1 Corinthians 4:1

No man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, but they are vain." Therefore, let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

Let a man so account us as the ministers of Christ and the stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment. I judge not my own self. For I know nothing by myself, yet I am not hereby justified. But he that judges me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then shall every man have praise of God.

Father, we look forward to that day when we will be before you to hear those words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Amen. We pray that each here this morning would hear those words. Lord, would you teach us this morning by your Spirit, your Spirit, Jesus, that you gave to guide us in all truth and teach us all things? Teach us how we are to walk, how we are to live in a way that is honoring and pleasing to you. Give us wisdom. Give us understanding and application from the passage before us. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen."

You can be seated. In chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians, we've seen over the last several weeks that Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for their imbalanced view of themselves in respect to their leaders.

They had separated into factious groups. Some were saying, "I am of Paul," and "I am of Apollos," and so on. Paul shows that such an imbalance is both destructive and dangerous to the church at large, as well as to the church in general there in the city of Corinth. The proper perspective, as Paul revealed in chapter 3, is one wherein we recognize that we are disciples of Christ and not the disciples of others within the body of Christ. He is the head; He is the leader.

Now, if that is the case, as we come to chapter 4, we may wonder how we should classify or regard those leaders that God has ordained. If we are not to make ourselves subservient to them, thinking that they are over us and we are of them, how are we to classify them? Paul, in verse 1, labels them as such. He says, "Let a man so account us as the ministers of Christ and the stewards of the mysteries of God." We are ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Why is this important? In chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians, in verse 13, Paul asks three rhetorical questions. He says, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Clearly, the answer to each of those rhetorical questions is a stern no. The first question is particularly important: "Is Christ divided?" This is significant because the church at Corinth was dividing themselves according to these different characters and personalities, and that ought not to be the way of the church.

God has ordained leaders and appointed ministers within the body of Christ, but they ought not to be the basis for disunity. The ministers of Christ are stewards of God, and they are unified under His leadership. Therefore, our leadership ought not to be divisive, as Paul explains to the church at Corinth. They are ministers of Christ and stewards of God.

The word that Paul uses here in this passage for ministers literally means "under rower." It speaks of one who serves with their hands under the direct order of another. I think one of the best illustrations of this, one of the best pictures of this, is in that epic movie, Ben-Hur. How many of you have seen Ben-Hur? It is a movie of yesteryear, from another age, but I would encourage you to watch it.

You won't hear me encourage you to watch too many movies from this pulpit, but "Ben-Hur" would be one you should watch. In the early parts of that very long film, "Ben-Hur," played by Charlton Heston, is taken as a captive. He is taken as a slave. When you see him in the next scene, he is a rower in a Roman galley ship. He is rower number 41, and he is there in the bottom of that ship with other slaves. They are rowing according to the beat of the drum of the main oarsman, who is following the orders of the helmsman up on top of the ship.

The picture that Paul gives here in the word he chooses for servant or minister conveys the idea of being a lower rower. Paul says that the ministers within the body of Christ are lower rowers. It is not the most lowly position of a servant that we see in the Scriptures. Paul uses other words to speak of service in the New Testament. He calls himself a "doulos" in Greek, which means a bond servant or a slave. So, it is not as low as that, perhaps, but it certainly is not a prestigious position.

Of course, the church at Corinth was in the wrong in that they were unduly exalting their leaders to a position that God had not exalted them to. The lower rower is one who acts under direction and asks no questions, one who does the thing that he is appointed to do without hesitation. Paul says that those who are appointed by God to serve within the body of Christ are ministers in that capacity.

In my opinion, the redefinition of words like "minister" in our day has had a devastating effect upon the church. If you look at the original Noah Webster Dictionary from 1828 and look up the word "minister," the definition there, which was completely drawn from the Scriptures, has largely changed. If you go on dictionary.com today, a dictionary established by Random House Publishing, you'll see the definition is completely different. The Webster's Dictionary from 1828 describes the word "minister" as properly a chief servant, hence an agent appointed to transact or manage the business of another. In contrast, the dictionary on dictionary.com states that a minister is a person authorized to conduct religious worship.

