1. "God's day of judgment changes everything. In what ways are you and I trying to live as if God's day of final accounting will never come?"

2. "Without evacuating their authority, Paul's explaining that they're not saviors. They're just stewards. We follow them only insofar as they point us to Christ."

3. "The gospel mystery is a seed which is handed to every Christian. How are you stewarding it? A seed is to be planted, not held onto and admired. May we return to our Master not with seeds to snack on, but with fields full of fruit."

4. "You can trace any good thing in your life back to its starting point and you will see that none of it was really earned. Your marriage, your kids, opportunities, friendships, dreams, pleasures, insight—given, my friends, all given. Which means you and I are not the owners. We are stewards managing these gifts on his behalf for his interests."

5. "Some people want a religion they can boast in. But isn't there something in all of us that knows how good and right it feels to be small? Next to a God who is wonderful, that knows the glory of beholding the transcendent?"

6. "God doesn't need us to make a big splash. He's very capable of that himself. Instead, God's purposes are rooted in what our lives say about him, not what they accomplish. Sometimes faithfulness requires accomplishment. Sometimes it simply requires perseverance."

7. "Is it more valuable is a question for God. He will sort that one out. He's the chess master, but you and I are merely the pieces. Our question is the one we see here: Is it faithful?"

8. "Your conscience is like a gauge warning when you're entering dangerous territory. But it's only a gauge. It's only as good as its calibration. And like that gauge, your conscience is not your ultimate judge."

9. "The sin of judging is a sin of substitution. We substitute ourselves for Christ the Judge. But we can't put it to death merely by undoing that one substitution. We must replace it with another: Christ substituting himself for us at the cross, taking on himself the sin of our judging."

10. "So many of us live out our lives in the courtroom, never leaving court, always on trial—the courtroom of social media, the courtroom of public opinion, a courtroom dominated by the voice of a parent or a spouse or a boss or a child, a courtroom of our own standards, our own self-recrimination, our own regrets."

Observation Questions

1. According to 1 Corinthians 4:1, how does Paul say the Corinthians should regard him and Apollos, and what two roles does he identify?

2. In verse 2, what does Paul say is required of stewards?

3. In verses 3-4, Paul mentions three possible sources of judgment regarding his ministry. What are they, and what is his assessment of each?

4. According to verse 5, what two things will the Lord do when He comes, and what will each person receive as a result?

5. In verse 6, what does Paul say is his purpose in applying these things to himself and Apollos, and what does he want the Corinthians to avoid?

6. What two rhetorical questions does Paul ask in verse 7, and what attitude is he challenging with these questions?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Paul distinguish between being judged by the Corinthians, by a human court, and even by himself (verses 3-4)? What does this teach us about the limitations of human judgment and the sufficiency of Christ's judgment?

2. Paul says in verse 4 that having a clear conscience does not mean he is "thereby acquitted." What is the relationship between conscience and God's final judgment, and why is this distinction important for how we evaluate ourselves and others?

3. How does Paul's teaching in verse 5—that the Lord will "bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and disclose the purposes of the heart"—explain why it is wrong to "pronounce judgment before the time"?

4. In verse 7, Paul asks, "What do you have that you did not receive?" How does this question function as an antidote to the pride and factionalism Paul has been addressing throughout chapters 3-4?

5. The passage ends with the promise that "each one will receive his commendation from God" (verse 5). How does this promise of commendation—rather than condemnation—shape our understanding of God's character and the Christian's hope for the final judgment?

Application Questions

1. Paul identifies himself as a "steward of the mysteries of God." In what specific ways are you currently stewarding the gospel message—whether through conversations, relationships, or service—and what is one concrete step you could take this week to be more faithful in that stewardship?

2. Verse 7 reminds us that everything we have is received from God. Identify one area of your life (a skill, relationship, opportunity, or resource) where you tend to feel self-sufficient or proud. How might viewing it as a stewardship rather than an achievement change how you use it this week?

3. The sermon identified two signs of sinful judging: a sense of superiority and a lack of mercy. Think of a person or situation you have been quick to judge recently. What would it look like to extend mercy instead, and what specific action could you take to demonstrate that mercy?

4. Paul says it is the Lord who judges him, freeing him from being controlled by others' opinions or even his own self-evaluation. In what relationship or area of life do you find yourself most enslaved to the "courtroom" of others' opinions? How can the truth that Christ is your ultimate judge bring freedom and change your behavior this week?

