Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.
Parallel translations
- WEB For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged.
- KJV For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
- NKJV For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
- NASB But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
- NLT But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If believers honestly judged themselves, they would not come under the Lord's judgment. Self-examination forestalls divine discipline.
Overview
Paul teaches that genuine self-judgment and repentance would spare believers the corrective judgment God otherwise sends. The discipline of examining oneself before the Supper is thus a means of grace. This underscores personal responsibility and the value of repentance in maintaining right fellowship with God and his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Jn 1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Ps 32:3–5When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
- Rev 2:5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
- 1 Cor 11:28Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
- Luke 15:18–20I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Rev 3:2–3Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.
- Jer 31:18–20I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 11:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.