GIVING AN ACCOUNT

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12 NKJV).

This verse tells us that we will all have to give an account of our lives. To examine this text, we want to note the people who will give an account, the personalness in giving an account, and the Person to whom we will give an account.

People – “Each one of us.” This matter of giving an account of our lives is an event every person will have to do. Every person in every land in every age in the history of the world will have to give an account of his life; no one is exempt. Many people live as though they do not have to answer to anyone for the way they live. They may be exempt from having to answer to men, but that does not exempt them from having to give an account someday. We all need to prepare to give an account of ourselves.

Personalness – “Give account of himself.” The focus here is giving an account of oneself. We will not have to answer for how other people act. This giving of an account concerns our own actions and our own lives, not the actions and lives of other people. It matters not what other people have done, what matters in this account giving is what we have done in our own lives.

Person – “To God.” As individuals, we will all have to answer to God for our lives and our actions. Giving an account to man can be difficult, but giving an account to God will be even more traumatic since God knows all. We will not be able to deceive God by fabricating a good life story to make ourselves look good before Him. The truth will come out when we give an account to God. What sort of an account will you be able to give Him? Will it be a life of faithfulness to Him or a life of disobedience? This is the scary part if one does not have a right relationship with God through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Love pays attention. Love listens to the fears and the doubts of others and treats them with respect. Love accepts others the way Jesus accepts you!”

Thomas à Kempis (1380 – 1471)

German Theologian and Author

Word Study

Fiery ordeal / fiery trial

In 1 Peter 4:12 we read, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (NASB).

“Fiery ordeal / fiery trial” is the Greek word purōsis (πύρωσις = poo'-ro-sis). Literally, the word means ignition, smelting, or burning. It pictures the act or condition of being on fire and figuratively as used here by the apostle Peter refers to fiery trial, calamity. God the Father, like the ancient silversmith prepares the crucible of affliction for His children, but He controls the intensity of the fiery trial. He alone knows just how much heat is necessary to cause the “impurities” in our life to rise to the surface. God uses the furnace of suffering to remove the dross from our lives and make us valuable, usable, and effective for His glory. And just like the ancient silversmith, God never leaves us in the refining fire but continually keeps His eye on us. His goal is that we might reflect the image of His Son.

Did You Know…

According 1 John 3:15, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” Hatred is the root of the sin of murder, and here it means to have a lifestyle of habitual hatred of one’s brother.

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Ephesians, what part of a building did the apostle Paul compared the Lord Jesus to?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz

According to the Gospel of Mark, how many pigs were in the herd that the demons begged the Lord Jesus to send them into? 2000 (Mark 5:13).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

The Resurrection Predicted (Job 19:25-27 – A Prediction of the Resurrection of Our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 2:19; 11:25)

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (Job 19:25-27 NJKV).

In context, Job is affirming that God his Redeemer lives and would continue to be his Defender and Protector. The Hebrew word translated Redeemer refers to the kinsman redeemer, the near relative who could avenge his brother’s blood (cf. Deut. 19:6-12), reclaim and restore his brother’s property (cf. Lev. 25:23-24, 39-55), and set his brother free from slavery (cf. 25:25). The kinsman redeemer could also go to court on behalf of a wronged relative (cf. Prov. 23:10-11). Of course, this kinsman Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ. He became a human being so that He might reveal God to us, experience all that we experience, die for our sins, and then return to heaven to represent us before the Father. One day He shall stand upon the earth and exercise judgment; and He will vindicate His own people. Further, Job believed that after he was dead, that he would continue in a conscious existence, and that he would see God. This was an affirmation of faith in the resurrection of the human body. The Lord Jesus stated in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” The Lord Jesus is our hope of resurrection.

Did You Know – Christian History

Blaise Pascal was born June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He was a French Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, and Christian Theologian.

When he was only a few years old, Pascal’s mother died, leaving his father to care for him and his two sisters. Pascal’s father, Etienne, home-schooled his children. At first, he said that Pascal was not allowed to study mathematics until he turned fifteen years old. Etienne wanted to make sure Pascal had a good understanding of languages first. However, Pascal studied mathematics anyway. When his father realized how skilled Pascal was at mathematics, he allowed him to keep learning.

Pascal’s intellect drew attention at an early age. At 16, he produced an essay on the geometry of cones. Later, Pascal advanced the study of vacuums and, essentially, invented probability theory. However, his life radically changed the evening of November 23, 1654, when Pascal experienced God’s presence in a powerful way. He immediately and radically adjusted his life and thinking toward God. Pascal dedicated his life to serving God through his writing. His ideas on apologetics were collected and published after his death in a volume entitled, Pensées, or “Thoughts.”

A generation later, even the most prominent thinkers of the Enlightenment could not dismiss Pascal’s brilliance. The result of the French Revolution would prove that Pascal’s arguments about God - who, he claimed, was essential in everything - and his observations about the human condition, were right. Even today, Pascal’s writing has lost none of its fire, nor has the fruits of his intellect, passion, and eloquence dedicated to God diminished.

On August 19, 1662, Blaise Pascal died at just 39 years old. Despite his shortened life, Pascal is renowned for pioneering work in geometry, physics, and probability theory, and even for inventing the first mechanical calculator. His most powerful legacy, however, is his Pensées, or “Thoughts,” about life’s biggest questions, including God and the human condition.  

A Little Humor

Little Johnny put his shoes on by himself. His mother noticed the left was on the right foot and said to him, “Son, your shoes are on the wrong feet.” He looked up at her with a raised brow and said, “Don’t kid me, Mom. I know, they are my feet.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Need Directions? Follow Me. – God!”