2 Corinthians 5:10, commentary and pictures

All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive for the things done in bodily life, whether good or bad. The examination reaches beyond outward acts to words, thoughts, motives, purposes, and secret things, including good left undone, and is measured by God's unchanging law. Angels now write each life with unerring exactness, and when the books are opened hidden deeds are revealed as a panorama, while sins confessed and repented go beforehand to be blotted out. The review began in 1844 with the righteous dead and then the living, so that appearing before Christ is to receive the reward already decided, followed at His coming by the saints judging the wicked during the thousand years before final sentence and execution. People are justified by faith but judged by works as the fruit of faith, so this life as the only probation must be used in becoming a new creature, putting away sin, and faithfully improving every trust.

Judge and Universal Appearing

All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. That appearing is a plain and steadfast warning against flattering the self that God is not exact to punish wrongdoers who live in daily transgression of His law. Those who have had great light and many privileges and spiritual advantages must not rest like those who were full of forms and ceremonies destitute of vital godliness, but must bear the fruits of true godliness, rise to a higher plane of action as doers and not hearers only of the Word, and confess and seek the Lord. All must watch and keep garments clean from defilement and shame, becoming new creatures in Christ with old things passed away and all things become new, no longer retaining old sinful habits and practices but cleansed and sanctified as vessels unto honor, abiding in Him and doing righteousness as He is righteous instead of continuing in sin. Physicians and medical practitioners must take this personally and shape actions by the ways of God, so their lives prove they are doers of the words of Christ and have been with Jesus and learned of Him, becoming a power for good carrying the healthful influence of righteousness and truth, refusing to be bribed by larger wages to desert the post of duty and do a dishonorable act or for any amount of money to become a traitor to the cause of God and betray sacred trusts, especially at the decisive time when faithfulness would make an efficient helper and unfaithfulness a great hinderer and destroyer. Because this judgment is certain and near, the message of mercy and warning must go out now to awaken the world from its sleep of death with a work that will live through the eternal ages, and ministers entrusted with that message must keep the day of judgment before the people, laboring by faith and not by sight to be accepted by Him.

Every person is answerable to God, who is higher than any human being, and must render an account to Him for the deeds done in the body. Life is a sacred trust with eternal consequences, and the reckoning covers time laden with precious opportunities for serving the Lord and whether they were improved, whether words cheered and encouraged those coming for help and comfort, whether influence strengthened associates, and whether possessions were faithfully given to the Lord. Accountability reaches even the smallest acts, words, thoughts, and the influence a life gives off, including thoughts, words, and deeds and the record of the whole life, and includes not only good and evil that people have done but also good they could have done and neglected through lack of consecration and connection with God. God's great love does not set aside this reckoning, and He cannot take unrepentant sinners to heaven, so those who persist in disloyalty and transgression of His law will face God's wrath spoken and done in righteousness against them, but the present is the day of salvation when mercy and forgiveness and restoration of His image are offered through Jesus as sacrifice for sin, and God continually gives life and breath with sincere reverence, earnest devotion, and love due to Him for giving His Son as propitiation so sinners can stand on vantage-ground with Him. Because the period of life allotted is brief and only a few more years at most remain to work for the Master, consecrating self and all one has and is to the Lord's service today is reasonable service, and delay even for a moment is perilous before the voice that cannot be refused calling for an account of stewardship.

The tribunal is grand and awful, its decisions allow no appeal, and there is no misinterpretation or misconception there. All must appear for a grand review before Christ as the great Judge in the presence of assembled saints and angels, to pass a close examination of spiritual fitness where all deeds and words and the inmost thoughts of the heart are laid open. Before it the guilty will be silent, with not one word to say in vindication of their course, and will stand guilty, condemned, and hopeless unless they now put away their sins, make diligent work of repentance, and are clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness, for those who have not put on that robe will stand without a defense. That final decision on moral and religious attainments is without appeal, accrediting honor according to faithfulness in accomplishing the special duties God gives each individual, including obedience to His law and to the laws of God, preserving harmony between religion and the pursuit of secular knowledge, and uniting excellence of human knowledge with moral courage and holy zeal for God. Standing before Christ's judgment seat is a solemn encounter in which condition and conduct are brought to account, exposing hardness of heart, backsliding, and discord, and all must meet and abide the final issue of a tribunal where nothing will stand the test but integrity and veracity, so obligations to God are as binding as indebtedness to the merchant or the market and everyone should review past life to find any unpaid, unredeemed pledges neglected and then make extra exertions to pay them in full.

Christ meets all as Judge of the living and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom, when the Son of man comes in glory to sit on the throne of His glory and separate all nations, for all judgment is committed into the hands of the Son of God, who then decides the destiny of every soul. The time is near when all must stand before the great white throne in the presence of the assembled universe to be rewarded as works have been, every person judged according to the deeds done in the body. At that judgment the dead are awakened and come forward to receive according to the deeds done in the body, the graves give up their dead, and there will be a resurrection when all stand at the bar of God before the eternal Judge to be awarded and receive sentence according to works, whether good or bad. Then each person's life record will be met again and can bring approval or shame, with forgotten deeds vividly remembered, and hidden dark deeds and secrets hoped to be buried forever revealed as a panorama, for the all-seeing eye will read the soul and bring to light mysteries supposed to be hidden with the dead. In that day only two classes will stand to receive according to what was done in the body, the obedient and the disobedient, with no middle class, the saved being the chosen of God, the subjects of His grace, who exercise faith and repentance, reveal to others the light God has reflected on them, serve as God's witnesses, and by obedience to the law condemn the world. To avoid a shameful record, a person must abide in Christ and have Christ abide in him, being one with Him in all plans and labors, and then will be seen the true value of a Christian life and character in contrast to those who devoted talents of time, means, and intellect to serving the gods of this world and will stand under the searching eye of Jehovah with none to pity or relieve them, reaping the crop they have sown.