A member of the clergy or a pastor is often viewed differently than intended. Once upon a time, it was understood that a minister is a servant. Jesus himself said that he who would be great in the kingdom must become a servant. Therefore, the proper context of understanding the word "minister" in a biblical definition is one who is a servant, not merely someone authorized to conduct religious worship services.

Somewhere in church history, the minister began to be seen as a professional position that people aspired to, whether through formal education or other means. This shift was more based on intellect or ability than on the fact that they were servants. Paul wanted to clarify for the church in Corinth 2,000 years ago—and I would argue for the church in the 21st century as well—that the minister is a servant. The members of the body of Christ are to recognize that God has given such leaders as ministers, as servants to the larger body of Christ. This reality plays itself out in the local church week by week. Ultimately, they are servants of the church and servants of God.

Given this understanding, ministers serve Christ by serving His body. However, the church ought not to hold them with an imbalanced view. This means that there should not be a disproportionate admiration for them, nor should there be a disproportionate denigration of those leaders.

What exactly does that mean? The problem is that in many churches, leaders are first idolized. Once that phase passes, they begin to be criticized, and eventually, they may be ostracized. It is not to be a harmful admiration that suggests this minister can do no wrong, nor is it to be a hurtful denigration that implies these individuals can do nothing right. Unfortunately, many people have made church swaps, moving from one church to another because they believe the leadership of one church can do no right. They then go to another church, thinking this new leader can do no wrong, only to find themselves disillusioned after a couple of years, concluding that this leader can't do anything right either.

This cycle continues, and so there can be a harmful admiration as well as a hurtful denigration. Paul emphasizes that this ought not to be the case. These are ministers of Christ, and he refers to them as stewards of the mysteries of God.

Jesus uses the illustration of stewards or managers quite a bit in his parables when he speaks about his disciples or those servants within the body of Christ. The leaders within the body of Christ, as Paul says, are to be recognized as household managers—managers of the affairs of the estate. They are entrusted and appointed by the owner to be responsible for the affairs of the kingdom. This person is trusted implicitly by the master or the owner to take care of the issues regarding his household. Oftentimes, the master or the owner doesn't even know what things are under his care because he has committed them completely into the hands of his overseer, his steward, his manager. Everything is under the care of the steward. The holdings of the estate are overseen by him.

However, that manager is never to forget that everything under his care is not his property but another's. That which has been committed into his care is another's property. While the minister of the gospel is therefore responsible, as we see in this passage, for the secret things of God, the ministers of Christ are the stewards of the mysteries of God. They are responsible for dispensing the mysteries of God. Paul spoke about this previously in 1 Corinthians 2:7, where he said, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory." The mysterious things that were hidden in the Old Testament have now been openly revealed in the New Testament.

As stewards and ministers of God, we are given the care of such things. As Paul speaks of it here, we are to govern them in a way that is both pleasing and profitable to the master and his kingdom. We are to govern the things that God has given to us, the mysteries of his word, in a way that is pleasing to him and profitable for his kingdom. We see this in many of Jesus' parables, most notably the parable of the talents. A master gave talents to his servants; to each one, he gave a different number. To one, he gave five; to another, he gave two; and to another, he gave one. Then he departed to a far country for a period of time. When he returned, he squared his accounts with his servants, and the one who had five doubled them and had ten.

The one that had four doubled them also and had eight, or had two doubled them to four. The one that had one, however, squandered it. There was an accounting based on how they had used what was given to them. Was it in a way that was pleasing to the master? Was it in a way that was profitable for his kingdom?

This reveals the primary task of the steward or the minister of God: to be a dispenser of the things of his kingdom. The words spoken from his church by his stewards are to be those that pertain to his affairs.

That being said, there are many in this world today who would love more than anything else to use this platform, so to speak, to advance their political agenda, their social plan, or whatever sort of cause they support. It ought not to be the case. Week after week, millions upon millions of people gather together in houses of worship like this, in churches. There are many community organizers or politicians who would love to use the platform to promote their agenda, and it ought not to be the case.

