Jesus was to expose the motives of the heart

JESUS WAS TO EXPOSE THE MOTIVES OF THE HEART
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Corinthians4:5 New International Version5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointedtime;
wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what
is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of
the heart. At that time each will receive their praise
from God.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Judgment, Human, And Divine
1 Corinthians 4:3-5
J.R. Thomson
No man can work entirely with reference to his own labours and his own
opinion of them. We all need to live under the sense that others are taking
some notice of what we do; and with most there is danger of attaching
exaggeratedimportance to human criticism. But it is well for us to cherishthe
feeling of the nearness and the supervision of the omniscientSearcherof
hearts. In this passageSt. Paul represents the effectwhich both human and
Divine judgment should have upon the Christian's life.

I. THE JUDGMENT WHICHIS DEPRECATED. This is the judgment:
1. Of our fallible fellow men. For they have not the necessarymaterial or the
due knowledge andopportunity for forming a just judgment. Men are
influenced in the opinions they form of one anotherby their prejudices and
prepossessions. We judge our friends too favourably, and are too severe in our
censure of our opponents. Hence our Lord has warned us, "Judge not!"
2. That which is passedat this present time. This is the time for work, not the
time for judging and for recompense. No man's work can be Girly judged
until it is completed. And beside this, we cannotsee life in its true proportions
when we look at it from a point of view so near. To judge now is to judge
"before the time."
II. THE JUDGMENT WHICH IS ANTICIPATED.
1. This is God's judgment. He will bring every work into judgment. His
acquaintance with all who shall appearbefore his bar is perfect. His material
for forming a judgment is complete. His mind is unclouded by human
prejudices. He is infinitely just.
2. This shall take place upon our Lord's return. His parousia, is what the
Church looks forwardto with affectionate interestand hope. Her children
offer the frequent prayer: That at thy whom God hath appointed to judge the
quick and the dead."
3. This shall be accompaniedby revelation. There are hidden things of
darkness which must be brought to light; virtues and vices of which the world
has takenlittle or no note, but which must be brought forward and taken into
account, in order to a just decisionand award, There are counsels ofthe heart
to be made manifest; for whilst men necessarilyjudge by the conduct, God
will take into accountthe secretintentions and motives of those who have
laboured for him, both goodand evil.
4. This will be by a perfect discrimination. The hypocrite shall be
distinguished from the sincere, the diligent from the idle, the time server and
men pleaserfrom the true servant of God.

5. This will be the occasionof recompense. The caseofthe utterly unfaithful is
left out of view as irrelevant in this connection. But among the faithful it is
presumed that there are degrees offidelity; and every man shall have his
praise from God. This implies that each has a specialneed for specialservice;
and it also implies that praise shall be accompaniedby a substantial and
everlasting recompense. It is well, therefore, to work "as everin the great
Taskmaster's eye,"to avoid judging one's self, to be indifferent to the partial
judgment of men, and to wait for the revelation and the awards of eternity. -
T.
Biblical Illustrator
But with me it is a very small think that I should be judged of you, or of man's
judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:3-5
Judgment
Family Churchman.

I. IS THE PREROGATIVE OF GOD.
1. It belongs not to man.
2. Notto ourselves.
3. But the Lord.
II. Is PREMATURE IN THIS LIFE. Because —
1. Many things are hidden.
2. There is no universal and absolute standard.
3. None capable of applying it.
III. IS RESERVED TO THE COMING OF CHRIST.
1. To Him all judgment is committed.
2. By Him all hearts shall be disclosed.
3. From Him every man shall receive his reward.
(Family Churchman.)
The judgment
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. OF MAN IS OF TITLE VALUE. Because—
1. Without authority.
2. Seldomjust.
3. Always transient.
II. OF OUR CONSCIENCEIS DECEPTIVE. Because —
1. We are ignorant.
2. It cannotjustify us.

III. OF THE LORD IS DECISIVE.
1. True.
2. Supreme.
3. Final.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
Man's judgments
T. Arnold, D. D.
Many are in the habit of reversing the apostle's words;and what is most
surprising is that greatnumbers who would be shockedatthe thought are
nevertheless reallymore governedby the opinions of men than by the Word of
God. The truth is, the fear of man grows up with us from our infancy, is often
encouragedby education, and is disguised under fair names, or mixed up with
something allowable, so that we become enslavedto it without suspicion.
Combined with this passagesofScripture are passedlightly over, which
pronounce it to be a bad sign when all men speak wellof us. Let us see —
I. WHAT THE CASE ACTUALLY IS.
1. The foundation of a greatpart of the evil is the want of accustoming
children to be influenced by the love or fear of God. On the contrary, they
have too often no other motives placed before them than those of pleasing
their parents, of being well thought of by their friends. Besides, itis natural to
wish to be thought wellof by others, because we often derive solid benefits
from a goodreputation, and greatinconvenience from a bad one. This leads to
the greatevil of substituting an idol for God; and this idol often applauds
what God condemns, and condemns what God approves. And rather than
sacrifice this idol men will go to greatlengths — even to murder and suicide.
2. But it may be said that he who is indifferent to the opinion of others must
lose one great check onhis vices, and that men, in proportion as they despise
the judgment of others, magnify themselves in their own conceits. True, they

who are without God can but go from one extreme to another; and indeed it is
better to fearother men than to fear no one, and there is worse selfishness and
pride in consulting only our own judgment than in following after the praise
of others. But all this is excluded if we submit to the judgment of God. Here is
a check upon carelessnessandhardness to reproof, and here, too, is freedom
from all unworthy compliances, and a freedom which can nowhere else be
found pure from pride and contempt of our neighbours.
II. HOW FAR THE SCRIPTURE ALLOWS US TO DESIRE OR CARE
FOR THE GOOD OPINION OF OTHERS.
1. It is clearthat to gain a goodcharacterwith men must never be our chief
object; if it is, the praise of men will be our only reward. So parents should
teachtheir children to secure the approbation of God first; then they will
know that in trying to please them they are obeying God, who has
commanded them to honour their parents.
2. The approbation of goodand wise men should be receivedwith
thankfulness. On secularmatters bad men can judge as well as good; but in all
matters of right and wrong, no opinion but that of a Christian is worth a
moment's notice. They have the mind of Christ, and their praise or censure is
really our interpretation of God's.
3. But the judgment of God is the final appeal. To our own Masterwe stand or
fall.
(T. Arnold, D. D.)
Judgment of ministers
W. S. Smart.
I. MINISTERSOF CHRIST MUST EXPECT TO BE MADE THE
SUBJECTSOF HUMAN JUDGMENT. Theyare like a city set on an hill, and
every action they perform will be weighed, and every word they speak will be
examined. Nor can there be any doubt about the right of men to judge the
ministers of Christ. Ministers come to them professing to be commissioned

from God, to deal with them about the concerns oftheir souls, and have they
not a right to examine the truth of their statement, their qualifications for
their work, and the manner in which they discharge the duties of their high
office? That the right of judging ministers is often grosslyabusedcannot be
denied. But this cannever be assignedas a reasonwhy they should be
deprived of it altogether. Thosewho hear the gospelare commanded to prove
all things, and to hold fast only that which is good.
II. THOUGH THE JUDGMENT OF MAN SHOULD NOT RE ENTIRELY
OVERLOOKED, IT IS A MATTER OF COMPARATIVELY SMALL
IMPORTANCE.Manyministers pay far too little attention to the good
opinion of their people. But though the judgment of man should not be
overlooked, yetit is a matter of comparatively small importance. The opinions
which men form about ministers are often prejudiced, unjust, and fluctuating;
and it is not by their judgment that they shall be tried at the last day. Their
applause need not flatter our vanity; their condemnation need not make us
sad.
III. MINISTERS MUST NOT REST SATISFIEDWITH THE
FAVOURABLE OPINIONS WHICH THEY MAY BE INCLINED TO
FORM OF THEMSELVES. Paulsays, "I judge not mine own self." This
expressionmust refer to his ministerial character. As a believer in Christ he
knew much of himself, and bitterly bewailedthe existence ofsin within him.
But as a minister of Christ he was not consciousin himself of having been
negligent, partial, or unfaithful. He was able to make solemn appeal to the
elders of Ephesus (Acts 20:18-21). But though he knew nothing of which he
could accuse himself, "yet," he says, "am I not hereby justified." The opinion
which I have of myself does not determine my character, nor shall it
determine my condition. But if Paul did not justify himself, how shall we
justify ourselves?Who will have the presumption to compare himself in zeal,
in faithfulness, in ability, in diligence, in success,with this holy apostle? Are
we not commonly blind to our faults? Are we not equally prone to overrate
our virtues? But howevermuch we may be disposed to concealourfaults from
ourselves and others; howevermuch we may be disposedto overrate our
virtues, still the opinion which we may form of ourselves will have no
influence in determining our everlasting condition. The Lord shall judge

righteous judgment. It is not impossible that we may be proud even of our
faults, and may think that a ground of self-justificationwhich in the sight of
God is a ground of condemnation. We should tremble at the thought of
deceiving ourselves. If men deceive us as to the affairs of this world, future
watchfulness and diligence may repair all the damage which we have
sustained, but if we deceive our own souls the consequencesmay be eternally
ruinous.
IV. WE MUST LOOK CHIEFLY TO THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, AND
UNDER AN ABIDING SENSE OF ITS JUSTICE AND IMPARTIALITY
ENDEAVOUR TO REGULATE OUR OWN CONDUCT.
1. He is perfectly acquainted with our characterand conduct. What is the
judgment of our own mind when comparedwith the judgment of Him whose
"eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good"?
2. The opinion which He forms of us determines our character. We are in
reality what He sees us to be. Prejudice, passion, interest, partiality, canhave
no influence upon His mind: He sees things as they really are. The world may
approve — but what is this if the Lord condemn?
3. His judgment shall fix our everlasting condition. In the presentworld the
wheatand the tares grow together. But when the Lord shall come to
judgment, the unclean shall be separatedfrom the clean, the unfaithful from
the faithful ministers of Christ; and upon eacha different sentence shallbe
passed.
V. IT BECOMES US TO REGULATE OUR WHOLE BEHAVIOUR BY
THESE SOLEMN AND IMPORTANT TRUTHS. If we daily remember that
we shall be judged by the Lord, we shall be —
1. Excited to faithfulness. We must boldly and resolutely publish the whole
counselof God. We must "reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all long-
suffering, and doctrine," whether men will hear or whether they will forbear.
2. This will prove a powerful antidote to trifling with the concerns of immortal
souls.

