Preparing for the Judgment Seat of Christ

Good afternoon, everyone. Truly a very special opportunity to hear a pastorate report from another place in the world where God’s Church is. I echo Mr. Winkfield’s words, very inspiring in so many ways.

I want to jump right into the message today and want to ask you how you feel about the following phrase, the judgment seat of Christ. When was the last time you thought about it? Of the thousands of verses that exist in the Bible, those words, the judgment seat of Christ, is only found two times, so I can understand that you may not think about it all the time. But think how many times have you thought about that? Maybe recently, maybe not at all. Maybe it’s been a long time since you’ve either heard it or remembered it or thought about it.

Both times were statements made by the Apostle Paul. One time he included it in his letter to the Romans, the brethren in Rome, and the other time, he made the declaration in the Book of Corinthians. Now, I want you imagine for a moment appearing before the judgment seat of Christ just by yourself. What feelings might be racing through your mind as you’re standing there? Think about the scene. All the host of heaven is standing there, and it’s just you in front of the judgment seat of Christ, and God the Father is standing there watching or sitting there watching, observing what’s going to take place. What feelings might be racing through your mind right now as you picture yourself alone in that scene?

Maybe the first thing that popped in is, “Oh.” Maybe fear. Maybe for some, there was maybe a snippet of, “That’s terrifying to think about. Wait, I haven’t thought about that.” Maybe it’s joy, maybe happiness. Maybe it’s a mixture of all of those. Let’s turn to one of them in Second Corinthians chapter five. Now, the context begins in verse one, and the Apostle Paul is speaking about two bodies. He’s speaking about the physical one that we currently have that we’re living this life in and the spiritual one that he says in the verses after verse one, that was made in heaven by God himself. And the Apostle Paul makes it clear that we all long, it says earnestly groan, and we’ll come back to that in a moment, to be clothed with what? That eternal house that He’s prepared for each and every one of us that’s reserved in heaven for all of us.

But meanwhile, Paul goes on to say, while that’s waiting for us in heaven, we walk by faith, living out the remainder of our time here in these physical bodies that we currently have. And all of this is a setup for verse nine, what we’re about to read. He says, “Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” Now, wherefore, you can translate yourself for this reason. For all the reasons that I just spoke about, Paul says we labor, we live out our lives for that purpose of that maybe one day or maybe we be accepted of him.

And I like... What’s powerful for me in the Bible are those conditional statements because it’s about the consequences that come with the actions that we take. And so, it oftentimes will perk up my ears and think, what’s being driven home here? For example, in verse three, there’s a conditional statement, you can read it that way, “If so being clothed, we shall not be found naked.” Verse four, “That mortality might be swallowed up by life.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I read these conditional verses, it serves as a reminder for me personally when I read them that what we do with our lives now in these current physical bodies will have an impact on what occurs in verse ten. And here it is, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone that may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Let’s not stop there. Let’s not leave out verse eleven, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” How do you feel about the judgment seat of Christ now? Do you feel the same? Maybe a little worse, maybe a little better?

Regardless of how you feel now, brethren, by the end of the message, you will know how to feel wonderful about the judgment seat of Christ. Now, I’m not guaranteeing through this message that you will feel great about the judgment seat of Christ, but you will know how you can feel better or great about the judgment seat of Christ. Before we go to Romans, which is that other example, we’re going to look at verse two here because this is going to take us to a stopping point before, we get to that other verse in the Bible. Verse two, it says, and I mentioned it earlier, “For this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house,” that’s the eternal one that’s mentioned, “which is from heaven,” made by God of course, “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

Now, when I was thinking about these words and I was reading them carefully, I thought, “What a moment.” I thought about being clothed, whether it be by God himself or members of the heavenly host, or Christ, whatever the case may be, being clothed in eternity, potentially by God. Then I was reading here, “Not to be found naked,” and it began to paint in my mind a powerful picture. It was strong enough a picture in my mind that it reminded me of the only other time, the only time that I know of, I believe, God ever clothed human beings. That’s takes us to Genesis three. Let’s go over to Genesis three and look at when God clothed human beings.

Genesis chapter three in verse twenty-one, just two verses here. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin.” It says here, “God clothed them.” God himself. “And the Lord God said, ‘behold the man is become as one of us. He now understands that there is good and evil.’” He knows it. Now, did you notice that before? I think it’s an interesting parallel with what Paul declared in Second Corinthians chapter five. It’s interesting. Because we accepted Christ’s sacrifice for our personal lives, we have been forwarded the opportunity by God to qualify to become God beings.

We have an opportunity now to do something, to be accepted by God now and later at the judgment seat of Christ, and hopefully be clothed by God at that moment in time. That time in that future, it won’t be coats of skin, it’ll be with our eternal bodies. That is what we need to focus on. What took place with Adam and Eve, brethren, reveals one of the most important things that God wants in our lives, so that we can look at that future moment with great joy, with great gladness. We’re going to look at that and see what God wants in our personal lives, our individual lives and collective lives, that will make us look at the judgment seat like we’ve never looked at it before.

Let’s go over to chapter two. Chapter two in verse seven, “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living soul. And He planted a garden eastward in Eden; and put the man there.” Verse fifteen, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden to dress it and keep it.” Here in verse 16, “And God commanded the man.” This is prior to Eve coming into existence. He says, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat,” that’s good, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it.” That’s bad. “For the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die.” Here comes the very next words. “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone, and I will make a help meet for him.’”

