While we cannot know another person’s heart and motives (and we need to be careful not to think we can), it’s a misunderstanding of the Bible to think we are never to judge someone else’s behavior. In fact, there is a great danger in not judging sin, especially to the person caught up in it.

But it’s not just in the lives of others that we need to judge sin. In today’s post, you’ll find a great list of questions to regularly ask yourself so you don’t fall into habits that can hurt your relationship with God and destroy your relationships with the people you love.

We’ll also read about some things to consider when going through a test or a trial and some of the traps that can lead to sexual immorality.

Today’s Readings:

Job 37 & 38
Psalm 100.1-5
Proverbs 23.26-28
1 Corinthians 5.1-13

The Danger in NOT Judging Sin in Our Own Lives or Someone Else’s

1 Corinthians 5.1-13:

For the Purpose of Reconciliation

Today’s reading in Proverbs has some strong warnings about the dangers of sexual immorality. And in this chapter of Corinthians, we can see that the church in Corinth had its problems in this area. But, instead of dealing with it biblically, they chose to look the other way. In our society today, we might call this being tolerant or minding our own business!

Sometimes we put a biblical-sounding spin on it and say we don’t want to judge.

But look at Paul’s words in verses 1-3:

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! ² And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ³ For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

While we cannot know or judge another person’s heart, we are told throughout Scripture to judge sin. Jesus said, “You will know a tree by its fruit” (Matt. 12.33). That means you must determine what the fruit is!

The point we most often miss in all of this is the purpose behind it. It’s not so we can be self-righteous or condemning. It’s so a sinning brother or sister can be reconciled to God. If a person is living a sinful lifestyle, one of two things is true: either he or she is not really saved (Eph. 2.10) or they are in danger of God’s discipline (Heb. 12.5-11), including the natural consequences of their choices.

Weak Christians

Later in chapter 11 when talking about the Lord’s supper, Paul tells these same believers:

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 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 Cor. 11.30-32).

Because of unconfessed and unforsaken sin, many of the Corinthian believers were weak and sick and some had died prematurely!

Certainly, we all sin in many ways, and many of those things can be covered in love. But gross sins, life-dominating sins like anger, abuse, and sexual immorality should be confronted in a biblical way. This is not easy to do, but necessary if the body of Christ is to be the pure and undefiled bride she is called to be.

It Starts with Us

But we need to first examine our own lives in the mirror of God’s Word (Matt. 7.1-5). Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love Him and love others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22.37-40). So that’s a good place to start.

1 Corinthians 13.4-7 says this about love:

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance (NLT).

So we might ask ourselves:

Am I patient when tempted to be impatient?

Am I kind to those closest to me? Do I seek to be kind even to those who are unkind to me?

Am I jealous, boastful, or prideful?

Do I rejoice when someone else is promoted or receives a blessing or am I envious and jealous?

Do I constantly demand my way or secretly manipulate others to get it?

Next, am I aware of a tendency toward pride and selfishness? If so, am I seeking God’s help to grow in grace and humility?

Do I have a forgiving spirit or do I keep a record of wrongs done to me?

Am I irritable? Even angry?

Do I secretly hope someone gets what they deserve or do I want right and truth to win out?

Do I easily give up on others forgetting that God didn’t give up on me? Or am I hopeful that others can grow and change?

Am I growing in my ability to persevere or do I give up and quit doing things God’s way?  Do I give in to sinful anger when things are hard, others haven’t changed, or life doesn’t go my way?

Other Good Self-Exam Scriptures

Here are some other good verses on which to meditate and use as tools of self-examination. Philippians 2.3-4 says:

³ Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; ⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

And Romans 12.10 says:

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

Do I put the interests of others ahead of my own? Do I prefer them, especially those closest to me? For example, would I typically suggest going to the restaurant my spouse enjoys, or am I more likely to be resentful if we don’t go to my favorite place?

Do I have a what’s in it for me attitude in my home, church, and workplace? Or do I enjoy blessing others?

Ephesians 4, 5, and 6 are full of verses about attitudes and actions we are to put off and new Christlike character qualities we should be cultivating. A careful reading of those chapters will give us lots to reflect on as we examine our lives. For more on this, you might want to read “How Do We Grow & Change?”

