How Will We Give an Account Before God?

If Christians are already forgiven by Jesus, why does the Bible say that we're going to give an account before God? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. At 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can watch us live on YouTube, and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Armando in Modesto, California. Armando, welcome to CORE Christianity.

First of all, thank you for having me on the show, and I just wanted to ask a question. According to Malachi 3-10, you know, people of Israel are supposed to give their tithes and offerings, and my question is, does every believer now in Jesus have to do the same? Or if they don't, is it a sin?

Hey, Armando, thank you, brother, for that question. That passage in Malachi 3, people are bringing the tithe to the storehouse. This was, I think, in particular something that was associated with the Old Covenant and sustaining the priesthood. You do see the idea of tithing in other places. I mean, Abraham, for example, tithed to Melchizedek. That was prior to the giving of some of these priestly regulations. So this idea of giving a tenth, you know, you find it throughout the Scriptures, and the question is, is that something that's binding for New Testament believers? And my position on this is, well, no, I don't think that the tithe is binding for New Testament believers in the same way that it was for the people under the Old Covenant.

They couldn't do it in the same way that they were. They were tithing to the temple, and that temple system has been done away with now that we're under the New Covenant, and yet at the same time, Armando, I would say we should, as believers, be cultivating a heart of generosity and giving to our churches, to the churches that we're in, that we're members in, for the continued advancement of the Gospel. Jesus made it absolutely clear.

He said, where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be also. One of the ways we align our hearts as followers of Jesus with his purposes in the world is by giving to the work of missions, giving to the work of the local church. The passage that I frequently go to when thinking about giving under the New Covenant is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, and listen to what he said there beginning in verse 6. The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, he has distributed freely, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

What a beautiful encouragement there. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, and we ought to give generously of our resources to the work of the gospel, to the work of the local church. And so I would say we can, as Christians, be sinfully stingy under the New Covenant. We can be greedy, and I think that s one of the primary idols that we see around us in Western society is greed, this love of money, this being unwilling to part with our resources, and it seems like Jesus himself had no problem talking about money and possessions.

Again, where your treasure is, that s where your heart will be also. He told the parable of the rich fool and also the wise, poor widow who gave her last mite to the temple, if you will. Jesus talked about these things because he knew that the way we think about money and resources often reflects something about how we think about God s kingdom. And so I would encourage, and I do encourage, all believers to, as recipients of the grace of God and having received the generosity of the Lord, to let that encourage them to give generously, to give generously to their local church. Because that might look like a tithe. I think that a tithe is a good thing.

It s even a good start. I know there are people who give even more than that to the work of the local church, but each has to give as he s decided in his own heart, as Paul says there in 2 Corinthians 9. And as we do that, we re blessed. It really is a blessing to be able to participate in the advancement of the gospel through the giving of our resources. And you see that over and over again in the New Testament. And so I would say, man, we want to cultivate that heart of generosity as believers and give to the work of the gospel.

Thank you, brother, for your question. You know, Adrian, how would you respond to those Christian cults that make giving a necessity, almost saying that your salvation is dependent on giving a tithe? Yeah, I mean, that sort of sounds like buying your way into heaven.

I don t like that. I had a friend who I was sharing the gospel with for several years who was Mormon. And we would kind of go back and forth on this because he would talk about how the Mormon church, they want to know if you re a temple Mormon or whatever they call it, that you re giving. And they ll keep track of how much you re giving and whether or not you re really giving a tithe, that kind of a thing. That makes me uncomfortable.

I think that there s a serious problem with that. We don t give under compulsion. Again, Paul said that very clearly in 2 Corinthians 9. We give freely as those who have received freely the grace of God. We give with joy knowing that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. And so it s that joyful giving that we want to cultivate in the body of Christ and in our own hearts.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question, here s the phone number to call for the next 20 minutes or so. You can call 833-THE-CORE.

That s 1-833-843-2673. Let s go to Debbie calling in from Centerville, Tennessee. Debbie, what s your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, hi.

Thank you for taking my call. It s a general question about the right hand of God. Jesus, is that the right hand of God? I never hear in the Bible, and I m not a connoisseur, about the left hand of God. It just seems to be the blessed side is the right hand.

And if you have any comments, I d appreciate it. Yeah, Debbie, I appreciate that question. We sort of use the sort of figure of speech today to say things like, Oh, he s my right hand man, or she s my right hand woman, that kind of a thing. And really, it s this position of authority, the idea of being at the right hand.

It s this position of authority. And throughout the Scriptures, we talk about Jesus being at the right hand of the Father after his ascension. And again, it s focusing on his authority, his place right now as this king who rules over his people. Defends us, cares for us, sustains us.

And you see this language all over the place. Now, what s really interesting is this idea of him being seated at the right hand of the Father. You see this in the book of Hebrews and in other places. And really, what s being signified there is the fact that he s accomplished his work. As our great high priest, he s seated at the right hand of the Father. He s made atonement for our sins.