3. The remembrance of this will render our conduct the more becoming.
4. The remembrance of this will support us under the unjust censures and
calumnies of men. The reproachwhich you bear for Christ will ultimately
redound to your glory. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him."
5. The remembrance of this will support us under that neglectinto which our
talents and performances may undeservedly fall. Ministers of the most
eminent talents and faithfulness and piety are often neglected. Thatlove of
novelty which is so prevalent in the human heart, and which, if not laid under
proper restraints, is attended with such serious consequences,is apt to render
the labours of the same individual tiresome. When this temper of mind is
produced prejudice, and not reason, becomes the judge. But when this
happens, and it has happened often and will certainly happen again, a faithful
minister rejoices that it is but a light matter to be judged of man's judgment,
but that He that judgeth him is the Lord.
(W. S. Smart.)
The judgment of men compared with the judgment of God
T. Chalmers, D. D.
1. When two parties meet to adjust their respective claims, the principles on
which they proceedmust depend on the relation in which they stand to each
other; and there is no more fatal delusion than that by which the principles
applicable to the case of a man entering into judgment with his fellow-men are
transferred to the case ofman's entering into judgment with his God.
2. blow a man may have the judgment of his fellows, and yet be utterly unfit
for contending in judgment with God; and it is possible to build on the
applause of man the sandy foundation of a confidence before God. Have we
never met with men esteemedin societywho find scriptural views of humanity
to be beyond their comprehension, and with whom the voice of God is
deafenedby the testimony of men? And thus many live in the habitual neglect
of a salvation which they cannotsee that they require. To do awaythis

delusion, we shall advert to the distinction betweenthe judgment of men and
that of God.
I. FOUNDED UPON THE CLAIMS OF GOD WHEN COMPARED WITH
MAN'S.
1. People have no right to complain, but are willing, indeed, to applaud if I
give to every man his own. In an unfallen world this virtue would not at all
signalise me, but it so happens that I live in a world where deceitand
dishonesty are common. But again, I may give to others more than their own,
and thus earn the credit of other virtues. A man may, without any sensible
surrender of enjoyment at all, stand out to the eye of others in a blaze of
moral reputation. And even when the man can appeal to some mighty
reduction of wealth, as the measure of his beneficence, is there not still left to
him that without which all is nothingness? A thousand avenues of enjoyment
are still open to him, and he is free to all the common blessings of nature, and
freer still to all the consolationsand privileges of the gospel.
2. Thus it appears, that after I have fulfilled more than all the claims of men,
and men are filled with delight and admiration, the footing on which I stand
with God still remains to be attended to, and His claims to be adjusted. While
not one claim which your neighbours can prefer is not met most readily, the
greatclaims of the Creatormay lie altogetherunheeded. God is not man, nor
can we measure what is due to Him by what is due to our fellows in society.
Amid all the praise we give and receive from eachother, we may have no
claims to that substantialpraise which cometh from God only.
3. A just sense ofthe extent of claim which God has upon His own creatures
would lead us to see that we may earn a cheapand easycredit for such virtues
as will satisfy the world, and be utter strangers to the self-denial and the
spirituality and the affectionfor the things that are above — all of which
graces enteras essentialingredients into the sanctificationof the gospel.
II. FOUNDED ON GOD'S CLEARER AND MORE ELEVATED SENSE OF
THAT HOLINESS WITHOUT WHICH NO MAN SHALL SEE HIS FACE,
AND WITHOUT WHICH WE ARE UTTERLY UNFIT FOR THE
SOCIETYOF HEAVEN.

1. Man's sense of right and wrong may be clearand intelligent enough, in so
far as that part of characteris concernedwhich renders us fit for the society
of earth. Those virtues, without which a community could not be held
together, are both urgently demanded, and highly appreciated. And even
without any exquisite refinement of these virtues, many an ordinary character
will pass;and should he be deformed by levity, or even by profligacy, he may
still bear his part among the goodmen of society. And if such indulgence be
extended to the iniquities of the outer man, let us not wonder that the errors
of the inner man should find indulgence. What else can we look for than that
the man who feels no tenderness towards Godwill tolerate in another an
equally entire habit of ungodliness? And with a man whose rights I have never
invaded, and who shares equally with myself in nature's blindness and
propensities, I will not be afraid of entering into judgment.
2. Man and man may judge eachother in mutual complacency. But between
man and God there is another principle and standard of examination. There is
a claim of justice on the part of the Creator, totally distinct from any human
claim; and while the one will tolerate all that is consistentwith societyupon
earth, the other cantolerate nothing that is inconsistentwith societyin
heaven. God made us for eternity. He formed us after His own likeness;and
ere we can be re-admitted into paradise, we must be createdanew in the
image of God. Heaven is the place into which nothing that is unholy canenter;
and we are not preparing for our inheritance unless there be gathering upon
us the lineaments of a celestialcharacter. Think then of the delight which God
takes in the contemplation of what is pure and righteous; think how one great
objectof His creationwas to diffuse over the face of it a multiplied
resemblance ofHimself; and that, therefore, howeverfit you may be for
sustaining your part in the alienated community of this world, you are most
assuredlyunfit for the assemblyof the spirits of just men made perfect, if,
unlike unto God who is in the midst of them, you have no congenialdelight
with the Fatherof all, in the contemplation of spiritual excellence. Takethe
case ofJob. In reference to his fellows, he could make a triumphant appeal to
the honour and the humanity which adorned him. But when God at length
revealedHimself, and brought His claims to bear upon his conscience, he.
abhorred himself and repented in dust and in ashes. It is indeed a small

matter to be judged of man's judgment. The testimony of our fellows will as
little avail us in the day of judgment, as the help of our fellows will avail us in
the hour of death. He who judges us is God; and from this judgment there is
no escape.
(T. Chalmers, D. D.)
Public opinion
Canon Liddon.
This is the language ofa man exposedto sharp and unfriendly criticism.
There were some busy persons at work by whom everything that the apostle
did or said was misrepresented. Besidesthis, there was much going on which
calledfor a sharp exercise ofthe apostolicalauthority, and we all know that
the exercise ofauthority creates opposition. So St. Paul's enemies succeededin
creating a body of public opinion againsthim. Consider —
I. THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF PUBLIC OPINION. No soonerare
men formed into societythan, in order to keepthis societytogether, the
members instinctively secrete a certain depositof thought and feeling about
their common interests. To this deposit everybody contributes something, and
by it everybody tacitly understands that they are to be bound. Thus every
family has its public opinion. Thus every village and every town has its public
opinion. Again, classes andprofessions have a public opinion, which in some
casesis tyrannical. And, above all this, arises a largerpublic opinion, to which
they all contribute, and by which they are eachin turn controlled, the public
opinion of the country. And this, we all know, is a tremendous force. Then,
again, as civilisation advances, as nations come to know more and more of
eachother, there springs up the opinion of the civilised world. This will
probably be more felt in days to come than it is now. So Churches have a
public opinion of their own. Outside the faith, which rests upon God's
authority, there is a large margin of questions upon which the opinion of
Christians is incessantlytaking form; and this is by no means certain to be

always well-informed or just. It was with this that St. Paul here stood face to
face.
II. THE APOSTLE'S INDEPENDENCE OF IT. Not that he had any pleasure
in feeling or proclaiming this independence; but as matters stood, he felt that
he could not hope to be of service unless he were perfectly candid and
independent. It is sometimes assumedthat when a man blames public opinion
he must necessarilybe right, as it is an act of consciencerequiring courage
and resolution; but an eccentric man may defy public opinion simply to give
play to his personalpeculiarities. Public opinion often smiles good-naturedly
at such, rating them at their proper value. But, again, a criminal is at war
with public opinion; for public opinion asserts as much of moral truth as is
necessaryto keepsocietytogether;and a criminal offends againstsome part
of that moral truth which societydefends. Lookedat from its moral and
religious point, public opinion is at best a compromise. It affirms not the
whole law of God, but just so much as may be useful for socialpurposes. It
strikes an average from the impulses it receives from above and from below
— betweenthe goodand bad elements of human society. The criminal makes
war upon public opinion because he is below it; the true Christian is at war
with it because he is above it. St. Paul was opposedto the public opinion of the
Church of Corinth in this latter sense. If that public opinion had been
successfulthe apostle would have had all heart takenout of him; for it denied
the virtue of the Redeemer's work, andrestricted the universal Church of
God within national frontiers. St. Paul did not care how he was judged by a
public opinion intent upon such purposes as these.
III. THE CONSIDERATIONSTHAT SUSTAINED ST. PAUL IN HIS
INDEPENDENCE. To a goodman it can never be a pleasure to find himself
differing from other people; because it means that one side must be wrong.
The precept, "As much as lieth in you live peaceablywith all men," implies
that a Christian should do his best to keepin harmony with the common
opinion of his fellow men. But there are times and circumstances whensuch
agreementis impossible, and such was St. Paul's case. He had heard as it were
the hum of unfriendly voices whichpronounced him a faithless stewardof the
Divine mysteries. Notin contempt or scorndid the greatapostle say, "Forme
it is a small thing to be judged of you or of man's judgment." He spoke out of

another world. He was in spirit with God. He did not venture to judge himself.
He knew nothing againsthimself; but he did not feelhis ignorance to be a
certificate of acquittal. He felt that in his own mysterious being there were
unsuspecteddepths, which God alone could fathom. But the All-seeing he
knew was also the All-merciful; and if there were that in His servant which
moved Him to displeasure, so also there was in Himself that which would
cancelit. God knew the purity of the apostle's intention, and it was the sense
of this Divine judgment which made him feel the worthlessness ofthose
judgments of the Corinthian Church. There can be no doubt that any man
who serves Godmust expect, sooneror later, to be judged hardly by public
opinion. It is the average public opinion which blames those whose crimes
would, if they could, destroy society;and so, on the other hand, it condemns
those who, not content with so much of moral and religious life, desire to have
as much of holiness as they can. So it was with Noah, in his time; so it was
with Abraham, Moses, andthe greatrepresentative prophets. And our Lord
warned us that we must not expect the world to change;"If the world hate
you, it hated Me before it hated you"; and again, "If ye were of the world,"
&c. Thus the apostle concludes that whoeverwill live godly must suffer
persecution. So it has ever happened, from the time of the apostles, that the
Church has been at war with public opinion. The history of all the martyrs is
a history of this conflictof public opinion pushed to its last extremity. But
before a man steels himself againstthe judgment even of a sectionof his fellow
men, he ought to be very sure of his ground. A man may hold the truth, not as
God's voice in him, but as a personalprejudice or passionof his own. This
spirit will reproduce, not the temper of Paul, but the temper of the Pharisee.
But on the other hand, when on the one side there is human error, and on the
other eternal truth, then to give way is to be a slave and a coward. Conclusion:
St. Paul's words remind us of two classes who suffer because ofpublic
opinion.
1. Take the case ofa public man who is convincedthat a certain line of
legislationis for the true interests of his country. He hopes that his
countrymen will share his convictions, but, alas!he is disappointed. The
judgment formed of him becomes more and more unfavourable. It may be
that there are documents which would at once restore confidence;but these

