand of our Heavenly Father that stops and tells us, “You are mine. I will not have you involved in that condemnation with the world. You need to straighten up some things in your life, and this is your opportunity to do so.” God is concerned about you, and to save you from eternal damnation is His act of love for you.