Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
The One to whom account must be given is God, who is Christ, Jesus Christ, ready to judge the living and the dead. All people, both the living and the dead, must stand before Him to give account and answer for their works. This includes those who think it strange that believers no longer run with them to the same excess of riot and who speak evil of believers for turning away from sinful excess.
The time past of working the will of the Gentiles in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries is enough. Those armed with the same mind as Christ who suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin to live the rest of their time in the flesh not to the lusts of men but to the will of God. This is in response to God giving His only begotten Son to live as a child and a human, to suffer abuse, rejection and crucifixion, and through His sinless life and atoning death to make it possible for humanity to lay hold of divinity and become partakers of the divine nature.
The judgment investigates character, with deeds recorded in heaven, and people will stand before God in the great day and answer for their works. That judgment includes the investigative judgment which will soon pass upon the living. The judging of the living is a great work that begins at the closing work of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, when the world stands on the very borders of the eternal world and the whole universe looks on with inexpressible interest. At that time nothing has worth except to be found loyal and true to God, holding faith openly without shame or hiding, putting away unsanctified ambition, and knowing what the Scripture says.
Standing before Him as Judge reveals loyalty by exposing whether a person keeps the commands of God or the precepts of men. Those who do not keep God's commands but follow human precepts will not be acknowledged by God as His peculiar people, a holy nation, but Christ confronts them for coming to the marriage supper of the Lamb without the robe of His righteousness purchased with His own blood, and leaders who taught such disregard are held especially guilty. In that judgment a selfish, one-sided, double-dealing course toward one who has erred cannot be justified. Those who speak the truth to save souls are accountable to God as stewards of entrusted time and resources, and must use them faithfully rather than waste valuable time saving a little to add to their own treasure.
The One to whom account must be given is God, who is Christ, Jesus Christ, ready to judge the living and the dead. All people, both the living and the dead, must stand before Him to give account and answer for their works. This includes those who think it strange that believers no longer run with them to the same excess of riot and who speak evil of believers for turning away from sinful excess.
The time past of working the will of the Gentiles in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries is enough. Those armed with the same mind as Christ who suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin to live the rest of their time in the flesh not to the lusts of men but to the will of God. This is in response to God giving His only begotten Son to live as a child and a human, to suffer abuse, rejection and crucifixion, and through His sinless life and atoning death to make it possible for humanity to lay hold of divinity and become partakers of the divine nature.
The judgment investigates character, with deeds recorded in heaven, and people will stand before God in the great day and answer for their works. That judgment includes the investigative judgment which will soon pass upon the living. The judging of the living is a great work that begins at the closing work of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, when the world stands on the very borders of the eternal world and the whole universe looks on with inexpressible interest. At that time nothing has worth except to be found loyal and true to God, holding faith openly without shame or hiding, putting away unsanctified ambition, and knowing what the Scripture says.
Standing before Him as Judge reveals loyalty by exposing whether a person keeps the commands of God or the precepts of men. Those who do not keep God's commands but follow human precepts will not be acknowledged by God as His peculiar people, a holy nation, but Christ confronts them for coming to the marriage supper of the Lamb without the robe of His righteousness purchased with His own blood, and leaders who taught such disregard are held especially guilty. In that judgment a selfish, one-sided, double-dealing course toward one who has erred cannot be justified. Those who speak the truth to save souls are accountable to God as stewards of entrusted time and resources, and must use them faithfully rather than waste valuable time saving a little to add to their own treasure.