We are not building the kingdom of man; we are part of the kingdom of God. You may be surprised, or perhaps you wouldn't, at the amount of material that comes to me—whether in mail, email, or handed to me in little notes—asking if I could share this or that, which have nothing to do with God or his kingdom, but rather pertain to all kinds of worldly matters.

I ask you not to be offended when I don't do it. Don't be offended if I don't take an interest in the cause that you may be passionate about, as I may not recognize how it plays into the larger work of God's kingdom. This is to be a pulpit from which his word, the mysteries of his kingdom, are dealt with. Those things that have to do with our growth in Christ are to be our focus.

There is a real danger in which people seek to use this as some sort of platform for their agenda. There are even some involved in multi-level marketing who hope to use the church as a way to further their business. I would say from such, turn away. Why? Because we are servants of the Lord. We are ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

We have this idea in this passage of stewards or servants and masters. As we consider how Paul lays it out here, we come to the justified conclusion that the congregation may view its pastors as servants. They may look upon the leaders of the church, the elders of the church, as those who are servants. However, it is unjustified for the congregation to view themselves in the position of master. It is right for them to view the leaders, the pastors of the church, as servants, but wrong for the congregation to see the leaders and pastors of the church as their servants while they assume the role of masters.

We must recognize that Christ is the head. He is the master; He is the helmsman. We may be the lower rowers. It is further important for the church to recognize who the servants are. They should know just who it is within the church that is serving, but they also ought to recognize who it is that we are serving. The pastors are servants, and they are servants first and foremost of Christ, who is their master. He is our master.

Now, yes, the pastors do serve Christ by serving His people, the body of Christ. However, the believers, the congregation, ought never to think that they are in the position of master. The board of elders ought never to be in the position of master. The pastor ought never to think of himself as the master over the church. Christ is the head of the church. We are His servants. Amen?

So we follow Him, and we do what He says. If He says to row faster, we row faster. If He says to stop, we stop. We say, "How long, Lord?" Until I say move. "All right, Lord, whatever You say."

Paul uses the illustration in speaking to Timothy. He says that we are like warriors in battle. We are part of God's army as they fly over, and He is the general. He is the one who tells us what we ought to do.

Well then, how do we base the success of a steward? How do we consider who ought to be a minister? Notice what Paul says in verse 2: "Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." The word translated "required" there literally means to seek in order to find.

What is sought after in determining who a person should be, or what kind of person should be a minister? There are scores of websites today that offer job opportunities for wandering ministers and for pastors looking to get a job. If you go on to those websites and have a look, you will see the requirements listed. What is it that we are looking for? Oftentimes, the things that are put forth include a person's personality, charisma, intelligence, education, creativity, innovation, and experience. Rarely will you see the requirement given here in 1 Corinthians 4:2 on those lists: It is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.

It is not about personality. It is not about charisma, intelligence, education, or work experience. It has to do with faithfulness. God desires faithfulness. In Matthew 24:45, Jesus says, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his Lord has made ruler over his household?" There is a steward again, to give them meat in due season, to be the distributor of the goods at the right time. Who is a faithful and wise servant? God desires faithfulness.

Furthermore, God rewards faithfulness. In Matthew 25:21, His Lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord." Two verses later, in verse 23, His Lord said unto him again, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

Now, that is a parable that Jesus is giving in Matthew 25, but the point is clear: God rewards faithfulness. In Revelation 2:10, Jesus says, "Fear none of those things which you shall suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you shall have tribulation ten days. But be thou faithful unto death."

And I will give you the crown of life. God desires faithfulness. God rewards faithfulness. God uses faithful individuals.

Back to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, in verse 17, Paul says, "For this cause I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord." God desires faithfulness. God rewards faithfulness. God uses faithful individuals.

A number of verses may be helpful to write down in your notes. In Ephesians chapter 6, verse 21, we read, "But that you may also know my affairs and how I am doing, Paul says, Tychicus, my beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known unto you all things."

In Colossians chapter 1, verse 7, Paul states, "As you also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ." Then, in Colossians chapter 4, verse 7, he says, "All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord."