5. The sermon emphasized that faithfulness, not visible success, is what God requires of stewards. Is there an area of your life—parenting, work, ministry, or relationships—where you have been measuring yourself by results rather than faithfulness? What would it look like to reorient your focus toward being faithful rather than being successful?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Matthew 25:14-30 — This parable of the talents illustrates the stewardship and final accounting themes of 1 Corinthians 4, showing that God rewards faithfulness rather than mere results.

2. Romans 14:1-12 — Paul addresses the danger of judging fellow believers and reminds us that each person will give an account to God, reinforcing the call not to pronounce judgment before the time.

3. James 2:8-13 — This passage warns that judgment without mercy awaits those who show no mercy, connecting directly to the sermon's emphasis on mercy as the opposite of sinful judging.

4. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 — Paul discusses living by faith and appearing before the judgment seat of Christ, expanding on the themes of final accountability and commendation found in 1 Corinthians 4.

5. Hebrews 4:12-16 — This passage describes God's Word discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, while also offering confidence to approach God's throne of grace, balancing the themes of judgment and hope in the sermon.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Story of Joseph Parker and Nicholas Edmonds: Living in Denial of God's Day of Judgment

II. Christ is the Master, Not You (1 Corinthians 4:1-2, 7)

III. Christ is the Judge, Not You (1 Corinthians 4:3-6)

IV. The Christian's Hope: Commendation from God on That Day

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Detailed Sermon Outline

There's a story about Joseph Parker, our church's first full-time pastor that Caleb Morel uncovered in his research recently about the history of our church. It came up on Wednesday night at Bible study. It fits our passage well. It happens in 1831. Parker, then a young man, was employed as a school teacher for a Virginia planter named Nicholas Edmonds, and he taught the gospel widely through Edmonds' plantation.

God blessed his preaching with considerable fruit, most notably in a slave named John, whose faith shone so brightly that Edmonds admitted, if my hope of heaven were half as bright as my confidence that John is fit for it, I should be a much happier man.

But when a rebellion among those who were enslaved broke out nearby, Edmonds told Parker to stop giving religious instruction to his slaves. Parker protested, Do you believe that John is a true Christian? Is he a worse slave than before? He is entirely faithful, Edbins admitted, but he feels himself a man accountable to God. When Isaac was buried the other day, I heard John exhorting his fellow servants to prepare to meet their God.

You see, John understands that what God requires of a man and what a master requires of a slave are two very different things, so you must stop instructing my slaves.

Parker pressed, Do you believe that Jesus Christ has given us a system of religion which He's bidden us to preach to every creature under heaven and it is dangerous for all to be instructed in? We can't philosophize on that subject. Edmund snapped. But suppose you go down to the slave quarter tonight and read that part of the Sermon on the Mount which says, Therefore whatsoever ye would have men do to you, do ye even so to them. And you explain it and tell them that talk to them of all the excellence of this precept, and so on.

Have I a single man on the plantation so dull that he will not stop and say, if you please, sir, does Master Evans treat us as he would have us treat him? You must answer them. Now, if you say yes, they know you lie, and you can do them no good. But if you say no, you damage my character among them. I tell you, sir, we can do nothing toward giving Christian light and instruction.

We are bound to keep them as dark as possible. From teaching them at all. Parker was undeterred. Can you stand the full blaze of the light of salvation through Jesus Christ and rejoice for yourself and your family while you shudder entirely from those absolutely dependent on you? For you remember that the soul of the master and slave are regarded of equal value by Him who died to save them and before whom both are soon to appear in the day of judgment.

Edmunds burst into tears. For God's sake, Mr. Parker, don't name the day of judgment in connection with slavery.

But you must desist from teaching my slaves.

Parker was fired shortly after that conversation, and decades later he became this church's first full-time pastor.

God's day of judgment changes everything.

Nicholas Edmonds was terrified of that final accounting, wedded to an evil institution more than to God's Word. He seems, at least based on this account, to have attempted to live as if that day would never come, which is a warning to us all. In what ways are you and I, like Mr. Edmunds, trying to live as if God's day of final accounting will never come?

Martin Luther said he had just two days on his calendar fitting for Reformation Week.

This day and that day, today and the day of our final accounting. Those are the only two days he said we must always consider, which is true. And it's hard to live that way. We saw two weeks ago that God will call us to account. That was a big theme in 1 Corinthians 3, though that accounting will differ for Christians and non-Christians.

It's real for both. And on that day we will see the real value of how we've lived.

