Accountable to God

Last night I heard a preacher say that He is going to be accountable to God for every sermon he has ever preached. We, as christians, are going to be held accountable to God for the things we do.

Where does the Bible teach this?

Thanks

~Lorelei

 

Sue,

Thanks, those were exactly what I was looking for. Now I am even more confused. On judgment day are we giving an account for what we do for our justification? I thought we would not be judged if we were covered by the blood of Christ. Our justification comes from Christ yet Matthew says this.

We know we are justified in Christ, but this has some relevance. I guess I need to study further on "judgment day." Anyone have some scriptures that can clarify what will happen on judgment day?

I am really just trying to rightly divide the Word of Truth here.

Again, Thanks.

~Lorelei

 

Ok, let me try asking this way.

For a saved person, in what way are they held accountable to God for their actions?

If we are reconciled to God through Christ, and therefore He is not counting our sins against us, what then is held against us.

Define "accountable." When I hear the word "accountable" I think that we will have some debt to pay if we goof up. I am accountable for my son's actions. If he damages a person's property I have to "pay" that debt for him. I am accountable for money at work, if any is lost, I have to "pay" that debt. Am I misunderstanding what accountable means?

How can we be "accountable" for sins that aren't held against us? What, then, are we accountable for? What is the punishment for sin commited by a saved person? Will God "judge" us for that sin on judgment day, if so, how?

~Lorelei

 

I just have a problem with that reasoning. It almost sounds like, Salvation is by grace, not of works lest any man should boast and yet so man can boast, his rewards will be based upon works. I don't think we are rewarded for being a "good" christian. Paul said in one of His letters that the people he was writing to were his crown. I don't see being good as a work. I see souls saved as the only work that seems to account for anything, and playing any part of that process, the seed planter or a waterer is important.

One thing that really bothers me is the concept that we will be "embarassed" when we get to heaven without our rewards. First of all, this encourages people to go about doing "good" things (as man defines it) in order to get a reward. I do not beleive that this mentality will be rewarded. Secondly, I read about a heaven where there will be no more hunger, or thirst, or sorrow, or pain and yet I am told I am going to be "embarassed?" That embarassment would surely cause me to cry. We are human and God already knows that we are not perfect. Because He knows this, He had to send His Son to die for us. I don't believe He is surprised at my shortcomings nor is He waiting for me to get to heaven so he can make me feel like a fool.

He has promised me He is not going to remember my sins, in fact He has forgotten them, so if he can't remember them, how can he hold me accountable for them?

I don't know why so many people invision God as the judge, or at the least the principal. We think we are going to be called into his office as soon as we get to heaven to be scolded for all the stupid things we have done. I picture God who will see, not me, but my snowy white gown, made clean by the blood of His Son and welcome me with open arms. I won't be worrying about how big or small my crown is, nor will I know who had a bigger one than me. I will bow down at His feet and worship Him and whatever reward I get will be at His feet, not on my head.


~Lorelei

 

No where in the context does it say that the tears were wiped because we had been rebuked. I see it as whatever tears we used to have are wiped away and now we will cry no more. We can't know for sure what tears were wiped, that much is speculation. Neither of our interpretations is explicitly stated.

Though it says we will be accountable, we have invisioned this scene in our heads based more upon speculation than what actual scripture says.

I see the Great White Throne Judgment where you are judged based upon whether or not your name is in the book of life. Those who are not will be judged according to what they have done. It never says anything there about us, except that our names were in the book of life.

The judgment seat mentioned in Romans 14 is the beema seat. From what I have read this was a Roman custom sort of like the award ceremony at sporting events. You came before the beema seat to get your rewards. The significance here, is that people were happy upon receiving awards. The only unhappiness in award ceremonies comes from those who didn't get the prize they wanted. I don't think in heaven our thoughts will be that selfish. I think we would all be glad for each other. Of course in heaven, the focus won't even be on the prize, but on the one who is awarding them.

I don't sit around and focus on what prize I am going to get, nor do I worry about how embarassed I am going to be in heaven. I go about doing the work of my Lord because it pleases Him. Anything I do outside of the Spirit is in the flesh anyway, and the flesh will not be rewarded. Any reward I receive will be because I was walking in the Spirit and so it will be His works, not mine that are rewarded. So there is nothing I can do to win God's favor. In the end, it's all Him, crown and all.

~Lorelei

 

HankD,

I respectfully disagree with the context of 1 John. If you look at the context you will see John was clearly showing them how to know if they were truly in Christ or not. If this is not the context, we have a very works oriented salvation.

Those who are going to be ashamed are the ones who loved the world and were not keeping His commandments. Those, we know from the text never had the truth in them, they were liars.

In short, be sure you know Him, if you do know Him you will be following the gospel as taught by the apostles, not falling prey to the teachings of the many antichrists. If you fall prey to them, you were never one of us.

So who will be ashamed? Those who fell prey and went out from among us because they were not of us. They will one day bow before Christ and confess that He is Lord and will be ashamed that they had never truly believed it before.

