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"It is a very small thing that I should be judged..."

Text: 1 Corinthians 4:3

BEING JUDGED

Many fear being judged by others. Paul was not overly concerned how people looked at him. How did he have such a sense of clarity and certainty about his life and ministry?

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you
or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this;
but He who judges me is the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 4:3-4

1. “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you”

a) Being judged by some of the Corinthians.

b) Paul was well aware that some of his detractors were watching and judging him.

c) To him it was “a very small thing”; he was not perturbed at all.

2. “Or by a human court”

a) Was it possible that some were threatening to sue Paul?

b) Paul was not disturbed by this threat too.

3. “I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself”

a) Paul must have done a lot of candid self-checking.

i) He would not judge himself lightly.

ii) For then that would be false judgment.

b) But after deep soul-searching

i) He did not find his conscience speaking up against himself.

ii) Nor did his heart condemn him.

4. “Yet I am not justified by this”

a) Paul was not seeking to justify himself.

b) If he were to do that he would not be true to himself.

c) Self-justification is a futile exercise.

5. “But He who judges me is the Lord”

a) He was prepared to receive the judgment of the Lord.

b) If he was wrong, he would accept the chastening of the Lord.

c) He trusted in the judgment alone! He would always be fair and just!