Accountability on the Day of Judgment for every believer

Will We Have To Give Account For Every Sin?

Q. I read something today that upset me and I would like your opinion on it. I know that you have mentioned that we will all stand before the Bema Seat of Christ for rewards but this is what I read…

Everything I ever did will be analyzed and scrutinized openly by the Lord Jesus Christ. Every good thing. . . and every bad thing. I’ll be called on to give account of every word, every deed, every thought.

Now even as a Christian I ‘try’ to live as good as I can because I love the Lord but I have done things that I’m not proud of but I always ask for forgiveness and I asked the Lord to help me with my attitude about people and situations but I fail at times.

Question…Are not all my sins covered by the blood and if not why not? There is a chorus that says…When He (God) looks at me He sees not what I used to be but He sees Jesus.

It sounds like for most believers, the Judgment Seat of Christ will be an excruciating experience.

A. In 2 Cor. 5:10 Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

This has to do with the rewards we will receive for our works as believers, and doesn’t concern our sins. He described the same thing in 1 Cor. 3:10-15. Good works are those He’s called you to do and He’s received the glory for. Bad works are those you’ve done in your own strength and you’ve taken credit for. The outcome is irrelevant. It’s the motive that counts.

All the sins of your life were taken to the cross and dealt with there (Col. 2:13-14). The Lord will never make any reference to them again. He has forgiven them and forgotten them, and now it’s as if they never happened (2 Cor. 5:17). So what would be the point in bringing them up again?

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Can we judge others?

Are We The Sin Police?

Q. I just got around to reading “The Way It Was Meant To Be” and just wanted to say you’ve got to be careful making it sound like we are never to confront sin in others. Some like to call it “judging”, which is a favored term for those who shy away from possibly offending a brother or sister over doing the right thing and in a loving manner helping/correcting them. It’s not “judging”.The Bible tells us to confront sin. Jesus did it often. One example was the woman at the well. He didn’t just chat with her and then say “have a nice day”. He confronted her with her sin and told her to sin no more. There are times when believers are to do the same. When they don’t, they can easily be construed as approving of the sins being committed around them.

A. In Matt. 7:1-5 Jesus said,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Each of us has enough to worry about with our own sins to preclude being so eager to correct others. Jesus could confront people because He was without sin. Remember, He also said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7) It’s not our responsibility to approve or disapprove of the behavior of others. In 1 Cor. 4:5 we’re told to judge nothing until the appointed time, when the Lord will come and expose man’s hidden motives.

When someone sins against us specifically we can confront them (Matt. 18:15) But even if they don’t apologize we are to forgive them 70 X 7 times if need be (Matt. 18:23). If their behavior is a public embarrassment to the Lord we’re not to associate with them (1 Cor. 5:11) but nowhere in the Bible are we called to be the “sin police”.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Why did God allow it?

The Sifting Of Peter

Q. When the devil asked to ’sift Peter as wheat’(Luke 22:31) what exactly does it mean? Why would he want to do this?

I know that he also asked to persecute Job in the old testament and that God allowed this in order to cure Job of his self righteous attitude.Does this mean the devil has to ask permission to attack us directly, and if so are all our afflictions down to him?

A. The sifting of Peter took place in his triple denial that he knew the Lord on the night before the crucifixion. It was an attack against an attribute of his that Peter took much pride in, his bravery. Earlier, he had single handedly stood up to the contingent of soldiers who came to arrest Jesus (John 18:10), but then he wound up being intimidated by a slave girl, the most powerless of all possible adversaries.

It was done to demonstrate two things to Peter and to us. One, we’re most vulnerable after a victory. Three days earlier they had all rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. And two, when Satan attacks it will often be in an area where we feel strongest, most self-sufficient. Job’s strongest area was his righteousness, Peter’s was his bravery. This is to show our need for utter reliance upon the Lord.

Yes, all our afflictions are ultimately caused by Satan because he is the author of all the evil in the world. But our own sinfulness is what gives him access to us. God uses Satan’s attacks to expose our sinfulness and our need to confess and be forgiven. This is the point of both Job’s and Peter’s experiences. Both were forgiven and restored after recognizing their sin and confessing. After his sifting, Peter was a changed man as his performance in the Book of Acts clearly demonstrates.

Peter, Do You Love Me?

Q. John 21:15-17 records Jesus asking peter three times if he loves him, Was this Jesus way of letting Peter know he was forgiven for denying Him three times?

A. That’s a reasonable interpretation. But John 21:15-17 also contains a fascinating use of words that we miss in the English because we only have one word for love. In the Greek two different words for love are used, and they have different meanings. In verse 15 when Jesus first asked Peter, “Do you truly love me more than these?” He used a word that means to be totally given over to someone irrespective of the response. It’s the highest, most intense form of love in the Greek language. We would call it unconditional love. But when Peter responded, he used a different word for love, a less intense one that describes the love one has for a brother.

When Jesus asked the second time it was the same, with Jesus using the stronger word and Peter responding with the lesser.