for reasons ofpublic policy cannot be published for years to come, and then
only to vindicate his memory. He whispers to himself, "There is a witness of
my intentions — one who hereafterwill make my righteousness as clearas
noonday. He is my strength." And as he passesout from public scenes he can
say to the nation which is dismissing him, "Forme it is a small thing," &c.
2. Look at the young man who has just come up to London to begin life. He
finds himself among three or four hundred companions of his own age. He is a
member of a societywhich has a public opinion of its own. If he be going to
cling unflinchingly to what he knows to be right, he will have to reckon,
sooneror later, with that opinion. Many young men would go bravely through
fire who cannotstand ridicule; and ridicule is the weaponwhich a narrow and
rude public opinion invariably uses in enforcing or trying to enforce its
assertions. Soonerorlater that young man will have to say, "Forme it is a
small thing to be judged of you or of man's judgment"; but yet let him
remember that he may sayit in the spirit of the Pharisee or in the spirit of the
Christian. I cannot saythat he will escape suffering;but he can, like the
apostle, turn from the hard words of man unto the love of God. There is an
old Latin maxim, "Don't let us sayhard things about the dead." Why not?
Becausethey have already been judged, and have learnt what awaits them at
the generaljudgment. Remember always that there are two judgments — the
human and the Divine. Let us not ignore man's judgment; but let us not forget
that upon the greatestofsubjects it is sometimes likely to be mistaken, and
that beyond it there is another judgment which cannoterr.
(Canon Liddon.)
Magnanimity
C. H. Spurgeon.
Some person reported to the amiable poet, Tasso, thata malicious enemy
spoke ill of him to all the world. "Let him persevere,"saidTasso;"his
rancour gives me no pain. How much better it is that he should speak ill of me
to all the world than that all the world should speak ill of me to him!"

(C. H. Spurgeon.)
I Judge not mine own self.
Self-judgment is
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. FALLIBLE. Because —
1. Partial.
2. Founded in ignorance of ourselves, and of the true standard of judgment.
II. INSUFFICIENT.
1. It may condemn.
2. But cannot justify us.
III. WITHOUT AUTHORITY.
1. The Lord is our Judge.
2. He knowethall things.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but He that
judgeth me is the Lord.
Consciencethe approver, but not the justifier of the Christian
W. W. Champneys, M. A.
1. Man is God's masterpiece, but conscience is the masterpiece ofman. It is
clear, both from Scripture and from the experience of our own hearts, that
every man is a partakerof this wonderful faculty. But this natural conscience
is in every unconverted man an accusing conscience. It witnesses againsthim;

it condemns him. The sense ofsin on the natural conscience is one of Satan's
strongestchains. While a man is under it he will only run further into sin. We
may see how it workedin Adam, the first sinner, directly he had broken God's
commandment, and his conscienceaccusedhim as guilty. It drove him to fly
from God, and when calledout to appear before his Judge, drove him to
excuse himself. And so in every man a guilty conscienceleads into more sin;
and the more surely he believes God to be a holy God, that hates sin, and a
just God, that will surely punish it, like the devils, he believes and trembles.
And he never canget peace by any effort of his own. The criminal who knows
that he has broken the laws of his country, and that his life is forfeited to the
justice of his country, can have no peace while he knows that. The gospel
discovers to us the only way by which sin canbe pardoned. Thus the tidings
which the gospelbrings can alone give peace to the conscience ofany man.
2. Now St. Paul had found the blessing of this way of peace in the gospel. And
from the hour that Christ manifested Himself to him, to his soul, it was his
continual endeavour to "keepa conscience voidof offence both towards God
and man." And that, by the grace of God, which was given him, he had not
endeavouredafter this in vain, our text shows. Observe —
I. THAT ST. PAUL HAD KEPT A "CONSCIENCE VOID OF OFFENCE,
BOTH TOWARDS GOD AND MAN." "I know nothing againstmyself."
There was no permitted sin allowedin his mind. He had known the deep
corruption of his ownheart (Romans 7:18). He found that without Christ he
could do nothing; that he had no power of himself to think anything of
himself"; therefore by the Spirit he sought strength out of himself, and by that
Spirit was enabled to do what his conscience, cleansedby Christ's blood and
enlightened by Christ's Spirit, bade him do, and to avoid what it taught him to
avoid (2 Corinthians 1:12). "His heart did not condemn him." He knew that
he had endeavoured as in the sight of God to speak and to live in Christ; and
thus at the very close ofhis life he wrote 2 Timothy 4:7.
II. THAT NOTWITHSTANDINGTHIS, HE WAS NOT HEREBY
JUSTIFIED. Now this is the very opposite of what the worldly moral man and
nominal Christian say. Their ground of confidence is just that which St. Paul
declares was no ground of confidence in him. "I have done my duty; thank

God I have nothing to fear." Done their duty! St. Paul had done more than
them, and yet he did not saywhat these say. This was not that on which he
restedhis hope of acceptancebefore God, though it was a proof that God had
acceptedhim, and, as such, a subject of rejoicing and a ground of
thankfulness. He felt, that after all he had done, he was an unprofitable
servant, and that he had done nothing by himself, but only the grace of God
that was with him. His only ground of hope and confidence was Christ
(Philippians 3:8).
(W. W. Champneys, M. A.)
False peace
E. B. Pusey, D. D.
It is then possible that a man's consciencemay think that all is wellwith it;
and yet all may be very ill. St. Paul had declined all judgments of men. One
only can judge the heart, He who made it. Man canjudge from the surface
only. In the very plainest cases he may be mistaken. Human praise and blame
are mostly valueless, becausemen know not the whole which they praise or
blame (1 Corinthians 2:11). But neither must man trust wholly his judgments
of himself. Since even an apostle said, that although he "knew nothing of
himself," he was not thereby justified, what a vast abyss then must the
unexamined conscienceofa sinner be!
I. THERE ARE TWO SORTS OF PEACEFULAND OF TROUBLED
CONSCIENCES.
1. There is a goodconsciencewhichis peaceful, because it mourns its past sin
for love of Him who loved us; it resists presenttemptation, in His might who
overcame the evil one; it trusts in Him who never fails those who trust Him.
This is a foretaste ofparadise (Philippians 4:7).
2. But peace, as it is the blessing of the good conscience, so it is the curse of the
bad conscience.A troubled, remorseful consciencehas life. There is hope of a
man amid any mass of sins, if he hates them; but a consciencewhollyat peace

and yet sinning is not alive, but dead. The eye of the soul is blind; the ear has
been stopped; the heart has been drugged (1 Timothy 4:2).
II. HOW THEN MAY WE KNOW WHETHER OUR PEACE IS THE
FALSE OR THE TRUE?
1. False peaceneeds but that a man should follow his passions;true peace
requires that a man should have resistedthem. True peace rests on the
knowledge and love of God; false peace relies on ignorance ofGod and of
itself.
2. It is something to see that there is such a thing as false peace. It is something
to know that all is not, of a necessity, wellwith a man, because he is at peace
with himself. For this is his very delusion. "I have nothing againstmyself; my
consciencedoes notreproach me." Take some instances.(1)How was David at
rest for a whole year after his sins of adultery and murder! His conscience was
alive as to the injustice of taking awaya poor man's ewe-lamb;it was dead to
his own.(2)How did Balaamblind his conscience!He did speak God's words
in his office as a prophet; as a man, he gave the devilish counselto seduce
Israelto idolatry by the beauty of the daughters of Midian, and fell in the
battle with the people whom, in the name of God, he had blessed.(3)How did
Simeon and Levi blind their conscienceby their passionin their treacherous
vengeance!Yet they themselves had no doubt that they were justified (Genesis
34:31).(4)Esaujustified himself by looking awayfrom himself, and calling
Jacoba supplanter.(5) Saul, in his first actof disobedience, did violence to
himself; in the secondhe justified himself. When he consultedthe witch it was
on the plea of necessity, and when he murdered himself, religion was still in
his mouth, "lestthe uncircumcised should abuse me."(6)Samsondeceived
himself by tampering as to the secretofhis strength, making as though he had
betrayed it, when he did not, until at the end, when he did betray it.(7) Ahab
covetedNaboth's vineyard, and held himself justified, while he inquired not
how Jezebelwould give it to him.
3. But since there has been such a large reign of self-deceit, how may any of us
know that we are not deceivednow?(1)Men have thought they did God
service while they murdered God's servants. It is not enough, then, to think

that we do God service.(2)A conscience,healthfully at peace, has been kept in
peace, through believing in God, loving God, serving God, and, by the grace of
God, conquering selffor the love of God. A conscience, falselyatpeace,
arrived at its peace, through ignorance of God and of itself, amid the dislike to
look into God's Word or to compare its own ways with it, persuading itself
that what it likes is not contrary to the law of God, stifling doubts, that it may
not be according to the law of God.(3) That is a false peace, whichwould be
broken, if man knew the whole heart and the whole life. Any moment might
break it; if not broken before, it will be broken more terribly in the day of
judgment.(4) A false peace is founded on false maxims, such as — "Why
should I not do what others do? Why should I be singular?"(5)A false peace
is gained by looking at this or that fault of another. "This thing cannot be so
bad, because suchan one does it." These may be tests to you. Has thy peace
come to thee, while looking into thyself, or looking awayfrom thyself? by
taking up with corrupt maxims of the world, or while looking into the law of
God? while listening to conscience,orwhile escaping from it? while
encouraging thyself by the sins of those around thee, or while looking to Jesus
to forgive thee the past, to keepthee by His Spirit and give thee powerover
thy sins?Conclusion:
1. Look well then whether, at the beginning, thy consciencefollowedthy
desires, or thy desires thy conscience. Grantedthat there is nothing about
which you reproachyourself, that your desires and your conscienceare at
one, how was the peace made — which gave way? People begin mostly in little
things. They take some little thing which is not theirs, or which seems of no
greatvalue to its owner, or which, it is thought, he will not miss. Conscience
remonstrates, "Thoushalt not steal." And then the will cozens the conscience,
and says, it is but "this and that." The deed is done again. Conscienceagain
forbids. Then it is put off. "Only this once;I cannot help it now. I have begun.
I cannot draw back," Conscienceis thrust back again, wounded, murmuring.
When next conscienceforbids, it is put off to a more convenient time, or the
passionturns awayfrom it, or tells it to its face, "I will do it." And then, to
avoid conscience, the soul buries itself amid any tumult of pleasure, or
thought, or care. In this waydoes the soul inure itself to break every
commandment. The conscienceis first dulled; then drugged to sleep;then

stupefied; then searedand past feeling. Look at the first step and the last!
Who in the first actof self-indulgence could picture the bloated drunkard?
Who could picture the remorselesshardenedsinner in the first forced stifling
of remorse?
2. But consciencehas an inextinguishable life. It cannot be destroyed. It will
awake againonce;here, or in eternity. Pitiable it is, when it wakeson the
death-bed, and says to the dying sinner, "Beholdthyself." Miserable and
pitiable as this would be, it would be a greatmercy of God. If the soul is
awakenedevenon the death-bed, it may yet be savedby the grace ofGod. Too
often, if it has slept till then, it seems then to sleepthe sleepof death. But
miserable and pitiable as this awakening ofconsciencewouldbe then, at the
the last, there is what is more miserable still, that it should not awaken, What
would it be if your consciencewere to awake firstat the judgment-seat of
Christ?
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
The only true Judge
Homiletic Monthly.
I. CHRIST AND NOT MAN THE ONLY JUDGE OF HUMAN CONDUCT.
1. Human judges are imperfect in knowledge and wisdom.
2. They are often unrighteous in their purpose.
3. Their ability to punish or rewardis limited.
II. CHRIST'S QUALIFICATIONS AS A JUDGE.
1. He is our Master.
2. He is the head of the family to which we as Christians belong.
3. He has perfectknowledge ofthe law by which we are to be judged.
4. He knows all about every one of us.