In 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 12, we read, "And I thank Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has enabled me, for he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 2, Paul says, "And these things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit unto faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."

Time and time again in the New Testament, what is put forth as the requirement for a servant of the Lord is faithfulness. What then ought to be our focus? Yes, personality can be helpful. Education is well and good. Experience may be important. But at the end of the day, the most important focus that you and I can fix our attention on is faithfulness in the work.

We ought to be those who are faithful in the work, and that ought to be our standard for service: faithfulness. Every few weeks, people come through who perhaps stop by the church during the week, and they say, "I would love to help out. I would love to serve here at the church. How can I serve?" A lot of times, they will be given a task that, from all outward observation, might appear to be very menial.

It may seem like a stupid task, but they are asked to do things like sweep the parking lot, pick up the trash, vacuum the sanctuary, and straighten the chairs. People often look at these little tasks and think, "Oh, come on, really? I thought you would tell me to teach this Bible study." However, we must be faithful in the little things, and God will grant us other responsibilities as well.

God is calling for faithfulness because He desires it, rewards it, and uses faithful individuals. In the Old Testament, particularly in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua, we see that Joshua received a reputation among the children of Israel because he was a faithful servant of the Lord by serving Moses. Paul states that it is required of servants that one be found faithful.

In verse 3, he continues, "But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not my own self, for I know nothing by myself; yet I am not hereby justified, but he that judges me is the Lord."

How do we typically judge ministers today? When we look at a minister and his ministry, what standards do we usually use for judgment? Often, we say that the growth of the church or its size establishes a successful minister. However, it would be utterly foolish to classify an individual as a good servant simply because they have a large church.

We have already seen in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 that it is God who makes things grow. Verse 7 states, "So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters, but God that gives the increase." Growth does not come from men. Sure, the pastor or leader can be a faithful minister, faithfully planting the word of God and watering it, but ultimately, God is the one in charge of growth. He is the one who makes the increase. Therefore, to judge a minister or a ministry purely on its growth or size is foolish.

Furthermore, we often judge an individual based on the giftedness of the minister. While gifting is important, did they create that gift within themselves? In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul states in verse 11 that it is ultimately God, by His Spirit, who gives gifts to men.

We cannot boast or rejoice in our gifting because it came from God. To say that a person is a successful minister or has a successful ministry because of his giftedness is, again, foolishness.

What about the personality of the leader? We often judge people based on personality, but God is the one who created them. God is the one who fashioned them in their mother's womb. He is the one who gave them that personality. Some have more pronounced personalities and characters than others. However, every single one of you here this morning who has had young children knows that personality comes out rather quickly, sometimes in very interesting ways. At times, it feels like looking in the mirror, and it can be rather scary.

We typically judge with wrong judgment. We judge with earthly observation and human wisdom. Paul says that he was not greatly affected by their judgment of him. It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by man's judgment. The word he uses when he says to be judged by you means to scrutinize. He counts it a very small thing to be scrutinized by them.

Certainly, there is scrutiny of the leaders by those in the body of Christ, but their judgment is often based on the wrong criteria. We must question how we are judging those individuals. Are we judging by our own opinion, our own wisdom, or by the standards given in Scripture? Are we judging based on the fact that this individual is faithful? Or are we judging because we do not particularly like that person's teaching style? One approach is right, while the other is clearly wrong.

We must be very careful about how we judge and scrutinize such matters because God judges on a totally different scale than we do. The church at Corinth was in a wrong position when they judged and said, "Who is Paul?" That was literally what they were saying. Here was the individual used by God to plant the church and to bring most of the people in that fellowship to faith in Christ. He will later say in chapter four, "I am your father in the faith." Yet, they looked down on him and said, "Well, you know, he's really not all that special." They began to question whether he was even really an apostle and if he had the right to call himself an apostle. After all, Peter had come and visited the church, and they could say...

Peter was an apostle. He was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and walked on water. Look at all the great things he did! Yes, he was on the Mount of Transfiguration, and he is the guy who wrongly said, "Hey, let us build three tabernacles." Yes, he did walk on water, but he is also the one who sank. He did say, "You're the Christ, the Son of the living God," but he is also the one who heard Jesus say, "Satan, get behind me."