But unlike Mr. Edmonds, we need not stick our heads in the sand in denial. Christians can look forward to that day because the verdict is already in, our justification. And as we'll see in our passage today, our commendation. We look forward to it, and a focus on that day should put every moment of this day into sharp perspective. That's really what's going on in 1 Corinthians 4, page 970 in your pew Bibles, where Paul discusses the implications for this day of God's final accounting on that day.

So far in the letter, Paul has been showing the Corinthians the foolishness of arrogantly dividing into factions around various leaders, Apollos, himself, others. His conclusion can really be summed up in a single phrase in chapter 3, verse 21, so let no one boast in men. Instead, he says, if we get to chapter 4, This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.

In fact, I do not even judge myself, for I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. I've applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive?

If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Let me explain how this passage works. It functions in two pieces with the second piece providing the interpretive grid for the first. The Corinthians had been judging different teachers as better than the rest, and they had competing judgments which divided them. So, in the first pieces of our passage, verses 1 to 5, Paul explains that these teachers answer to Christ, not them. But then, verses 6 to 7, the second piece, he applies all of this to the Corinthians as well.

So, the themes of stewardship and judgment that apply to Paul and Apollos in verses 1 to 5 are really seeming to apply to all of them. And ascension to all of us. And so those same two themes are repeated in verses 6 and 7 for all Christians.

So how should that last day shape our perspective for this current day? This passage presents two last day truths that should guide all of life, which are the two points of this sermon. First, Christ is the Master, not you. That's verses 1, 2, and 7. Second, Christ is the judge, not you.

Verses 3 to 6, Christ is the master, not you. Christ is the judge, not you. We'll start with the first of these in verse 1. Paul says, this is how one should regard us. The us, as we see from verse 6, being himself and Apollos, another one of the Corinthians' teachers, they should be regarded, Paul says, as servants of Christ and stewards of the the mysteries of God.

Now, normally when Paul writes about himself as a servant of Christ, he uses a word which is sometimes translated slave, but here he uses a different word. This is a word that implies delegated authority, like officer. In fact, the only other place in the Scriptures where this word is used of Paul is when Jesus commissions Paul on the Damascus Road as a servant, this word. And a witness to the Gentiles.

You see, Paul's attempting something fairly delicate here. Getting the Corinthians to stop defining themselves as his followers or Apollos' or anyone else's for that matter, while maintaining his apostolic authority. Thus, the use of this particular word for servant, which he got from Jesus. So they're to view leaders as servants and verse 1 as stewards, like a household manager, and D.C. terms a chief of staff, stewards of the mysteries of God. Not referring to something mysterious that's still unknown to us, but the gospel that was concealed for generations but now made known.

Already in 1 Corinthians, Paul has used that word mystery to describe the now revealed content of the gospel. Salvation through faith and a crucified Messiah. Elsewhere in his letters he uses that term to describe the now revealed people of the gospel, both Jew and Gentile.

So Paul and all Christian leaders are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, which should really right-size our expectations for Christian leaders. Without evacuating their authority, Paul's explaining that they're not saviors.

They're just stewards. We follow them only insofar as they point us to Christ, which sadly contrasts with so much of today's tribalized celebrity pastor culture that honestly beckons us by bestowing on us some sense of superiority because you've lined up behind the right guy.

That beckons by making things so simple. Find the right guy and he'll give you all the answers. But Paul opposes any such culture.

And not only were Paul and Apollos stewards of the mysteries of God, so are we. Remember in verse 6, Paul writes that what he says about himself and Apollos also applies to the Corinthians and by extension to us. So a primary application is the obvious one: How can you be a steward of the mysteries of God? You can tell people about him. You can evangelize.

The gospel mystery is a seed which is handed to every Christian. How are you stewarding it? A seed is to be planted, not held onto and admired. May we return to our Master not with seeds to snack on, but with fields full of fruit. And I hope this reference to stewardship rescues a powerful biblical concept that we too often relegate to our bank accounts.

Stewardship in churches too often isn't discussed anywhere beyond the stewardship committee. Yet in not a single instance in the Bible where we see this term steward is the application mainly about money.

We're stewards of the mysteries of God here, of God's very gifts. First Peter chapter four, Elders are stewards of God's church in Titus one. We're not stewards merely of money but of everything God has given us, which is exactly where Paul goes in chapter seven with those powerful rhetorical questions. Who sees anything different in you? In other words, who judged you to be superior?

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast? As if you did not receive it!

