If Paul uses chapter 4 to rebuke the Corinthians for going "beyond what is written" in God's word in order to judge others, he uses chapter 5 to rebuke them for not imposing judgment where Scripture requires (vs 1).
The danger for us as Christians is to fall on one side or the other. Some will say that we are never to judge others; after all, Matthew 7:1 says, "Judge not, lest you be judged." But others will say that many times in God's word we are instructed not to associate with those who are unrepentant, which inherently means we must pass judgment on them first.
So which is it? Even though they seem to contradict one another, I believe we are to hold the two in tension with one another. On the one hand, we are not to pronounce judgment before the time comes, for there are many things which only God can know, and we are to be careful not to speak authoritatively in those areas. But on the other hand, where the Bible does speak we can pronounce judgment because we know with certainty that God has already pronounced judgment in those areas.
Do you hold that tension in your own life? Are you able to rightly discern between the areas where you can lovingly rebuke based on the word of God, and the areas where, no matter how you say it, only God can pass judgment?
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