Now brethren, we know this all too well, that God wants to produce a family made up of human beings who have been given the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to qualify to become God beings. We know that. We heard last week a wonderful message about how to have a happy marriage and its divine purpose. How to prepare for it, have a happy one. Wonderful message. God accomplishes His divine plan to reproduce himself through marriages that produce families that live according to God’s way. That’s God’s divine purpose of bringing man and woman into the scene together.

He designed us at the outset with the necessary body parts to accomplish that. What a wonderful message and way of thinking of God’s divine plan. My question is, is this the only reason God said, “It is not good that man should be alone”? Was there another purpose? Is there something else that God was alluding to when He made that statement about Adam? Well, let’s consider the following. God said this immediately following his command to Adam. “Eat from all of these trees, partake of any one of them. Just don’t eat from that one.” It was in that context that God made the command or gave the command or the statement, “It is not good that man be alone.”

God had no intention of being with Adam twenty-four-seven, every day of the year. He wasn’t going to babysit him and hold his hands day in and day out to ensure that He obeyed that command. God wasn’t concerned about which tree he ate. “Oh, only eat from that tree on Monday, and that one on Tuesday, and that one on Wednesday.” He had free reign to eat however he saw fit, but he wasn’t allowed to touch that one tree, and everything, think about it, everything was riding on it. Life and death was riding on that one tree. It was in that context that God made the statement, because how in the world was, He going to test Adam’s character if He was there all the time holding his hand saying, “Oh wait, remember I told you, don’t touch that. Remember I told you, don’t touch that.” That’s not how God was going to work out his plan, so He made him a helpmeet.

Now we can fast forward, and we’ll go back to chapter three because things didn’t turn out so well, did it? If we think about it. We read now that Eve is alone. God said it’s not good that man should be alone, but He was speaking of the woman too. It’s not good that man be alone. It’s not good that we be alone. Satan, who’s a lying, stealing murderer, we know that, entices Eve into thinking that she can become like God in a way or in a fashion that He never permitted. This is the very woman that God gave to Adam to aid him. If Satan can take her out, think about it, if Satan can take her out, where’s Adam left? He’s left what? Alone. And it’s not good that man to be alone, because the penalty was death.

So, it should be apparent to us at this point, rather, because it was to Satan that man’s greatest vulnerability is to be alone. Now, in today’s day and age, with our cell phones and our YouTube videos, and whatever it is they have on televisions, and sports, and everything on TV we can watch, and those apps, some of you may say, “Well, what’s so wrong with being by ourselves?” I like being by myself. Now, I’m not speaking of myself because I like to be around people. My wife is more of an introvert. I’m more of an extrovert. She gets her energy from being alone. I get my energy from being around people. We kind of complement one another.

But some of you may say, “Well, what’s wrong with being alone by ourselves?” Or if you’re married, “We have each other.” Well, is that enough? We saw what happened. We know how it turned out. Even when Adam joined Eve, things got worse, not better. So even if you’re married couples, is that enough for what God wants? Because both ended up doing what they were told not to do.

Verse eight here in Genesis three. “And they heard the voice of the Lord who was walking in the garden in the cool of day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from among the trees, from the presence of God. And God called Adam, and asked, ‘Where are you?’” Now, here is where human nature, in one of its many ugly forms, comes on full display. Of all the firsts that Adam experienced, he was the first husband. Think about that. He has bragging rights on that. He was the first dad. He has bragging rights on that too. First grandfather. I’m sure there were a lot of firsts being the first man to exist on the planet. Same would apply for Eve.

We think about the first man to climb Mount Everest or the first woman to fly the transatlantic. We think about the first man to step on the moon. Those are a lot of great firsts, but one of the first, the very first that Adam had to experience is, brethren, he was the very first human to be held to account by God. And it was obvious, by what we read here, I don’t think he wanted that first on his resume. I don’t think that he would want that for everyone to read again and again and again. Who would? Would you? I wouldn’t want that as one of my firsts. The first to have to give account to God as a human being.

And similar to all of us, we don’t like to be held to account either. You wonder what Adam was feeling at that moment, right? God calls him, and He says to him, “Here.” After God asked, “Where are you?” verse ten, Adam said, “I hear your voice and was afraid, because I was naked; so, I hid.” And God asked, “Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat. And he said, The woman whom you gave me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

Now, understandably, he was afraid. He disobeyed God’s command. Now he’s beginning to see himself and his relationship with God very differently at that point. And think about what he may be thinking. Do you think maybe he had feelings of relief when God immediately turned to Eve and he goes, “That was quick. Phew. I’m glad I got through that one.” And how do you think Eve felt too when God asked her to give account as well and He turned to the serpent? “That was quick.” We can all be like this, brethren. We have a tough time when we’re being held to account. It’s not easy, but it’s a little bit easier when somebody else is being held to account, if we’re really honest about that.

“Wow, I’m glad that wasn’t me.” Have you ever thought of that? “Phew” You don’t want to wish that on anybody, but certainly, those feelings can cross your mind when somebody’s being called to account. You are just thankful for that. Even, Brethren, we can be to the extent even before something happens in our life, just the thought of the judgment seat of Christ, just the thought of having to give account in our lives, whether it be in our employment or in the Church, or in a relationship, or whatever, it can provoke fear. We can actually fear the idea of actually having to give account for a mistake or a fault that we committed. And if and when, it’s not a question of if, it’s more a question of when we do commit a fault and we know it’s coming, we can be overcome with the feeling of embarrassment. I’m embarrassed by having to give account for something I did.

