Thanks for returning to this series on “Judge Judge Judge” and my feeble attempt to understand a believers responsibility and right to make judgments.
Another purpose of this series hopefully is to understand the believers restriction on judgement.
What can a Christian judge? How is he to judge? What is prohibited in the Christian life to judge. So many questions and concerns.
Our fourth greek word related to judging is…
G1106 – γνώμη – gnōmē
judgment, mind, purpose, advice, will, agree
This word is found 9 times in 8 verses within the New Testament. A full listing of all verses may be found below for your self study. I will consider the verses that are not clear, that create questions in my mind, with the remaining verses left for the reader to ponder.
1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
I attended a medium size church for a period of time and one of the things I learned while their is that unity and uniformity are not equal.
The church sought the entire body to study one topic and a small group of us requested we continue with a separate study. This desire was evidence of an unwilling spirit, showing a fruit of division.
Is this Paul’s concern above?
Consider Paul’s later lament, where he rails against the believers joining cliques, forming premature denominations, and seeking to cling with their own group think. Finding folks that think the same way in church does not challenge our lives, but allows us to settle for a safe existence. Being around folks that think differently, forces a believer to capitulate to a strong personality (definitely a danger) or to become firm in his convictions.
So is Paul wanting us to believe the same minutia of doctrines, and refuse to fellowship with those who differ? I think not.
He wants them
- to agree / speak the same
- to have no divisions / schisms among them
- to be united in the same mind and the same judgement
Check the context – the believers, in the previous verse, are told of their calling – and since I reside in Texas, I’m gonna give you the Texan translation.
… All y’all were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord
The focus of the fellowship, of the church body, of the gathering of the saints is to have fellowship with one another and the Lord Jesus Christ.
If Jesus is head, we look to Him for direction and guidance, we humble ourselves to accept that we may be wrong in our understanding of the will of God, and in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
If all y’all believers (including me!) sought this type of Christianity, there would be no divisions, and the world would see a group of believers united in the same mind and the same judgement concerning things of the Spirit of God.
- Agree to speak the same thing (about Jesus) – that He is Lord.
- Have no divisions, (although some believers may be at different stages of their pilgrimage)
- United in the same mind (of humility) and of the same judgement, (based on the Spirit and the written Word)
Thanks for joining me in this study. Hope to visit with you in our next post as we continue to look at the Greek term γνώμη.
Be Blessed.
I look forward to comments and discussion. May the Lord give you an understanding heart and a willing spirit to consider the Bible and all it’s wealth.
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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.
Considering the Bible 
Nice post!
Judging is what we all do, but God has the final say. As Christians we are not to judge, but we are to tell other Christians when they may be in the wrong. I would call that helping others to reflect on themselves.
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Thanks for the encouragement and comment.
As mentioned in some of these studies, I think believers are exhorted to judge situations, and even people. In saying that I need to clarify that this judgement is not to be condemning, but simply the estimation of known facts in order to make a godly decision (or judgement).
Anyway thanks for dropping by and hope to discuss more. Have a good night.
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This is certainly a topic on which we need to study. I, for one, am not that clear on how it should be conducted as a Christian and I’m happy to see it being addressed.
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Lesley it is good to meet you.
Hopefully as we go through this study, you will find areas I have missed considering. We have already studied three greek words related to judging, and will have numerous additional studies coming out. Hope to discuss.
Have a great day.
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Reblogged this on Nelson MCBS.
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