Christ is qualified to be Judge because He took human nature and lived a perfect life, uniting divinity and humanity and in that nature overcoming the temptations of the enemy without sin in thought, word, or deed, with divine perfection. Having fulfilled one phase of His priesthood by dying on the cross for the fallen race and giving His life as a sacrifice, and having passed into the heavens to take the government of the heavenly host, He is now fulfilling another phase by pleading before the Father the case of the repenting, believing sinner and presenting His people's offerings, and to Him has been committed the judgment of the world. The judgment is pronounced by Jesus Himself, and each person receives according as they appreciated the words of Christ and obeyed them, facing judgment with exactly the tone of character, spirit, and morals cultivated in this life, particularly the spirit cherished in home life, in the family, and in association with neighbors. That judgment has not yet come, and the present is time for thankfulness because Christ stands as Intercessor, having loved each person individually and given His precious life as if there were no other soul, showing the infinite value of each soul, which should make sinners feel how denial wounds and bruises the Son of God and puts Him to open shame, not only in words but in actions that make Him ashamed to call them brethren, calling for full consecration now before all are weighed and many found wanting. After Adam and Eve sinned, Christ took the penalty of Adam's sin in his place, secured a further probation and freedom to choose, and postponed the day of judgment, yet Adam was still bound to appear before God's judgment bar, and the nearness of the end makes this universal appearing before Christ urgent.

Judgment belongs to Christ alone and is not left for man to pass upon man but is given into the hands of Jesus Christ, who makes no mistake; no one is appointed to judge others. The judgment seat belongs to Christ alone and no person may climb up on it to accuse another or to measure his own guilt against another's, but must instead discipline the self, avoid taking the judgment seat over others, and act with humility. Remembering that his own sins placed the Saviour on the cross of Calvary keeps a person from criticism and self-exaltation, and those who walk in the shadow of that cross will not condemn others. Each person's work and its results, including what was done and the wages or remuneration received, will be reviewed before God, so people should consider their own labor and its outcome rather than condemn another's. At the judgment seat of Christ when He comes the second time every one must render an account to God, and day by day and hour by hour people are laying up the material for that searching judgment so that daily lifework is bound up with the second advent, when Christ as Lord who now entrusts His goods and gifts to His servants will at His return reckon with them to require results proportionate to the talents given as shown in blessing humanity, giving to every faithful, self-denying Christian a reward proportionate to work, with everything measured and accurately estimated by the Lord. All will meet again at Christ's judgment seat and God, not human beings, will judge each person justly, with every act, its motive, the words spoken, and their effects on others revealed, so injustice and harsh treatment that harmed souls will have to be faced, yet because God will judge and repay, those wronged and falsely accused need not be embittered nor seek to injure those who wrong them.

Even rulers and the exalted of earth must face Christ's tribunal and receive a just award that wealth, status, and titles cannot avert. Every person, even the ruler of the world, must be arraigned before a tribunal higher than any earthly court and receive a just reward for deeds, and the prospect of this final tribunal exposes guilt and pierces the soul with the light of Heaven, causing terror in the guilty at the thought of standing before God. A certain day of judgment will surely come when all are rewarded according to what they have done in this life, and it will then be plainly revealed that wealth, position, or honorary titles are powerless to gain the favor of God or to deliver from the results of sin and to ransom anyone from slavery to sin. This life is man's time of preparation for the future immortal life, and neglecting present privileges and opportunities brings eternal loss, with no new probation to be given after death. The judgment also exposes the moral character hidden beneath outward conduct, for God's law reaches thoughts, motives, purposes, and even evil deeds never carried out, making a record of hidden jealousy, revenge, hatred, lust, wild ambition, and evil meditated in secret though never executed for lack of opportunity, which sap the foundation of character, since what hands do, tongue utters, or outer life exhibits only imperfectly reveals moral character. The warning of coming judgment carries with it an invitation of mercy, opening Heaven's peace and purity as desirable even to the hardened and guilty, but that invitation lasts only for a moment, and final rejection leaves only dense darkness and calls down the retributive justice of God, while the sinner can now be cleansed from guilt by faith in Christ, the one great Sacrifice for sin to which all the shadow sacrifices pointed and the one only source of life and hope, and enabled to render obedience to the law, for grace does not lessen the binding claims of the law but establishes it.

Standard and Scope Judged

The judgment turns on what was done in bodily life, good or evil, and that reckoning decides each case and fixes what each will receive when sentence is executed. Words spoken at home, conduct in business and toward neighbors, and the spirit shown to believers and unbelievers are all included as particulars of that bodily life. Watchfulness and prayer are called for in view of it, while meeting difficulties, overcoming enemies, and faithfully carrying responsibilities through Christ's strength builds experience of His help. Wrongdoing does not escape, for every evildoer receives retribution for deeds done in the body, confirming the justice of God's judgments against sin.

The standard applied is God's unchanging law and the Bible as statute book and mirror, testing character and obedience and showing people their condition. During the thousand years between the resurrections the saints, made immortal and taken to the Holy City, sit with Jesus as kings and priests and judge the wicked dead by comparing acts recorded in the books of life and death with the Bible. The sentence each must receive is then assigned according to those deeds and written against names in the book of death, to be carried out at the close of the thousand years. Satan and his angels are judged by Jesus and the saints in the same work, with Satan's punishment far greater and longer than that of those he deceived.

