'Judge for yourselves'

Paul is rebuking the Corinthians for doing a convincing imitation of the Israelites in the wilderness. He refers to their "idolatry" and says, "I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say" (1 Corinthians 10:15).

How do you like that? Paul wants us to engage in hermeneutics! He doesn't say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, don't try this at home!" He says, "Try this at home! This is not the province of the seminary scholar."

Paul believes we can figure much out for ourselves if we put our minds to it and think over his words. He is not going to dot the "i's" and cross the "t's." He is not going to belabor his point about idolatry, because he figures the Corinthians can look at the Scriptures, their lives, and their hearts, and come to reasonable conclusions. That's because they have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)-if they will only use it. Paul says, with scarcely concealed perplexity, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you . . . ?" (1 Corinthians 6:19.)

By the words "judge for yourselves," Paul, in one felled swoop, throws open the whole Bible to not only my soul but also my mind. He puts flesh and bones on the oft-repeated but rarely actualized claim that we are a "priesthood of believers." It's nice to have teachers and pastors, but we ourselves, in our prayer closets, are fully equipped to discern what is going on in our hearts and in our culture.

Where does our equipping come from? From the Spirit in each of us. And from reading God's Word: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Do you think of yourself as a man or woman of God who is "competent" and "equipped"? You are, because "the anointing that you have received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you" (1 John 2:27). Therefore, Paul is able to say to us with a straight face, "If we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged" (1 Corinthians 11:31). Imagine that: We can avert our own chastisement by some judicious, preemptive housecleaning.

Paul has higher expectations (and demands) of us than many of us tend to have of ourselves: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you now know that we are to judge the angels?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3.) Moral: Shape up! Start practicing right now for your future gig as a judge of angels. Read the Bible, examine your lives, develop your spiritual acumen, clean your house.

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