5. He has absolute powerto enforce His decisions.
(Homiletic Monthly.)
The terror of the day of judgment as arising from its jus
E. B. Pusey, D. D.
tice: —
I. TERRIBLE ARE THE OUTWARD CIRCUMSTANCESOF THE DAY
OF JUDGMENT(2 Peter 3:10; Matthew 24:29), BECAUSE THEY IMPLY
SOME GREAT DISPLEASURE OF GOD. But not againstthings inanimate
could that displeasure be (Habakkuk 3:8). Through that mysterious law
whereby the creationis bound up with the lot of man (Psalm 107:34;Romans
8:22), the visitation of this our dwelling-place indicates displeasure against
ourselves. But it will be terrible to those only whom the judgment shall
condemn.
II. THE TERROR OF TERRORSIN THAT DAY IS, THAT IT IS
JUDGMENT. Ofall the attributes of God, that which is, above all, terrible is
— His justice. Man can bear to look on His holiness, and even on His majesty
and almightiness:these are not of necessitydirectedagainsthim; he can even
endure to think of His wrath againstsin, His heavy displeasure againstthe
sinner. To be passedover-might imply that Godknew the soul to be dross
from which the refiner's fire could extract no gold. The most awful severity of
God were a tokenof love, that God had not abandoned us. But justice!It is
terrible, because GodHimself is, as it were, bound by it (Acts 10:34). He
cannot show favour, where it is a question of justice.
III. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, AS THE SUMMARY OF ALL
PARTICULAR JUDGMENTSON INDIVIDUAL SOULS, IS THE GREAT
JUSTIFICATION OF GOD;the unfolding of the righteousness ofHis
judgments. We know that there is to be a final parting betweenthe righteous
and the wicked. We know too that they who have made most diligent use of
the talents committed to them shall have higher rewards, and that among the

lost there will be degrees ofpunishment. And since all these on both sides will
vary with eachseveralsoul, so eachmust come into its own distinct judgment,
that it and all besides, men and angels, may know why God assignedto it its
place;why He could not, without violating His own justice, assignit to any
other. All nations and eachindividual will be judged (Matthew 25:31, 32;
Romans 14:10-12;Revelation20:12, 13). Until God brings home to the soul
the value of a soul, mankind seems suchan uninteresting mass. Those ever-
renewedmillions of China are born, live, die, and are to us as one man. We
think of them as "the Chinese." It never even occurs to most of us that they
have any individual character. So as to those hordes, who, at any time,
overran the world. In God's sight they are individual souls, eachwith its own
separate history, by which they have been or shall be judged. But then how
fine and minute and appreciating an attribute that justice must be which will
allot to every soul of man its own place, its own degree ofbliss or of suffering,
relatively to every other! For this belongs to exactjustice. There can be no
ground of complaint there. We could not there wish it otherwise;for it were to
wish that God were less just. We shall be judged according to our works;not
the works ofone period of life only, but all (Ecclesiastes12:14;Matthew
16:27;2 Corinthians 5:10); not of one age only, but of all; not goodalone, but
bad also;nor deeds only, but the "idle word";nor by these alone, but "by the
thoughts and intents of the heart."
IV. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT WILL BE A GREAT SURPRISE,
BECAUSE MOST OF US, AT THE BEST, KNOW SO LITTLE OF
OURSELVES. "The foolishvirgins" will expectthat the door will be opened;
and they will find it shut. They think that they stand in a relationto Him, as
their Lord; He knows, owns them not. They shall be amazed at their
exclusion. Even among the saved, St. Paul speaks ofwhat must be the most
agonising surprise, short of the loss of the soulitself, the loss of the soul's
imagined store with God (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
V. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT WILL ALSO BE A GREAT REVERSAL.
"Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first." Every human
standard will simply ceasein that day; everything, whereby we canestimate
our fellow-men; all which is admired, lookedup to, idolised, will be of no
account. One question alone there will be then, What use has been made of all

and each? Everygift of God well used will have its appropriate reward; but
one question will anticipate all, "Whom, according to your light, have you
loved and obeyed?"
VI. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT WILL BE A GREAT DISCLOSURE. How
few outstanding things will even a strict sifting of the consciencedisclose!You
see the countenance markedwith vanity or cunning or contempt or sensuality,
&c. — how many thousand, thousand indulged thoughts or acts must have
gone to stamp that expressionon the countenance which was formed to be the
image of God. They are forgotten, dead, buried: but there is the terrible
resurrection. His sins of omission, who can ever imagine? One has but to
name the word "prayer," and with what a countless multitude of omissions it
encompasses us!Yet even sins of omissionare in some degree imaginable, but
what about graces neglectedor despised!And then the calls of God's
providence any one of which might have led to a lasting conversionto God,
where have they left us? "To whomsoevermuch is given, of him shall be much
required." What we have had, might have made glorious saints of those who
have had less. Who will be able to bear the sight of all his neglectedprivileges?
Embrace them, then, this day, and so prepare for that day.
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Therefore Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come.
Premature judging forbidden
J. Lathrop, D. D.
The apostle here teaches us that all pretensions to a certain knowledge of
other men's sincerity in religion are rash and unwarrantable.
1. We are in some cases more competentjudges of the wickedness thanof the
goodness ofmen's hearts. Particular acts of sin are incident to goodmen. But
the habitual indulgence of sin is characteristic ofthe wickedonly. But then, on
the other hand, we cannot with equal certainty pronounce any man to be holy;

for worldly motives may operate on corrupt hearts to produce the appearance
of holiness.
2. Though we cannot absolutelydetermine any man's godly sincerity, yet we
may form such a charitable judgment concerning our fellow Christians, as is
sufficient to religious communion. We may have different degrees ofevidence
in favour of different persons, arising from their different attainments, or
from our different acquaintance with them. But our judgment must always
incline to the favourable side. We are to hope every man a saint, till we have
conclusive evidence that he is not such. Having stated the doctrine in the text,
note some arguments in support of it.
I. THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEN'S HEARTS IS GOD'S PREROGATIVE. "I,
the Lord, searchthe hearts," &c. It is on this ground that the apostle cautions
us not to judge anything before the time. For us to judge the heart is to invade
His throne.
II. IT IS NO EASY MATTER FOR MEN TO KNOW THEIR OWN
HEARTS. "The heart is deceitful above all things,... who canknow it?" So the
apostle says, "I judge not my own self," &c. We are cautionednot to deceive
ourselves, nor to be deceived.
III. WE CAN JUDGE THE HEARTS OF OTHERS ONLY BY EXTERNAL
INDICATIONS. In conversing with a friend we may be much pleasedwith his
doctrinal knowledge, religious sentiments, and professedexperience. This,
however, is but external evidence. We know not but he aims to deceive us, or
may be deceivedhimself. Such works as are the proper fruits of faith are more
solid evidence;for in these there is less roomfor dissimulation. But we may
misjudge even here; for it is but a small part of any man's life which falls
under our observation.
IV. THE SCRIPTURE GIVES US MANY INSTANCES OF THE
UNCERTAINTYOF HUMAN JUDGMENTIN THIS MATTER. All the
disciples were deceivedby the hypocrisy of Judas; and none of the first
believers in Jerusalemcould discern the sincerity of Paul. What arrogance,
then, must it be in us to assume the bold pretension of ascertaining the

existence ofgrace in other men's hearts! Wise is the caution given in the text.
Conclusion:The subject suggestssome usefulremarks.
1. The spirit and temper of the primitive disciples afford a substantial
evidence of the truth of our religion. They were not credulous, but cautious;
not hasty in their judgment, but deliberate in their inquiries.
2. Worthy of our imitation is the prudence of the early Christians in regardto
those whom they receivedas teachers ofreligion. In admitting members into
the Church, they were liberal and candid; but in receiving public teachers
they actedwith greatcaution. They required, not only a present personal
profession, but a testimony from others of previous goodconduct.
3. The sentiment entertained by some, that there is in true Christians a kind of
sympathy or fellowship, by which they infallibly know one another, appears to
be irrational and unscriptural.
4. It is dangerous hastily to pronounce men in a converted state. This is
judging before the time. As we cannot know others infallibly, so neither can
we form a probable judgment of them speedily.
5. We cannot be sure of forming a pure Church on earth.
(J. Lathrop, D. D.)
Premature judgments discouraged
S. Pascoe.
How necessaryit is to make charitable judgments of our fellow-men! We
cannot wholly know them now. We see the husk of the man only, the kernelis
not yet fully revealed. We must wait. In looking at our fellow-men we are
sometimes like as though we were walking through a friend's orchard in the
autumn. We see a tree with only a few scrawnyapples upon it. We have only
contempt for such a specimen, and sayto the owner, "Why don't you cut that
tree down? It does not deserve a place here." But the owner replies: "Cut that
tree down! Why it is one of my best varieties, but the seasonhas been against

it. First of all, the rabbits almost barked it, then it was almost uprooted by a
storm, but it is coming round, and next year I will show you some of the finest
fruit in my orchard from that tree." So we, in looking upon a human life,
judging from a few imperfect specimens of its characterthat circumstances
largely controlled, may possibly condemn it as being unworthy. But perhaps
the GreatHusbandman is saying, "Circumstanceshave been againsthim for
awhile, but a high quality of life is there; it is growing to something better
than now appears, and in spite of adverse influences, it is even now a worthier
life than many of loftier pretensions.
(S. Pascoe.)
Righteous judgment
Canon Liddon.
The Church of Corinth was largelyturned into a schoolofill-natured
criticism.
1. Eachof the parties was occupiedin finding fault with the names appealed to
by the others; and thus some taunted those who clung especiallyto St. Paul
with the suggestionthat their much-loved apostle might be an active teacher
and organiser, a greatletter-writer, an ingenious disputant; but he was not
faithful: he was wanting in that sincerity of purpose which is indispensable in
a public servantof Christ. St. Paul here deals with this charge. No doubt a
stewardmust be before all things faithful; but whether the Corinthians or any
other men think him faithful or not matters very little to him, since he does
not venture to decide even for himself. His conscience,indeed, accuses him of
unfaithfulness; but then he does not see very far, and he is judged by One who
knows all. Therefore the Corinthians had better give up their habit of judging
"until the Lord come."
2. This preceptoften occurs in the Bible. Our Lord says, "Judge not, that ye
be not judged"; and St. Paul warns the Romans:"Therefore thou art
inexcusable, O man, whosoeverthou art that judgest."