Why We Need Accountability

But even when we believe we are faithfully examining our own lives, we can all too easily justify sinful habits that don’t seem that bad to us or miss them altogether. That’s why we need our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ to help us see them.

We need accountability. That means we need to cultivate relationships that are open and honest where we allow other people to speak truth into our lives without becoming defensive or angry.

And accountability shouldn’t stop with our own personal lives. We should be willing to help others who are struggling with sin and failure. Why is this so important?

Headed over a Cliff

Even though we must start by examining our own lives, we are not to neglect the one-anothering Scripture calls us to in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

¹ Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ³ If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important (Gal. 6.1-2 NLT).

Imagine that someone you know is blind and headed over a cliff. Would you try to stop them or would you let them fall to their death? Yet, the effects of spiritual blindness can have immediate and eternal consequences. If we truly love people, we must love them enough to get involved, get our hands dirty, and even risk their rejection.

Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy (Prov. 27.5-6 NASB).

But we should do so gently, lovingly, and tentatively, doing our best to see that we have all the facts.

You can read more on this important topic in an earlier post: “When to Admonish, Rebuke or Warn a Friend”

Today’s Other Readings:

Job 37 & 38:

Things to Consider When Going Through a Test or Trial

In chapter after chapter, Job and his friends have been debating the reasons for Job’s suffering. Finally, Job turned to God in his attempt to understand. But in chapter 38, God turns the tables on Job and begins to question him!

Remember God had already vindicated Job in the court of heaven and He will vindicate him again as He speaks to Job and his friends. But as John MacArthur says in his Daily Bible notes, “… He first brought Job to a right understanding of Himself.”

It’s alright for us to question God, but we must know in advance, that we won’t always get an answer, nor will we always understand the answers we get. But we need to be willing to accept that He knows best. Tests and trials are opportunities to trust God in a greater way whether or not they make sense to us.

If you are going through a test or trial and struggling to understand, read chapters 38-42 of Job carefully and prayerfully. Ask someone to pray with you and for you as you seek to glorify Him during a difficult time.

Psalm 100.1-5:

Praise God in the Trial

Psalm 100 is not just a wonderful Psalm to declare when things are going well, but when we are suffering as Job was. It starts with remembering verse 3:

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.

He created us and He knows what’s best. He loves us and all His plans for us are for our good and His glory!

If you’re going through a difficult season, why not come into His presence with thanksgiving and praise, trusting that He is good and His mercy is everlasting?

And if you let me know. I’d love to pray for you!

Proverbs 23.26-28:

Finding Satisfaction in Him

The New Living Translation says:

²⁶ O my son, give me your heart.
    May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
²⁷ A prostitute is a dangerous trap;
    a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
²⁸ She hides and waits like a robber,
    eager to make more men unfaithful.

This passage and many others contain strong warnings about being drawn into sexual immorality. Those warnings aren’t just for men.

There are many men who prey on vulnerable women, just as a prostitute or immoral woman does with a man.

Often it’s emotional attachments that the devil uses to draw us in. It might be a friendship with a co-worker that gradually turns into something else. Or someone who comes along and begins to pay us the compliments we long to hear from our husbands. These and others are traps the devil uses over and over to lure women away from their husbands and into sin and destruction.

The Bible also uses sexual immorality as a picture of our spiritual adultery against God. All too often, we choose to go after the sinful things of the flesh and the world instead of finding satisfaction and fulfillment in Him!

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (Jas. 4.4).

So, whether you’re a man or a woman, let’s not be ignorant of the enemy’s tactics. Let’s submit ourselves to God and flee from anything that could ensnare us in sin.

Coming Up:

In the coming days, as we finish the book of Job, spend time in 1 Corinthians, and continue our yearlong journey through Psalms and Proverbs, we’ll talk about the truth regarding science and dinosaurs, marriage and divorce, what our heroes say about where our treasure is, and the balance between freedom and stumbling blocks.

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out our YouTube channel.

If this post spoke to you, I would love it if you would share it on your favorite social media platform.

And if you don’t already have a copy, you might want to purchase a copy of my eBook, 10 Benefits of Keeping a Spiritual Journal. It’s available on Kindle or in paperback (the paperback has 31 days of blank journaling pages with prompts to help you get started).

Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.