11 For who among men knows the depths of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the depths of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the depths graciously given to us by God, 13 of which depths we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual depths with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined. 15 But he who is spiritual examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL DIRECT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 (LSB)
I have been a Christian since 1986. From the day of my salvation to the present, I am sure I have heard dozens of teachings on “The Mind of Christ.” Along with those teachings, I have also heard many confusing references to Jesus’ statement from Matthew 7 and Luke 6 where He commanded His disciples to “Judge Not…” In my own experience, more often than not, the command to “Judge Not” came from someone wishing to protect some malefactor against people demanding his or her scalp in response to some heinous act….
Are believers to never judge? Is it wrong to judge? Are Christians to be spineless acceptors of every person regardless of the magnitude of their reprehensible actions? We must look at Jesus’ command exegetically to answer these questions. Reading vital scripture passages in isolation without placing them in proper context misuses scripture via some eisegetical process. That means reading into scripture what is not there. Proper exegesis of scripture never pulls scripture out of context and uses scripture to interpret scripture.