The third time, Jesus downgraded His expectation and changed His question to use the same word Peter had used, allowing Peter to respond in kind. In verse 17 Peter said, “Lord you know all things. You know that I love you.” He meant that he knew that the Lord knew of his inability to respond unconditionally to God’s love.

In this interaction we learn two things. The first is Peter’s admission that it’s impossible for man to love God with the same intensity that God loves man. The second is that God understands this and accepts man’s weakness.

Peter would not describe His love for the Lord as unconditional until after Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit had come and Peter had given himself completely over to serving Him. This is to show that it’s only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we’re able to respond to God’s love in kind.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Forgiveness

Can God Forgive Me?

Q. I have a question about my salvation. I will try to keep it short. About four years ago our son died after a long illness. This was the hardest thing I have ever been through. I felt so abandoned by God that for months I lashed out and I even called him names and vowed to become an atheist.

Today I am finally starting to deal with my sons death and I also feel so ashamed that I lashed out at my Lord for turning on him the way I did, I feel he could never forgive me for such an act. Daily I am trying to get closer to God. So what I am asking is can I be forgiven for the way I treated him? I need to know because it is a tormenting feeling to be separated from God.

A. It’s important to remember that God knows the end from the beginning, so your reaction to your son’s death was not a surprise to Him. And since He knew all this before He agreed to save you, He had already forgiven you and neither this nor anything else you can do will cause him to change His mind. There are several Scripture passages that confirm this. Here’s a good one.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” You’ve remained saved through out this ordeal. To restore your relationship with God, confess your sin of anger and you’ll be immediately forgiven. It will be like it never happened.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

God's benevolent nature of forgiveness!

Why Is Samson Among The Faithful?

Q. I’m a little confused why Samson is mentioned in Hebrews 11:32-34. As I reread the account in Judges, it seems to me that his life was anything but a walk in faith. I can’t recall a single incident in his life where he did what he knew was right according to his faith. He defiled himself from the moment when he touched a dead lion to the point of sleeping with the prostitute and revealing the secret of his strengh to Delilah. Even the motivation for his final moment when he killed his enemies in the temple was revenge. He was a poor judge and a failer as a Nazirite. Why is he mentioned among the faithful? What does Samson mean?

A. In spite of all Samson’s faults, God used him in several ways. Samson led Israel for 20 years, and at the end of his life began the liberation of Israel from the Philistines, just as God had promised his parents. Perhaps most of all, God used Samson’s life to demonstrate His forgiveness to those who ask in faith, no matter how far they’ve fallen. Samson’s name means sunshine.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Love your Enemies

Subsidizing North Korea

Q. In Romans 12:20, the Bible says “Therefore, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Does this mean that we should continue to give free food to Kim Jong Il’s regime, even though we know it is only going to feed Party officials and the North Korean Army. Without this food, it is unlikely the regime could feed its army for long, meaning it might collapse. In effect, we are propping up the regime and prolonging the suffering of the millions enslaved in North Korea by obeying the Bible. I’m in quite a quandry over this. Do you know what we should do?

A. I think you’re taking something meant as a personal admonition and turning it into national policy. Paul said that rather than take revenge against someone who has wronged us, we’re to see to his needs. In this way we’ll fulfill the Lord’s command to love our enemies and he’ll feel guilty for mistreating us, perhaps prompting a change of heart.

Forgiveness And Restoration

Q. My question is about forgiveness. What does it really mean to forgive someone? I think there are two parts to it: refusing to seek revenge for the sin committed against you, and restoring the offender to the relationship that he/she previously had with you. It is the second part that I am having a problem with. I have no problem “forgiving”, by walking away and refusing to seek revenge, but do I have to restore people (who through their hurtful actions have proven to be disloyal and untrustworthy) to previous positions of trust?

A. It’s been said that if you continue to think about how someone has hurt you, then you haven’t really forgiven them. Psychologists claim that when we re-live an event in our minds, we experience the original feelings associated with the event as well. One of God’s most amazing attributes is that He’s able to forget as well as forgive, and upon confession will immediately restore us, no matter how often it happens.

I don’t think very many humans can do that in the presence of an ongoing reminder of the past, such as the other person’s continued proximity. And I don’t read anything in the Bible requiring that of us. Forgiveness, after all, is primarily for the purpose of healing the one who’s been hurt and to cleanse him or her of the sin of anger, which the Lord equates with murder.

Where restoration is concerned, I’ve seen some cases, primarily in marriage, where the aggrieved party has eventually developed the ability to act as if no offense had been committed. It’s usually taken a fair amount of time and a lot of effort on both parts to pull that off, the one choosing not to remember and the other working to regain the trust that was violated. When it works it’s a strong testimony to the Lord’s supernatural ability to heal us.

Some are called by the Lord to express His love for a person who has wronged them. When that happens He gives them an extra measure of grace to obey. Absent such a calling and without a strong commitment from both parties to work toward restoration I don’t think there’s much chance of success.