There s nothing left that needs to be done. And then you actually have this really interesting passage. When Stephen was being stoned to death in Acts 7, as he was being killed, he had this vision. And he says, you know, they were stoning Stephen, and he called out, falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And just right before that, it talked about how he saw Stephen said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. That is, in the position of authority, the right hand of the Father, the Son of Man, Jesus standing there. But what s so interesting about that passage is he s not seated, he s standing. And what I love about that, Debbie, is at the right hand of the Father, in that position of authority, Jesus is still attentive to us in our suffering. He rises to see Stephen, one of his own sheep, in this time of great difficulty, in this time of great trial, he rises, and Stephen says, I see him there standing at the right hand of the Father, he s crying out to the Lord. And so, Jesus, he ascended, he s at the right hand of the Father, where he ever lives to make intercession for us. He s praying for you and for me right now. Debbie, what a beautiful thing that Jesus does for us as our great high priest. And so, thank you for that question, sister, and appreciate it very much.

You re listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. One of the ways you can leave a message is by calling our voicemail. You can call 24 hours a day and leave that message, or even record a message on our website at corechristianity.com. Here s the number to call. It s 833-843-2673.

That s 833 The Core. Let s go to a voicemail that came in yesterday. Hi, this is Michael from Jeffersonville, Indiana. What happens to people that never hear about Jesus? There are cultures where Christianity is suppressed and entire peoples that have not had contact with the outside world. We know God is fair and just, but how can it be fair that we get judged the same regardless of background?

It seems inequitable. Hey, brother, thank you for that question. And this is a question that comes up from time to time. What about those people? What about those people who never have an opportunity to hear the gospel? No one is ever sent to preach to them.

They never hear the message of Jesus. Even those who have not heard the gospel are still going to be judged justly on the basis of what they do know about God. It sounds like you understand that the Lord is just, right?

He isn t unfair. That s something that we can rest in. And the Apostle Paul makes it absolutely clear in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 1, that even those who haven t heard about Jesus, haven t heard about the message of salvation are still judged justly by God. Now the passage to look at is Romans chapter 1 beginning in verse 18.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul said. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Understand what the Apostle Paul is saying here, because it s the answer to your question, brother. Even those peoples who have not heard the message of the Gospel are still accountable on the basis of what they know about God. And what do they know about God? Well, His invisible attributes, His eternal power, His divine nature, that s all been clearly perceived.

How, if they haven t heard the Gospel? Well, it s been clearly perceived through the things that have been made. That is, the created world around us. It testifies to us of the fact that there is a God in heaven who is a creator, and we re not Him, and He s not birds and bugs and animals. We re not supposed to worship those things.

We re supposed to worship the Creator. I love the way the psalmist put it in Psalm chapter 19. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.

That is, the very stars that we look up at the sky at night, they testify to us that there is a divine Creator who we re called to worship and follow. What we do instead is we suppress that truth in unrighteousness. We don t want to follow God the Creator.

In fact, we turn our backs from Him. And so we re justly held accountable on the basis of what we know, and we know that there s a Creator in heaven, and yet we reject that. We choose instead to worship the creature rather than the Creator. We choose to worship ourselves.

Now, here s another thing that you need to know. God calls those nations, those same nations that are walking in darkness, you know, that have rejected the Gospel or don t know the Gospel, to Himself. He does call them to Himself. I think about what the apostle Paul said in Acts chapter 17. Paul is preaching to a group of philosophers, and he says this in verse 24. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him.

Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being. And so we re all justly held accountable, even by what we know on the basis of creation, from creation, and yet the God who we rejected, the God who we said, you know, I m not going to worship you, I m going to worship myself, or I m going to worship this idol, this golden idol, that God called humanity to seek Him, and not only did He call humanity to seek Him, He sought us. He sent His Son into the world to pursue us sinners, so that we might turn from darkness to Him. He sent Jesus, and Jesus lived, died, and rose again, so that we might know that He was speaking the truth to us.

And so that s your answer, brother. We re all held justly accountable, and God in His goodness didn t abandon us in our idolatry, but pursued us in His Son, Jesus. I love that image you painted there, Adriel, of God s free gift of salvation, God in His goodness, extending that to every one of us. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you are a regular listener to our program, we want to let you know that we are not supported by a particular church or denomination. We don t get government funds.

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Let s go to a voicemail question that came in from Sandy. I m calling about a passage in Romans 14, 12. It says, So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. And I m wondering, since we re already saved and our sins are forgiven, why do we have to give an account to God? Yeah, the passage, verse 10 of Romans 14, Why do you pass judgment on your brother?

Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, for it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. And there s a great and vivid picture that is painted for us of this event at the very end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, in Revelation chapter 20. John says, And I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and sky fled away.

