We Tend To Forget That We Will All Be Judged 1/13/2019

Good Morning,

Door County Candy cane Coffee was chosen as the java of my morning and it is a delight to hear it perking and awaiting my taste buds.

Christians who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been given the gift of eternal life with God the Father.  My fear is that although this is true, many live their lives wearing the safety net of salvation , but they forget that we will still stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives.

Now once saved by the blood of Jesus, nothing can separate us from that love. Nothing!

Romans 8:31-39 New Living Translation (NLT)

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But we forget that it is graced that saved us and yet we will look Jesus into the eye, stand before Him and give an account of our life on Earth, the good and the bad.

Romans 14:5-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

⁵ One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

¹² So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

1. When we stand before Christ as Judge, we will be judged according to our deeds in this life. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This is not an isolated teaching in the New Testament. Jesus said in Matthew 16:27, “The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and will then recompense every person according to his deeds.” And in the very last chapter of the Bible Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every person according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). In other words, the way you live is not unimportant. It does not mean you earn your salvation. Yet we are to be rewarded for the good we do in our lives and account for the lack of obedience along the way. We do not lose our place in heaven. We forget that we will look Jesus in the eye and give this accoint, yet our sins are washed away by His blood. 

We are saved through grace yet our lives should reflect our faith. You can't earn your way to heaven, but it is also not a free pass to keep a life of sin.

Heavy thoughts for a Sunday.

Marty