They were questioning Paul's authority, asking, "Who is Paul? He doesn't teach very well." It seems from the Scriptures that Paul's ability to write was far greater than his ability to instruct in person. Even today, there are some who fall in line with that. I would ask, how many of you have read books by Warren Wiersbe? Warren Wiersbe is a great Christian author. I've heard him speak a couple of times, and he is a far better writer than he is a speaker. Paul seems to be of that case.

On the other hand, Apollos was very passionate and had great ability to persuade. Many of the Jews within the city of Corinth came to faith as a result of Apollos' teaching. People began to say, "Oh, who is that Paul? I'm of Apollos, or I'm of Cephas, or I'm of Peter." Paul responded, "Your judgment is wrong." However, even though they had a wrong judgment, he was not greatly affected by it.

I have no doubt that there were certain parts of Paul's flesh that reacted when word came from Corinth. Someone might have said, "Man, Paul, you should hear the things they're saying about you." There had to be some part of him that wondered, "What's that all about?" I don't know anyone who is completely above the criticisms of others. The danger comes when we are completely dominated by the praise or criticism of individuals. When our whole focus in ministry is changed or detoured because someone said they didn't like what we said, it can be detrimental.

I can guarantee you that every single week, about 90% of you didn't like something I said, at least in your flesh. But if we are completely dominated by that, it can lead to problems. Even Pastor Pat shared something very true at the men's breakfast a couple of weeks ago. He said, "You know, on a Sunday morning, you can preach a message, and a hundred people can come up to you and say how great that was."

And then one person comes up and says, "I didn't like that at all." That's the only one you remember through the rest of the week. Paul says, "It's a very small thing that I be judged of you, that I be scrutinized by you." He is not talking about judgment of moral character; he is discussing people's judgment of his ministry and the work that he did.

Paul states, "I do not even judge myself. I do not scrutinize myself." He is not saying that he doesn't examine his own moral character. Romans chapter 7 clearly reveals that Paul recognized he was not a perfect individual. In Philippians chapter 3, he says, "Not as though I have attained or have been perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." He knew, through examination and introspection according to who God is, that he was not perfect.

However, he also says, "Neither do I judge my own self." This might seem like a contradiction with chapter 11, verse 31, where Paul states, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." First Corinthians chapter 4, verse 4 appears to be a contradiction on the surface until you recognize that the context of chapter 11 is that when we, as believers, come before the communion table to remember the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, we are to examine ourselves to see where we are morally with Him. Are we in sin? Are we partaking in an unworthy manner? We say, "Lord, search me, see if there be any wicked way in me."

What Paul is saying in First Corinthians chapter 4, where he mentions, "It's a very little thing that I'd be judged of you, or I don't even judge myself," is that he is talking about the judgment of his ministry and work. We are not impartial when it comes to our judgment of our ministry and work, but God is. Because of our flesh, we tend to be both too hard and too easy on ourselves when we judge our work.

We can be too easy on ourselves in the sense that some people can skate by in their work and ministry, not really applying themselves or diligently searching the Scriptures. Conversely, we can be too hard on ourselves because, after we have done our very best, we feel like we have barely scratched the surface.

Considered by many to be the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon once said, "I make free confession that I never preached a sermon about my Lord which came anywhere near my ideal of his merits." He expressed a deep dissatisfaction with his own efforts, stating, "I always am dissatisfied when I have done my very best." Spurgeon often wished he could rush back to the pulpit to preach better, but he was held back by the fear that he would probably fail even more conspicuously.

Now, I have the opportunity to rush back to the pulpit as I teach three messages on a Sunday. I'll be honest with you; there are many Sundays when, by the end of the third service, I leave here feeling a bit grumpy. You can ask my wife. I often feel like I did terrible. It doesn't matter if fifty people come up and say, "That was a great message." I'm not asking for that; you don't need to stroke my pride, that's for sure. Even if every single person in the church said, "That was the best message I've ever heard," I would still get in the car and think, "I can't believe I said that" or "I totally bungled that."