And even at times, have you ever felt this? You’re being held to account for something, and you start to feel anger. You’re angry either at yourself or at the person because you don’t like who’s holding you to account or you don’t like the idea that anybody’s holding you to account and maybe for something you don’t think you’ve done wrong. Brethren, those are all feelings of human nature. When we feel fear or embarrassment or unjustified anger for being held to account, those are natural, and it makes perfect sense. Satan sure does not want to be held to account by anyone, not even himself, because he understands what it is to be held to account by God, both good and bad.

Now, here’s a simple way of looking at accountability. Think about it. And you could apply this to anything that we learn in God’s way. If you can safely conclude that Satan does not like something, if he hates something, it’s probably something we should learn to like. If Satan doesn’t like to be held to account, then we must find a way to welcome the idea of being held to account in our own lives. And brethren, if we learn to do that, we’re going to see the judgment seat of Christ completely differently. So today I want to examine accountability, its importance, its benefits, and if it’s used properly, how it’ll change our feelings about that moment at the judgment seat of Christ.

So, let’s start with a definition. It’s always helpful sometimes, and this will carry us through the message. Held to account means to require an explanation from someone for his or her actions, good or bad. Let me repeat that. To require an explanation from someone, for his or her actions. It’s that simple. Good or bad. But the key here is to require, it’s a demand. You must fulfill it. You are demanded to give a response or an explanation for why it is you did what you did or said what you said.

Now, when we do definition, sometimes it’s helpful to explain what a word does not mean, and in this instance is important. This will carry us through the message as well. Being held to account is not the same as being judged. Make a note of that. Being held to account is not the same as being judged, and this is going to become clear as we go. But you think of a courtroom, if an accused is found in a courtroom to be guilty, or he’s standing there as a defendant before the judge, the judge demands an explanation for what happened. And depending upon that explanation and how it’s given, even the judge then can determine what kind of sentence he’s going to pronounce on that individual. That’s the difference. One is the demand that you give an explanation. Separate and apart from that is the judgment that’s made on that individual.

Now, I remember I saw a video recently to illustrate that point. Literally, it was days ago. There was this elderly man about ninety-four/ninety-five years of age, and he’s sitting in a courtroom in a suit. I couldn’t see everybody else who was in the courtroom, but I’ve been to a courtroom and people don’t dress as they should in a courtroom nowadays, but this elderly man in his nineties was sitting there meek and trembling at what was going on.

And the judge, who was speaking to him, he knew that he was accused of speeding, so he addresses the elderly man, he goes, “Sir, why were you speeding?” Now, let’s set aside for the moment the old man looked up and says, “I wasn’t speeding,” and he denied the charges. And he went on, the judge demanded more explanation. He says, “What were you doing?” And the old man said, “I was traveling to the pharmacy to purchase medication for my son for his cancer.”

And the camera’s going back and forth between the two, and you can see the judge was moved at that moment. And the tone shifted, and he says, “You’re getting medication for your son who has cancer?” “Yes, Your Honor.” He said, “How old’s your son?” And he said, “Sixty-something.” “Sixty-something years old, and you’re driving to the pharmacy at ninety-something years of age to help your son.” He says, “Yes, Your Honor.” And the judge said, “To everyone in the courtroom, we need more people like that in this world. The charges are dismissed. I wish you well, and I wish your son well.”

Brethren, that’s the difference between accountability and judgment. I reckon to guess he was guilty, but the judge had it in his full authority to make a determination, and he made that determination after the man gave account for his actions. So how broad and reaching is being held to account by God? How broad is it? Let me ask it this way. Who all will be held to account by God? Now we can turn to Romans fourteen for that second verse.

Romans fourteen in verse ten. “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you set it not?” That means despise 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 every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Now the Apostle Paul was holding the brethren in Rome to account for judging one another. And where did he get this idea, this far-fetched idea that we shouldn’t judge one another?

We’ll get to that in a moment, but he was not judging them. He was holding them to account. He was asking them, demanding that they explain themselves for judging one another.

But before, obviously, they could give an answer because they probably received in a letter and somebody was trembling as they were reading this from Paul at this point, before they could give an excuse, before they could maybe assign blame to someone else in the congregation, God inspires Paul to tell them, maybe for the first time. Maybe this is the first time the Romans were understanding this knowledge. Maybe it’s a repetition of something they had known before. But he says to them, “Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess.”

And that, what he was saying, means for you, what it means for all of us, that includes us. Each of us will do the same and give account to God. No exceptions in the Church of God.

Let’s turn to Hebrews thirteen, because all of us are going to give account to God one day. But within us, the Church, there is a group that’s called out that has special mention. Hebrews thirteen and verse seventeen. “Obey them that have rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your lives, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you.” This is a verse we oftentimes read, or we occasionally read to the brethren because it’s an important instruction to the Church. Obedience and submission to God’s government and the implication that it has. When the membership obeys and submits to God’s government, it brings joy. It avoids grief. But my main point here is that ministers and our wives included and ministers who don’t have wives are singled out by God. Think about that. God’s government, his ministers are by no means any exception to this rule of being accountable to God and we know that. In fact, actually, we’re held to a higher standard of accountability before God. We’ll have to give account.