I. WHAT IS THE IMPORT OF THIS PRECEPT?
1. It is not meant that we are to form and express no judgment whateverupon
human conduct. For —(1) Many judgments are inevitable if we think at all.
Judgments of some kind issue from us just as naturally as flour does from a
working corn-mill. How can it be otherwise?(a)Godhas given us a moral
sense, and if this be alive it must judge with utter antipathy that which is in
contradiction with this governing law; not to do this is to capitulate to the
forces of evil, and to cancelthe law of right within us.(b) God has given us also
a law or sense oftruth. As to what is true, some of us are better informed than
others. We are, e.g., instructed Christians, who know and believe the whole
body of truth taught by our Lord and His apostles;and so we approve of
agreementand disapprove of disagreement, to what we hold for truth. In our
days men sometimes think it good-naturedto treat truth and falsehoodas at
bottom much the same thing; but this cannot be done with impunity.(2) Holy
Scripture stimulates and trains the judicial faculty within us. The great
servants of God in the Bible are intended to rouse us to admire and to imitate
them; the sinners in the Bible are intended to create in us moral repulsion for
their crimes. And what is this but an inward judgment? And as the Jewish
law, by its higher standard, makes the judicial faculty in man more active
than it was in the case ofthe heathen, so Christianity, with a higher standard
still, makes it more active in the Christian than it was in the Jew. A Christian
cannot help condemning acts that violate the law of Christ; not to do so is to
renounce that law as a rule of thought and conduct. A Christian ought,
according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, to have his moral senses exercisedso
as to discernbetweengoodand evil. Evidently the apostle wished the faculty
of moral judgment to be very active at Corinth in the case ofthe incestuous
person.(3)Human societyhas always found it necessaryto lay upon some of
its members the duty of judging others. Every day of term causes are heard
and judged in our Law Courts before the time. Is this to contravene the
teaching of St. Paul? Is it not clear that without some such officer as a judge
associatedhuman life would be impossible? No, a judge, so far from being an
unchristian functionary, is the organ, within certain limits, of the judgment of
the human and Christian conscience.

2. What, then, is the apostle's exactmeaning — what is the class ofjudgments
no one of which is permitted to a Christian? Some of the Corinthians
undertook to decide what was the characterand worth of Paul's motive, and
therefore he bids them judge nothing, i.e., of this purely internal character,
"until the Lord come." Our Lord would drag bad motives from their
obscurity and show in the full light of day the real motives upon which all
before His throne had acted. It is, then, the judgment of that which does not
meet the eye, the judgment of the characters as distinctfrom acts, which is
forbidden. If we witness an actof theft, we must say that it is an actof theft,
and that Almighty God will punish it. If we are askedto sayfurther what is
the moral condition of a thief before God, the answeris by no means so easy.
II. THE REASONS WHICH MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR ALL OF US TO
JUDGE THE CHARACTERS AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE ACTS OF
OTHER MEN EQUITABLY.
1. We have our likes and dislikes;only those who have a very strong sense of
justice keepthese tendencies wellin hand before they speak or actin relation
to others.(1)We do not welcome virtues which condemn ourselves. If our
tendency be to vanity, we find it hard to do justice to the humble, &c., &c.(2)
We assume that the virtues which costus little or nothing to practise are the
most important, and that the vices which contradict these virtues ought to be
judged with the greatestseverity. A bias like this disqualifies us for equitable
judgment and warns us not to attempt to judge character"before the Lord
come."
2. We are necessarilyignorant of circumstances, which, if they do not decide
our action, they do, nevertheless, influence it very seriously. One eye only can
take a full accountof circumstances.He knew what had been the
circumstances ofthe penitent thief when He said: "This day shalt thou be with
Me in paradise." He knew what had been the circumstances ofJudas when He
said, "It were better for that man if he had never been born." As for us we do
not know, and therefore we had better "judge nothing" as to character"until
the Lord come."

3. We see only the outside of characterin those whom we know most
intimately. Sometimes, under most unpromising appearances, there is a fund
of hidden good. On the other hand, outward appearances maybe uniformly
fair while concealing some deepsecretevil that is eating out the very heart of
the soul, like the disease whichis at work upon the constitution while the
bloom of health still lingers on the cheek. Every man who is trying to serve
God must deplore the contrastbetweenhis real life and the favourable
reputation which he enjoys among his friends, and must experience something
like relief when, now and then, he gets abused, it may be quite unjustly, since
in this way he feels the appraisementis partly redressed. We cannotanticipate
God's judgments in either direction. He lookedof old on a paganand He said,
"Lo! I have not found so greatfaith; no, not in Israel." He called some who
had the greatestreputation for goodness "whitedsepulchres," &c. He said
that the first on earth would often be the last hereafter, and that the last
would be first. You may here remind me of our Lord's words, "By their fruits
ye shall know them." Yes; but He is speaking offalse prophets, and He tells us
that the goodness orbadness of human actions is a guide to the worth of the
systems which produce them; He is giving us a test of doctrines. As for
characterit is by no means almostor adequately to be measured by acts. The
Pharisee's goodacts were more numerous and indisputable than those of the
publican, but the publican's inward dispositionwas his justification before
God.
4. Once more, there is the soul of every action, the intention with which it is
done. Apart from this an act is merely the product of an animated machine.
Many actions in themselves excellentare corrupted by a bad motive. Prayeris
a goodaction, so is fasting, so is almsgiving; but we remember what our Lord
said of those who prayed or gave alms, or fastedto be seenof men. On the
other hand, a goodmotive cannottransform an act in itself bad into a good
act. A lie remains a lie, even if we tell it with a pious motive. Oh, what a
mysterious unknown world is the world of motives! Human law has little to do
with it; it touches the fringe of it, but reluctantly now and then, as when it
essays to distinguish betweenmanslaughterand murder. But do we really
know about it? and, in our ignorance, how can we possibly undertake to judge
the inward life of others before the time? On two occasions St. Paulseems to

have violated his own precept: when he denounced Elymas and Ananias. But
he was acting under the guidance of an inspiration which discoveredto him
the realcharacterof these men, but which it would be contrary to humility
and goodsense in us to assume that we were possessedof. If our Lord said to
His hearers, "Ye hypocrites," He saw the men through and through, so that
there was not a trace of possible injustice in His description.
III. WHEN THE LORD COMES THERE WILL BE A JUDGMENT AT
ONCE ADEQUATE AND UNIVERSAL.
1. Well it is for us that we have not to trust to any of the phrases that are
sometimes proffered us as substitutes for the last judgment — the judgment of
posterity. Posterity, the chances are, will know nothing whatever about us.
Posteritydoes judge the few eminences of a pastage, but whether posterity is
right or wrong what does it matter to those most concerned? Theyhear
nothing of its favourable or unfavourable verdict, they have long since passed
before a higher tribunal. And what about the millions of whom posterity
never hears? Surely it is wellthat we may look forward to something better
than a judgment of posterity.
2. "Until the Lord come." Yes;He can do that which we cannot do; He can
judge men as they really are. There is no warp in His perfect humanity that
can for a moment affectthe balance of His judgment; there is no sin or
weakness to which He has a subtle inclination, or of which He will ever
exaggeratethe evil. He is acquainted with any circumstances thatexcuse or
enhance the guilt of eachwho stands before His throne. He has had His eye all
along upon eachone of us. He canform not merely an outward but an inward
estimate of us; He is never misled by appearances;and therefore, when He
does come, His judgment will be neither superficialnor inequitable; it will
carry its owncertificate of perfect justice into the inmost conscienceofthose
whom it condemns.
(Canon Liddon.)
Unrighteous judgment

H. O. Mackey.
GeneralGrant, speaking of charges ofcowardice,says, "The distantrear of
an army engagedin battle is not the best place to judge what is going on. The
stragglers in the rear are not to make us forget the intrepid soldiers in front."
But how many judge the Christian Church and religion by its worst
representatives!
(H. O. Mackey.)
Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels ofthe heart. —
The processesofthe last judgment
H. Melvill, B. D.
This is a very simple descriptionof the last judgment, only a brief statementof
some things to be done by the Judge, without any of those details which
address themselves irresistibly to the imagination.
I. CHRIST WILL BRING TO LIGHT THE HIDDEN THINGS OF
DARKNESS.
1. Now such is the imperfectness of the strictesthuman legislationthat a great
deal of crime passes undiscovered. The effectof this is to encourage many to
commit it in hope of impunity. If it were certainthat every breakerof the law
would be visited with its penalties, there would be few violations of its statutes.
2. But this holds goodnot only in regard to legaloffences whichcover only a
limited range of wickedness. There are many sins which a man may commit
without exposing himself to any legal penalty, but not, if the commissionbe
known, without suffering in his goodname or reputation. You have only to
bring it about, that public odium shall be attachedto a certain action, and you
may almostreckonon it becoming comparatively unknown. But then public
opinion, as well as the law, maybe altogetherevaded through concealment.
There are so many ways of hiding vice, so many chances againstbeing found

out. There is hardly anything so powerful as an encouragementto sin as the
expectationof concealment.
3. Yet the very publicity to which we attribute such power may be affirmed in
regard of all of us. The moment you recognise the Divine omnipresence you
make the very notion of secrecyabsurd. And yet so powerful is practical
unbelief that the very things which men would not dare to do, if they thought
themselves observedby a human being, they do without scruple if observed
only by God.
4. But let us see whether it be of any real advantage that the inspectionis that
of God and not that of man. We will suppose it knownthat on this day
twelvemonth there shall be made a revelation of the actions of every man's
life: now would not the prospectof this have a vast influence on a man; would
not those actions which he would not have dared to commit, had he not looked
for concealment, press on his mind and cause him deep agony;and would he
not instantly setabout the work of reformation, that he might reduce as much
as possible what would have to be disclosed? It is not, then, the temporary
impunity which induces a man to commit what would bring him to shame if it
were but disclosed— it is the hope of escaping altogether. And it is no
imaginary case whichwe thus bring to convictyou of the worstinfatuation, if
you could be content with hiding from your fellow-men what is faulty in your
actions;this is the very ease which is actually to come to pass.
5. We do not see why it should practically make any difference to you, that
this revelationis not to take place until after death. Except that you should be
vastly more affectedthan if it occurredduring your life; for if you dread the
revelation because ofpunishment which may follow, you should dread it the
more when the punishment is eternal; and if it be the shame that you fear,
where would your exposure be so terrible as in the presence ofmyriads of
angels, and of the whole human race? And now we want to know why the very
men, on whom the prospectof such a revelation would tell with awful force, if
it were certain to take place during their natural lives, can regardit with the
most utter indifference, because notto take place until they have passedinto
eternity? It must, we think, be that they do not associatesucha revelation
with the business of the last judgment. We need not suppose there is any one