The reckoning is not limited to outward acts but reaches every work including secret things, with righteous judgment leaving no wrong unpunished. It searches even the smallest acts, words, thoughts, motives, purposes, and the influence a life gives off, laying open moral character hidden beneath outward conduct. God's law reaches thoughts and purposes and even evil never carried out, while wealth, status, and titles cannot win favor or shield from consequences. Words themselves are deeds in the record, for by them a person is justified or condemned as out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Stout words against God — calling His service vain and profitless, doubting, questioning and accusing brethren, disheartening the church, presenting truth in objectionable light after Satan's pattern since his fall — and pride in sharp, apt, confusing speech will bring shame, confusion of face and despair when each receives for good or bad.

The account also charges what might have been done but was left undone through failure to stay closely connected with God to know His will and claims. Money spent in selfish gratification instead of the mission treasury must be answered for, where one missionary stands where a hundred might have been, and both the liberal giver and the one who should bear his share even by turning houses and lands into mission funds will be examined. Neglected opportunities for service, unused time and abilities, unheeded counsel, and influence withheld from blessing others are all accountable before Christ's seat. Only those who did what they could will receive approval when Christ comes in the clouds to reward every man as his works have been. The choice is earnestness, energy, thoroughness, effort, self-denial and sacrifice securing heaven as heir of glory and joint-heir with Christ, or a final irreparable mistake losing everything with the wicked.

Reward and punishment are apportioned according to light, privileges, gifts, and faithfulness in using what was entrusted. Capabilities and talents are held in trust to be consecrated to service, with gifts returned according to gifts received; the cheerful, willing doer improves power to do, goes from strength to strength, climbs step by step toward higher progress, brings thoughts into captivity to Christ, and receives approval and wonderful commendation. Greater intellectual ability brings greater responsibility, so to use it to turn souls from God brings fearful judgment, and every talent used wrongly stands recorded as robbery. Punishment is measured just according to light permitted to shine on each pathway, and warnings, appeals, and words and acts as seeds testifying for or against those who pursue vanity, levity and pride affect the final outcome. What is done in probation fixes the future life, for every sin, unrighteous act, transgression, and abuse of glorious faculties permanently weakens faculty and lessens capacity for enjoyment hereafter, a voluntary loss and days lost for fitness for heaven never recovered in eternity, with violated conscience limiting influence like broken harp strings causing discord as energies cultivated right or wrong open new fields for good or evil to the developing mind.

Influence upon others for good or harm belongs to the judgment because words and acts live on and help decide the destiny of souls. Angels now write each life's history while each builds character for eternity, so the record should be kept with constant care to be met without shame. Every act of injustice and every harsh or wounding word, with the actions and the spirit prompting them, will be made plain, including harm done to souls by selfish or unchristlike treatment, calling for repentance, confession and living faith in the crucified and living Saviour. Misused abilities, foolish conduct, and drawing others into folly bring eternal loss, and a life's work of wood, hay and stubble will perish and appear worthless. Even mental faculties and physical powers are answerable for the influence exerted, since a small defect of character reproduced more strongly in others may grow and continue. Work among others is work for eternity, for each will meet in judgment all souls brought into contact in this life and answer for impressions given, especially to fellow workers, requiring love as to blood-bought souls and considerate, kind, sympathetic care instead of sharpness, sharp orders and reproofs, dictatorial authority, dishonesty, discouragement, provocation, or becoming a channel of temptation.

Each person is examined individually and closely, and must be tested and found pure, for another's purity and devotion cannot supply lack. Every person has an individual case pending in the courts of heaven, with the final decision near and settled by his own choice to choose good and refuse evil with decided change or to go on as before at a low level, which no one can make for him. Individuals, organizations, churches and institutions are judged together for deeds including failure to carry truth into unreached regions and to warn kindreds, nations and tongues passing into eternity unready. On that day responsibility for leaving people unwarned will be seen, measuring missionary duty, self-denial and self-sacrifice and exposing whether belief was real. Only two classes will then stand, the obedient and disobedient with no middle class, when the Son of man comes in glory to sit on His throne and separate all nations, all judgment being committed to Him who decides every destiny; the saved as subjects of grace exercise faith and repentance, reflect light to others, serve as witnesses, and by obedience condemn the world.

Heavenly Record and Disclosure

Angels are now writing the history of each life in the books of heaven with unerring accuracy, recording daily words and actions, deeds, business dealings, motives, and the spirit governing them. Unlawful dealing, defrauding a brother, and taking money from a neighbor without giving an equivalent are registered there, and every case will appear just as it is when the judgment sits and the books are opened. Each person is building character for eternity, and because the influence of words and acts lives on and helps decide the destiny of souls, the record should be kept with constant care so there will be no shame in meeting it. This includes the work of educating and training children, for in that judgment every secret thing is brought to light, every hidden thing revealed, and every dishonest act with the motive behind it appears exactly as it is. Every word and act is kept in a record that each person will meet in the day of final accounts, to be approved or to be ashamed, whether self was denied and all given in gratitude or time and means spent in feasting and mirthful gatherings to honor the human.

Character is being transferred to the books of heaven as exactly as an artist photographs features on a polished plate, faithfully delineating every phase. Every manifestation of selfishness or greed is noted, and every cherished sin though unseen by man is perfectly delineated, with every indulgence in wrongdoing making an eternal impression. In the family this covers daily words and actions recorded day after day, including careless talking, censuring, faultfinding, irreverence and disrespect, and unkind looks and stinging words that bite. All will one day stand before angels and men revealed in their true light, either fashioned after the divine similitude or disfigured by the idolatrous sins of selfishness and covetousness, with unkindness, selfishness, and meanness if allowed to develop clearly revealed. Each person must individually face the judgment and the record of life as it actually is, now forming a character that will either fit him to be a member of the heavenly family or will be found so crooked it can never be straightened, since clinging to self-will carries selfishness forward to that revealing.