Consider James and what he said in, you can write that down, chapter three and verse one. He warns that instructors, and he includes himself in that, shall receive greater condemnation. And then think about the watchman and Ezekiel. The Ezekiel warning. The responsibility and burden that’s laid on his shoulders. The watchman must sound and warn a people because he will be held to account for their blood if he does not warn them. Think about that. Now, here’s an interesting thing to note regarding being accountable to God. Even though, and we know that’s not going to be the case, the watchman wouldn’t warn those people, the people still die.

They don’t get a free pass because they were not warned. It says they die in their iniquities. But think about the responsibility that’s on the head and the shoulders of God’s ministry and his leadership as we try and navigate with all of you to this wonderful moment of standing before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul included himself here just like he included himself in Romans fourteen. So that is the Church, brethren. Every one of us in the body of Christ, particularly God’s government, is ministry, but mark down Matthew twenty-five. These are verses that we know so well. It tells us that all nations will be gathered as sheep and goats before Christ who’s called the king. They will literally be held, gathered and held to give account before Christ.

And finally in Revelation twenty, the white throne judgment. Different scenario. Different scene. John wrote, “And I saw the dead, small and great.” There’s not a mighty man that has walked on this earth or the smallest of smallest that have walked on this earth that one day will not have to give account to God. We will all sooner or later have to give account to God. It says in Revelation twenty that books will be opened, including the Book of Life, from which those individuals at that moment in time are going to have to give account.

So, brethren, regardless of when, regardless of where a man or a woman is resurrected in God’s plan, every single one of us will have to give account to God. So, what can we do about it now? Is there anything we can do about it in this walk? Of course. So, let’s ask the second question. We all have to give account to God. Let’s ask the second. What will you and I be held accountable for? Big question. And I’m only going to point to three. There’s plenty that I could point to.

Some of the previous scriptures that we were looking at touched on them, and literally, I could give, and this is a disclaimer and ministers have given it, as long as you’ve been in the Church, you’ve heard the same thing told again and again. Sermons. You could dedicate sermons, multiple sermons, on each of the three points. I’m just going to go through just a few scriptures. Let’s turn to First Peter four. Brethren, this is what we’re going to be held accountable for. If I’m going to be held to account, and we know we are, then I want to know what I’m going to be held to account for so that I can maybe do something about it now.

First Peter four and verse one. “For as much as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind, for He,” and you could replace it with the word you, “for you that have suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin.” Brethren, when we cease from sin, when we stop sinning, our flesh suffers. So that’s a good kind of suffering. We want our flesh to suffer. Verse two, “That you no longer live the rest of your time.”

So, from the moment that they gained that knowledge, from when it was heard in the ears, or read in the ears of the members who were reading this or hearing this from Peter, the Apostle Peter says, “Now from the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For in the past, we might have been okay with lasciviousness, lusts, too much wine, reveling, banqueting,” banqueting means just partying, “and abominable idolatries, wherein they...” And here’s the “they.” The “they” are everyone outside, family, friends, work, colleagues. It says, “…they think it’s strange you do not run with them to the same excess.” “Why aren’t you doing the same things with us that you used to?”

He goes on to say, “Speaking evil of you.” Criticizing you for it. Talking about you behind their back because you’ve changed the way you’ve decided to live your life. It’s not easy walking this way. There’s a lot of pressures to do these things that are talked about. But it says here in verse five, “Speaking evil of us, who,” referring to us, “shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”

So the first thing that we’re going to be held to account for, brethren, in our lives is what we do to or with our bodies. Good or bad, thinking back to Second Corinthians five. But it says here, that phrase, but to the will of God. The great thing about God’s word, we’re not left to wonder what God’s will is not. And this is just a short list. What not to do with our bodies.

But it’s not just Peter, it’s the entire Bible. From the moment that Adam chose to take of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and understanding that there’s good and evil, God now spent millennia teaching us, trying to communicate to mankind what the difference is. “This is good. Do it. This is evil. Don’t do it.” Because we now have knowledge that there’s evil. But just define for me what evil is so that I can obey not to do it. That’s what the Scriptures are about. That’s what the Bible is about in its most simple form.

Brethren, the Bible condemns fornication, adultery, homosexuality, incest, bestiality, gluttony, murder, theft, physical violence, all sins of the body, things that can be done to or with the body. And God says, “You shall not.” And if we stick to what it says and we don’t entertain the question, just like Eve entertained the question, from our friends, from our families. “Ah, did God really say you would die for all of this?” The answer is, “Yes.” That’s what He said. There’s no changing that. And because He judges what I do in my body, I will resist my friends and my family to do the things that I just mentioned.

That’s our bodies. Matthew twelve. Matthew twelve. Again, we could read verse after verse, after verse of things that we should not do with our bodies and what we should do with our bodies. Matthew twelve and verse thirty-six. This is Christ speaking to the Pharisees, beginning up in verse twenty-four, and He says, “But I say unto you,” your religious folks who understand the Scriptures, “every idle word that men speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”

Brethren, God designed us human beings with mouths and this little thing right in there, that little muscular structure. And He gave us the ability to speak words just like Him. And when I say, “Just like Him,” I’m not referring to just the ability to say words. God wants His Church; He wants all of us to communicate like Him to the standard that He would expect us to.