There is nothing that you have that you did not receive from Christ. So everything you have is to be stewarded on his behalf.

The money you have, It's a stewardship. The job that earned it, a stewardship. The skill that got you that job, a stewardship. The education that got you that skill, a stewardship. The intelligence to get that education, a stewardship from God.

You can trace any good thing in your life back to its starting point and you will see that none of it was really earned. Your marriage, your kids, opportunities, friendships, dreams, pleasures, insight, given, my friends, all given, which means you and I are not the owners. We are stewards managing these gifts on his behalf for his interests. That brings humility in success. It brings hope in trials.

That concept of stewardship is absolutely critical if we are to live in light of that day. During the ups and downs of this day, so those ups and downs don't distract us, so they don't deter our joy and our focus. Truly embracing your role as Christ's steward is critical to the heavenly-minded contentment that so often remains just outside our grasp. Maybe you're here this morning and you are not a Christian. I hope you seriously consider these questions.

What do you have that you did not receive? If you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Our culture's present interest in gratitude is similar, but it can actually lead to a kind of self-importance. But these questions focus not on you, Is the one who's received, but on the one who gave it to you. And so they drive us to humility.

So often it's pride that keeps us from the gospel. But these questions undermine pride. What do you have that you did not receive?

So, my friend, as you honestly Consider that question and find it leaving you feeling naked and exposed. I pray the things that you put your trust in for self-worth begin to appear as vacuous as they really are. And I pray that your heart will be ready to hear the wonderful message of the gospel, that you are a sinner who needs saving, that Jesus died in your place to save you by taking on himself the penalty that you deserved, that you can be forgiven of your your sin and reconciled to your God forever as you accept by faith what he has done and show that faith through repentance.

But you say, I don't have that kind of faith. Not a problem. Not a problem for a generous God. Simply ask him for what you need and he will provide because remember, there's nothing you have, not even your faith, that you have not received. In fact, it was this very verse that convinced the fourth century African bishop Augustine of that truth, that faith is not the part of our salvation we supply, otherwise he realized we would have something to boast about.

Even faith is a gift from God. What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast? As if you did not receive it. And would you have it any other way?

Do you want a religion that gives you something to boast about? Do you want your life to be no bigger than just about you? Last weekend we had a friend staying with us after she went to see the ocean for the very first time. How'd it make you feel? And with glowing eyes and a huge smile, she said, Small.

Very small.

Some people want a religion they can boast in. But isn't there something in all of us that knows how good and right it feels to be small? Next to a God who is wonderful, that knows the glory of beholding the transcendent? Who wants to worship a God who needs us? Who wants to worship a God who owes us?

Isn't the God of 1 Corinthians 4:7 the God we want to worship? He joyfully gives and gives because he is a God of abundance who exists in and of himself. What do you have that you did not receive? My friend, you're not the master. Christ is.

It's all about Him. The Corinthians have been putting their teachers first in a way that defamed Christ, as we saw in chapter 1. In their pride, they made themselves master, not Christ. But stewardship is the antidote to pride. Because it's given on the master's terms, not the servant's.

Thus, verse 2, Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Which I think sets up the central question of every Christian's life. Have you been faithful? We saw in 1 Corinthians 3 that Paul's stewardship and church planting wasn't evaluated based on size but health. In a similar way, when Jesus gives us the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, The master's commendation is not reserved for the one who accomplished the most, but for those who were faithful of what they had.

So here, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

Of course, that's not how our world evaluates success, is it? Where what matters is the splash your life makes in the pool of history. But God's economy is very different. He doesn't need us to make a big splash. He's very capable of that himself.

Instead, God's purposes are rooted in what our lives say about him, not what they accomplish. Sometimes faithfulness requires accomplishment. Sometimes it simply requires perseverance. Sometimes the arduous work of holding faith to the end is worth far more in God's sight than great accomplishment, even religious accomplishment.

It is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Our lived experience so often contradicts that verse. We evaluate our jobs by their success, parenting by how our kids turn out, ministry by visible results. If you've been to the marriage class I help teach every year, you've been warned against valuing marriage mainly for the stuff it produces. Like companionship and intimacy and kids and ministry, rather than the one it portrays.

Value marriage like Jesus does as a stewardship. Seek satisfaction in that faithfulness, not in the things marriage produces, because that is the road to a beautiful marriage. I'll tell you the first time that this idea really hit home for me. During the decade when our kids were little, my wife, Joan, left her ER job at Children's Hospital to be home with our kids. And as her main cheerleader, I would often seek to encourage her about how important her work was as a stay-at-home mom.

