Introduction:
A. The story is told of a man who died and went to The Judgment.
1. St. Peter met him at the Gates of Heaven and said, “Before you meet with God, I thought I should tell you -- we’ve looked at your life, and your really didn’t do anything particularly good or bad. We’re not at all sure what to do with you. Can you tell us anything you did that can help us make a decision?”
2. The man thought for a moment and replied, “Yeah, once I was driving along and came upon a woman who was being harassed by a group of bikers. So I pulled over, got out my tire iron, and went up to the leader of the bikers. He was a big, muscular, hairy guy with tattoos all over his body and a ring pierced through his nose. Well, I tore the nose ring out of his nose, and told him he and his gang had better stop bothering the woman or they would have to deal with me!”
3. “I’m impressed,” Peter responded, “When did this happen?”
4. The man said, “About two minutes ago.”
B. The transforming truth that I want us to wrestle with today is the truth that we are accountable to God.
1. Every single one of us will one day stand before God on Judgment Day.
2. Daniel Webster was once asked, “What is the greatest thought that can occupy a man’s mind?”
Webster replied, “His accountability to God.”
3. And oh, how right Webster was! We must keep our accountability to God at the forefront of our thinking.
4. But we must do so not so that we live in terror, but so that we live intentionally, and faithfully.
C. So far in our Transforming Truths Series, I have tried to direct our attention to three wonderfully, positive and powerful truths – God loves us, God forgives us, and God saves us by grace.
1. It is so important that we start there; to have that as our positive and secure foundation.
2. But unfortunately, some people stop there and slip into apathy – Okay, if God loves me and forgives me, and saves me by grace, then I don’t have to do anything.
3. And, if I have to do anything, then I’m not really saved by grace, right?
4. I would like us to spend some time today looking at a number of Scriptures that put forth some of these realities that seem to be in opposition to each other.
5. We need to be able to hold on to these two truths at the same time – We Are Saved By Grace and We Are Held Accountable.
6. Let’s study the Scriptures.
I. We Are Saved By Grace
A. This was the topic of our sermon last week, and let’s be reminded of that truth with a few Scripture references.
1. The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
2. Again, the Bible says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)
3. So, from those verses it is clear that we are saved by God’s grace, not by our works.
II. We Will Be Judged By Our Works
A. While I do not believe for one minute that we will be saved by our works, or that we can work our way to heaven, the Bible is clear that we will be judged by our works.
1. Look again at 2 Cor. 5:10, “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.”
2. Look at Rom. 14:10-12, “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
3. In both those texts we see that an appearance before the judgment seat of God includes every single one of us.
4. “We must all appear…” and “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat…” and “Each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
B. Let’s look at some things Jesus had to say about being judged by our works.
1. In Matthew 16:24-27, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
2. In John 5:28-29, Jesus said, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”
3. In Revelation 22:12, Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
4. In each of these verses uttered by Jesus Himself, He emphasizes that we will be rewarded according to our works; according to what we have done.
C. The New Testament contains other descriptions of The Judgment that points to the same conclusion.
1. Look at Revelation 20:11-13, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.”
2. Romans 2:5-11, the Bible says, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.”
3. Then in 1 Cor. 4:5 the Bible says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”
4. And so, on the day of Judgment, the books will be opened, everything will be brought into the light, and we will be rewarded according to what we have done.
5. Some will experience God’s wrath and anger; others will receive God’s praise and eternal life.
III. Actions Prompted by Faith and Obedience Are Essential
A. Obedience, works and faith are all closely related, and there are biblical statements that link each of them with salvation.
1. When we go back to the verses on grace that we started with, we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…” (Eph. 2:8) Faith is necessary.
2. And the next verse beyond the ones we read earlier from Titus 3 where Paul said that we are saved by God’s mercy and grace says, “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (Titus 3:8)
B. The classic verses on the relationship between faith and works are found in James 2.
1. The Bible says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” (James 2:14-24)
2. Does a person really have faith if it doesn’t issue forth in action?
3. Can a person truly believe and not be prompted to do good works based on their faith?
C. Our obedience works together with our faith and deeds to lead to our salvation.
1. The Bible says, in Hebrews 5:8-9, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” For whom does Jesus become the source of eternal salvation? For all who obey Him!
2. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
3. In Romans 6:15-18, the Bible says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
4. From these verses we see just how important obedience is.
5. We must do the will of God by obeying the commands of God which lead to righteousness.
D. Let’s make one final point…
IV. We must Continue in the Grace of God through Faith and Obedience
A. Many people have accepted a doctrine called the “perseverance of the saints,” or “once saved always saved.”
1. Although the two are slightly different, they arrive at the same end – once a person is truly saved, then they cannot become lost.
2. When I read my Bible, I notice numerous passages that point to the conditional nature of our salvation.
3. Although we are saved by grace, and it is a gift that cannot be earned or deserved, it can be lost or withdrawn.
B. Let’s look at a few passages.
1. In John 8:31, Jesus said, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’” (the word “hold” means “to continue in”)
2. In Romans 11:22, the Bible says, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.”
3. In Colossians 1:23, Paul wrote, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.”
4. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, the Bible says, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
5. John wrote, “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28)
6. In John’s second letter he wrote, “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9)
7. In Hebrews 6, the Bible says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (Heb. 6:4-6)
8. Finally, Revelation 3:11 says, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
C. These are but a few examples from the Bible that alert us to the possibility of falling away from God and the salvation offered in Christ.
1. They all express a contingency, and “IF.” “If we hold on, if we continue, if we don’t fall away.”
2. Implied in the “IF” is the fact that if a person does not do what God requires, then they will face the consequences.
Conclusion:
A. We have looked at a lot of Scripture today because I wanted us to see how comprehensive each of these truths are in God’s Word and that they aren’t just some obscure verse hidden in Scripture.
B. So how do we reconcile these four biblical ideas that we have examined today?
1. It is true that “We are Saved by Grace.”
2. It is true that “We will be Judged by Our Works.”
3. It is true that “Actions Prompted by Faith and Obedience Are Essential.”
4. And it is true that “We must Continue in the Grace of God through Faith and Obedience.”
C. So how do we reconcile these ideas? I offer three things to keep in mind.
D. First, we have to realize that if we are saved at all it will be by God’s grace.
1. God was under no obligation to save us or give us a plan of salvation by which we can be saved.
2. The very fact that God did so is an act of grace.
3. God was under no obligation to give us His Word that tells us how to be saved.
4. And God was under no obligation to send His Son as the Savior of the world.
5. All of these things were and are God’s grace extended to us, and without them we cannot be saved.
E. Second, we have to realize that our response of faith, obedience and good works in no way earn our salvation.
1. Our expressions of faith and obedience that result in good works are not something we do so that we will deserve to go to heaven.
2. They are, however, a confirmation that our love for God and commitment to God is genuine.
3. Our faithful love and obedience to Christ is what keeps us under the umbrella of His Grace and His Righteousness.
4. I don’t claim to understand how it all works, but I trust in the Lord and I know that it is true.
F. Third, we have to realize that God will not do for us what we must do for ourselves.
1. God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves, when He allowed Jesus to take our place and become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is Grace.
2. But God won’t force us to accept His gift of grace. He will not force us to believe and obey. That is something we must do – We must trust and obey.
3. And God won’t force us to obey His commands – He won’t force us to love our enemies, or read our Bibles, or feed the hungry. God makes these things possible, but we must provide the initiative.
4. And so God gracefully provides salvation and power for sanctification and transformation, but with faith and obedience we must bring forth works worthy of His wonderful grace.
5. As the faithful master, God will give great reward for the good works of His faithful servants.
6. The day of reckoning and reward is coming…are you ready?
F. Just before the death of actor W.C. Fields, a friend visited Fields’ hospital room and was surprised to find him thumbing through a Bible.
1. When asked what he was doing with a Bible, Fields replied, “I’m looking for loopholes.”
G. Believers and Unbelievers, I’m here to tell you that there are no loopholes.
1. Someday we will face God in the Judgment and we must all give an account.
2. I will leave you will 2 more passages, the Bible says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
3. Solomon, the third king of Israel and the wise man of the Old Testament concluded this, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
4. Let us thank God for His grace and let us trust in it.
5. And let us give ourselves whole heartedly to the Lord in faith and obedience for we are held accountable.