Think about the extraordinary things that God accomplished with just His words. Think about the extraordinary things that we accomplish with our words. We can produce wonderful things with what comes out of this mouth, and we can produce horrendous, terrible things with what comes out of our mouth. And I’m just not referring to bad words. It’s how we communicate with one another. That’s why God gives so many instructions about this little device here.

Let me spot through James one. Write that down. He tells us all to be slow to speak. Ephesians four, “Don’t speak corrupt things amongst yourselves, but only such as is good for building up one another.” Proverbs twenty-five, eleven tells us that the word fitly spoken. Incredible word there.

Brethren, we are people of truth. Are we not to speak truth at all times? We’re not supposed to lie. We’re supposed to be people of truth, but this says a word fitly spoken. It’s not talking about necessarily what, we speak truth all the time. What it’s referring to is when it is said, to whom it’s said, how it is said.

Sometimes you can do as much damage speaking the truth to the wrong person at the wrong time, in the wrong situation, than the actual issue that you’re trying to help them through. You can actually cause more damage. A word fitly spoken. When, to whom, and how are just as important as the truth when it comes to communicating like God. Proverbs fifteen, one instructs that a “soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” Same thing. You can administer truth to someone, but you can do it in a way that’s grievous, delivered in a way that stirs up a person to be angry rather than to soften the situation, diffuse the situation.

We’re even instructed how to talk to people outside the Church. Colossians four, six. It says it instructs us to “always speak with grace”. Oh, the word always is in there. Those are always those little borders, you know. Always? Every situation. Yes, always, it said. Not me. And our words “seasoned with salt.” So, in the end, we’ll be held to account not only for what we do to and with our bodies and what we say, but we’re also going to be held to account for a third thing. James four.

I said we’re overarching, and you understand now that we could sermon after sermon about how we talk. Sermon after sermon, message after message about what we do to and with our bodies. James four, seventeen. If that’s not enough, verse seventeen, “To him that knows to do good and does it not to him, it is sin.” Not only we are accountable for what we do to and with our bodies, not only we are accountable for what we say, what comes out of this mouth, but if we know something’s good to do and we don’t do it, if we know something’s good to say and we don’t say it, not fighting against when and to whom and how, it’s sin.

We could go to Luke nineteen, brethren, to the pounds judgment. Recall the servant who was asked to explain what he did. He was held to account for what he did when he put that pound in his napkin and hid it, but we’re going to go to Matthew twenty-five. Matthew twenty-five, and verse forty-one. This is addressing the goats. “And he shall say also unto them, the goats, on his left hand, depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepare for the devil and his angels for I was hungry, and you gave me no meat, thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger to you and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”

Now, brethren, even if Matthew twenty-five applies to others at another time in God’s plan and we know that our mission is spiritual in that regards, it says that these people we held to account for six things. And I’m sure there will be more at stake, but six things they didn’t do. Not six things they did do, it’s six things they didn’t do. Christ is judging them for not doing good when they should have. And I’m sure they knew that they should have been doing that, or God would not have judged them for it.

What about us? So many needs, so many ways that we can serve. And I know we’re doing it. We just have to keep our eyes open to do good when we see it, to act, to move, to not let it pass us by. Because this area right here will blindside a lot of people. Yes, we recognize when we do something wrong to or with our bodies. Yes, we recognize when we put our foot into this part of our anatomy. “Oh, I forgot. Oh, you’re calling me to account for not doing that?” “Yes, that too.”

Brethren, we have to be on the lookout to serve and to do things. When you see something good and it is an opportunity to serve and help, do it. God has given that standard to us. What a privilege we have. Brethren, we need to be accountable to God now. Period. That’s how we overcome. That’s how we avoid being accountable at the end. We can be accountable to God now. But you may be asking, “How? How can we be accountable to God now?” It’s a big question. It’s an important one. Well, I’m not going to leave it a mystery.

Here’s how we can be held to account by God now. By holding ourselves to account, and by allowing others to hold us to account as well. Because God is not here right now like He would have been with Adam. He’s not here watching or walking with us twenty-four-seven, holding our hands to ensure we’re doing all the things we should be doing, and avoiding, importantly, all the things we shouldn’t be. So how do we become accountable to God now? It’s by holding ourselves to account individually and collectively with one another.

So let’s start with arguably the single most important person that you should allow to hold you to account every day. Second Corinthians thirteen. This is the single-most important person that you should allow in your life to hold you to account every day. It should be easy to guess coming off of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Second Corinthians thirteen. We need to have an attitude that welcomes accountability in our lives. We have to have that mentality. It’s hard because nobody likes to be held to account, but we must.

“Examine yourselves...” verse five, “...whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know you not how Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates?” I said this was going to be an easy one. The first most-important person who should require an explanation, demand an explanation about our actions and help us recognize what we need to change. It’s the same person. I’ll spell it for you. I’ll spell their name. You want to write this down? Capital M, Capital E, ME. That’s the most important person. I mean not me-me, you-me, and you-me, and you-me. Not me- me. Me is for me. A lot of me-me’s in here.

And this word “examine” in the Greek, it means “peirazō”. It means to scrutinize and try. We must scrutinize regularly, question ourselves, demand answers of ourselves, not just let it pass. No, you’re not leaving my courtroom until you answer that question.