When the books are opened every person is judged according to deeds done in the body, and each will meet the life record again to approval or shame. The judgment will be a disclosure and an awakening, with forgotten deeds vividly remembered under intense, searching inspection of all of life's actions. Misused abilities and a life's work built of wood, hay, and stubble bring eternal loss, while those who abide in Christ and have Christ abide in them, being one with Him in plans and labors, and who serve God looking to Jesus for approval, can face their record without shame, having recorded failures and victories over temptation. When the records are opened the Judge need not declare guilt in words but will cast one penetrating, convicting glance, and every deed and every transaction of life will be vividly recalled to the wrongdoer's memory. Because time is short and backsliding, perils, Satan's deceptions, and his victories over unguarded souls are great, there is call for no self-pleasing celebration but great humbling of heart before God and earnest prayer for pardoning and sanctifying grace.

Deeds and acts thought to have been done in secret where no eye could see will be made known, because God saw and registered every deed done by man, and all who come forth from the dead when Christ comes in the clouds together with those then living will stand before His seat. Hidden things will be revealed, and sinful secrets of life and heart not confessed and washed away will be made manifest, with the unfaithfulness of those who took sacred responsibilities and failed to fulfill them standing revealed. Those whose consciences became seared so that sin was not sin to them and who led others to lightly regard sin will see things in their true light, with selfish ambition to be first and highly honored of men standing forth in all its unhallowed aspects. Sins hidden from men will then be proclaimed to the whole world, and the person will not need to be hunted out from tribe to family but his own lips will confess his shame. Hidden dark deeds and secrets hoped to be buried forever will be revealed as a panorama at the resurrection when graves give up their dead and all stand at the bar before the eternal Judge, for the all-seeing eye will read the soul and bring to light mysteries supposed hidden with the dead. Secret corrupt conduct and influence that holds another in iniquity must be answered for, and following impulses of a corrupt heart until sin no longer looks exceedingly sinful shuts one out of the kingdom.

Sins must go beforehand to judgment through confession and repentance in the great day of atonement, as the people in the earthly sanctuary service were required to humble themselves and confess so sins could be atoned for and blotted out. Sins confessed now go beforehand to judgment where Christ cleanses them, so wrongs can still be righted by undoing fraudulent transactions, restoring what was taken, and confessing sin, and unlawful dealers should tremble now so they will not quake then. Sins left unconfessed and unrepented when life ends go with the sinner into eternity and meet him in judgment, and the record of life passing on to judgment retains unconfessed and unrepented wrongs. The present time is the antitypical day of atonement when every case awaits final decision while Christ pleads, calling for giving up one's own way and yoking with Christ in meekness and lowliness, having the soul refined and purified and cleansed from all defilement, since continuing in self-reliance and unconverted character will certainly result in loss of eternal life. Feeling accountability means submerging the human will in God's will and seeking to know and do it, not grieving the Spirit by disregarding counsel, by selfish independence, or by risking everything to follow one's own independent judgment while knowing the Word and being instructed in truth, but seeing the wrong for its cruelty, repenting and confessing before God so He may forgive and heal, with humbled heart and whole course turned about to do God's will.

Timing and Phases Judgment

The investigative judgment began in 1844 when Christ as great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, opening the antitypical day of atonement in which every person's works and character pass in review before God. In that review the cases of the righteous dead are examined first, and when that work is complete the judgment of the living follows, each case awaiting its final decision while Christ pleads. As Israel in the earthly service had to humble themselves and confess sins so they could be atoned for and blotted out, so now sins must go beforehand to judgment through confession and repentance, with self given up, the soul refined and purified by the blood of Jesus, self hidden in Him, and daily conversion to His mind and will. Time is therefore short, calling for work with an eye single to God's glory and for guiding others in truth and holiness, so that the name is not blotted out of the book of life but confessed before God and the angels, for to continue in self-reliance and unconverted character, including sins of neglected duty, will certainly bring loss of eternal life.

The judgment sits and the books are opened before Christ appears, revealing each person's record, so that standing before His seat is for receiving according to what was done, whether good or evil, not for having the case first decided there. When the Lord comes with power and great glory the judgment will sit and the books will be opened and every person will be judged according to deeds done in the body by Christ Himself, who knows their works. Day by day and hour by hour people are now laying up the material for that searching judgment, bound up with the second advent, when Christ as Lord reckons with the servants to whom He entrusted goods and gifts and requires results proportionate to talents in blessing humanity. Knowing the nearness of that reckoning manifests true character and purges the church, makes Christian conduct and example solemn, calls for straight paths, no wrong example or crooked course, and a life crowded with good works, and gives steadiness when enemies triumph with lying words, slander, deceit and falsehood amid darkness, strong opposition and bold iniquity, leaning on the Mighty One in assurance of not having run or labored in vain.

The judgment is certain, near and soon, taking place in connection with the closing hours of probation and Christ's appearing in His kingdom in the clouds as Judge of the living and the dead and as King of kings and Lord of lords, when each receives according to works done in the body. Everyone who comes forth from the dead at that coming, together with those then living, will stand before His seat, where even deeds and acts thought done in secret will be made known because God saw and registered every deed. With the end near, preparation essential for this time and spiritual discernment to stand the perils of the last days are pressed, conduct that ruins souls and brings spiritual blindness will be recompensed, and the knowledge that every action and even every thought is known calls for taking salvation seriously, yielding wishes to God, and being diligent without delay. Because this is certain, the message of mercy and warning must go out now to awaken the world from death with a work that lives through eternal ages, ministers keeping the day before the people and laboring by faith not sight, and stewardship of means examined, for money spent in selfish gratification instead of the mission treasury, leaving one missionary where there might be a hundred, and failure through lack of connection with God to do knowable good, must be answered for, and only those who did what they could will receive approval.

