Listen:  88 Question 4

That thought probably comes from an incident that happened to the Lord.  We have that account in Matthew 12:22-26 which says, “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”  Here the Lord had healed a man that had a demon.  He was blind and he could not talk.  The Lord healed this man and was accused by the Pharisees of operating under the power of Satan.  The Lord condemned the Pharisees for their attitude and said later in Matthew 12:36-37, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”  The Lord tells these men that they would answer for all the idle, or malicious, words they had said against Him.  It is a stern warning that, not only our actions, but every single word spoken must be judged by a righteous and sin-hating God.

If that’s the case, who then can stand before God?  Have not we all spoken idle, sinful words at some point in our lives.  Will believers on the Lord Jesus Christ have to face God as our judge?  Let’s consider the words of David in Psalms 143:1-2, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.”  David realized that no man could be justified in the presence of God, so as a servant of the Lord, he asked for mercy.  He sought his refuge in the very one that he was accountable to.  What a blessed and comforting thought!  The true servants of the Lord will not receive the judgment of God.  Indeed, how could we?  Did not Christ, Himself, pay our sin debt completely when He died for us on Calvary’s cross?  If that debt has truly been paid, then we have been set free from the wrath of God.  Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  No condemnation, or judgment, for those who are in Christ Jesus.

With that being said, let’s read 2 Corinthians 5:10 which says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”  This literally means that the lives of the believers will be laid open before the Lord.  This is not a judgment of the believers.  This is a manifestation of the works we have done for the Lord.  It’s not just how much we have done for the Lord, but the quality of what we have done.  Often, men will serve the Lord with ulterior motives.  Perhaps we go out witnessing for the Lord when all we really want to do is increase church membership.  Perhaps we give lots of money to help the poor when all we really want is the praise of men.  It will be a blessed event when those deeds that were done for the wrong reasons will be done away with and only those things that truly honor the Lord will remain.  We read again of the judgment seat of Christ in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 where it says, “Each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.”  Although there will be no judgment for the believer, there may be loss of rewards because of those things that were done for the wrong reason.

Considering our words, we do have a warning from James about the things we say.  We read in James 1:26, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”  Some may give a show of righteousness in their many deeds, but the tongue will manifest the true condition of a person’s heart.  We read in Psalms 39:1, “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.”  The one who is truly a believer on the Lord Jesus will be aware of his words.  The believer will seek to control his words as we read in Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt…”  (88.4)