1 Corinthians 4:4

For. know nothing against myself; yet am. not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

'For. know nothing against myself' -'I am conscious of nothing against myself.' (NASV) 'While he is not aware of any unfaithfulness to his stewardship, yet the approval of his own conscience is not. just ground of complacency, nor does he for that reason stand acquitted.' (Erdman p. 56) 'I am not aware..of having done anything wrong.' (F.F. Bruce p. 47)

'yet am. not hereby justified' -'this does not prove that. am innocent' (Gspd) 'Even if...the "silence" of conscience can be taken to mean that. man has done nothing wrong, it can never be assumed from it that he has been accounted righteous.' (F.F. Bruce p. 47) 'This does not decide the matter.' (Alford p. 995) 'Failure to be conscious of one's own sins does not mean that one is innocent.' (Robertson p. 103) 'One might do wrong..and yet justify himself' (Psalms 19:12; 1 John 3:20) (McGarvey p. 68)

Points to Note:

1. 'Paul claims he doesn't judge himself. This doesn't mean he hasn't any view of himself. He defends himself and insists again and again that he is doing his job faithfully. He simply means that his own judgement on himself means as little, in the final analysis, as theirs.' [Note:. McGuiggan p. 55]

2. 'If anyone recognized that purity of conscience did not guarantee acceptability before God, Paul was the man. (Acts 26:9).' (Willis p. 132)

3. Therefore: (a) The final say as to whether. am right with God or not, doesn't reside with my own personal 'feelings'. (Proverbs 16:25) (b) Man doesn't have some 'inner light' or 'infallible moral compass'. (c) All subjective tests for salvation or "rightness" are invalid. (d) But since Paul knew he was right with God (2 Timothy 4:6); an objective test must exist to determine the "present status" of one's standing before God. Clearly, Paul isn't teaching, 'I just don't know whether. will end up lost or saved, we'll just have to wait until the judgement.' But the only "objective" test available is the word of God. (e) Hence the word of God must be clear enough, and within the grasp of human understanding to determine, 'am. saved or not?' (f) And the only way that God reveals to us, if we are on the wrong track, isn't some feeling, mystical experience, or near brush with death. Rather, it's all right here in the Bible. If. need 'correcting', the word of God is perfectly qualified to get me on the right track again. (2 Timothy 3:16) So when we ask God to "search us and to see if any evil way exists in us" (Psalms 139:23); the answer to that search will be found in the word.

'but he that judgeth me is the Lord.' -this doesn't mean that we shouldn't ever listen to advice (Proverbs 9:8) or evaluate criticism that may come our way. But in the final analysis the ONLY judgement that counts or that "sticks" is the one that the Lord will give. This is the judgement that 'settles' everything once and for all.

Points to Note:

1. While not having. deaf ear to the world, the Christian must learn to keep on serving God, despite what the world might say. (Acts 24:14; Acts 26:24; 2 Corinthians 10:1; 2 Corinthians 10:10; Matthew 11:18)

2. No one will be able to reverse the judgement Christ hands down at the final day. If your saved, your saved, but if your lost, your lost-with no appeal. (James 4:12)