During the thousand years between the first and second resurrections, after the saints are made immortal and taken to the Holy City, they sit with Jesus upon thrones and reign as kings and priests unto God in judgment over the wicked dead. Their deeds, recorded in the books of life and death and in the book of death, are compared with the statute book, the Word of God and the Bible as standard, deciding each case according to deeds done in the body. Jesus in union with the saints then metes out and assigns to each wicked person the portion to be suffered according to works, written off against their names, to be carried out when judgment is executed. Satan and his angels are also judged by Christ and His people in that time, with Satan's punishment far greater than that of those he deceived, beyond comparison and much longer in duration.

The sentence thus measured according to works and recorded against names is executed at the close of the thousand years in the second death, satisfying divine justice. Punishment corresponds to deeds in degree and duration, for some are consumed quickly while others suffer longer, as long as anything remains for the fire to consume. Satan bears not only his own sins but punishment for the sins of the redeemed placed upon him and for the souls he led to ruin and caused to be lost.

This life is the time of preparation for the future life and the only probation ever given, with no second probation after death and no second opportunity afterward to recover neglected lessons or lost chances. A certain day will surely come when all are rewarded according to what was done in this life, whether good or bad, when wealth, status, position and titles will be powerless to gain God's favor, shield from sin's consequences, or ransom from slavery to sin. Neglecting present privileges and opportunities brings eternal loss, churches and institutions answering for peoples passing into eternity unwarned and unready through failure in missionary duty, self-denial and self-sacrifice, which exposes whether belief was real. The time to perfect Christian character is now, standing in Christ's merits with victory in His name, for all found unholy or defective when measured by the law, which reaches thoughts, motives, purposes, hidden jealousy, revenge, hatred, lust, ambition and evil meditated in secret though never executed, will suffer guilt's punishment, yet the sinner may be cleansed by faith in Christ the one great Sacrifice to which all shadows pointed, whose grace establishes not lessens the law and enables obedience.

Reward Punishment and Destiny

Everyone will be rewarded according to works done in the body, whether good or evil, with reward measured by faithfulness in using gifts received from God. Capabilities and talents are held in trust to be consecrated to service, and according to gifts received must gifts be returned, for greater gifts bring greater responsibility, and day by day and hour by hour people lay up material for that searching judgment. Each receives in exact proportion to work and to improvement made on God-lent talents, as one servant made ruler over ten cities, another over five, another over two, and it is the privilege of each to strive for the highest recompense. No one is saved for personal merits, for the rewards of eternity are purchased by Christ and in no case merited by man, yet judgment proceeds most accurately on the basis of works, which show faithfulness, and everything is measured and accurately estimated with no mistake. Those who do what they can cheerfully and willingly improve power to do, go from strength to strength, climb upward step by step toward higher progress, bring thoughts into captivity to Christ, press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and receive approval and wonderful commendation, while the slothful neglect appointed work and become hindrances to others.

In that day only two classes will stand to receive according to what was done in the body, the obedient and the disobedient, with no middle class. This judgment is a final examination and decisive test in which each outcome is revealed, some acquitted and welcomed into God's kingdom while others are not, and there is no second opportunity afterward to recover neglected lessons or lost chances. Each will be stripped of everything except formed character, and will be seen as either righteous or unrighteous, for nothing will matter then except character and the law of God. The saved are the chosen, subjects of grace, who exercise faith and repentance, reveal the light reflected on them, serve as witnesses, and by obedience condemn the world, while mere pretense and words are not enough, for God calls for works and future happiness depends on active faith and standing in the merits of Christ with victory gained in His name. The reckoning takes place when the Son of man comes in glory to sit on the throne of His glory and separate all nations, for all judgment is committed into the hands of the Son.

Punishment corresponds to deeds in degree and duration, meted out according to works done in bodily life. Some of the wicked are consumed quickly, while others suffer longer, as long as anything remains for the fire to consume, which satisfies justice. Sentence is written in the book of death and set off against names after acts are compared with the statute book, the word of God, by Jesus in union with the redeemed saints who sit upon thrones and reign as kings and priests. Satan and his angels are also judged, and Satan's punishment is far greater than that of those he deceived and cannot be compared with theirs, for he suffers for his own sins, for sins of the redeemed placed upon him, and for souls he caused to be lost and led to ruin, continuing to live and suffer much longer after all those he deceived have perished.

What is done in this probationary life fixes what is carried into the future life, and reward in the day when every one receives according to works is decided by what is made of the present life. Every sin, unrighteous action, transgression of the law, and abuse or misuse of glorious faculties permanently weakens that faculty and lessens capacities of enjoyment in the life to come, and though the sinner may be forgiven, eternity will not make up that voluntary loss. Days of probation lost in acquiring fitness for heaven will never be recovered, and however high may be attained hereafter it would have been higher and still higher if privileges and golden opportunities had been fully improved here. The account requires not only wrongs committed but also good that ought to have been done and was left undone, with eternal consequences deciding whether one secures heaven and eternal life as heir of glory and joint heir with Christ through earnestness, energy, thoroughness, effort, self-denial and sacrifice, or makes a final irreparable mistake and loses everything with a final destiny with the wicked. Being exalted here by worldly honors and riches to neglect of spiritual life and soul-saving causes one to sink that much lower in moral worth there, for earthly treasure gives no advantage when probation closes or when Christ appears and not the smallest portion can be taken into glory, and readiness means using means, mind, and light to save precious souls.