In addition to word and in addition to examine, Paul tells us to prove ourselves. That “prove” in the Greek is dokimazō and it’s even stronger than the word to examine. This word can mean to test as in metals, just like blacksmiths. If a blacksmith wants to know the quality and the standard of a metal, he just doesn’t sit there and examine it, and visualize it, and lick it or smell it. What’s he do? He subjects it to intense fire and hammers it to see if it’ll hold up, to test its purity. And here’s the kicker of all this, this verse appears to indicate that God is not our blacksmith. Who’s the blacksmith in your life? Me. Not me-me, you-me. You’re your blacksmith.

It’s your responsibility, and any blacksmith worth his wait loves his craft. It’s hard work, but he loves what he does. Brethren, we should enjoy applying our lives to that kind of intense scrutiny, examination. And we do this with the most intense fire available to us and that is the Word of God. Jeremiah twenty-three says, we don’t have to go there, he asked as he was criticizing against the prophets of Jerusalem, “Is not my word like as a fire...” Says the Lord. “...and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” What a powerful picture that painted. Those are exactly the tools of a blacksmith. God likens His word to a fire and a hammer, able to break rocks into pieces.

One of the primary reasons we should be using God’s Word, obviously, is to gain knowledge about the truth, but it’s to continuously test whether or not a particular area of our personal life is pure, it’s sincere. Remember back to Second Corinthians thirteen? If it reflects Christ in us, that’s the standard. God’s holy righteous character, is it truly in us and how does that look in practical terms?

Let me just cite a couple of things. How many of you can read that we should keep the Sabbath? But you got to hammer and submit it to fire on whether or not you’re keeping it how God wants. I can read murder is bad, but I got a hammer and I got to submit my life to fire to answer the question, why am I hating that individual or despising that person?

Is Christ in me? What’s the answer? I can read that I’m supposed to go a mile if I’m asked to, but what about the extra mile when I’m not asked to? I want an answer. Me? Is Christ in me? These are the kind of questions that the scriptures are meant to help us with. I call it the fantastic four, I mention it often. I must love my enemies, bless those that curse me, do good to them that hate me, pray for those who despitefully use me, am I doing all those things? Brethren, God’s word is like a fire and a hammer that can break and melt the hardest areas of our hearts. And the word of God is only effective, those books on your laps are effective if you apply it.

And it’s only as effective as the intensity with which you apply the fire and the hammer. And that’s the standard that God wants us to hold ourselves to. Brethren, you are the first and most important person that should be holding you to account, but we really have to work at it.

Okay. Next, maybe we can accept that God holds me to account, and I realize that if I hold myself to account now, if I do the job I’m supposed to do, He’s going to require less later. That’s great. Wonderful. I should do it. Right? I mean, I’m working like a blacksmith and I’m testing every area of my life, questioning and demanding answers and if I don’t like the answers, I change. Great. Do I really have to? Am I required to? Should I have to explain myself to anyone else?

Is it really anyone else’s business, my Christian walk? What I say, what I do, what I choose not to do, who’s going to tell me outside of the word what’s good and what’s bad? I can read it. I got this Christian thing. I’ve got it down pat. I’ve got all the knowledge. That’s precisely why God said, “It is not good that man be alone.” It is not good for you or me to be alone.

Why? Because we struggle at that, being a blacksmith. We don’t get it right all the time. We’re working at it, we’re getting better and better, but we’re not perfect at it and there’s a danger if we only answer to ourselves. Think about Jeremiah seventeen, nine. What’s the warning there? “Our heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked.” Think of Eve. She was put in Adam’s life to be an aid in many areas, to ensure that Adam did his part obeying God’s command, not to do the thing that he was not supposed to.

How did that turn out? Satan took her out. Think about David. Go after example after example, David, who committed horrendous sins, all fueled by his desire to be with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, to have her for himself. You could speculate that part of the problem is that David got to a point, and he was a king. He had to write the law to be a king. He was a man after God’s heart, but you could argue that maybe he thought that he didn’t have to answer to anyone else except for himself.

Think about Saul. Not once, at least twice, and more occasions. What did Saul do? Saul disobeyed God. You could argue part of the problem is that Saul got so big, bigger than he was already, physically speaking, and he didn’t want to answer, didn’t have to answer to anyone else except for himself. After all, I’m the king. Now, those are extreme examples, right, brethren? We’re not like that. We’re not kings. We never consider ourselves sovereign in our own kingdom, do we?

Brethren, what did God do? He sent Nathan and he sent Samuel, help meets in their lives. To do what? How did they help them? They held them to account. One responded wonderfully, David, and repented. He didn’t get all big in himself. Saul didn’t respond so well. Brethren, how will we respond when God places various help meets in our lives when we’re held to account by people that maybe you least expect or least want? How many do you think help meets God want in your life? How many do you think you need? A lot? One, two, three?

Well, here’s what I think about it. The more people I am around who are striving to live God’s way the better, because your mere presence in my life holds me to account. Your examples hold me to account, speak loudly to me. There are occasions when you’ll maybe find yourself holding each other to account in a very situation, we’ll get to that, but just being in your presence holds me to account, holds me to a standard that I can look at and say, “I should be living that standard.”

Truly the phrase, the more the merrier applies here. You know, I have such respect for the shut-ins. Just imagine for yourself, quick example, imagine yourself repeatedly alone on the Sabbath. How you keep it might begin to slip, but how we keep it here on the Sabbath, it’s good. It’s wonderful. Why? Because we’re together. We’re like-minded. You know, consciously or not consciously, we’re watching over one another. We’re not spying on one another, and even amongst us, there might be fakers. We’ve had fakers come in through here.

