One Day We Will Each Face God

One Day We Will Each Face God

Romans 14:11 So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.

The Bible declares that every one of us shall give an account of himself personally to God. We cannot expect another to give an account for us. We cannot avoid this judgment. The judge will be the Lord Jesus Christ. John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them(makes them alive), even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. 22. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son.

For the saved, the Bible says that we will stand before the bema stool (award podium of Christ): Romans 14:10 For why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11. For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knew shall bouw to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. Our sins have been judged already by God at the cross of Christ and we are cleansed with the blood of Christ. We will be rewarded by for the sort of works done for Christ – see I Corinthians 3:10-15.

For the lost, this judgment shall come at the great white throne judgment. Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life as cast into the lake of fire. 

Thus, we all will face Christ Jesus personally to answer for ourselves. The unbelieving will suffer punishment in hell after the judgment. The saved will receive rewards for what they have done. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

We are personally accountable to God

God created man in His own image, and this includes the right and responsibility to choose. Man was not made a robot. Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. Adam made choices; God gave him instructions about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis chapter 2. Adam chose to disobey God and was judged for his disobedience.  2 Timothy 2:13-14 For Adam was first formed, then Eve 14. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Genesis 3:6-7 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

God never lies and He always follows through on His commandments. Both Adam and Eve sinned. They were responsible and were punished with death – spiritual death. So too we are confronted with choices, and we are responsible before God for the choices we make. God tells us that there is only one way to heaven eternally, and that is through His son Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ states the same truth.  John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. He said further: John 10:9 I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.(Jesus was speaking in the context of the shepherd and sheep and stated that He was the good shepherd.) There is only one way, and only one door to eternal life.

Each individual is responsible for his choice to pass through the door, to walk in the way, to accept Jesus Christ or to reject Him. No man can force true belief on another. Throughout the ages, the government and religious organizations have attempted to force persons’ beliefs. They may be able to force external behavior, but not really to force true belief.  When persecution of believers raged in England and Europe, many persecuted believers came to the USA to escape the force of government or church to restrict their beliefs. Unfortunately, most of the original colonies imposed state churches on their colonists. Even though those coming to the United States wanted to escape persecution, they turned around and persecuted others. When the colonies decided to accept the constitution after the Revolutionary War, Pastor John Leland agreed to encourage the Baptists to accept it on the provision of the first amendment, which guaranteed religious freedom. Sadly, in more recent times, groups have altered the purpose of the first amendment, which was originally designed to protect against a government or church denomination from imposing their beliefs on others. 

Jesus had advocated a separation of the government and religion in His discussion in Matthew 22:21. The question was whether or not Jews should pay taxes. The religious leaders were setting a trap for Jesus. His answer is telling. Matthew 22:17 (The Herodians speaking to Jesus) Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 18. But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19. Shew me the tribute money. And they brought him a penny (denarius, a Roman coin). 20. And he saith unto them, What is this image and superscription? 21. They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. The government and the beliefs of individuals are separate. The government should not rule or interfere in the things of the church, nor the church meddle in the things of the state.

The priesthood of every believer:

When someone wanted to contact God, he would often go to the priest, who might offer sacrifices for him or pray for him. However, we now have direct access to God. I Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. In the Old Testament, the way directly to God was not yet open. The tabernacle and temple demonstrated that limitation. A gentile could only go to the court of the gentiles, and he was warned of death if he proceeded further. A Jewish woman could go to the court of women, but only the men could proceed further into the court of men. The men would have to stop unless they were priests, who could go into the temple with certain offerings. But only the high priest could go into the holy of holies before the presence of God, and then only once a year with blood sacrificed for his sins and those of the people. Otherwise, he would die.

At the death of Christ, the veil separating the holy of holies from the holy place was ripped from top to bottom, opening access to God. Jesus Christ had opened the way to God through His own blood. Now each believer has Jesus Christ indwelling him through the Holy Spirit and has access directly to God. He is personally responsible and is now a priest. Peter writes the following to believers: I Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should shew forth the praised of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And the apostle John writes: Revelation 5b-6: Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

We are not worthy in ourselves, but He makes us worthy in Him to approach God. We are responsible for our choices. No one can take our place before God. 

The power of influence: 

God has given us the power of influence through the lives we live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:12-15 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14. Do all things without murmuring and disputing. 15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.

God wants us to live separated lives – separated from the world system and separated to Him. We are responsible to live this type of life. We can expect the world will reject us. We need His power to live this type of life, and we will come before Him to answer for ourselves one day in the future. When the church tries to lure persons into services by becoming like the world, then the chance of real influence is markedly reduced. True believers reflecting Jesus Christ will draw individuals from the unbelieving world to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, who can truly effect a change in us as we receive Him as savior and Lord.

Correction: In last week's article on prayer, I gave a wrong reference. I had written Matthew 5:19-20, but the correct reference is Matthew 18:19-20. I apologize for the wrong reference.

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