So important. Well, one weekend we left the kids with her parents and got away by ourselves and we were talking about that decision. It was hard. She loved it, but she also loved what she had left behind. The question arose, is it really more valuable to spend her life changing our kids' diapers and saving other kids' lives?

And in that moment, I realized that all that cheerleading about the importance and value of her role had really led us to the wrong question.

Is it more valuable is a question about results. And imagine the pressure that places on our poor kids. You better do something big with your life, because your mom left the ER to raise you.

Is it more valuable is optimization language, but that's not how God has oriented our lives. For big decisions, is it valuable is very often the wrong question to ask, even with God's values in view. Not is it more valuable, but am I faithful? In this case, given who we were, who our kids were, what biblical parenting involves, and the salary you pay me that allows us to live on one income. Faithfulness meant Joan staying home during those years.

Just as many of you have traded what the world says is big for things it sees as small because that's what it means to be faithful. Is it more valuable? Is a question for God. He will sort that one out. He's the chess master, but you and I are merely the pieces.

Our question is the one we see here. Is it faithful? Well, in Corinthians, Corinthians had been running in the wrong direction, arguing over the best teacher, asking who's most valuable. By extension, they were jealously competing with one another, asking who's most valuable.

But Paul redirects them. He says, you,'re asking the wrong question. You're not the master, neither am I. We're simply stewards. And it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

What does faithful stewardship mean for this congregation? Well, just as our leaders have their stewardship from Christ that we read about here, we have our stewardship of them. There's a consumerist mentality that never gets beyond asking, why can't my leaders do more for me?

There's a stewardship mentality that says, How can we be faithful with the gift of these leaders? Which protects churches who have gifted leaders from pride. I do think we have unusually gifted leaders as a church. The reason I came to Washington, D.C. for two years and have now stayed for almost 30 is largely because of the Lord's ministry in this church that has exercised through that leadership. But if my conclusion from that is that we have leaders who are especially important or especially is actually valuable, I need to revisit Paul's logic here.

That's the mindset Paul rebukes at the beginning of verse 7. Who sees anything different in you? Well, that verb sees carries a sense of judging. Who judges you, Corinthian congregation, to be better than anyone else? Capitol Hill Baptist Church, we are stewards of a great gift. We are stewards of the mysteries of God in the gospel.

And we're stewards of those who steward that gospel. That stewardship is weighty. It requires wisdom, work, and sacrifice, but we are merely stewards. No room for pride. Our calling is simply to be found faithful.

So again, Christ is the Master, not you. And what a glorious Master he is. What a good Master we serve. In Jesus' parable of the talents I mentioned earlier, I just love the reward that he holds out for the two faithful servants. What does he say?

Enter into the joy of your Master. That's their reward. They had gambled everything believing their Master was good and trustworthy, which he was, and so their reward is to enjoy his goodness forever. Christ is not a stingy master. He's not a hard master.

He is good and generous, and he will one day lavish his goodness on all who served him. Which brings us to our second point. Not only is Christ the master, but verses 3 through 6, Christ is also the judge, not you.

Paul says in verse 2, It is required of stewards that they be found faithful, but not by you, Corinthians. With me, he says, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

That raises all kind of questions. We should note that Paul is not opposed to human accountability. In the very next chapter, he calls the Corinthians to account for not holding one of their members accountable. He's not opposed to self-examination. In his next letter to them, he exhorts them to examine themselves, He's not opposed to all human judging.

In chapter 6, he's going to rebuke them for not judging disputes among themselves.

So, his exhortation not to judge and his command to judge are side by side, just like when Jesus in Matthew 7 says, Judge not, lest you be judged. He follows that with a command that requires judgment: Do not throw your pearls to swine. So Paul, like Jesus, is not opposed to all judging. No, he's very specific. I think what he opposes here, it's their arrogant assumption that they had the final word on Paul's ministry.

Verse 5, Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time. They had pronounced judgment. And so verse 6, They were puffed up, endorsing one faction over another, puffed up because they had made a judgment that only the Lord was competent to pronounce. So this isn't a prohibition against moral discernment. It's a prohibition against moral usurping, taking God's role for ourselves.

And why is it inappropriate for us to judge that way? The answer is there in verse 5. Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of hearts.

Of the heart. You see, Jesus can do three things in his judging that we cannot. He sees the end, he sees it all, and he sees the heart. Right? He sees how Paul's ministry works out in the end, making judgment premature before that day.