~Lorelei

 

I am aware of this and you are certainly not alone in your interpretation. I have been taught this, have heard it preached from the pulpits. I guess I am just realizing that this is indeed an interpretational teaching, not something that is based upon scripture. I guess I am upset that I have I have been taught it as "fact" rather than for what it is. Now I am trying to rightfully divide the Word of Truth and I can see this isn't something that will be answered by quoting one verse. There is so much more I have to learn and oh the joy that comes from learning it! I love getting into His Word!

I would say that the thought of our loved ones being thrown into the lake of fire would indeed be a possible reason for the tears, though I would not add in because I felt guilty for not having told them. In the end, we are all responsible for own decisions, otherwise I would be the one cast in and they would be in heaven by default.

I will still be motivated and encouraged to share the gospel without the guilt trip. We should all be sharing the good news, for God is indeed a loving God and wants us in heaven in spite of our short comings. My life here on earth is an opportunity for God to mold and shape me into the person He wants me to be. I will continue to enjoy the journey and look forward to being with Him. As Paul was eager to depart and be with the Lord, I too want nothing more than to be in the prescence of my Lord! Until then, I am enjoying getting to know Him and learning about what things will be like when I get there.

God Bless

~Lorelei

 

HankD,

Actually, it is a challenging passage, but I know with what heart you asked the question. I am not pretending to have all the answers. This question has been laying on my mind a lot recently and I am really wanting to grasp it all. I spent a few hours talking to a friend about this topic and we spent a lot of time discussing these particular passages.

I am not sure what to suffer loss and escaping as one through the flames means. I honestly don't. I can tell you what I think is significant in trying to understand it.

We know that the Corinthians were a carnal church, not ready for the meat of the word yet. In the context here we see that they were probably bragging about their works and with whom they were affiliated. "I follow Paul, I follow Apollos", that sort of reasoning.

We then see Paul reminding them that each job is important, but only God can give the increase. My friend shared with me last night, think about how much work goes into planting a seed. You have to till the ground, prepare the soil and the bury the seed. You don't just throw it on the ground and walk away. Yet, when a person who is merely watering that seed comes along and actually sees the growth...say the person actually accepts the Lord....they then try to take the credit for that job. As we see in chapter 12, all gifts are just as important as the other, but these folks were focusing on who was more important, what job was better. Paul said, that all the work is important, but only God makes the work produce anything.

We then get to these passages. The most important thing is that nothing can be built without the foundation and that foundation must be Christ. He then says that we must be careful how we build on it. First of all, what are they "building?" Paul said he lays the foundation but another builds on it. I think this is speaking of the church, us as the body of Christ. Now, if we are doing works for the body of Christ, the church, they are going to affect another's life.

As I have pointed out, I think Paul is concerned with the motive to which they are building this. Maybe Paul is pointing out here that our works will be revealed for what they really are. We may think we are building a church out of gold and yet since our heart wasn't really in the right place, it may burn up as stubble. Certainly no one would purposely build a house out of something that wouldn't stand. Here Paul tells them, your heart will be revealed, the motive for which your works were done will be clearly seen. As I mentioned before, I think any work done in the flesh and not in the Spirit will be burned. It won't be rewarded.

So what about that suffering loss? You lost what you had built, it's gone now. That is probably too simplistic. Maybe your reward is all burned up, and you lost that, but this does suggest suffering. I don't know.

As escaping through the flames, well I surely don't see purgatory! I never have understood this passage, even when I thought I was going to be humiliated before God when I got there.

Another point I can't grasp. People who say they can lose their salvation have no way of knowing or explaining at which point it is gone. No where in scripture tells us what the "final straw" is when dealing with salvation. I also don't see just how many works require a crown, or how much of our works in the flesh will undo what works were done in the Spirit.

I am trying to reconcile this passage (and a few others) with what I do know from the Bible. I am learning and studying each day, and I am not afraid to admit, I just don't know. That doesn't mean that I am not studying and prayerfully seeking the answer, but I don't have one now.

Until then, I am not going to replace that uncertainty with a doctrine that may turn out to be false. I know that you are well aware how difficult it is to get through to someone who is reading their doctrine into a passage, rather than getting their doctrine out of it. I don't see this one passage as enough evidence that God is going to list all the things I "should have done" so that I will feel horrible in His prescence. Paul longed to be with Christ, for that is FAR Better. He never said, "well after you get chewed out."

Think about the parable of the prodigal son. Remember how the Father welcomed him with open arms? What works did he do to deserve such a splendid homecoming? He expected to be chewed out, but was he?

Anyway, thanks for the question. Trying to explain it has helped me to sort out these thoughts a little bit anyway. Feel free to share any passages that you may think are significant. I don't want to just skip over them because they may be difficult, I want to truly know what ALL the Word has to say on the subject!

God Bless

~Lorelei

 

Perhaps, definately worth pondering!

Thanks so much for the thoughts, He is indeed what it is all about!

~Lorelei