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“Choices . . . and Consequences”
Categories: Shepherd's CornerOne day in the future “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
Unbelievers are not the only people who will one day give an account of their lives before the judgment seat of Christ. Believers will as well, and that ought to make us tremble. This thought caused even the apostle Paul, our brother, to tremble when he thought about that coming day (2 Corinthians 5:9-11).
Becoming a child of God does not free us from accountability, instead, that new relationship with Him intensifies the matter of accountability. God, whom we now call “Father,” is also our creator and our judge. We respond to our heavenly Father’s infinite love with heartfelt love for Him, but we must never lose our reverence for the Almighty.
Almighty God will never force His will on us, but He will always make us give an account for how we responded to Him and to His activity in our lives. In this life we have the freedom to choose our course of action -- but we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. We either receive God’s gracious offer of salvation by faith, or we do not -- and the eternal consequences of our choice is already set.
In closing, the choice is ours; but the consequences are determined by God almighty. One thing is clear: we all will appear before the judgement seat of Christ. Our hope is to hear those wonderful words “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