of you who has secretlytransgressedthe laws of the land, in such sense, thatif
his actions were exposed, they would bring on him judicial interference;but
we may suppose that there are numbers who would be horror-struck with the
idea of having their lives laid bare, so that every man might know whatever
they had done. Does the merchant allow himself to be guilty of practices not
strictly honourable, &c., &c.? Why you would sink into the earth for very
shame if this revelation of yourselves were to take place now in the face of the
congregation!Oh! then, think, Shall we be able to bear it better when spirits
innumerable from every district of the universe shall look with searching gaze
on all our hidden doings? If the disgrace ofexposure would make you long
now to hide yourselves in the depths of the earth, shall you not then be of
those who will callpassionatelyon the rocks and mountains to coverthem? —
passionately, but vainly — for there shall be no more darkness but the
darkness of hell, and that is the darkness of a fire which cannotconceal
because it cannot consume.
II. CHRIST WILL MAKE MANIFEST THE COUNSELS OF THE HEART.
But there are many who might venture to live in public; so high are their
morals, so amiable their tempers. These men will not fear exposure. But if
there be some who might venture on submitting their lives, who is there that
would venture OH submitting his thoughts? Active sin bears hardly any
proportion to imagined sin; for whilst a thousand things may put restraint on
the actions, there is nothing whateverto controlthe imagination, save an
earnestnessto obey, by God's help, the injunction, "Keep thy heart with all
diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Compassed, as we allare, with
infirmity, there is no diligence which can keepwatchover an everactive
fancy; so that almostbefore we are aware, there will be defilement within,
whilst all is yet purity without. But there will be a scrutiny going down into
the heart out of which proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, &c. Well might
Malachiexclaim, "Who can abide the day of His coming?" This ought
completely to overturn every confidence, exceptthat which is basedon the
mediation of Christ. We do not see how any self-righteousnesscouldthink of
submitting to such a trial as is here spread before us. No living man can
endure such a scrutiny, unless he has applied, by faith, to the conscience, that
blood which cleansesfrom all sin.

(H. Melvill, B. D.)
Hidden things revealed
The hydrometer is an instrument by which the strength of spirit is
determined, or, rather, by which the quantity of water mixed with the spirit is
ascertained:and the dependence which may be placed on its accuracyonce
gave rise to a curious scene in China. A merchant sold to the purser of a ship a
quantity of distilled spirit, according to a sample shown;but not standing in
awe of conscience, he afterwards, in the privacy of his storehouse,addeda
quantity of water to eachcask. The article having been delivered on board,
and tried by the hydrometer, was discoveredto be wanting in strength. When
the vendor was chargedwith the fraud, he stoutly denied it; but on the exact
quantity of water which had been mixed with the spirit being named, he was
confounded; for he knew of no human means by which the discoverycould
have been made, and, trembling, he confessedhis roguery. If the ingenuity of
man is thus able to detectthe iniquity of a fellow-creature, and to expose his
secretpractices, how shallwe escapethe all-seeing eye of the Almighty, that
omniscient Being, "who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness,
and will make manifest the counsels of the heart"?
Hidden impressions revealed
The Homilist.
Place on a coldpolished metal, such as a new razor, a wafer. Breathe on it;
and though, when the waferis removed, no trace of the wafer whateverwill be
discovered, breathe again, and a spectralimage of the waferwill come plainly
into view. And as often as you repeatthe breathing, the image will appear.
More than this, if the polished metal be carefully put aside where nothing can
deteriorate its surface, though it remains for many months, breathing on it
againwill cause a shadowyform to emerge. Indeed, a shadow never falls upon
a wall without leaving thereupon a permanent trace, a trace which might be
made visible by reverting to proper processes. In photography, peoples,

palaces, churches, landscapes, &c., may lay hidden from the eye on the
sensitive surface for years, and reappearin all their freshness, reality, and
proportion, as soonas the proper developers are applied. It is thus with
mental impressions. No impression once made upon the mind is ever lost. Like
the waferimage on the polished metal, or the picture on the sensitive plate, it
may lay concealed;but a mere breath, or beam, or particle will call it forth in
all its reality, and thus on for ever. A man commits a trifling sin; the act falls
as a mere wafer on the surface of his soul; but the impression of that wafer is
more lasting than the stars. But God has given to the human soul a quality
which no polished metal or sensitive plate possesses. No impressionmade
thereon is ever obliterated, though it is multiplied on millions of millions of
times. Every impression is vividly and imperishably fixed in all its own
distinctiveness, and so it would be well for us to reflect as we look or think or
act.
(The Homilist.)
And then shall every man have praise of God.
God glorified in the judgment
H. Melvill, B. D.
It is evident enough from the connectionthat the apostle does not mean that
every man, whosoeverhe may be, shall obtain praise of God. This taking for
granted the excellence ofthe individual would be distinctly opposedto all his
reasoning. He canonly mean that every man, whose conduct has been
acceptable to God, shall be openly approved, and that in exact proportion to
his piety and zeal. But when you considerthe text as containing generallya
description of the lastassize, you cannot fail to be struck with the largeness of
the assertion. Byno perverse ingenuity can the words be made to sanctionthe
wild notion of universal salvation, for those who indulge in the idle dream
would not venture to talk of having praise of God. But, nevertheless, it would
seemas if there might be some sense in which all, without exception, shall
have praise of God, viz., in the sense that all are to be made to glorify God. It

will be for the fulfilling this end that any receive commendation; and so far
then as every man may at length be said to fulfil it, every man may be spoken
of as in the position of one praised. And whether or not it be a groundless
conjecture, that the praise given to every man may denote that every man will
be made to glorify God, we know, at least, that this latter is not supposition
but fact. We cannever wearyof endeavouring to expel the delusion that God
is too merciful to inflict lasting pain, and that He never will, therefore, exact
what His Word threatens. The delusion is basedon a manifest fallacy. It
supposes that it must be at variance with the Divine nature. But God will be
glorified in punishing the rebellious, as well as in pardoning the penitent. God
has made all things for Himself. He is His own end, and it is Godlike in Him to
do and allow whatsoeverpromotes His own glory. For this it was that
thousands of worlds glittered through infinite space;for this it was that earth,
sea, air, teemed with animated beings; for this it was that He sentHis own Son
as the surety of the lost; for this it was that He opened the kingdom of heaven
to all believers;aye, and for this it was that He appointed the prison of hell to
all despisers. You are wrong in thinking that He has nothing to gain in
condemning you. He has glory to gain; more glory than in releasing you, if
you die in your sins; for this were to compromise, whilst the other is to display
all His attributes. Examine the terms of salvation through Christ; comply with
them, and then shall every man literally have praise of God: "Well done, good
and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(5) Before the time.—This is explained by the following words to be “the day
of the Lord.” When this arrives the truth will be ascertainable, forGod will
bring into light all the things at presenthidden in the darkness, and will show
forth the inner motives of eachheart. Then every man (and not only one party

leader, as at Corinth) shall have his due and proper praise from God—not
from man.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
4:1-6 Apostles were no more than servants of Christ, but they were not to be
undervalued. They had a greattrust, and for that reason, had an honourable
office. Paul had a just concernfor his own reputation, but he knew that he
who chiefly aimed to please men, would not prove himself a faithful servant of
Christ. It is a comfort that men are not to be our final judges. And it is not
judging well of ourselves, orjustifying ourselves, thatwill prove us safe and
happy. Our own judgment is not to be depended upon as to our faithfulness,
any more than our ownworks for our justification. There is a day coming,
that will bring men's secretsins into open day, and discoverthe secrets of
their hearts. Then every slanderedbeliever will be justified, and every faithful
servant approved and rewarded. The word of God is the best rule by which to
judge as to men. Pride commonly is at the bottom of quarrels. Self-conceit
contributes to produce undue esteemof our teachers, as wellas of ourselves.
We shall not be puffed up for one againstanother, if we remember that all are
instruments, employed by God, and endowedby him with various talents.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Therefore - Inview of the danger of being deceivedin your judgment, and the
impossibility of certainly knowing the failings of the heart.
Judge nothing - Pass no decidedopinion; see the note at Matthew 7:1. The
apostle here takes occasionto inculcate on them an important lesson - one of
the leading lessons ofChristianity - not to pass a harsh opinion on the conduct
of any man, since there are so many things that go to make up his character
which we cannotknow; and so many secretfailings and motives which are all
concealedfrom us.
Until the Lord come - The Lord Jesus atthe Day of Judgment, when all
secrets shallbe revealed, and a true judgment shall be passedon all men.

Who both will bring to light; - See Romans 2:10.
The hidden things of darkness - The secretthings of the heart which have
been hidden as it were in darkness. The subsequent clause shows that this is
the sense. He does not refer to the deeds of night, or those things which were
performed in the secretplaces ofidolatry, but to the secretdesigns ofthe
heart; and perhaps means gently to insinuate that there were many things
about the characterand feelings of his enemies which would not well bear the
revelations of that Day.
The counsels ofthe hearts - The purposes, designs, and intentions of men. All
their plans shall be made known on that Day. And it is a most fearful and
alarming truth, that no man can concealhis purposes beyond the Day of
Judgment.
And then shall every man have praise of God - The word here rendered
"praise" ἔπαινος epainos denotes in this place reward, or that which is due to
him; the just sentence which ought to be pronounced on his character. It does
not mean as our translation would imply, that every man will then receive the
divine approbation which will not be true; but that every man shall receive
what is due to his character, whethergoodor evil. So Bloomfield and
Bretschneiderexplain it. Hesychius explains it by judgment (κρισις krisis).
The word must be limited in its significationaccording to the subject or the
connection. The passageteaches:
(1) That we should not be guilty of harsh judgment of others.
(2) the reasonis, that we cannotknow their feelings and motives.
(3) that all secretthings will be brought forth in the great Day, and nothing be
concealedbeyond that time.
(4) that every man shall receive justice there. He shall be treated as he ought
to be. The destiny of no one will be decided by the opinions of people; but the
doom of all will be fixed by God. How important is it, therefore, that we be
prepared for that Day; and how important to cherish such feelings, and form
such plans, that they may be developedwithout involving us in shame and
contempt!

