I finished reading Ecclesiastes today. In the final chapter the author begins by telling us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. Then he lists a bunch of reasons why. My goodness, what a list! Remember your Creator before... you can hardly see, you stoop, your teeth are worn, you can't sleep in, you are afraid in the streets,... and then you finally die! Once again he states "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless!"
Then at the very end of the book we find a conclusion.
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 good or bad.
After reading this, I felt kind of hopeless. Once you are no longer young, life seems so awful and it all is meaningless. And then God judges EVERYTHING you have done. I get such a picture of being under intense scrutiny with the judge waiting to beat you every time you do something wrong.
Then I am immediately reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9 "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." The judgment that was/is/will be on my wrongdoing has all been laid on Christ when He carried our sin on the cross. When He paid the price for our sin in a way that we never could. I no longer need to fear the Judge. I now worship Him! I bow down and serve Him!
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But do you think that because we are Christians, that means our deeds will not all be made known? If that is what you think, I disagree. That would make compromising under persecution too easy to turn to, thinking all is forgiven and nothing will be disclosed. That is not true repentance. Many would then be tempted to not stand by those being persecuted in order to avoid persecution as well. Surely that is not the heart of the gospel. It can be depressing to think of our sin being revealed, but I think it produces a healthy fear of God in our actions, helping us remember we will be held accountable whether Christian or not. The difference is if we truly repent, God will keep forgiving us. But if we ask for forgiveness in private and do not make things right, tell the truth, return what is stolen, turn away those we know God would have us care for, our hearts are not truly repentant. The bible cleary warns that in end times many churches wills start to preach a weakened gospel that says we can keep sinning and go to heaven. That is deception and we need to be careful not to over-do the grace message and so lull people into complacency about the state of sin in their lives as Christians. Apostacy is clearly spoken of in the parable of the vine and branches and elsewhere, and Consider Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
as well as consider:
Hebrews 10: 26-39 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
Dare B.
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