Lesson

We continued with the Andy Stanley series of Judgment Call
"Sometimes Judging is Loving"
I Corinthians 5:1-13

Last week we talked about looking at yourself in the mirror before being able to go and talk to someone else about their sinful behavior. You must "first remove the plank in your eye before you try to remove the speck in someone else's eye".

We continued this week with Paul telling us in I Corinthians that we are to hold other Christians to a higher standard than people outside the Christian faith. If someone we know is involved in sinful behavior, we have an obligation to talk to them and let them know that we cannot condone that behavior or be associated with them. There was a man who was sleeping with his step mother and the members of his church family were ignoring the behavior and not confronting him with the sinfulness of his ways. Paul explained what they needed to do in order to bring the man back to God. They must have him stop the behavior in order to get back to what God wanted for him.

Questions:
1. Read I Corinthians 5:1-5. What would have been the result if the church had continued to ignore this man's behavior?
2. What are the consequences when we don't judge our fellow Christians?
3. I Corinthians 5:9-11. As a Christian, what does it look like to judge other Christians?
4. What is the goal of judging other Christians?
5. I Corinthians 5:12-13. Why are there two different standards for judging Christians vs. non-Christians?
6. What is usually the result when Christians judge outside the church?

When we do talk to someone, we should hold them to the Bible's standards, not ours. If we say, "I think..." the person will be less open to change than if we refer to what the Bible says.

Have a great week,
Beth Upton