Giving an account to God

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. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:10‭-‬12 What makes you judge your brother? Why do you have contempt for your brother? Does this play a role when we give an account of ourselves to God? Resources: https://96tolife.blogspot.com/search?q=Judgment+seat+of+Christ&m=1 https://www.livinggodministries.net/living_god_ministries/radio_archive/audio_files/romans_79_accountability_to_faith_14_5_23.mp3 

When I Meet God

Former Navy Seal, Ultra-Marathoner, world record holder, and motivational speaker, David Goggins answered a question about meeting God at the end of his life. 

Goggins said, "I used to weigh three hundred pounds. I was 175lbs in high school [and got up to] 300 pounds. Let's say that I didn't improve myself at all. I die at 75 years old at 300 pounds. I work for Eco Lab my entire life, making $1,000 a month. That's what I made. I go to heaven and you are God (referring to the host). And you have a big long line of people, and I'm standing line. I'm coming up. I'm next, so you have Mary Ann, and you are talking to her, judging her, and I'm like, "What the hell does God have in His hand? What's that paper?" So God tears it away and throws it in the trashcan, and Mary Ann goes walking away. Now you have a piece of paper in your hand. I am next, and God says, "Sit down, David." That's right. It says David Goggins on top of the paper. God gives me the paper, and I look at it. When I'm reading this paper, I see all these amazing things. You were a 185lb athlete. You ran all these crazy races. You broke records. You were a Navy Seal. You were the only person to do this, do that, to do everything. You had a best-selling book. You changed millions of lives. And I look at God, and I say, "This says David Goggins up here, which is my name, God. But this isn't me." I'm like, "I think You gave me the wrong paper." And God says, "No," because God knows all. God sees all. And God looks at me and says, "This is what you should have been." He finished by saying, "I want God to be impressed with how I turn out." 

David Goggins is inspiring on many levels. His life story is one of overcoming obstacles that would have destroyed many people in similar situations. However, when I read this testimony, it sounds similar to a religious person who is striving to become a better version of themselves through adherence to laws designed to modify their behavior. Both have the same goal in mind. They want God to be impressed by what they accomplished in their lives. Nobody knows for sure what it will look like on Judgment Day. God may pass out a piece of paper before He passes judgment. He may wait patiently as each person goes down the list of their accomplishments in life. When you are finished, however, God will ask you one question. "What did you do with my Son?" 

Our accomplishments in life will not make any difference when we are standing before the God of the living and the dead. The only thing that matters to God is, are you spiritually alive to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, or did you deny the gift of God and remain spiritually dead? The Bible is full of examples that tell us that our works, religious or otherwise, are not what "impresses" God to the point that He allows us entrance into Heaven. No evidence is clearer than the words of the Apostle Paul. "If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:4-7)."

God gave the Jews the Mosaic Law. Paul claims to have observed it well enough that he felt he could boast of his accomplishments. It sounds similar to the motivation that David Goggins has regarding his worldly accomplishments. However, Paul's conclusion was that his achievements were worthless compared to knowing Jesus Christ. One version of the Bible translates Paul considering his accomplishments as "dung." That is strong language to use when talking about lifelong achievements. There is nothing wrong with making yourself a better person, regardless of how that is defined. However, when you bring God into it, that is when we have to develop standards. Which God are we talking about? What standards are we deciding to keep? Is the goal we have set achievable? Will God honor our efforts? There is only one God. His standard is for us to be as perfect as He is in our efforts. We will never be good enough to stand before Him, and find Him to be impressed enough with our accomplishments to grant us access into His kingdom. God is only impressed with your faith in Jesus Christ. 

When You Were Dead

"When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions ..." Colossians 2:13

