Word of Salvation – Vol. 30 No. 22 – Jun 1985

 

Human Judgment And Divine Judgment

 

Sermon by Rev. P. H. Pellicaan on 1Cor. 15:9-10

Ps.30:1,2,3 (BoW)

Confession of sin

Ps.56:1,2 (BoW)

Declaration of grace – Ps.28:8-9.

Ps.56:3 (BoW)

Law: Rom. 6:12-23

Ps.56:4 (BoW)

Prayer

Ps.43: (BoW)

Scripture reading: 2Cor.6

Scripture reading & Text: 1Cor. 15:9-10

Ps.H. 389.

 

Brothers and Sisters,

You can be sure that all your friends and acquaintances have an opinion about you.  Some may say: he is nice, but a bit stupid.  Others may say: he is a smart-alec and pompous.  Your friends may say: he is an easy-going chap.  Your wife may say: he is overbearing and short-tempered.

We judge other people by the experiences we have with them.  Now one day you hear that your friends have been talking behind your back, saying.  terrible things about you.  What would your reaction be?

You can do either of two things: you can make a big stink about it or you can say: I don’t care two hoots, I’m above their silly criticism.

Both reactions would be wrong.

Paul was in a situation like that.  He was slandered, severely criticized.  What did Paul do?

He listened, sat down, had a look at himself.  It was self-examination before the Lord.

In our text we find the result.  He arrived at two conclusions.

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You can look at yourself from two sides.  There is a human judgment and a Divine judgment and the two may be very different.  He worked this idea out in 2Cor.6, the chapter that was read to you.  We find there two different judgments about the same person.  On the one hand it was said: Paul was in dishonour, of ill repute, an impostor, unknown, dying, punished by God, sorrowful, poor, possessing nothing.  On the other hand he was judged to be honoured, of good repute, true, well-known, alive, always rejoicing, making many rich and possessing everything.  Conflicting statements about the same person alright!  And so in our text we first have the human judgment.  Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He was fully convinced of that.  That is how he presented himself in all his epistles.  Paul knew that apostles were people who had been witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.  But then, the Lord had appeared to him as well on the road to Damascus.  Moreover some days after that glorious event the disciple Ananias had brought his official appointment in Jesus’ name: you are My chosen instrument to carry My name before gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

But others were not so convinced of that.

If he was an apostle at all, then he was second grade.  He was the odd one out.

Others went further and said: Paul, he is not an apostle at all.  The Lord appointed twelve apostles, and Paul was not included.  He has pushed his way in, he is a busybody and a nuisance.  His speech, they said, is contemptible.  For all we know, he may have spoken with a horrible Dutch accent.  He could write strong letters but when he came in person it was a big flop.

Paul had heard about all this.  He did not react in anger, he did not ignore it in self-righteousness.  No, he went to his inner chamber.  He took it all to the Lord and struggled to see it all in the right perspective.  He wanted to know: is it true what they say, or is it false?

The result of his self-examination he then sent to the Corinthians.  They were entitled to know his reactions.

The first conclusion Paul arrived at, was: indeed, I am the least of the apostles, and indeed I am not worthy to be called an apostle.  In other words: he fully agreed with the criticism.  He agreed with those who said: he is not an A-one apostle, and then continued: you may go further than that: put me further down the list: I am the least.  He then also agreed with those who refused to acknowledge Paul as a real apostle.  He said: You are right, I am unworthy to be called an apostle.

It’s a very humble statement.  But did Paul mean it?  That’s a good question.

There is something like humble pride, or proud humility, which is the same thing.  You have sometimes to be very careful with people who speak so humbly.  Like a lady in the church who said to her minister: “I’m such a big sinner.”  “Yes”, the minister said, “so I heard”.  She nearly exploded: “Who has been talking about me?”

But Paul is speaking while he is in God’s presence.  He humbled himself.  He also gave the reason for it: because I persecuted the church of God.

Now that is a very strange reason.  If Paul would have said: I was the last to be added to the number of apostles, I am number thirteen, then we could understand that and agree with it.  But the reason he gives, especially in HIS mouth is hard to swallow.  It is true of course that he enjoyed the execution of Stephen.  It is true that for a long time, breathing threats and murder, he persecuted the Christians.

But all that is long ago.  Moreover: that sin has been forgiven.  The Lord would not hold it against him anymore.  Consequently he should not do that himself.  Remember, Paul, that you preached everywhere that God justifies sinners!

Paul would answer: Yes, that’s true.  But the black smudge in my life is still there!  I have been forgiven, but I can’t undo my sin.  I have to live with the consequences.  People have been put in jail, some may even have died.  And so there may be orphans around as a result of my sin.  It was all my doing!