But I’ve got to give them credit. They actually look like a duck. As long as he’s quacking like a duck, as long as she’s walking like a duck, and the reason they’re doing it is because they’re around real ducks because if at any time they squawked or whatever the sound a buzzard makes, one of the real ducks would say, “Hey, wait a second, you’re not a real duck.” We get credit for sounding like one. Brethren, the worst examples, or the best examples, to illustrate my point, are the people who leave. They just faked it. They didn’t hold themselves to account, nor did they allow the presence of the brethren to hold them to the standard that God required.

Brethren, this is all about being alone and not being it because God wants us all to hold one another to account. Why? Because we’re all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and whether it’s your turn or your turn, or your turn, or your turn, we can all think in our minds, we did it together. We made it. We helped each other by holding each other to account regarding God’s way. That’s why we should never forsake the fellowshipping.

That’s why we should not forsake participating in all the activities that we should participate in. This is crucial, brethren. Accountability in our lives now is one of the most crucial elements to making it. That’s why one buddy or one friend is just not going to cut it. That’s why if you have a spouse in the Church, that is not going to cut it. It’s not enough. You need a lot and you need it across various areas of your lives. Not just in the Church. Outside the Church. Our relationships at home, think about it.

If I want to be successful at home, I’m in the Church and people live with me, obviously, in the Church, too, but some of you have members that are not in the Church, but your relationships at home, at work, socially, in the Church, outside the Church, they’re all in place. God has allowed them to be put in place. People in those arenas that help hold you to account. If they’re not helping hold you to account to God’s way, then it’s time to change that relationship or that friendship or distance yourself enough that you’re safe, but there are good people out there that you probably work with. Decent individuals who can be a mentor, that can help you.

People that you can trust that will hold you to the standard of the company with integrity. People that are committed to helping us stay on course. Get us back on track if we derail. Catch us if we begin to slip. Pick us up if we fall because it’s all about accountability. So, in any area, this is important, we need a healthy number of healthy relationships. Not just one or two, but a lot of people in our lives. Spouses. I want to make this caveat. Husbands are still the head of their wives. Even though I’m accountable to my wife for what God says or how I should be as a husband to her.

I can be accountable to my wife, but that doesn’t change our roles in any way, shape, or form. Society likes to blend those things. If you’re accountable to me, I’m your boss. No. That has nothing to do with it. I work in the business and accounting office, and we have fourteen members. We hold each other to account. It’s an environment where accountability is crucial. It’s paramount. I am accountable to the staff. The staff is accountable to me. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m the director, they have a manager. We help each other. Employees, bosses, managers, supervisors. Oh, Mr. Houk said I can hold him accountable or her accountable. You didn’t hear that from me.

Bosses, managers, supervisors are still the head of the company staff. Accountability does not in any way, shape, or form change the rules that God has put in place, and that is a wonderful understanding. Children, your parents are still the head of the household and you still have to honor them, but raising my daughters or having my daughters in the house, I am accountable to them in terms of my role as a father. I have an accountability towards them, but that doesn’t change our role, our relationship.

So, as we look at each other to help each other, to hold each other accountable as we look to others in our lives that can hold us to account and we’re oftentimes in a role where we’re holding others to account, here are some things to keep in mind. We’ve talked about us being accountable to God. We talked about the fact that we’ll be accountable for is what we do to and with our bodies and what we say and what we don’t do. We talked about the fact that the most important person to hold you accountable every single day is you yourself. But you need many more in every area of your life to hold you to account that’s here to work, to make you successful, to reach the goal.

And here are some rules of the rule when it comes to holding each other to account because this is crucial as well. Matthew seven. Remember, where did Paul get this idea in Romans fourteen about not judging one another? Where did it come from? Remember he asked, “Why do you judge your brother?”

Matthew seven. Verse one. “Judge not that you are not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you use against others, it shall also be used to measure you. And why beholdest the mote... And that’s a dry twig, a piece of straw in your brother’s eye can be even beam speck. But consider not the beam, the timber log in your own eye. Or how will you say to your brother, let me pull the moat out of your eye. And behold, a beam is in your own eye. Hypocrite. You hypocrite. First cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast out the moat of your brother’s eye.”

Brethren, Paul was holding the Romans to account for passing judgment on each other because Christ commanded us not to do it. God in flesh, made in the likeness of man, had to live his entire life without sinning. And while He was here, He did not judge. John three, seventeen. You can mark it down. We don’t have to go there. “For God sent not His son into the world to condemn it, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Goes several chapters later. John twelve, forty-seven. “If any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not for I came not to judge the world, but to save it.” Go some chapters back in John eight, ten. “Has no man condemned you?” Speaking to the woman who was caught in adultery, her response was, “No man, Lord.” And Christ said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Brethren, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” That’s in Philippians. If we judge others, we are not like Christ. We do not have His mind. But be not mistaken. Christ’s ministry was all about holding people to account. And nobody better than Jesus Christ to remove moats and beams out of the eyes of everyone he encountered. He held the adulterers to account. He held the Pharisees to account. He held his disciples to account. He questioned them, asked them, demand them answers. “Who do you say I am? Give an explanation.”

Brethren, we cannot judge. If we understand that difference between judgment and accountability, we’re well on our way. There is a singular purpose... Next. There is a singular purpose for holding people to account and a proper way to do it. Galatians chapter six. There is a singular purpose for holding people to account and a proper way to do it. Verse one. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual…” and you got to read in between the lines here, hold them to account, but with the intent to restore such a one. How? “…In the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.”

