Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A life that matters”
Our Bible verse for today: “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 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “God will hold us accountable for the life we lived.”
In 2 Corinthians 5:10 the Apostle Paul makes reference to a great Biblical truth that is often the cause of confusion. Some Christians mistakenly believe that the only ones who will stand before God for judgment are non-believers who did not accept Christ in this lifetime. That’s simply not true. “All” people will stand before God, believers and non-believers too.
It’s true that believers will not have to account for their sins – Jesus took care of that on the cross. But we will have to account to God for our stewardship of the time, skills, talents, abilities, and financial resources that he entrusted us with. That’s what Paul was writing about in 2 Corinthians 5:10. He also addressed it in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. In that passage he wrote of how in that day, when we stand before God to give an account of what we did with the things He entrusted to our care, only that which was done for Christ will matter. Every other achievement will be looked upon as worthless by God and will be tossed aside.
That means that God will not be impressed with your career achievements, or with the size of your bank account, or with your level of physical fitness, or with your good looks, or with any other achievement, accomplishment, possession, or anything else that did not specifically and directly honor Him, bring Him glory, help to build His kingdom, and bless others in His name. Only that which was done for Christ will be considered to have been of eternal worth.
This same truth is addressed in numerous other places in the New Testament, including by Jesus Himself. I encourage you to go online to the Oak Hill Baptist Church website at www.oakhillbaptist.net. Click on the “listen” tab and select the sermon for 10/23/16. There you will learn about a time when Jesus very directly taught this same lesson.
This is important and it applies to our theme for this month. As we prayerfully consider how we will use our time in 2017; as we think about changes we want to make, goals we want to set; accomplishments we want to achieve – we must do so with the thought in mind of what eternal value those things have. That does not mean that we shouldn’t focus on career achievements, or set financial goals, or attempt to improve our physical fitness and nutritional habits. But it does mean that we need to be sure our lives are centered on serving Christ and that the use of our time and our activities reflects that. We will talk more about how to accomplish this in the days to come.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 