One of the most difficult things to express to other Christians, without being accused of teaching a license to sin, is telling them that unbelievers don't go to hell because of their sins. In my opinion, because of the ignorance regarding forgiveness and the focus on behavior within the body of Christ, the most that people can do is focus on the sinful behavior of others. When you believe the goal of the Christian life is to stop sinning and that things like "unconfessed" sin can separate you from God, cause Him to "turn His face" from you, or that you can be "out of fellowship" with Him, then you will project onto others that which preoccupies your time. Now, don't get me wrong, sin is terrible, should be condemned, and avoided at all costs. However, it is the fruit of the problem, not the root cause of it. The complete focus on sin is what has damaged the walk with God of so many Christians as well as it being used as an excuse for unbelievers to dismiss Christianity, in general, and, more specifically, Jesus Christ. How often have you heard unbelievers criticize Christians as being hypocrites? They see right through our facade of "sinless" living because we are not overcoming sin. They bask in the failure of well-known Christians who have to step down from their pulpits or positions of influence because of scandals involving their sinful behavior. In fact, it was peace-activist Mahatma Gandhi who is quoted as saying, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” No doubt he must have been exposed to Christians he believed to not be acting in love towards him or others based on his understanding of Jesus Christ. My guess is that he saw them condemning others because of their behavior. Where might this have come from? It comes from Christians who teach that we have to be more "Christlike" in our behavior. This is just another way of saying that we must stop sinning. Yet, when you focus on sin, you get more sin. Why? Because the "sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." In order to stop sinning, you have to subject yourself to a form of the law so you can measure your progress at reducing sin. Unfortunately, all you reduce is your ability to stop sinning. The apostle Paul realized that "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead (Romans 7:7-8)." Not only is sin increased in your life, but your judgment of others attempts at it, or lack thereof, increases as well. The law is of no use if you don't have somebody to compare yourself to.

I admit there are scriptures that people use to justify this focus on sin when it comes to judging others. For example, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, reads "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." Christians will read this and be like, "See, all those who engage in these sins are going to hell, are not forgiven, and must be condemned." What I see is that this is talking about the identities of people who engage in these sins more than the sins themselves. If "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)," then how would He then turn around and condemn people to hell for sins He is not taking into account? I believe what we miss as Christians is the reason why people are identifying with their sins and engaging in them on a continual basis. The reason is that they are spiritually dead to God in their sins and in need of having the life of God restored to them. Colossians 2:13 starts out with "When you were dead ..." This a reference to the spiritual condition of a person prior to salvation. The problem between mankind and God is not that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The problem is that we are dead to God and in need of being made alive to Him. I am convinced that the reason people engage in sin, including Christians, is because they are looking for love, acceptance, meaning, and purpose to life in that sin rather than through a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Christians who only look on the outside will be preoccupied with the sinful behavior of a person instead of why that person is behaving like they do. And if you believe God is judging you for your sins and that you need to behave properly to be in good standing with Him, you are going to treat others the way you believe God is treating you. The outcome, in most cases, will be to condemn others for their sins rather than loving them in the midst of them. As Colossians 2:13 goes on to remind us; God made us alive having forgiven all our sins. God first had to forgive all our sins before He could offer His life back to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we believe that our sins are no longer an issue between us and God, it allows us to look past the sins of others and address the real issue behind their sinful behavior; their spiritual death. Therefore, you can love others with the love you are receiving from God. This is why a person does not go to hell because of their sins. They go to hell because they are dead.

Judging God

"...rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8)."

"How could a loving God send someone to Hell?" Have you ever heard someone say this to justify why they don't believe in God? Ultimately, what they are saying is that, "I am so wonderful that, if God exists, He couldn't possibly send me to Hell." Like many of us, we often see ourselves in the best light. We believe ourselves to be "basically good" and not so bad as to warrant being put in a place of eternal torment. Yet, how quick are we to act in the place of God and condemn others to Hell? God's standard is whether or not an individual has come alive to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. The standard that an individual often uses is if they like a person or have personally benefited from someone being in their lives. Generally speaking, nobody would send a family member or loved one to Hell. Nor would they even think to consider condemning their favorite athlete, entertainer or politician to eternal darkness. But, what about those people we don't like? How about that politician we believe to be the personification of evil? Who could forgive that athlete or Hollywood superstar who did that "terrible thing" despite all the riches they have? Don't forget those ex-husbands, ex-wives, ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends and all of their present significant others who replaced us. They hurt us despite our "perfect" behavior towards them. They deserve the worst, right? We want mercy for ourselves and judgment for our enemies. Therefore, if we can feel justified in condemning others who have hurt us or disappointed us, why doesn't God have that same right, since He not only created us, but gave us everything in this world to enjoy and be a part of?