And there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, that is everybody, standing before the throne. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. We're each going to give an account to the Lord. Now, as believers, as those who have been justified, we can have confidence on the day of judgment, because our good works are not what save us, we're saved by Jesus and what he's accomplished.

And if our salvation was on the basis of our works, then we really could never have confidence, but it seems like we as believers are called to have confidence on the day of judgment. In fact, that's exactly what the Apostle John says elsewhere in 1 John chapter 4 verse 17. And then in John chapter 5 verse 24, Jesus talked about the judgment, and he said, Those who believe in him don't enter into judgment, but have already passed from death to life. So if you're a Christian, on the day of judgment, it's as if you've already passed from death to life, but you're still going to give an account. And this is something that's repeated throughout the New Testament. You mentioned that passage in Romans chapter 14. You also see it in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10. It talks about giving an account for the things done in the body.

This is just the reality. And we are going to be commended by the Lord for the good things that we've done, rewarded by the Lord. Now, we don't know exactly what that's going to look like entirely. We're looking forward to that day, but one thing that you can rest assured of is this isn't a judgment to determine whether or not you've done enough good works to get into heaven. Again, John 5 verse 24, Jesus made it clear, If you believe in me, you've already passed from death to life. You don't enter into judgment. That is, you are not condemned. Paul said in Romans chapter 8, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Why? Because we were justified in him, saved. And so we have this security, this hope, this confidence for the day of judgment. And yet we are going to give an account, and that's what the Bible says very clearly. We are going to give an account before the Lord and be commended by the Lord for that which was good that we did in the body.

And so that's the answer to your question. That's what we see throughout the New Testament. And I appreciate that question very much.

Thank you for calling. Israel, that passage in Romans chapter 8 is, I think, one of the things that has given me the most assurance throughout my Christian walk. And I think all of us need to focus on that. There is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.

Yeah, absolutely. And I know that this is something that grips a lot of believers, this sort of fear of the day of judgment. But like I said, you know, you look at passages like 1 John chapter 4 verse 17 and John says, you know, so that we might have confidence in the day of judgment. We ought to, as believers, have confidence because we've been adopted into the family of God. And so that's something that you can have as a Christian.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Julia calling in from Belleville, Illinois. Julia, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Oh, hey, guys, I'm with the show. Thank you for taking my call. Real quick, Sunday we was at church, you know, when I go to an apostolic church and when my pastor is really, you know, excited, he'll tell us to repeat things like he's saying, oh, your blessing, God got a blessing with your name on it. He was talking about blessings and stuff. And then he said, we have to go boldly to tell God, you know, and he said something I wasn't able to repeat it. And I felt bad because I was glad I had a mask on because I couldn't see myself talking to God like that. Then we just he said, it's my blessing. He told us to say it's my blessing and I want it now.

He threw down the rag on the floor and my heart just dropped out like, wow, Lord, I didn't know. I thought boldly meant don't be don't let nothing hold you back when you go into the throne. Let you go. Don't be worrying about, you know, but not to go and talk and be, you know, talk like that kind of way to God.

Yeah. Well, sister, I hear what you're saying. And one thing, you know, that does concern me is when we approach God in prayer, demanding things from him. This is not something that you see in scripture. We come to the Lord with humility in prayer, humbly and not presumptuously, you know, saying, God, you owe me this, you owe me this blessing. At the end of the day, you know, that passage that you were referring to comes from the book of Hebrews, where we are able through Christ, our great high priest to come boldly to the throne of grace. And the author of the Hebrews says, you know, for what purpose there it isn't to say, God, give me my blessing.

You owe me big time, Lord, you know, let it rain, that kind of thing. We come boldly to the throne of grace. And this is what the author of the Hebrews says, Julia, so that we might receive mercy and find grace for our time of need. Here's what the Lord gives to us.

Here's what we can boldly ask for. We can ask for grace. We can ask for the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

So I think that there are things that we can be bold in asking from the Lord, namely the forgiveness of our sins. Why? Because Jesus shed his blood so that all our sins would be forgiven. The Holy Spirit.

Why? Because Jesus, through his work for us, has secured the Spirit as a gift for you and for me. But we don't come to the Lord saying, God, I'm demanding that you give me, you know, a pay raise or that kind of a thing. No, God is not a genie in a bottle that we just sort of, you know, grant me my wishes and then get upset when he doesn't. That's not how it works.

And so I probably would have been uncomfortable in that situation too, sister. I think that when we pray, we're coming before the Lord of heaven and earth and we come with humility. We come longing for his grace and for his mercy.

And that doesn't mean it's wrong to ask for certain things, but we don't presume upon the Lord's grace, upon his generosity, and we don't demand anything from him. He's the King. We are his servants. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar. Or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-Core. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.