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
5. Disproving the judicial powerclaimed by the Romish priesthood in the
confessional.
Therefore—asthe Lord is the sole Decideror Dijudicator.
judge—not the same Greek wordas in 1Co 4:3, 4, where the meaning is to
approve of or decide on, the merits of one's case.Here all judgments in
generalare forbidden, which would, on our part, presumptuously forestall
God's prerogative of final judgment.
Lord—Jesus Christ, whose "ministers" we are (1Co 4:1), and who is to be the
judge (Joh 5:22, 27;Ac 10:42;17:31).
manifest … hearts—Our judgments now (as those of the Corinthians
respecting their teachers)are necessarilydefective;as we only see the outward
act, we cannotsee the motives of "hearts." "Faithfulness" (1Co 4:2)will
hereby be estimated, and the "Lord" will "justify," or the reverse (1Co 4:4),
according to the state of the heart.
then shall every man have praise—(1Co 3:8;1Sa 26:23; Mt 25:21, 23, 28).
Rather, "his due praise," not exaggeratedpraise, suchas the Corinthians
heaped on favorite teachers;"the praise" (so the Greek)due for acts
estimatedby the motives. "Then," not before: therefore wait till then (Jas
5:7).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come;seeing that the
judgment of secretthings belongs to God, judge nothing before the time,
which God hath set to judge all things. The works ofthe flesh are manifest,
and men may judge of them; but for secretthings, of which it is impossible
that those who do not know the hearts of men should make up a judgment, do
not judge of them before the time, when God will certainly come to judge all
men.

Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels ofthe hearts:if men cloak the hidden things of darkness
with the coverof hypocrisy and fair pretences, they will at that day be most
certainly uncovered, and the secretthoughts, counsels, and imaginations of
men’s hearts shall in that day be made manifest.
And then shall every man have praise of God; and then those that have done
well, every of them shall have praise of God; as, on the contrary, (which is
understood, though not here expressed), those that are hypocrites, and whose
hearts have been full of evil thoughts and counsels, shallby God be put to
shame and exposedto contempt.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Therefore judge nothing before the time,.... This is said to prevent rash and
precipitate judgment, and agreeswith that well know Jewishmaxim, , "be
slow in judgment" (s); not hasty to pass sentence;it is best to leave things to
the greatday of account, than to be free in censuring one another. There is a
time "fixed" for the awful judgment, though of that day and hour knows no
man: judge nothing
until the Lord come;who at the fixed time will certainly come to judgment,
and that suddenly, at unawares, in an hour no man knows of:
who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness;meaning not so much
vices, immoralities, wickednessofall sorts committed in the dark, and which
it is a shame to speak of; but those hidden things of dishonesty, those secret
arts and private methods which false teachers have made use of to conceal
themselves, and carry on their base designs to the injury of truth, the souls of
men, and the cause ofChrist:
and will make manifest the counsels of the heart; what were the views and
intentions, the aims and ends of these men in taking upon them to be
preachers of the word; when it will appearthat these were not the glory of
God, and the goodof the souls of men, but filthy lucre, popular applause, or
some such mercenary view, and sinister end.

And then shall every man have praise of God. Every regeneratedsoul;
everyone that is a Jew inwardly; everyone that has the circumcisionof the
Spirit; and particularly every faithful minister, who is more especially
designed;to whom it will be said, "welldone goodand faithful servant, enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord". The apostle, in these words, has respectto the
false teachers who soughtthe praise of men, and not the honour which comes
from God; and which the true ministers of the word will have another day,
howeverdespisedand criticisedby men now.
(s) T. Bab Sanhed, fol. 7. 2. & Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 1.
Geneva Study Bible
{6} Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both
will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the
counsels ofthe hearts: and then shall every man have {d} praise of God.
(6) A third reasonproceeding from a conclusion, as it were, out of the former
reasons. It is God's office to esteemeveryman according to his value, because
he knows the secrets ofthe heart, which men for the most part are ignorant of.
Therefore this judgment does not pertain to you.
(d) One could not be praisedabove the rest, without the others being blamed:
and he mentions praise rather than lack of praise, because the beginning of
this dispute was this, that they gave more to some men than was appropriate.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
1 Corinthians 4:5. Therefore judge nothing before the time, namely, with
respectto me; not as Billroth thinks: one sectregarding another, which is
inadmissible in view of the preceding ἀνακρ. με and of the whole passage, 1
Corinthians 4:3-4, which all applies to Paul. The process ofthought from 1
Corinthians 4:3 onwards is, namely, this: “Formy part, you may judge me if
you will, I make very little of that; but (1 Corinthians 4:4) seeing that I do not
even judge myself, but that he that judgeth me is Christ, I therefore counsel
you (1 Corinthians 4:5) not to pass a judgment upon me prematurely.”

πρὸ καιροῦ]i.e. before it is the right time, Matthew 8:29; Sir 30:24;Sir 51:30;
Lucian, Jov. Trag. 47. How long such judging would continue to be πρὸ
καιροῦ, we learn only from what comes after;hence we must not by
anticipation assignto καιρός the specific sense oftempus reditus Christi.
τι] i.e. κρίσιν τινά, John 7:24.
κρίνετε] describes the passing of the judgment, the consequence ofthe ἀνακρ.,
a manner accordantwith the looking forward to the Messianicjudgment.
Luther, Raphel, and Wolf render: alium alii praeferte; but this runs counter
to the context, for it must be analogous to the generalἀνακρ.
ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ κ.] Epexegesis ofπρὸ καιροῦ:judge not before the time (judge
not, I say), until the Lord shall have come. Then only is it a καίριονκρίνειν,
because then only canthe judgment be pronounced rightly according to the
Lord’s decision. The ἄν marks out the coming as in so far problematical
(depending upon circumstances;see Hartung, Partikell. p. 291), inasmuch as
it was not, indeed, doubted, and yet at the same time not dependent upon
subjective determination, but an objectof expectantfaith in the unknown
future. Comp Matthew 16:28;Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27; Luke 13:35;Revelation
2:25.
ὃς καί]καί is the also customary with the relative, the effect of which is to
bring into prominence some element in keeping with what has gone before
(Baeumlein, Partik. p. 152;Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 243 [E. T. 283]). In His
function as Judge, in which He is to come, He will do this also, He will light
up, i.e. make manifest, what is hidden in the darkness. Respecting φωτίσει,
comp Sir 24:32;2 Timothy 1:10; Plut. Mor. p. 931 C, and the passages in
Wetstein. What withdraws itself from the light as its opposite (Hofmann, who

takes καὶ … καί as meaning as well, as also) is included here, but not that
alone. Compare rather the generalstatement in Luke 8:17.
καὶ φανερ. τ. βουλ. τῶν καρδ.]a specialelementselectedfrom the foregoing
generalaffirmation. The significant bearing of what Paul here affirms of
Christ at His coming is the application which the readers were to make of it to
himself and the other teachers;it was to be understood, namely, that their
true characteralso would only then become manifest, i.e. be laid open as an
objectof knowledge,but now was not yet submitted to judgment.
καὶ τότε … Θεοῦ]so that ye canonly then pass judgment on your teachers
with sure (divine) warrant for what ye do. The chief emphasis is upon the ἀπὸ
τ. Θεοῦ, which is for that reasonput at the end (Kühner, II. p. 625), and next
to it upon what is placedfirst, ὁ ἔπαινος. This does not mean praemium (so
Flatt, with older expositors, citing wrongly in support of it such passagesas
Romans 2:29; Romans 13:3; 1 Peter1:7; 1 Peter2:14; Wis 15:19; Polybius, 2.
58. 11), nor is it a vox media (as, following Casaubon, a[616]Epict. 67, Wolf,
Rosenmüller, Pott, and others assume wholly without proof); but it denotes
simply the praise, the commendation. The apparent incongruity with ἑκάστῳ
is obviated by the article: the praise that appertains to him (Bernhardy, p.
315)shall be given to each,—sothatPaul here puts entirely out of sight those
who deserve no praise at all. And rightly so. For his readers were to apply this
to him and Apollos; hence, as Calvin justly remarks:“haec vox ex bonae
conscientiaefiducia nascitur.” See 1 Corinthians 4:4. Theophylact’s view,
although adopted by many, is an arbitrary one: “unde et contrarium datur
intelligi, sedmavult εὐφημεῖν,” Grotius (so also Bengel, Billroth, Rückert,
Olshausen).
ἀπὸ τ. Θεοῦ]not from men, as ye now place and praise the one above the
other, but on the part of God; for Christ the Judge is God’s vicegerentand
representative, John 5:27 ff.; Acts 10:42; Acts 17:31;Romans 2:16, al[617]

[616]d refers to the note of the commentatoror editor named on the
particular passage.
[617]l. and others; and other passages;and other editions.
Expositor's Greek Testament
1 Corinthians 4:5. The practicalconclusionof the statementrespecting
Christ’s servants (see note on ὥστε, 1 Corinthians 3:21): “So then do not
before the time be passing any judgment”. τι, the cognate ace. = κρίσιν τινά,
as in John 7:24. πρὸ καιροῦ (the fit time, not the settime) signifies
prematurely (so Æsch., Eumen., 367), as ἐν καιρῷ seasonably(Luke 12:42).
Our Lord gives another reasonfor not judging, in Matthew 7:1 ff.; this
prohibition, like that, points to His tribunal, bidding men hold back their
verdicts on eachother in deference to His (cf. Romans 14:10). “Until the Lord
come:” ἕως ἄν indicates contingencyin the time, not the event itself; for this
uncertainty, cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:2, Matthew 25:13, Luke 12:39, Acts 1:7, etc.
His coming is the ἀποκάλυψις towardwhich the hope of this Church was
directed from the first (1 Corinthians 1:7 : see note); it will revealwith perfect
evidence the matters on which the Cor[665]are officiouslyand ignorantly
pronouncing.—ὃς καὶ φωτίσει κ.τ.λ.: “who shall also illuminate the hidden
things of darkness”.φωτίζω points to the cause, as φανερόω to the result, and
ἀποκαλύπτω (1 Corinthians 2:10) to the mode of Divine disclosures. Christ’s
presence ofitself illuminates (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6, and other parls.); His
Parousia is light as wellas fire (1 Corinthians 3:13)—both instruments of
judgment. τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους, “the secrets hidden in the darkness” (res
tenebris occultatas, Bz[666])—notnecessarilyevil things (see Romans 2:16, 2
Corinthians 4:6), but things impenetrable to present light.—Chief amongst
these, “the Lord will make manifest (φανερώσει) the counsels ofthe hearts”.
These God(and with Him Christ, ὁ ἀνακρίνων: 1 Corinthians 4:4) already
searchesout (Romans 8:27; Psalms 139, etc.);then He will make plain to men,
about themselves and eachother, what was dark before. The καρδία is the
real self, the “hidden,” “inward man” (Ephesians 3:16 f., 1 Peter3:4, and

other parls.), known absolutelyto God alone (corhominis crypta est,
Bz[667]);its “counsels” are those self-communings and purposings which
determine actionand belong to the essenceofcharacter.—“Andthen (not
before) the (due) praise will come (ὁ ἔπαινος γενήσεται)to eachfrom God (not
from human lips).” ἀπὸ τ. Θεοῦ for it is on God’s behalf that Christ will
judge; His commendation is alone of value (Romans 2:29; John 5:44). The
Church is God’s field and temple (1 Corinthians 3:9 ff.); all work wrought in
it awaits His approval. ἑκάστῳ recalls the lessonof 1 Corinthians 3:8; 1
Corinthians 3:11-13, respecting the discriminating and individual characterof
Divine rewards. “Praise” ambitious Gr[668]teachers coveted:let them seek it
from God. “Praise”the Cor[669]partisans lavished on their admired leaders:
this is God’s prerogative, let them check their impertinent eulogies. Enough
was said in 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 3:17, of condemned work;P. is
thinking here of his true συνεργοί (1 Corinthians 4:1 f.), who with himself
labour and hope for approval at the Day of Christ; little need they reck of the
criticisms of the hour.
[665]Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
[666]Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab.,
1642).
[667]Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab.,
1642).
[668]Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.
[669]Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