A heaven of future blessedness is set before believers, where each is rewarded in line with what was done. This promise gives firm footing on the immutable promises of love and strong consolation now, with the heaven of Christ's presence in this life and an eternity of bliss to come. Then the redeemed shall see the King in His beauty and go no more out forever.

After every case has been decided for life or death all the guilty must stand before the bar of God. Consequences, awful condemnation, and fearful looking for of judgment will force acknowledgment of sin from each soul, with own lips confessing shame, but such confession forced by condemnation cannot save. The Judge will not need to declare guilt in words or hunt out the person from tribe to family, but will cast one penetrating, convicting glance, and every deed and transaction of life will be vividly recalled to memory and impressed on the wrongdoer. Those secure so long as they can conceal transgressions from fellow men and flatter themselves iniquity will not be marked will too late have sin find them out, in a day when they shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever, and sins hidden from men will then be proclaimed to the whole world.

Every one will receive sentence according to whether deeds were good or evil, measured by God's law, and when the cross is presented in its true significance every excuse will be removed. The incarnation and crucifixion will be plainly understood, exposing the true meaning of the cross and each response to Christ, so that sin is seen as it is and human rebellion is seen for what it is. Those condemned will recognize that rejecting truth and choosing to transgress brought their own destruction, that they chose against Christ. At its execution Satan will have no excuse for rebelling, the hosts of rebellion will be speechless, and judgment will show that no cause for sin exists.

Faith Works and Character

Everyone is justified by faith, yet judged by works, and there is no conflict between the two, for good works are the sure and precious fruit of faith. The judgment looks to the record of actions and fulfilled duties, not to profession or claim of faith, for the fruit of a life shows whether it is good or corrupt. Works show faithfulness and reveal the quality of faith, so the prospect of judgment calls for self-examination, humility, and sincerity. Faith without works is dead, and a professed peculiar and holy faith that does not sanctify life and character profits nothing. No one is saved for personal merits, for the rewards of eternity are purchased by Christ and in no case merited by man, yet each receives in exact proportion to work and to improvement made on God-lent talents, as when one servant is made ruler over ten cities, another over five, another over two, and it is the privilege of each to strive for the highest recompense. Greater gifts and abilities bring greater responsibility, and all are judged and rewarded according to faithfulness in the work entrusted to them. Punishment is measured just according to the light God has permitted to shine on each pathway, so the natural inclination to depart from God and righteousness and neglect of great salvation brings trial and punishment. Safety in the day of deceivableness of unrighteousness is only by crucifying self and striving, praying and watching, living distinct and separate from the world, for no one can partake of the world and its pleasures and still be Christ's.

The deciding question is not what profession was made, but what was done for Christ and what fruit was borne to His glory. Character, measured by God's law, will be what remains and will reveal each person as righteous or unrighteous. Words and outward pretenses are not enough, for God calls for deeds, and active faith and good works bear on future happiness. The judgment will reveal each person's true character and make clear which company they belong to. False accusations do not change a person's standing before God; what matters is the life lived and whether opposition leads nearer to Christ. Each must be tested and found pure, for another person's purity and devotion cannot make up for lack, and preparation during probation requires sorrow for sin, true repentance, humility before God, searching the heart, and overcoming evil tendencies, if names are to be retained in the book of life.

In that day each will be stripped of everything except the character formed in life, and will be seen as either righteous or unrighteous. Nothing will matter then except the character formed and the law of God, so unrepented and unconfessed sin must be cleansed. All must one day stand before angels and before men revealed in their true light, just as they are, either fashioned after the divine similitude or disfigured by the idolatrous sins of selfishness and covetousness. Character is now being transferred to the books of heaven as exactly as an artist reproduces features on a polished plate, with every phase faithfully delineated and every manifestation of selfishness or greed noted.

Preparation therefore demands becoming a new creature in Christ, with old things passed away and all things become new. All must watch and keep garments clean from defilement and shame, no longer retaining old sinful habits and practices but being cleansed and sanctified as vessels unto honor, abiding in Him and doing righteousness as He is righteous instead of continuing in sin. The tribunal allows no appeal or misunderstanding, and before it the guilty will be silent with not one word to say in vindication, standing guilty, condemned, and hopeless unless they now put away sins, make diligent work of repentance, and are clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness. Those with great light and many privileges and spiritual advantages must bear the fruits of true godliness and rise to a higher plane of action as doers and not hearers only of the Word, lest they be no better than those full of forms and ceremonies destitute of vital godliness, and they must confess and seek the Lord. This calls for present readiness to meet the Saviour in peace at His coming as King, instead of being absorbed in worldly business and pleasure, by now washing the robe of character in the fountain prepared at infinite cost, advancing to a higher standard in handling sacred things, appropriating the Word by eating and digesting it, moving beyond the ABC of Christian experience, walking and communing with Jesus as Enoch did, and keeping God's commandments through love as those born of God who overcome the world by faith.

Trials are permitted by God to give significance to the judgment, for Satan tests believers so that faith and trust in God may be revealed and it may be clear whether they obey His written word. God knows each heart, motives, and thoughts, yet allows these tests to come, and those who remain true reveal His goodness before the heavenly universe and people. In this way believers' faith, trust, and obedience to the written Word are revealed before the judgment.