We have a tendency to be both too easy on ourselves and too hard on ourselves. We're not impartial judges of our work. But Paul says there is one who is impartial. Why did Paul not judge his own work? In verse four, he states, "For I know nothing of myself, yet I am not here justified." Regarding the subject of Paul's faithfulness in the ministry, he claims to have a clear conscience. When he sits down in the afternoon or lays his head down at night, getting ready to go to sleep, he feels, as he says, that he has done a good job of declaring unto you the whole counsel of God.

In Acts chapter 20, verse 26, he says, "Wherefore, I take you to record this day, that I am pure of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God." Paul had a clear conscience in the ministry, so much so that when he stands before a group of magistrates in Acts chapter 24, he asserts, "I have a clear conscience." They prepare to strike him, questioning how he could say such a thing. But before the Lord, he insists, "I've done my best; I've not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God."

There was nothing in his mind that could convict him in his work. He believed he had done a good job, but he acknowledged, "That doesn't acquit me." He stated, "I don't think I've done anything wrong, but just because I don't think I've done anything wrong, or I've done everything I'm supposed to do, doesn't mean I have, or I'm guiltless." Why? Because he that judges me is the Lord. God ultimately is the judge.

In light of that truth, and the fact that God is the judge, my scrutiny of myself and the scrutiny of others is a very little thing. The criticism of others about the work that we do is not eternal in its power. It may temporarily make us feel good when someone comes and says, "That was a really great message," and we respond, "Oh, thank you." Conversely, it may temporarily make us feel really bad when they come and say, "That stunk." However, it has no eternal value. He that judges me is the Lord.

It is interesting to consider this because back in chapter 3, Paul reminded the Corinthians about that coming day when the Lord shall test our work by the fire of His holiness. There is a day coming when every man's work shall be manifest, for the day shall declare it. In verse 13, it shall be revealed by fire to see what sort it is. There is coming the day of the Lord, where God, in His perfect knowledge and understanding, will judge our motives. He will judge our work based on what was behind our work, not just what was visible to everyone.

In chapter 4, verse 3, we read, "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment." In the original language, it can be interpreted as, "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's day." You see, there is the day of God, the day of the Lord, where our work will be judged as by fire to see what sort it is.

Right now, in the day of man, our work is judged by individuals, by people. But that judgment is not eternal. The judgment of the Lord is eternal. It has consequences, and there are rewards involved with it. Therefore, Paul says, "I'm far more concerned about the day of the Lord's judgment."

Than I am of yours. Because God is judge, therefore, this being the case, what's the application?

Verse 5 states, "Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then shall every man have praise of God." You see, church, there is a day that is coming. A day that will arise wherein the Lord Himself shall judge, and He will expose the hidden motives of our hearts. He is going to reveal the materials that our lives and our ministries were built with. On that day, those things are going to be brought to light. The hidden things of darkness will be exposed, and the counsels of the heart will be made manifest.

Some, who have a beautifully veneered exterior, will be shown to be nothing. Jesus spoke about this when He harshly rebuked the Pharisees, the very religious of His day. In Matthew chapter 23, verse 27, He said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear to be beautiful outwardly, but within you are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

The religious ruling class of Jesus' day—the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees—had a great veneer on the outside; it looked really good. However, their lives and ministries were constructed with wood, hay, and stubble. He called them hypocrites. All the judgment of men in their day was, "Man, look how righteous that guy is! I could never attain to that kind of righteousness. Look how gifted that guy is! I'll never be able to do the things that he does because he's just so gifted. Look how spiritual that individual is! I can't do what they do because look how awesome they are."

Man's judgment was largely wrong. On the day of Christ, those who appeared righteous will be exposed to be nothing but wood, hay, and stubble. Nothing remains when the fire of God's holiness goes through, and there remains no gold, precious stones, and silver. Well, what did Jesus counsel us to do?

As the followers of the Lord, we find guidance in Matthew chapter 5, verse 20. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "For I say unto you, except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the kingdom of God." This means that unless your righteousness goes deeper than just what men see, which is purely external, you have no chance.