Have you ever heard the story of the Hindu and the Anthill? To make a long story short, it goes something like this: A devout man who belonged to a Hindu sect believed that all life was sacred. He would not kill an ant, a cow, or even a cobra, because to him, due to his belief in reincarnation, he might be killing some past relative. He came to America and was confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ. One day, while contemplating these claims about Jesus, he stumbled across an anthill. While admiring the ants he noticed a tractor was headed right for the anthill. He wanted to warn the ants, but didn't know how. He thought to himself, "How can I warn them?  If I could write in the sand, they wouldn't be able to read it.  If I shouted to them, they wouldn't understand me.  The only possible way I could communicate with them would be by becoming an ant, if I had that ability." Then suddenly he had a revelation from the Spirit of God.  He saw why God, the Creator of the universe, chose to become one of us by becoming a man, in the Person of Jesus Christ.  Through his experience with the ant hill, the light suddenly came on in the heart of that Hindu man, In this story, we are the ants. We are the ones scurrying around, living our lives; oblivious to the eternal judgment headed our way. But, while we sit in judgment of God, we fail to realize that we have already been judged. But, as the hindu realized, we have a way of escape in Jesus Christ. God gave us this world as a testimony of Himself, but we end up worshiping it instead of Him. He spoke to us, but like the Jews of old, we refuse to listen. The only thing left for Him to do was to become one of us and we killed Him! Yet, we dare ask, "How could a loving God send someone to Hell?" The question that should be asked is, "How could a loving God not send you to Hell?" If you reject Him and His only offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, where else is He going to put you?

Judgment Day

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done (Romans 2:4-6).""

How many people have that picture in their head of what "Judgment Day" will look like? There they are standing in a long line; impatiently waiting to be judged by God for a lifetime of works of obedience to Him. Some, knowing they have not been perfectly obedient ask themselves questions like, "Did I do enough?" Will I enter Heaven?" "Will I gain heaven, but be relegated to some lower class of citizen there?" Others, falsely believing themselves to have been obedient to God, will fantasize about what blessings they believe await them. Given that most people are taught they must live a life of obedience and repentance this is exactly how they should feel; some fearful, others prideful. For many so-called Christians, the Christian life is one of trying to live a life they cannot live in hopes that their good works will outweigh their bad works and God will allow them into His presence in Heaven. Along the way their only focus is on whether they are doing "good" things or "righteous" things of some kind in order to give them hope God will "repay" them with blessings either now, in eternity or both. Passages like Romans 2:4-6 are often used to support this idea because what is said in verse 6 about God repaying each person according to what they have done. However, God will repay people in this manner because that is how they want to be judged by Him. If you look closely enough, the passage says, "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath against yourself." What is it that these people are being stubborn about and not repenting of? It is their unbelief in the riches of God's "kindness, forebearance (self-control) and patience." Nearly everybody will say they believe in God's kindness, forbearance and patience and that without it they would have no hope. Yet, they will turn around and live their lives as if they never believed it. They want to be judged for their deeds. They live their lives in order to be blessed for what they do. But, a person who lives in this way, who believes this, will never do enough to be blessed in this way; they will never be rewarded in the way they hope.

If you want to be blessed and rewarded for your deeds, you are going to end up with nothing! The reason is because if you want to be judged for your good works you will also be judged for your sins. As one teacher correctly stated, "I know that there are going to be a lot of people who go before the Lord who have not been saved. And when they go before the Lord there is going to be an expectation that they are going to be rewarded for all of their good works... But, that is not what is going to happen. There will be a judgment. If people want to be judged according to their deeds, fine, I am sure He will accommodate that and the end result of that will always be eternal condemnation in the pit of Hell!"The Christian life is not one that is lived out in the energy of our flesh in an effort to be blessed by God. Rather, Christians are already blessed by God, in Christ, and He lives His life through us! The riches of God's kindness, His forbearance and His patience is description of God's grace. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10)." We have been saved by God's grace not our works. Furthermore, we live by grace and not by works. The works we do are the works God has prepared for us and that He accomplishes through us as we rest in Him. If you are living your life in hopes of getting a blessing from God you have missed everything. The blessing God came to give is Himself which is found through faith in Jesus Christ. When I go before the Lord I don't expect to be repaid according to what I have done. I expect to be welcomed in the presence of my God and to hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant," only because of my faith in what Jesus Christ has done for me.