5. Therefore judge nothing before the time] The precept is here applied to the
relation of teacherand taught which is laid down generallyin St Matthew 7:1
and Romans 2:1. It is our duty to listen to the teaching of God’s ministers, test
it humbly yet candidly and sincerely, by the aid of God’s word, to ‘hold fast
that which is good’ and act upon it (1 Thessalonians 5:21), but to avoid all
scrutiny and imputation of motives, since to searchthe heart is the
prerogative of God alone. “Learn not to judge, for we do not know the secrets
of the heart. We judge men by gifts, or by a correspondence withour own
peculiarities, but Godjudges by fidelity.”—Robertson.
Bengel's Gnomen
1 Corinthians 4:5. Κρίνατε, judge) He does not say ἀνακρίνατε, decide;he
more closelyalludes to the judgment, which the Lord will give.—ὁ Κύριος, the
Lord) Jesus whom we serve, 1 Corinthians 4:1.—καὶ)also:He will not only
judge, but will bring forth to light His judgment.—φωτίσει)φωτίζεινis to
throw light upon any object, for example, φωτίζειντὴν νύκτα, to throw light
upon the night, Exodus 14:20, on the margin of the ed. Wech.:or to bring a
thing to light, 2 Timothy 1:10. Both of these will be done at that time.—τὰ
κρυπτὰ, the hidden things) The heart of man is truly a hidden cavern
[crypt].—τοῦ σκότους, ofthe darkness)into which no human eye
penetrates.—φανερώσει, willmake manifest) so that you will then at length
clearly know us.—τὰς βουλὰς, the counsels)showing, who hath been faithful
or not.—τῶν καρδιῶν, of the hearts) according to the state of the heart, so the
conduct is just [justified, 1 Corinthians 4:4] and praiseworthy or the
reverse.—τότε, then)Therefore wait.—ἔπαινος, praise)The world praises its
princes, warlike leaders, ambassadors, wise men, artists: God will hereafter
praise His ministers.—ἑκάστῳ)to every one, who is a praiseworthy, faithful
steward;you only praise one, for example, Paul. So every one, 1 Corinthians
3:8. Concerning praise from God, see Matthew 25:21. Those too, who are not
faithful, expect praise, but their praise will be reproach. Therefore the
contrary is also included by implication in the word praise, which is a
euphemism [the opposite of praise being not expressed, though implied]; so
the euphemism in, shall try or prove, etc., c. 1 Corinthians 3:13, 1 Corinthians
8:8; 1 Corinthians 8:10, notes. So blessing also comprehends cursing, Genesis
49:28;Genesis 49:7. There is a similar passage, 1 Samuel26:23 (24).

Pulpit Commentary
Verse 5. - Judge nothing. St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans, insists with
some indignation on this duty of checking the tendency to vain depreciation,
both because we have not the capacityfor forming adequate judgments, and
because censoriousnessis a very common though thoroughly unchristian vice
(Romans 14:4, 10, 13). Before the time. The time is when God shall "judge the
secrets ofmen" (Romans 2:16), and when "the day shall try every man's work
of what sort it is" (1 Corinthians 3:13). Until the Lord come. The advent is
calledin the New Testamentsometimes the "epiphany," and sometimes the
parousia of Christ. The word used for "until" (heos an) points to a time
entirely indefinite. Both; rather, also;i.e. among other things. The hidden
things of darkness. "All things are nakedand opened unto the eyes of him
with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13; comp. Ecclesiastes 12:14). God
"shallilluminate the crypts of the darkness which naturally fills the self
deceiving heart." The counsels of the hearts. These may bear no scrutiny, even
when the actions of the life have been made to look plausible enough. And
then. God only "seethin secret" (Matthew 6:4), and therefore the praise and
blame of men may in this life be equally unjust. Shall every man have praise
of God; rather, eachone shall then have his praise (i.e. such praise as he
deserves)from God. Some of the Greek Fathers (e.g. Theophylact)here make
"praise" a "word of intermediate sense," involving either praise or blame.
But St. Paul says "praise" fortwo reasons - partly because he is thinking of
faithful teachers like Cephas, Apollos, and himself, who were depreciatedby
rival factions;and partly because he, like other apostles, shows aninvariable
tendency to allude to the bright rather than to the dark side of judgment. The
"praise from God" - the "Welldone, goodand faithful servant" - is so
infinitely precious that it reduces to insignificance the comparative value of
human praise or blame.
Vincent's Word Studies
Judge (κρίνετε)
See on 1 Corinthians 2:14. The change ofthe verb favors the rendering
examine for ἀνακρίνω. The Lord is the only competentexaminer therefore do

not judge until He comes to judgment. Even I myself am not competent to
institute a conclusive examination, for the absence ofcondemnation from my
consciencedoes notabsolutely acquit me. See the criticalnote on 1 John 3:19-
22.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
JOSEPHBEET
Verse 5
1 Corinthians 4:5. Practicalresult of the foregoing. The metaphor of light,
compared with “fire” in 1 Corinthians 3:13, suggeststhe ease and suddenness
and completeness withwhich the greatDay will make all things known; just
as the daylight reveals things unknown in the night.
The hidden things; suggests how much that is needful for a correctestimate of
men's conduct now lies under an impenetrable veil.
The counsels etc.:the purposes, now hidden in men's hearts, which move them
to activity and which will determine their reward. A solemn warning to many
at Corinth. All judgments on Christian workers before the Lord comes are
before the right-time: (same word as season, see 1 Corinthians 7:5 :) for not
till then will all the facts be known.
From God: rising as usual from the Son, whose coming will bring to light all
the facts of the case, to the Father, who is the originalsource of the praise
which, through the lips of Christ, will be given to eachfaithful servant.
From 1 Corinthians 3:21 to 1 Corinthians 4:7 we infer that the church-parties
at Corinth were occasionedand nourished by the various estimates of various
persons about Paul and Apollos. But these teachers, and all others, were alike

helpers of Christ, distributing the hidden wealthof God. Eachof them was
thus an enrichment to the whole church. Moreover, upon them and all His
servants, the Masterwill Himself pronounce sentence;and will justify His
sentence by bringing to light all the facts of the case.Since these facts are not
yet fully known, the Corinthians cannotpronounce a correctsentence onthe
merits of their teachers;and therefore ought not to attach themselves to one
or other of them as his specialdisciples.
SECTION 5 deals specificallywith the church-parties at Corinth. It is in part
a reply to the question of 1 Corinthians 3:5 a, a question suggestedby the
reference in 1 Corinthians 3:4 to the church-parties; and in part a warning
againstevils which were their real source. Our ignorance of details obscures
Paul's reference to these evils, and lessens the force, which his readers would
feel at once, of the sudden transitions of 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians
3:18. But is evident that the Christians at Corinth overestimatedmere human
knowledge, andthat some prided themselves on their superior learning. We
can well conceive thatsome of these taught human learning rather than the
“word of the cross;” and that some, by claiming undue recognitionof their
own learning, were actually injuring the church. Also, that the same spirit
moved the church-members generallyor universally to pronounce sentence on
the comparative learning or eloquence of Paul and his colleagues;and that
their differing estimates causedthe divisions in the church.
To correctthis complicationof evils and errors, Paul says that both Apollos
and himself were but garden laborers, doing the same kind of work and paid
for their work, 1 Corinthians 3:5-9; that the work of all their teachers, which
is but a continuation of work alreadybegun, will be testedin the greatday, 1
Corinthians 3:10-15;that they who injure the work already done will receive
tremendous punishment, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17;that the truly wise man is he
who has learnedthat all human wisdom is of itself utterly worthless, 1
Corinthians 3:18-20;that for this reason, and because all things belong to
God's people, no one ought to boastabout men, 1 Corinthians 3:21-23;and
that Paul and Apollos are but helpers and stewards, who will be judged by
Christ, and whom no man is capable of judging aright, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.

THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Verses 3-5
1 Corinthians 4:3-5
But with me it is a very small think that I should be judged of you, or of man’s
judgment.
Judgment
I. Is the prerogative of God.
1. It belongs not to man.
2. Notto ourselves.
3. But the Lord.
II. Is premature in this life. Because--
1. Many things are hidden.
2. There is no universal and absolute standard.
3. None capable of applying it.
III. Is reservedto the coming of christ.
1. To Him all judgment is committed.
2. By Him all hearts shall be disclosed.
3. From Him every man shall receive his reward. (Family Churchman.)

The judgment
I. Of man is of title value. Because--
1. Without authority.
2. Seldomjust.
3. Always transient.
II. Of our conscienceis deceptive. Because--
1. We are ignorant.
2. It cannotjustify us.
III. Of the lord is decisive.
1. True.
2. Supreme.
3. Final. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Man’s judgments
Many are in the habit of reversing the apostle’s words;and what is most
surprising is that greatnumbers who would be shockedatthe thought are
nevertheless reallymore governedby the opinions of men than by the Word of
God. The truth is, the fear of man grows up with us from our infancy, is often
encouragedby education, and is disguised under fair names, or mixed up with
something allowable, so that we become enslavedto it without suspicion.
Combined with this passagesofScripture are passedlightly over, which
pronounce it to be a bad sign when all men speak wellof us. Let us see--

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