The admonition to turn the other cheek, or give more than is demanded, was not offered in the context of restoration, but of diffusing anger and resentment. When you voluntarily choose to do more than is required, you’re acting out of volition instead of oppression.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Sin

Struggling With sin

Q. I struggle with a particular sin that seems to have a stronghold on me. I commit this particular sin because I like it. I know it is wrong but I do it anyway… because I like it After I commit this sin I feel guilty and remorseful. I repent and ask God to forgive me only to go right back and do it again. It’s as if there are two of me warring against each other. It has become a vicious cycle.

How does one stop doing something that is wrong when, if we are honest with ourselves, we like it. I like to use the analogy of pizza because I love pizza. If pizza became a sin tomorrow I would have trouble because I like it…a lot. So then, it seems to me that until I stop liking some thing I wont stop doing it. If so , then how do you stop liking something that you truly like…do you see the frustration that I’m experiencing.

Another way to look at it might be that we will always like sin and it will always be a struggle. When Jesus said we have to pick up our cross and deny ourselves daily does this mean the denial of the pleasures of sin. I just want to stop doing certain things. As Christian I feel like such a hypocrite. Sometimes it seems like I’m fighting a losing battle. I’m so frustrated!

A. First of all, stop beating yourself up. We all sin, and we all commit the same sins over and over. Even the mighty Paul had this problem. “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19)

The only hypocrites among us are those who deny they have problems similar to yours. For some it’s over eating, or drinking too much. Others can’t control their tempers, or their lusts, or their envy, or their pride. Still others have idols they can’t lay down, like their possessions, their bank accounts, or their leisure activities. If sin wasn’t pleasurable we’d have no trouble denying it. You make it sound like yours might be less socially acceptable than some others, but that’s just man’s opinion. In God’s view all sins are unacceptable.

The guilt you obviously feel is the devil trying to steal your joy. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the best way to get rid of a recurring sin is to stop giving it so much importance. The devil exploits the importance we give to our sins by heaping on extra guilt for committing them, which actually has the effect of making a repeat offense more likely. Pretty soon we feel so bad that we’re hiding from God, like Adam in the garden, and that’s just what the devil wants.

When you sin, confess and receive your forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) For God, that’s the end of it and He forgets it ever happened. You do the same. Repeat the verse from James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Guilt does not come from God. You resist the devil by seeing the guilt for what it is, his effort to drive a wedge between you and God, and rejecting it.

Pretty soon you’ll find you’re not doing it as much anymore and you’ll have deprived the devil of one more weak spot to probe. Stay focused on James 4:7, keep your guard up, and when you stumble forgive and forget, just like God does. Eventually you’ll achieve the victory you desire.

The most important thing for all of us to remember is that this life isn’t about pleasing ourselves. It’s about thanking God for saving us. We do it by adopting behavior that pleases Him.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Suicide

Is Suicide Forgivable?

Do you think the one sin not forgivable is suicide since it is a murder against the Spirit that dwells within the believer?

Do you think the one sin not forgivable is suicide since it is a murder against the Spirit that dwells within the believer?

Like Paul said, I still do the things I hate and have problems doing the things I wish I could.

With that in mind sometimes I wonder what that sin is but then I think how Christ Jesus never loses anyone, so how can we as believers commit this sin which has no pardon since we were all predestined, justified, sanctified, and gloried from the beginning.

And if by doing so meaning we were never in Christ, why would it even come to a question of pardon since the non-believer doesn’t feel the need for penitence?

A. Obviously Paul didn’t commit suicide and I don’t think he was worried about just one sin in Romans 7. He was admitting that although saved he was still a sinner. And you can’t kill the Spirit of God, just like you can’t kill the spirit of man. Both are eternal. Suicide is the murder of one’s own body.

Hebrews 10:12-14 says that Jesus died once for all time. That means all our sins, past present and future were dealt with at the cross. This includes suicide, the last sin of a person’s life. And because God knew all of our sins before we took our first breath it doesn’t take him by surprise if a believer dies at his own hand. He saw it before it happened, took it to the cross with all our other sins, and paid for it there.

The only unforgivable sin is to reject the pardon the Lord’s death made available to us, because that’s the only remedy for our sins that God has provided. If we reject that, then we’ve put ourselves outside of God’s forgiveness.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Satan's demand

Can Satan Make God Do Anything?

Q. Can Satan do anything that God does not permit, (example, Satan asking God to remove the hedge he had around Job, and limiting Satan’s actions against Job)?

A. It’s more a case of God being forced to remove His protection because of our sin. Satan can’t make Him lower our hedges arbitrarily. But if we’ve sinned and haven’t confessed, he can’t refuse if Satan asks. Remember, Job’s self-righteousness left him vulnerable, even though God said there was no one like him on Earth.

When we sin and don’t confess, God has to lower our defenses for two reasons. First He can’t be in the presence of sin, and second he wants us to confess and will permit Satan to help make that happen, subject to His limitations.

As soon as we confess, we’re forgiven, and purified from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) The hedges go back up and we’re protected again. Later, God will often find a way to turn Satan’s mischief against us into a blessing.

We’re saved for all eternity, but on Earth we’re aliens behind enemy lines and need God’s protection to avoid being singled out for torment. Seeking forgiveness every time we sin makes that possible. It also helps ensure an uninterrupted flow of blessings.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com