He can see all the evidence, including what's hidden to us, and he knows the motives, even of Paul's heart.

Living as a Christian requires making judgments even about each other. Determining if a man is qualified to serve as an elder requires collective judgment. Determining if your sister is best served by you overlooking her sin or addressing it involves individual judgment. But we are not to pass judgment, not to pronounce judgment. That is taking for ourselves what belongs only to Christ.

Now, sometimes it is honestly hard to tell the difference between right and wrong judging. So let me just share two telltale signs of wrong judging that have been helpful for me. The first is what Paul mentions repeatedly here in this section of 1 Corinthians, a sense of superiority. Very often wrong judging doesn't merely declare something wrong, it elevates itself through that that declaration. Or the question, How could she?

That Ken mentioned in his prayer of confession naturally implies that I wouldn't. When I realize I'm judging as one who's morally superior, my judging is probably sinful. Then there's the second sign, which is really the opposite of wrong judging. I don't think in Scripture the opposite of wrong judging is right judging.

Instead, listen to James 2: Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. In so many ways, the opposite of being judgmental in the Bible is to be merciful, just like Joseph was with his brothers or Abigail with David.

So then two questions: Do our judgments leave us with a sense of superiority, and are our judgments flavored with mercy?

Get the wrong answer to either one of those, and we are in danger of attempting what only God can do. I appreciate how John Stott summarized Jesus' teaching on judgment. He writes, the command to judge not is not a requirement to be blind, but rather a plea to be generous. Jesus does not tell us to cease to be men, but to renounce the presumptuous ambition to be God.

So, with those categories established, let's look at the three judgments that frame the rest of this section. Paul's judgment of himself, the Corinthians' judgment of Paul, and Jesus' judgment of us all. Paul's judgment of himself, the Corinthians' judgment of Paul, and Jesus' judgment of us all. Paul's own judgment is there in verse 3. In fact, I do not even judge myself, for I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted; it is the Lord who judges me.

I'm struck by just that quick aside he makes. I am not aware of anything against myself. He's going to go on to explain that clear conscience isn't sufficient, but what an amazing thing to say. Would that we could all say that I am not aware of anything against myself. If you are aware of something against yourself, what are you going to do today?

To repent and return to the freedom of a clear conscience. You have my permission to stop listening to the sermon right now. You can get it online later on. What are you going to do today so that you can return to the freedom of a clear conscience?

But having a clear conscience isn't sufficient, Paul says, which is important because your conscience is like a gauge warning when you're entering dangerous territory but It's only a gauge. It's only as good as its calibration. And like that gauge, your conscience is not your ultimate judge. I once rented a truck that had a broken fuel gauge. I was left stranded by the highway in Ohio.

Because the gauge was broken, it kind of wasn't my fault, so I didn't get laughed at when roadside assistance arrived. But neither did I pay a special not my fault rate. I still got stranded, right? Whether my fault or the gauge's fault, the consequences were the same. The gauge is useful, it's not your ultimate judge.

And like a fuel gauge, there are three things we need to know about the conscience. It can help, it can err, and so it needs to be calibrated. The more you align your conscience to God's word, the better it helps. But never for a moment think that just because your conscience is clear, you're thereby acquitted. To use Paul's language.

Just because you meant well doesn't mean you're without fault in God's accounting. As a young man, I heard about a seminar on dating at my church. I thought about attending. Then I thought about what biblical wisdom I might teach there, that some of it might be less than convenient for me, that I might feel obligated to obey it, once I heard it, so to my shame, I decided not to go. I chose to leave my conscience ignorant so it wouldn't trouble me, which meant that I cared far more about the verdict of my conscience than the verdict of my God.

Don't do that.

Maybe you're not a Christian, and yet you consider yourself a good person. Maybe you even pride yourself on being a good person. Like Paul, you can honestly say, I am not aware If I have anything against myself, two questions for you. First, why does it matter that you're good? If no one's evaluating you, what's the point?

Second, by whose standard do you think you're good? I bet every atrocious person you've ever met was convinced that they were good enough given the circumstances. Paul shows exemplary humility by saying that though he is not aware of anything against himself, he is not thereby acquitted.

That's Paul's judgment of himself. But of course, that's not the only judging going on in this passage. The Corinthians were also judging, and Paul warns them not to pronounce judgment before the time.

Yet how often do you and I do exactly that? In our heads, in our hearts, with our lips, with our actions? We live in a city that places great value on quick, accurate judgment. Many of us have spent entire careers honing our ability to judge. Be careful.

