<p>4:4- see on Gal. 6:4.</p><p><i>For I know nothing against myself in my own conscience. Yet hereby I am not justified; but he that judges me is the Lord- </i>As explained in the previous verses, Paul was under the Lordship of Jesus as his master. Only His judgment therefore was of any meaning; even if his own conscience were clear, this would not justify him. He parallels his justification with his judgment; the Lord's present and final judgment will be our justification by His imputed righteousness. And so a comparison related to time is also introduced; whether we feel justified by our own self assessment now is nothing compared to His justification of us then. This idea is continued in the next verse- &quot;Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come&quot;.<i><br /></i><br />Paul says that although he does not feel he has done anything wrong, this does not of itself mean that he is justified in God's sight. We cannot, therefore, place too much importance on living according to our natural sense of right and wrong. This is the very error which has led&nbsp; gay 'Christians' to interpret the Bible in the light of their own desires, rather than allowing themselves to be taught by God's word. &quot;It's OK in my conscience&quot; is their only justification. They and many others give more credibility to what they perceive to be guidance coming from within them, than to God's word of Truth. The words of the Lord Jesus in Lk. 11:35 seem especially relevant: &quot;Take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. &quot;It's OK in my conscience&quot; is indeed dark light. Our conscience is not going to jump out of us and stand and judge us at the day of judgment. There is one thing that will judge us, the word of the Lord (Jn. 12:48), not how far we have lived according to our conscience.<br />&ldquo;He that judges me is the Lord&rdquo; alludes to &ldquo;Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord&rdquo; (Is. 49:4). This is one of a number of instances of where Old Testament Messianic Scriptures are applied to Paul in the context of his preaching Christ.</p><p>1 Cor. 4:3-5 appeals to the reality of <i>God's</i> future judgment as a basis for not paying too much attention to how <i>man </i>judges us. If it is <i>God's</i> judgment that means everything to us, what men say or think about us, or what we perceive they do, will not weigh so heavily with us. The ultimate reality of our lives is the sense of God's future judgment, not the awareness of man's present judgment. If we really grasp the simple fact that God alone is judge, that there is only One who <i>can</i> judge us, that Christ will come, then we will say with Paul from our hearts: &ldquo;He that is spiritual&hellip; himself is judged of no man&rdquo; (1 Cor. 2:15). Of course, men <i>do</i> judge us; and it hurts. But we are to act and feel according to the fact that ultimately, they can <i>not</i> judge us. For there is only One judge, to whom we shall all soon give account.</p><p>Paul, misrepresented and slandered more than most brethren, came to conclude: &quot;But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me right now is the Lord&quot; (1 Cor. 4:3-4). The judge is the justifier, according to this argument. Paul is not justified by himself or by other men, because they are not his judge. The fact that God alone is judge through Christ another first principle means that nobody can ultimately justify us or condemn us. &quot;Many seek the favour of the ruler 'judge'; but every man's judgment cometh from the Lord&quot; (Prov. 29:26). The false claims of others can do nothing to ultimately damage us, and our own efforts at self-justification are in effect a denial of the fact that the Lord is the judge, not us, and therefore He alone can and will justify.</p>