Sins of the past, even if they have been forgiven, can still be a heavy burden.  God blotted out our sin, but we may have to live with the consequences.  That is what makes sin so serious.  David’s sin was forgiven when he said to Nathan: I have sinned.  Then immediately Nathan said: Your sin has been forgiven.  But still David had to accept the bitter fruit: Absalom’s rebellion.  And so Paul came to the conclusion: I am unworthy to be called an apostle.  Somewhere else he wrote: I am the greatest of all sinners.

The result of self-examination is always like that.  When the prodigal son came to himself he said: I am unworthy to be called your son.

We are in certain relationships with all sorts of people.  That is how the Lord created us.  We should not be alone.  We may be parents, or children, employees or employers, members of the finance commit or maybe office-bearer in the church.  There are relationships with other people all around us.

Now ask yourself in all sincerity: do I deserve that position?  Am I worthy to be what I am?  Do you dare to say to the Lord: I thank you for the position you gave me, for I am very suitable for it?  If you are honest then you will be very humble and say: no, I do not deserve that.  I am unworthy.

And if you do not know that humility, then there is evidence that you are not a Christian…!

But Paul also came to another conclusion: by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect.  On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, of the other apostles, though it was not I but the grace of God which is with me.

It is difficult to combine his two conclusions, isn’t it?  Some people have said: here the cat comes out of the bag.  Here we find the real Paul, self-conscious, boastful, self-satisfied.

That first conclusion, they said, was only to pull the wool over our eyes.  In effect he says: I am the first and best apostle!  But it is unfair to explain Paul’s words that way.  We find here one of the secrets of faith.  Luther already wrote about that; that we are at the same time sinner and saint.

When Paul confesses his sin and unworthiness, he meant that.  But in Christ everything had become new.  Paul is a new creature, and he never tired of witnessing to that, of singing about it.

Despite his black past he is still a genuine apostle and when he considers his work he can honestly say: I laboured more than all the others.  I, who am so unworthy, who was called so late, I was privileged to be in the frontline all the time.  I was sent to attack the centres of culture in Ephesus, in Athens, in Corinth.  In days to come he was to confront Caesar.  It is incredible; this persecutor of the church was mightily used by the Lord.  And there is only one reason, one explanation: by the grace of God.

In verse 10 he mentions that grace three times: By grace I am what I am, His grace toward me was not without effect, I did not work but the grace of God.  By saying this he did not expect and did not want three cheers from the Corinthians.  He did not want to hear them sing: For he is a jolly good fellow!  But he wanted people to look at him and his work and notice that he was surrounded by grace.

Grace is a very well-known word.  But it is very hard to understand, or to explain.  Grace is a miracle!  And a miracle you can’t explain.  You can only have an inkling of it when you have experienced it.  If you become aware of your dirty sins, and all the results of them, your selfishness, your rebellion, your unworthiness.  You then realize that you are responsible for the bitter and shameful death of the Saviour on a cursed cross.  Realizing this you then come into God’s presence.  There you stand before Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire.  It will be very, very tempestuous around His throne, says one of the Psalms.  And ALL your sins, even the sins you have never been aware of, will then testify against you.  The accuser of the brethren will rise up to demand on the ground of God’s holy law, your damnation.  And you have no defence, no excuse and no hope.  Then the Lord Jesus will arise, the One you have let down, you have denied, betrayed, offended and He will say: this sinner belongs to Me.  He has called upon Me for mercy, he has taken refuge in MY blood.  Then the almighty Judge of heaven and earth will say: call Me Father, I love you for My Son’s sake, enter into My joy…!

Brothers and sisters, we’d better stop here.  We can’t describe it, it’s too wonderful, too overpowering.

We know that this will happen, but we have not experienced it yet.  But the promise for it was given, signed and sealed.

By that grace Paul was surrounded, That was the tremendous energy in his work, his endless joy, his wonderful message to the world.

Can you also adopt this second conclusion of Paul?  By God’s grace I am what I am.

We do not stand isolated in this world.  We are connected to many people by all sorts of relationships.  We are parents, sons, daughters, employers or employees, maybe a member of the Home Mission committee, or working for the College, a Cadet or Calvinette.  We have a place somewhere in God’s kingdom.

By God’s grace I am what I am!

You may hesitate to say that.  That is not necessarily bad.  It all depends why you hesitate.  You may be keeping your mouth shut because you know that you are a member of the church, but not a citizen of God’s kingdom.

If so I have an urgent message for you: start to pray, to call to God with all your heart.  You are in terrible danger!  You may also keep silent because you find it difficult to say it in public.  There are Christians like that.  The prodigal son also was unable to speak.  As long as you can tell God!

We are all on our way to the final judgment.  Some day you will stand there.

Do you know what will happen?

Everything will depend on connections.

The connection between you and your sin.

The connection between your sin and the precious blood.

The connection between you and the Saviour.

God be merciful to me, a sinner!

By God’s grace I am what I am.

And we’ll need an eternity to sing of His unspeakable gift!

Amen.