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[Sail On]

Is pointing out someone's sins the same as judging them?

1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Paul says, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked person from among you."

So if I have a friend that's not a Christian but is committing a sin, should I point it out to them? Or would that be judging? Should I just tell them about Jesus, without mentioning their sin, and let God handle it?

[jimwalton]

Identifying a problem is not a judgment. When Jesus condemned judging others, He was referring to the "habit of censorious, sharp, unjust criticism" (A.T. Robertson). The command is more concerned with hypocrisy than judging per se. John Stott wrote: "The censorious critic is a fault-finder who is negative and destructive towards people and enjoys actively seeking out their failings."

Some of the distinctions between proper and improper judgments:

1. It is OK to judge in terms of what Christ wants or what is taught in His Word.
2. It is proper to evaluate truth or error
3. It is OK if we are perceiving others as persons of value
4. It is OK if we are looking for the good

Charles Erdman wrote, "Jesus did not mean we are not to form opinions of others, or that we should not condemn what we know to be wrong. He is forbidding them to be unkind in their judgments or to delight in unfavorable criticism. He condemns the spirit of faultfinding. If we judge, we shall be judged both by our fellow men and by God. But that does mean we are to become indifferent to evil."

Jesus was not referring to legitimate discussions about right and wrong, and helping to correct negative behavior. This is finding fault in others based on our own sense of pride, prejudice, or meanness. The verse condemns such attitudes and actions, and teaches that such behavior will come back to bite you because your pride or meanness will be perceived and you too will be weighed in the balances and found wanting. None of us is perfect, so all judgments will be found to be rooted in foibles and flaws of our own design, and our weaknesses and evils will become evident also.