At the great day of final retribution the thoughts, purposes, and actions of the faithful worker, although now unseen, will appear again, and things that now seem a light matter or are now forgotten will then appear as witnesses either to approve or to condemn. Love, courtesy, self-sacrifice, and every word and deed of goodness will be made manifest when God's chosen ones are changed from mortality to immortality. No act of unselfish service, however small or simple, is ever lost, but through the merits of Christ's imputed righteousness the fragrance of such words and deeds is forever preserved through the eternal ages. Humility bearing fruit in a living sense of the love of God will then speak for the soul, and to stand approved requires going forward and upward from strength to strength with self not woven into life, receiving each revelation of correction, warning, and counsel as a blessing, climbing higher on the ladder of progress until the bright beams of God's glory shine upon him, never resting but constantly seeking the wisdom and righteousness of Christ, pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, bringing thoughts into captivity to Christ and becoming one with Christ. This Christ-revealing experience every human being may and must have, for no one who retains the frailty and imperfection of natural humanity will be vindicated because he could not enjoy the perfection of the characters of the saints in light, and whoever lacks faith that Christ can keep him from sinning lacks the faith that gives entrance into the kingdom of God.

Preparation and Warning Mission

Because the judgment is certain and near, when all must appear before Christ as Judge of the living and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom to receive according to works done in the body, the message of mercy and warning must go out now to awaken the world from its sleep of death with a work that will live through the eternal ages. Ministers entrusted with that message must keep the day of judgment before the people, laboring by faith and not by sight to be accepted by Him, and all are urged to labor to be accepted and to heed while the end draws near. God is now sending His message to lead people to prepare the way of the Lord for that judgment, and those who heed it will be strengthened to resist the enemy's evil suggestions. Since the world's inhabitants will soon be brought before God's judgment seat, it is urgent to lead them to Christ and to accept the truth while the voice of mercy and the gospel invitation can still be heard. This coming accountability requires people to be prepared to meet God and to respond to the final test, and those convicted by the truth will recognize missed opportunities to do good and failure to work zealously for the lost.

Individuals, organizations, churches, and institutions will be judged for their deeds, including failure to carry the work into regions where the truth has not reached, and on that day responsibility for leaving people unwarned will be seen. Each will soon stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for deeds done in the body, including good that might have been done but was left undone through failure to stay closely connected with God so as to know His will and claims. Money spent in selfish gratification instead of being placed in the mission treasury must be accounted for, so that there is one missionary where there might be one hundred, and those who gave liberally and those who should bear their share even by turning houses and lands into mission funds will be examined, for Christ will soon come in the clouds to reward every man as his works have been and only those who did what they could will receive approval. That reckoning includes time spent in preparation, sympathy shown, work in winning souls back to Christ, and binding up the brokenhearted, and facing others before the Judge will bring either regret for failing to help when duty required or gladness for denying self to help them stand on the solid rock, so that no one will feel too much time was given to that work. Abundant facilities, buildings, large wages, and wide-spreading advantages will witness against those who hold them when God inquires about souls left without regard, without labor, without light. Managers of the sanitarium, the college, and the publishing house will be judged for souls they might have helped to receive the truth who would then have labored for others in darkness, and indolence, neglect, and passing by on the other side toward the long-neglected Southern field and the colored people left degraded and unenlightened condemn those who had the greatest advantages and richest blessings, so that Christ cannot pronounce them good and faithful servants. Those who have left the colored race uncared for and uneducated will be pronounced unfaithful stewards and must answer at the bar of God for their neglect unless they repent, for God has an account to settle with those who make only a few feeble efforts and then allow means to be diverted into wrong channels and with those who selfishly hoard what was lent to be used in helping and blessing humanity, though the Word plainly points out their duty. The reproach of indolence is wiped away when everyone who believes labors as the self-sacrificing Redeemer labored, furnishing workers and needy people with advantages they cannot otherwise obtain and helping every man from least to greatest to know the Lord by reading the Word.

The prospect of receiving at the judgment according to good or evil done in the body calls for watchfulness and prayer. Faithfully meeting difficulties, overcoming enemies, and carrying responsibilities through Christ's strength builds precious experience of the Saviour's present help in every time of need. In view of that certain day, God's workers are to live as in His sight, continually developing true virtue and godliness, with thoughts, actions, and motives shaped by Christ's Spirit and kept above earthly and sensual things, so that Christ will not be ashamed to call them brethren. Each has sacred individual responsibility to form such a character that the heavenly benediction will be pronounced upon those who have elevated the standard, with mind and heart thoroughly imbued with the Spirit of Christ and solemnized by the sacred message to bear, finding happiness in Jesus and His love and not in forbidden, selfish gratifications. This certainty calls God's professed people to turn from sin and to develop characters marked by virtue and godliness rather than earthly or sensual desires.

That tribunal is grand and awful, allowing no appeal or misunderstanding and no misinterpretation or misconception, and before it the guilty will be silent with not one word in vindication, standing guilty, condemned, and hopeless unless they now put away sins, make diligent work of repentance, and are clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness. As the end nears with abundant trials, and Satan united with wicked men seeking to weaken and annoy God's people, envy and jealousy among believers must be put away because they weaken, discourage, and destroy and will be answered for in that judgment. Those who truly love God have the spirit of Christ, which always leads to peace and love and never to dissension, denying self for truth's sake and for Christ's sake and bringing no trials from within the church. In this antitypical day of atonement sins must go beforehand to judgment through confession and repentance, for the investigative judgment began in 1844 when Christ the great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, reviewing first the cases of the righteous dead, with judgment of the living to follow when that work is complete. As the people in the earthly sanctuary service were required to humble themselves and confess their sins so they could be atoned for and blotted out, so people must do likewise while Christ pleads for them and each case awaits its final decision. Every act of injustice and every harsh or wounding word will be brought into judgment, with actions and the spirit that prompted them made plain, including harm done to souls by selfish or unchristlike treatment, calling for repentance, confession, restoring fraud, reconciling with brethren, and living faith in the merit of the crucified and living Saviour. Those with hearts in communion with God and affections centered in Christ will become less disturbed by roughness and hardships, growing up to the full stature of men and women in Christ, becoming more like Him in character, rising above murmuring and discontent, and refusing to be fault-finders.

