1 Corinthians 4:1-5

                                                                 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

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.

 

The theme of the Judgment seat of Christ continues with Paul giving us a glimpse of how he looks at the subject in his own personal life and ministry.  I look at this passage like the class that is right before finals week in college and the professor lets the students know what they need to study.  In this case, we given the answers to five important questions about the Judgment Seat of Christ.  If we will live our lives in light of these questions, we will be well prepared.

 

HOW WILL WE BE JUDGED? Paul considers that there are three main factors that will determine how he will be judged.  The first is how he has been a servant of Christ.  As believers, we are not free to do whatever we please.  We belong to the Lord and are to serve Him in all we say and do.  The second is how he has been a steward of the Gospel of Christ.  When we believe the Gospel, we are saved, and the message of the Gospel is entrusted to our care.  This is a message that God wants to have proclaimed to all people everywhere.  Our lives are to be dedicated to the advance of the Gospel through our resources and our speech.  The third factor is simply faithfulness.  We will not be judged by the abilities and opportunities of others.  We will be judged by our faithfulness to use our gifts, resources, and opportunities to serve the Lord and advance the Gospel to the nations.

 

WHO WILL WE BE OUR JUDGE? The obvious answer to this question is that we will be judged by Christ. However, before making this obvious declaration, Paul makes sure to mention who will not judge us.  We should not be concerned about being judged by the courts of law in this world.  That does not mean we are free to go around and break laws.  That means that there are times when the world court will condemn what God commands or will command what God condemns.  Human courts have commanded believers not to pray, read Scripture, or preach the Gospel during different times in history.  Believers have been killed for disobeying these laws but they will be rewarded in heaven.  Today’s culture passes law that require us to support sin and make it illegal to call it sin.  Paul also makes it clear that he is not concerned about the judgment of other believers.  That does not mean we should not consider what other believers say is important.  It means that believers make mistakes and cannot see our true motives.  Churches can flock after a celebrity pastor and reject a humble servant for all the wrong reasons.  The truth is that we are not even capable of judging ourselves.  Just because we have a clear conscience does not mean that we are “in the clear.”  Christ is our judge and will always get it right.

 

WHEN WILL WE BE JUDGED? The Judgment Seat of Christ does not take place on the earth.  It takes place in heaven after the return of Christ for His saints.  We tend to question why it seems some people or ministries thrive when they are obviously unbiblical and even unethical.  We also struggle to understand how many godly people and ministries struggle jut to survive.  We must be very careful not to think that present success or failure is somehow the judgment of Christ on our lives.  That is not to say that results are not important.  It is to say that results are not the only indication of Christ’s future rewards.  Many impressive ministries and ministers will likely see their work go up in smoke.  Many anonymous and unknown servants of the Lord on earth will be richly rewarded in eternity.  We are not being judged by Christ now.  We should not be overly encouraged by our success or discouraged by what we or others consider to be failure.

 

WHAT WILL BE JUDGED? The simple answer to this question is: everything.  Paul describes this as the deeds of darkness and the motives of our hearts.  The secret things we have done, said or thought are all know to Christ.  He not only knows about everything we have done, said or thought; He knows why we have done, said or thought those things.  Not only does He know; He cares and will judge us accordingly.  When men judge, they only judge what is on the outside.  However, Christ will judge what is on the inside as well.  There is no such thing as secrecy before the Lord.  We will not be fooled and does not need witnesses; He knows everything about everything. 

 

WHY WILL WE BE JUDGED? The main reason we will be judged is to receive the proper rewards for eternity. The judgment seat is not a time of punishment, it is a time to reveal that which was built in the Body of Christ that was for His glory and to eliminate from the Body of Christ that was all about the glory of men.  After the judgment all that remains are the good and pure works for which we will be eternally rewarded.  I do not know exactly what these rewards will be. I think that I think they have something to do with opportunities and abilities to worship the Lord and reign with Him forever.  As we are faithful with little on earth, we will be entrusted with much on the New Earth.  I do not know what it means to suffer loss in heaven, but the Bible teaches that when our works are burned that we will suffer loss.  This may be as simple as us understanding the rewards we are losing due to unfaithfulness or impure motives.  Whatever the case, two things are certain: if Christ is rewarding, we what them and if Christ is causing to suffer loss, we don’t want that.  Christ is honored when we place a high value on His rewards.

 

APPLICATION:  Faithfully serve Christ seeking to advance the Gospel with all our gifts and resources.  Don’t live in fear of the judgments of men or even rest in our own clear conscience.  Understand that present results are not a sure indication of eternal rewards.  Don’t become overly encouraged or discouraged by immediate results.  Don’t live under the delusion that we can hide our sins from the Lord.  Examine our motives to be sure we are living for the glory of God and serving in the power of His Spirit.  Look forward to and be motivated by the fantastic eternal rewards promised by Christ.  Know that they will be worth it and far exceed our expectations.