I guarantee you, there were some seated there on that mountaintop who felt their hearts sink in that moment. They thought of many of the Pharisees and said to themselves, "That guy is so spiritual; I could never be like that." When Jesus proclaimed that their righteousness needed to be greater than that, they must have felt overwhelmed, thinking, "I just can't live up to that."

However, it must be the righteousness of Christ, abiding in us and imputed to us. There is coming a day when He will bring to light and make manifest all that is hidden. When the Lord returns, we will stand before Him, and the hidden things of darkness—the counsels of our hearts and those inward motives that no one else sees—will be revealed. The wood, hay, and stubble will be burned up, and all that will remain, if there is any, will be the gold, silver, and precious stones of works done righteously, as unto the Lord, in His power, by His strength, and to His glory, not our own.

Now, be certain that every single one of us, on that day, will have a certain amount of stuff go up in smoke. There is not a one of us here who, when we stand before the Lord and the fire of His holiness blows through, will look around and say, "Wow, it's all still there." We will all have a certain level of wood, hay, and stubble that will be consumed. The question is, how much will remain as unto the glory of the Lord?

This should be, as Paul counsels in this passage, our focus. Our judgment ought not to be based solely on the things we see right here and now, according to our own opinions or wisdom. Why? Well, in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus says in verse 46, "Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when He comes, finds him so doing."

Will we be faithfully doing that which God called us to do when He comes for us? Whether He comes for us as a church corporately or individually, the statistics are staggering: 100% of those who live will die. We won't escape it, and we will stand before the Lord one day. When we do, will He find us faithfully completing the task that He sent us to do?

Why? Well, Hebrews chapter 4, a verse many of you know well, states that the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It divides asunder between soul and spirit, and joints and marrow. God's word is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. You see, God's word deals with us at the motive level, the heart, and the intent of the heart.

He goes on to say in verse 13, "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight." Nothing is hidden. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, or unto the eyes of Him with whom we give an account. Therefore, what's the application? Church, judge nothing before it's time. There are individuals in this world today that we look at and say, "My, how spiritual! My, how gifted! My, how wonderful the things they do for the Lord." Yet, it's a veneer over wood, hay, and stubble. Our judgment is often wrong, and we need to be careful and understand that to be the case. Judge nothing before it's time.

I ran across this story last week, and it struck me. There is a little town in northern Wales called Beth Gellert, or Bed Gellert. It means the grave of Gellert. The story written upon the stone that lays there says that in the 13th century, Llewellyn, prince of northern Wales, had a palace in Beth Gellert. One day, he went hunting without Gellert, his faithful hound, who was unaccountably absent.

Upon Llewellyn's return, the truant hound came to his side, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully springing to meet his master. Alarmed to see the dog covered in blood, the prince went into his house to find his infant son's cot empty, with the bedclothes on the floor covered in blood. The frantic father pulled his sword from his side and plunged it into the side of his dog, thinking it had killed his son. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry. Llewellyn searched...

And discovered his boy unharmed. But nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf, which Gellert had slain. The prince was so filled with remorse, it is said, he never smiled again. He buried Gellert there.

Judge nothing before it's time. You see, when we, out of time, judge those things that are not committed into our care, we wrongly plunge the sword into the side of that which is not guilty. And so, we need to seek the Lord to help us to judge with righteous judgment, as He does, because He sees what we don't see, He hears what we don't hear, and He knows what we do not know. Ultimately, our judgment bears nothing upon eternity because He is the judge.

Let's stand and pray. Lord, I thank You that, through the prophet Isaiah, You said that You do not judge according to the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but You judge with righteous judgment. Whereas we look on things, observe evidence, and listen to testimony, we make judgments that are sometimes, oftentimes, wrong. But Lord, You judge the motive of the heart.

I pray for each of us individually that we would recognize this as we serve You. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the opinions of others are not eternal and bear nothing upon eternity. We serve You; You're the helmsman, You're the Lord, You're the Master. Lord, help us to be those who are servants of You and stewards of the mysteries of Christ. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank You.