Brethren, holding people to account in your life or being held to account is not meant to destroy. The singular purpose of holding ourselves to account each and every one of us, even ourselves, is to restore. We don’t get this knowledge. We don’t hold ourselves to account to destroy ourselves, it’s to restore or repair men. That’s what that word means. But, of course, when you’re holding someone to account, it’s if they want to. And we’ll get to that momentarily.

We are here to restore one another. If any one of us are overtaken in a fault, and I can replace the word if and put when. That’s what we’re here to do, to restore one another. Why? Because we’re trying to reach the judgment seat of Christ together and see it differently. You could say, “Well, Mr. Houk, that’s always been my intent. When I hold somebody to account, I want to restore them.” My question is, “Are you doing it in meekness?” You can be firm. There’s nothing wrong with being angry when someone commits a fault, but you got to process it, and when you go to hold them to account, because we must, are you doing it in a spirit of meekness?

And I don’t mean flowery and wishy-washy. “Oh, I’d like to speak to you for a moment about something you did to me.” We’re not talking about that. “Hey, could we talk? I’ve been wrestling with something. I think it’s important that we go over something.” Completely different. When you say it that way, you’re projecting that in person that you’re carrying the fruit of the spirit, meekness, one of the fruits of the spirit, which is meekness. In other words, it’s you, today, that I have an issue with and I’d like some answers, but it could be me tomorrow being held to account for you on a certain matter. We’re in this all together, and that’s why we’re doing it.

Brethren, if we don’t allow that to click in our minds, we’ll have difficulty holding each other to account in the way that we should. It’s going to be difficult. We’re going to be angry. We’re going to be fearful. We’re going to be embarrassed and we can’t think that way. We must hold each other to account with the purpose of restoration. That’s my purpose. That’s why I’m doing it. I want to restore our relationship. I want to restore what happened, and I wouldn’t do it in a spirit of meekness, indicating to that individual, “Hey, listen, if it’s tomorrow that you need to hold me into account, well, we’ll get there, but let’s do it right now between you and me.”

And this applies to people outside the Church. What? When you hold people to account, the purpose is to repair, to restore. What? Against the person that I’m competing against for a position in the company? Yes, that’s how Christ would think. You’ve got to restore. We’ve got to repair, and we have to do it with meekness. Again, that’s not a wallflower or soft. No, it’s with firmness. It’s with intent. I want to restore this. We need to talk. We need to get through this.

And finally, follow the most important steps. Matthew eighteen. This next verse is so underused in the Church or done incorrectly, and it’s so important because it speaks to accountability. It has everything to do with accountability. It has the greatest impact on how we will feel about the judgment seat of Christ. This is where accountability tends to break down.

Matthew eighteen fifteen. “Moreover, if your brother trespasses against you…” wow, that’s right. I’ve got to be restoring, and I’ve got to do it with meekness when I am offended because I can see when somebody has done wrong to another person. I may call them to account and point it to them, but when they do it to me, it’s a little bit harder, right? When you’re the one affected by it. “Moreover, if your brother trespass against you, go tell him his fault…” In other words, hold him to account, “…but between you and him alone.”

Now that’s the only time in the Bible I think that I can recall right now that I like the word alone. When it’s just the two of you, sorting it out. Like two Christians who are striving to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. If he hears you, you gain your brother, but if not, only then, take one or two more. Oh, I’ve got teammates now. No, that’s not the intent because whether you’re alone or with your two more to help that individuals, is to restore them and to do it in meekness and everyone in that group should be doing the same thing. Carrying out, holding someone to account in meekness with the purpose of restoring that individual.

And if they don’t hear you, take it to the Church. Oh, I’ve got an army now on my side. That’s not what we do. We never get to that point, but we oftentimes skip the first step, and we’ll go and run and tell our spouse, or we’ll tell a friend about how this individual offended me or did this or did that. Brethren, that’s not the steps that God put in place. Why? Because it’s about relationships. It’s about bringing us together.

We’re one body fitly formed together, and we maintain that by healthy accountability with one another. These are the steps, and it harmonizes this verse if you meditate on the word fitly spoken. What is said to whom it is said and how it is said, and we have to violate that too because we don’t do it with the purpose of restoring and we don’t do it in meekness. And then anger can be stirred up, a small problem explodes into a massive issue. Collateral damage is everywhere. There’s not a cleanup in aisle fifteen, there’s a cleanup in every aisle, and we’ve done more damage doing it the wrong way than the actual damage that was initially caused and that’s because we don’t follow the steps.

But if we follow them carefully, our lives and our relationships are restored. After all, and it may sound corny, but we are called The Restored Church of God. We’re restoring things or we’re restoring this knowledge here. Brethren, we must have accountability in our lives. We must follow these steps in anticipation of the judgment seat of Christ. And if we do, brethren, we can all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, knowing that God will hold us to account the same way we did each other. Remember I told you, I’m going to tell you how you can feel better about the judgment seat of Christ.

If we hold ourselves to account without judging, with the intent to restore in a spirit of meekness at each step, we can have full faith, our moment before the judgment seat of Christ will be the same. And maybe just maybe any remaining charges held against us, held against me will be dismissed and will hear enter into the joy of the Lord and will be handed the eternal bodies or clothed with the eternal bodies that are reserved for you and me.