I CORINTHIANS 4:5: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: They will never change! Have you ever caught yourself saying this? Someone dear to you needs the Lord, their life is on the wrong path, they keep making the wrong decisions, and in desperation, you throw your hands up and say…

They will never change!

As I was reading this morning in Corinthians, as I came upon this verse, I was convicted in my heart. We live in a day when everyone is making fast judgments. We hear someone say the wrong thing – we judge them. We see someone do the wrong thing – we judge them. Someone hurts our feelings – we judge them.

We are too quick to judge!

There is a lot of confusion regarding what it means to judge and what Paul is saying in this verse. Our English language is limited. We assign different meanings to the same word and we miss its meaning if we take it out of context. The Greek language had distinct words that defined its meaning and intent.

There are three words in Greek that we translate to judge in English. They are, krino, anakrino, and diakrino. They are defined as follows:

Krino – to condemn, pass final sentence upon.

Anakrino – to examine, investigate, question.

Diakrino – to separate throughout, distinguish, discern.

What word does Paul use in I Corinthians 4:5? He uses the word krino. Below is the same verse from the Good News Bible.

“So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people’s minds. And then all will receive from God the praise they deserve.” (1Co 4:5 GNB)

As Christians, we are called to examine, investigate, question, distinguish, and discern. We are NEVER called to pass final judgment. Yet, this is exactly what we do all the time. This is what the enemy of our souls tempts us to do. When we pass final judgment upon another person we either give up on them or cut them out of our life.

The irony is we would never want anyone to do this to us. Why do we do it to others? It is easier to pass final judgment than it is to examine, understand, discern, and continue fighting for the person through our intercession and prayers. We may be the only person still praying for our loved ones. If the enemy gets us to give up on them – he has won!

How many testimonies have we heard of a praying mother who would not give up on their child? Everyone else had written them off but the mother kept praying. God heard these prayers and what looked impossible became possible by the grace and mercy of God! Someone has said that the only thing evil needs to do to win is to convince good men and women to do nothing. You may feel your prayers are not making any impact in your situation. Yet, the truth is…

God is watching over your prayers and working in the heart of your loved one!

If you had to choose a doctor, which one would you choose?

Doctor 1: “I am sorry, there is nothing we can do for you!”

Doctor 2: “We will do everything in our ability and use every means possible to beat this disease!”

Which doctor would you go to? Although neither doctor knows the final outcome the difference is clear. One has given up and the other pledges to keep on trying. This is how we need to approach our prayer life for loved ones who have fallen away from the Lord. We must be like Doctor 2 and employ everything we can in prayer for their healing and restoration.

The final outcome is up to God. Only He can pass final judgment. Paul refused to judge himself but entrusted his life to the grace and mercy of God. We need to do the same. We must question, examine, and discern…

But we must leave the final judgment in the hands of God!

Lord, teach me to judge with righteousness judgment by questioning, examining, and discerning through Your Word. Forgive me for giving up on others because I have been tempted to pass final judgment on them. Grant me the grace to stand in the gap for them until either I or they take their last breath.

Help me never to give up on those I am praying for!

In Jesus’ Name!