I Corinthians 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33  Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34  And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

The judgment that the saints in Corinth were facing was not due to ignorance. It was due to wilful ignorance. It was due to ignoring what they knew because it was inconvenient. They did not want to obey God. The flesh was controlling them and they were pushing the work of the Holy Spirit out. As we will see further on in this book, they had adopted a false understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, but they ignored the actual work of the Holy Spirit. They were the forerunners of the modern day Charismatic/New Evangelical movement.
In verse 31 we see that these saints had been given the opportunity to judge themselves. They knew better than to argue and fight over leadership styles. They knew they needed to be more concerned about doctrine than about personality differences. None of the men named in the opening chapters of this book were sinning against God. Peter, Apollos, Paul, Jesus, were not guilty of sin. Certainly Jesus had no sin. Yet the saints were bogged down arguing over personalities, while they were allowing other sin to go on as well as we read of in chapter 5 and following. Their squabbling over personalities was also sin that needed to be confessed and stopped. The church in Corinth was suffering internally, and it was also a gross stumblingblock to the lost.
Without that background, they were coming to the Lord’s Supper and behaving as though their lives were in good spiritual shape. However, as we have already seen, their spiritual lives were a mess. They could have dealt with these matters on their own, but God had to send the apostle Paul to publicly rebuke them. This would no doubt embarrass them. They would not appreciate being called out and told that their carnality would be recorded for all future generations to study. The sad reality is that our generation has not learned from the Word of God that is given to us in this book. Many churches condone immorality. There is a wilful ignorance when it comes to the Biblical teaching on marriage. Personal feelings and convenience have superseded the truth.
In verse 32, the good news is that when saints are judged, they are judged of the Lord. God’s Word is the standard by which true saints must be judged. The world is always looking for a way to discredit the truth. A long time ago, the false theory of evolution was developed. This idea was around long before Charles Darwin wrote his heretical book. Creation was put into question for centuries. The rejection of Noah’s flood was recorded already in II Peter.
The problem is when saints are guilty of sin, and we do not want to repent. That was the problem in I Corinthians. That is the problem today as well. We still have God’s Word. In spite of the lie that we don’t know for sure what God said or meant, we can know the truth today. God would be cruel if He would hold us to an absolute standard without revealing that absolute standard to us.
Paul reminded the saints that He was sent to judge them by the Lord. This judgment was so that they should not be condemned with the world. God does not want true saints to be messed up with the sins of the world. There is no “righteous” sin. Sin is sin, regardless of who commits it. Unlike our current “justice system”, where we have many double standards, God’s judgment is always just.
In the Scriptures, God holds pastors to the same standard as the average saint. However, He will also judge pastors more severely, because they put themselves in a position where they want people to trust them. They claim to be men of God chosen by God to lead people to the truth. A godly pastor is chosen by God. He may gain the approval of men, but they must understand that it is not a wise thing to interfere with God’s will.
The saints in Corinth needed to understand the blessing of being judged by Paul on behalf of the Lord. Paul was not offering opinions. We have noted that in the past. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
In verse 33, Paul encouraged the saints to wait for one another when they gather for the Lord’s Supper. It was not ‘party time’. This was a time to remember the privilege they had been granted in being forgiven and saved because of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The partaking of the Lord’s Supper should never be something that is rushed into or taken lightly. It should always be a time of self-examination. There are many verses that could be used in that self-examination. Verses like Psalm 139:23-24 will be helpful for the humble servant of God.

Psalm 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

There are too many professing Christians who have predetermined what they will believe and what they will not believe. In order to be right with God, the saint must truly be humbled to receive the truth and accept the truth as THE TRUTH. We must come past the argument of: ‘that is your truth, and this is my truth’. There is only one Truth and that is God’s Sure Word.
In verse 34 we are further reminded that the Lord’s Supper should be separated from a friendly feast. There were public feasts that God had ordained in Old Testament times. All of those feasts were to reflect on some aspect of God’s direction in their lives. There are wedding feasts that are held to celebrate with the newly married couple. Those feasts should also be a time to reflect on the true purpose of marriage.
The Lord’s Supper is not a time to satisfy our physical hunger. Eat at home and then come together to remember the Lord’s death until He comes again. We, those who are saved, need to guard against coming under God’s condemnation.

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Notice there that to be free from condemnation, we need to be “in Christ Jesus”. To be “in Christ Jesus” is to “not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The self-examination that we as saints need to undertake must be in accordance with what God’s Word says. God wants to bless His children. We need to be sure we are His children and then we need to walk humbly with Him to receive His blessings.
Pastor Bartel