Wednesday, December 7, 2011
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
PATIENCE TILL THE ADVENT
"Who are YOU to judge me!" The Christian who stands and speaks up against sin will hear this, and will pray to hear it with all meekness and fear. Unloving accusations are made against anyone these days who doesn't tolerate sin. However, those who make such hateful accusations against intolerance of sin are condemning themselves by not being tolerant "of intolerance." It's a double standard.
But as we attempt to be light-bearers of Christ's truths, we may easily become impatient with ourselves and others. Yes, the person is right who says I cannot judge them. And that is exactly Paul's admonition to the Corinthian Christians who were passing their own judgment on others. Now wait a minute, wasn't that what Paul was doing himself? Couldn't the Corinthians have also said, "Who are YOU to judge us Paul? Look at yourself!"
Therein lies the point Paul was making. He wasn't judging them, but the Word of God was! Paul was passing God's judgment on their visible words and actions, not on their hearts. Our judgments should only come from God's Word in the Bible. Therefore, we are not judging others, but God is through His Word that we share. And as God's mouthpiece and witnesses, as His ambassadors, we want to represent Him and His characteristics, including His patience.
So until the Lord comes again to uncover what cannot be seen in the hearts of others, let us continue to justly and rightly show the love of His Word, bringing darkness to light with both His law and His precious Gospel. Remembering that Christ has paid for each soul with His very own blood and that He ultimately will give the final verdict, will help us to be more patient until His Advent when He comes again to call us home!