Wrongly pronouncing judgment is the root of so many evils. It's behind the jealousy Paul mentioned back in chapter 3 because I judge myself more deserving than they are of their blessings. It's often behind the strife he mentioned in chapter 3. Behind most sins of anger because anger signifies injustice and injustice signifies judgment. It's behind bitterness because I judge that I haven't gotten the good I deserve or they haven't gotten the payback they deserve.

When I'm wrongly judgmental, I collect the evidence, presuming there's no more out there.

I weigh the evidence, presuming my competence. I pronounce the verdict, presuming it's my role to do so, and so many sins we struggle with are simply working out that verdict. The Pulpit says, Don't do that. Do not pronounce judgment before the time.

Some of you honestly don't struggle much with this. But a whole lot of us do. I will put myself in the us category. We live in a remarkably self-righteous, judgmental society where righteous indignation is addictive and we soak it up quickly. Different cities have their different besetting sins.

Some worship leisure, some worship pleasure, some worship money, some worship image. In a city like ours that worships performance, I think being wrongly judging is a particular challenge for us. So what can the judgmental do?

First and foremost, we can recognize this tendency in ourselves, which is not easy. It is amazing how often we can even judge others for being judgmental without it even occurring to us that we are the ones being judgmental.

So let me give you five questions to try on for size. For you note takers, I'm going to give you a single phrase that you can write down to stand in for the whole question. Number one, quick to judgment. Quick to judgment. Do you make judgments without feeling the need to fully understand the situation?

Two, condemning. Do you assume until proven otherwise that the problems of others are their own fault?

Third, presuming motive. Do you get angry not merely at what someone did but why?

Even though you cannot know their heart? For self-righteous? Are you honestly more bothered by the sins of others or by your own sin?

Five, merciful, as I mentioned earlier, is your correction characterized by mercy?

If you do recognize wrong judging in your life, Confess it. I know that seems obvious, but it is easier said than done precisely because judging dresses up as justice. But if you know this to be a besetting sin, why wouldn't you regularly confess it to God? Why wouldn't you give permission to those close to you to point it out when they see it? It is shockingly easy to embrace the judgmental label and never do anything about it.

Don't just own the label, confess the sin. The sin of judging is a sin of substitution. We substitute ourselves for Christ the Judge. But we can't put it to death merely by undoing that one substitution. We must replace it with another.

Christ substituting Himself for us at the cross, taking on Himself the sin of our judging. Only when we confess our judgmentalism as sin and give it to Him can we begin to be free.

For the judgmental Proverbs 18:17 is, I think, a very powerful verse. The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him.

Examines him. The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him. It seems like common sense. Yet how often do we get angry before we see both sides? We'd rather condemn someone in our hearts than give them the opportunity to explain.

So seeing both sides like Proverbs 18:17 exhorts us to do doesn't keep us from making judgments, but it slows us down. It guards us against presumption, and it protects us from what you might call confirmation bias. We're expecting to find a sin in someone. We take even innocuous words and actions as proof of the evil that we assume. So may we not be judgmental.

May we instead be merciful. Are you working to make your home a judgy home? Home or a merciful home? Do you help make this church judgy or merciful? Oh, God, help us.

May we rightly cower at that verse in James 2, I mentioned earlier, James 2:13, For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Thank God that because of Christ, he treats us with mercy even we, the judgmental, if we repent. And one last thought before we move on from this category of judging. Leaders in this church, especially elders, what Paul experienced from the Corinthians is sadly normal in this fallen world. Leaders often have information they simply shouldn't share with others, which means that being understood and sometimes judged accordingly is inherent to leadership.

But Jesus knows that, doesn't he? He was maligned and he still loved.

In fact, before you were saved, you maligned him and he still loved you even now that you're saved, you still malign him and he still loves you so you can be maligned and still love. Paul says he's not the final judge of himself. The Corinthians are not the final judge, which brings to that third and last category of judging in this text, Jesus' judgment, because when he comes, verse 5, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Given the context, we understand this judging, this accounting, is one that includes Christians. In this accounting should be good news.

Good news that perfect clarity, perfect vision, perfect justice is coming. As Jesus said himself in Luke 12, Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. The good news is that Jesus will one day pronounce perfect judgments. The sobering news for those who have been maligned is that much vindication will need to wait until that day, which is hard because we so want vindication.

