Wrong Judgments

1Co 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Co 4:2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
1Co 4:3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.
1Co 4:4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.
1Co 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.

There is a problem within the church that appears to have been always present. When I am teaching in different settings I am often confronted with a spirit that is not of God, it's commonly called a Critical Spirit but I tell you that it is of Devil, himself.

To begin with there is a huge perception error today. We see and we are taught, correctly, that Salvation is free when in fact it never was! My salvation cost me nothing and was free to me but my savior paid with His very life to acquire it for me. Now read verse one again... we are the servants of the Christ. Now, visit with me for a moment, a time when slavery was a way of life, and remember who the servants were. That same Bond Servant is who we are today, slaves of Christ.

There is another facet of that verse, stewardship! That leads us on into verse 2. Stewardship is a vital portion of any successful Fortune 500 company today and is still essential for this world to take care of it's day to day business. Today, just as today, a steward, a manager, needs to be found faithful. Here in Texas we have seen dynasties collapse over night due to the lack of faithfulness.

As Christians we are the stewards of the mysteries of God and the fate of the world depends on just how faithful we will be with it. We can sit back in the recliner with our Remote Control and flick through the two hundred-plus channels knowing we are saved or we can begin to put our best efforts into evangelizing the Lost Man next door or at work. Jesus, our example of a successful life would not have been so concerned with the TV.

In Verse three, Paul was so dependent on God that the least of his worries was judgmental people. I am often called down by others that judge me as being judgmental because I proclaim the truth of the entirety of scripture. Since January 1 of 1990 I have sought to learn more about this Holy Life that God wants me to live and as I have understood what is meant by this desire of our LORD's I have sought to teach others.

Like Paul, I have a judge and He is Jesus, God in the Flesh of man. As a result I am often called arrogant and instructed that I must stop choosing my conversations and to allow more people to argue with me, I refuse! If I allow one that, like myself, is claiming the name of the Christ to divert my attention onto personal preferences and away from the salvation of the Lost Man I am a disobedient servant, it must never be so. I will preach the truth, even when it offends some.

And finally, in verse five we see the call from Paul for us to hold our judgmental attitudes in check and to allow God, the one that knows the heart of man to do the judging. Be careful here! That does not mean to run off in the same direction as the World today and to use their interpretation of Matt. 7:1.

For a man to understand Matt. 7:1 he must read, at least, the entire chapter and better yet, the Bible. The man that judges nothing is a fool and his mind is the Devil's playground. At the same time, as you pick your associates, friends and a place to raise your children do not pretend to be God and think that you know the heart of a man.