An Accurate Account to the Almighty

An Accurate Account to the Almighty (Romans 14:12)

Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Romans 14 should be on the minds of all of us. The event is the giving of an account of our lives. Paul points out that it not our place to play God and to pass judgment on our weaker brother (Romans 14:10). Paul asks “...why dost thou set at nought thy brother?” The phrase set at nought means to "hold in contempt, to count as nothing." We have no business judging others in such a way.

We are reminded that we all will “stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10). Each of us will someday have to give an account of himself to God. This is the judgment that we need to be the most concerned about. Earlier Paul said, “Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4).

This matter of giving an account of our lives is an event every person will have to do. No one is exempt here. Every person in every land in every age in the history of the world will have to give an account of his life. 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, somewhere. If there is anything you ever need to prepare for it is to give an account of yourself.

The focus in this matter of giving an account is upon yourself. You do not have to answer for how other people act. This giving of an account concerns your own actions and your own life, not the actions and lives of other people. It matters not what other people have done, what matters in this account giving is what you have done in your life. What a reminder not to judge our brothers and sisters in things on which the Bible does not directly speak! One thing we will certainly have to answer for will be our judgmental attitude. Keep in mind, that the final judgment is up to God, and his evaluation will be perfect? Our reward will be exactly what we deserve, as will our brother's and sister's. We may not agree with others on some non-essential things. But how are we going to deal with them? The principle is that we are God's servants and God will deal with us. As we deal with these matters, it is important for us to keep this warning in mind.

We are not going to be called to give an account of others before God. We are going to give an account of ourselves. Each one shall be held accountable for himself only. Each one shall stand alone before God and give an account for his own behavior only. God won’t be asking you about the opinions and preferences of your brother. He’ll be looking into your account. So don’t worry about your neighbor so much; keep a better, closer eye on yourself. Get out of his business and tend to your own. We will all have enough to answer for without adding a condemning or judgmental attitude toward other believers. That's why we need to remember what Jesus commanded in Mattthew 7:1.

This is the scary part if you are not right with God. You have to answer to God for your actions. You must give an account to God for your life. Giving an account to man can be difficult and make one fear, but giving an account to God can be even more traumatic, for God knows all. You will not be able to deceive God about your life. You will not be able to fabricate a good life story to make yourself look good before God like some people fabricate their resumes when applying for a job. The truth will come out when you give an account to God.

The work of Christians is to serve the Lord, not to usurp His lordship by self-righteously judging fellow believers. Our concern, rather, should be for being judged ourselves by the Lord. Our responsibility is not to judge, to despise, to criticize, or in any way to belittle our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will not be called on by our Lord to give an account of the sins and shortcomings of others, but rather “each one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Points to Ponder:
Instead of worrying about others, we need to focus on our own walk with the Lord.
The Christian who is most concerned with his own relationship with God rather than others has the right focus for life.

Questions to Consider:
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?

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