I was on Benning Road the other day recently and revved my engine and a pedestrian who was jaywalking seemed to assume I was revving my engine to scare him because he let loose a volley of expletives in my direction. It didn't make any sense to turn my car around and try to explain myself. I'm sure that would have done nothing good. But that lack of vindication bothered me. And that is such a small, tiny instance, let alone the vastly more serious errors that we feel misunderstood, where we feel slandered and accused.

And yet, a consuming desire for vindication now can be dangerous because it leads us to push others to do exactly what Paul warns us against, pronouncing judgment before the time, in such insistence even by the innocent can lead to great sin. How much gossip, how much slander, how much petty vengeance or worse comes from impatience waiting for the Lord to judge. And God's kindness vindication is sometimes possible today, and when it is, it's a good gift. It's a foreshadowing of a much greater vindication to come. But sometimes we need to simply be content to wait.

Content to know as verse 4 says, that it is the Lord who judges me. Oh, my brothers and sisters, be very careful of demanding vindication.

Romans 12:17 tells us to give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. That means public opinion is not unimportant to the Christian. Yet at the end of the day, On that day, it is the Lord who judges me. And that is an idea that gives great freedom in our lives. When my intentions have been misunderstood at work, I continue working for my co-workers' good because it's the Lord who judges me.

When I misunderstood in marriage, I can continue pressing forward in love because it's the Lord who judges me.

No need to pause, love, while waiting for vindication. This is what frees us to experience, as Tim Keller put it, the blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings. No need to fuel our egos, no need to patch up our battered self-esteem, because it is the Lord who judges me.

And what will God's judgment of the Christian be? I think the answer is maybe the most surprising and the most wonderful part of this entire passage. End of verse 5, Not then each one will receive his condemnation from God. Or even, then each one will receive his evaluation from God. But then each one will receive his commendation from God or his praise from God.

That is astounding for those who are in Christ, commendation. It is true, as we saw in chapter three, that at the last day Christians who were poor stewards will suffer loss, as Paul puts it. The implication here in chapter four is that some will receive greater commendation than others, but we must understand that our God is good and generous. Some of us, though we are Christians, sadly view God as dour and stingy, just waiting to give us a good scolding when we get to heaven.

You will be very hard-pressed to defend that view from Scripture. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, which implies that our faith does please God. If you have acted in faith, Christian, you have pleased your God, and on that last day he will commend that faith, which is all of grace. It is a wonderful show of grace. Your acts of faith don't deserve God's praise.

They don't obligate God's praise. Yet on that last day, each one will receive his commendation from God. Amazing. Does that not encourage you to be generous and gracious?

Paul said his ultimate judge.

It's not himself. It certainly wasn't the Corinthians. It was the Lord, and on that last day, the Lord, he says, will commend.

With that, we should conclude.

So many of us live out our lives in the courtroom, never leaving court, always on trial, the courtroom of social media, the courtroom of public opinion, a courtroom dominated by the voice of a parent or a spouse or a boss or a child, a courtroom of our own standards, our own self-recrimination, our own regrets.

But my brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to understand that the verdict has already come in. The verdict is already in, and it is a verdict for those in Christ of not guilty because Jesus paid for your many sins. But that's not all. The judge has not merely said, he will declare you not guilty. He has told you, and the grace purchased by your Lord, he will commend you when you finally stand before him.

No matter your many sins, no matter your weaknesses, no matter your foolishness, he will commend you for every act of faith by his power, for every act of love by his mercy. What freedom that brings, what joy, Oh, that Mr. Edmonds had been willing to share that good news with those he believed were under his care. Oh, that Mr. Edmonds had been willing to hear what Scripture really teaches about that last day. From what little I know of him, I have little reason to believe that he avoided the Lord's condemnation when he could have enjoyed his commendation. I hope it is Our privilege as well to look at that last day, not with dread, but with hope, because we believe what the Bible says.

It is hope in God's commendation that empowers a faith-filled stewardship. It is hope in God's commendation that banishes our sinful judging. It is that hope which is how we can live this day with our eyes focused on that day. So what will you do to live in that hope? Let's pray.

O our God, in heaven, our Father, it is wonderful beyond belief almost that for those who are sinners, you have not only made a way open to you, you have not only given us the faith that we need to take hold of that But Father, that you are pleased with our faith and you will one day commend us. Oh Father, we pray that that hope would dominate our lives. We pray that hope would make us want to serve you with gladness, that we would be generous and merciful to those around us. And Father, as we fix our eyes on that day, our lives would in fact commend you. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.