Everyone will stand before the Lord of all the earth and give an account of what was done in the body, when each one's work will appear as it truly is, and this accountability gives urgency to soul-saving work. Remembering this, canvassers and publishing workers must keep God's claims ever before them, watching for souls, praying sincerely and from unfeigned lips for wisdom to speak a word in season to those in need, obeying the truth, continually elevating and purifying the soul, sensing the value of the soul, and seeking God's approval. They are to make the most of every opportunity to make known the riches of Christ's grace, going forth with the prayer, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do, laboring as in the sight of God and in the presence of heavenly angels, desiring in all things to be approved by God, and their work will not be fruitless. The motives and influence of those in God's publishing work will be tested at Christ's judgment seat, so those who serve there must be Christians in deed and truth with genuine interest in the work rather than merely working for wages, for selfishness and pride are incompatible with that service.

All the secrets of a life of crime are open before God and every person must be judged according to deeds, and the Spirit sends conviction of this truth to arouse conscience to recall the guilty past with terrible distinctness, including hidden lust, bloodshed, licentiousness, cruelty, rapacity, and injustice. That knowledge fills the guilty with terror and trembling dread and calls for repentance rather than dismissing the disagreeable reflection and putting decision off to a convenient season. All who serve sin will stand before Christ's judgment seat to receive the reward of breaking the law, as Jesus judges the world, reading the purpose of every life, seeing through every soul, discerning the thought of every heart, and estimating the feelings that prompt every action. There all of God's gracious invitations that were slighted, refused, and rejected will be presented to each individual, and the sentence then pronounced fixes destiny forever, either to eternal bliss or to punishment with the fiery wrath that closes the history of the wicked forever. Even the ruler of the world must be arraigned before a tribunal higher than any earthly court and receive a just reward, for the light of heaven exposes guilt and pierces the soul, causing terror at standing before God. The warning of coming judgment carries with it mercy's invitation, opening heaven's peace and purity as desirable even to the hardened and guilty, but that invitation lasts only for a moment, and final rejection leaves only dense darkness and calls down retributive justice.

A reckoning day is coming when all will be judged according to deeds done in the body, which means faithful work is not in vain. Therefore there is reason not to be moved when enemies triumph with bitter and lying words, slander, deceit and falsehood, when the world is dark, when opposition waxes strong, and when the trifler and scorner grow bold in iniquity, but to lean upon the arm of the Mighty One for strength. The certainty of this judgment gives confidence to persevere through opposition and slander, knowing that Jesus knows His people.

Stewardship in Daily Callings

Time, talents, means, intellect, health, and opportunities are the Lord's property held in trust, and all must stand before the judgment seat to answer for deeds done in the body and for whether that brief, precious time laden with opportunities was improved in service. The reckoning covers whether words cheered and encouraged those seeking help and comfort, whether influence strengthened associates, and whether possessions were faithfully given to the Lord, with talents of time, of means, and of intellect to be accounted for before the great white throne in the presence of the assembled universe. Spending money, which belongs to God as owner, for self-pleasing and selfish gratification, neglecting the fatherless and widow, and failing to use money and influence to relieve suffering will be charged against all at the bar of God. Because the allotted life is brief with only a few more years at most to work for the Master, consecrating self and all one has and is today is reasonable service, delay even for a moment is perilous before the voice that cannot be refused calling for an account of stewardship, self must be crucified and all done with an eye single to God's glory whose claims extend to words and actions, and the inward Spirit working outward subdues word and spirit unto the mind of Christ. The judgment includes not only deeds done but good that could have been done by heeding counsel and using influence to bless others, with each answering for time and abilities entrusted, while those devoting talents to serving the gods of this world will stand under the searching eye of Jehovah crying for pardon to hear the Sinai voice answer, Go and cry unto the gods ye have chosen, with none to pity or relieve, reaping what was sown.

Use of money, tithe, offerings, vows, and property is judged, and dishonest or covetous withholding of tithe makes one an unfaithful steward who must answer when the books are opened. Selfish excuses for withholding tithe, gifts, and offerings due to God will not stand, and once the record is settled destiny cannot be changed, for unfaithful stewardship brings God's curse and separation from Him. Spending for self-pleasing, neglecting the suffering, fatherless and widow, and holding out the tempting glass that forges chains of maddening appetite, as liquor sellers do, is kept in the books of heaven and will meet a terrible account, for God will render to every man according to his work. Spending on needless display while others lack food or clothing withholds help and loses opportunities to do good, with purposes and motives judged and lasting loss in the immortal life to come. Obligations to God are as binding as debts to merchant or market, so past life must be reviewed for unpaid, unredeemed pledges and vows neglected, then extra exertions made to pay in full to meet and abide the final issue of a tribunal where only integrity and veracity stand the test. Being exalted by worldly honors and riches to neglect of spiritual life and soul-saving sinks moral worth that much lower before the great tribunal, and readiness means using the Lord's talents of means, mind, and light as life-work to save precious souls, since earthly treasure gives no advantage when probation closes or Christ appears and not the smallest portion can be taken into glory.

Speech is a trust to be used for good to share Christ's love, encourage the discouraged, and offer kindness and comfort, while harmful, dishonest, exaggerated, idle, and unprofitable words, common worldly conversation, wasted time, and letters and writings are accountable before Christ. By words one is justified or condemned because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and the record opened in the great day of final reckoning includes stout words against God that it is vain to serve Him and no profit to keep His ordinance, with doubting, questioning, accusing brethren, disheartening the church, and presenting truth in objectionable light as Satan's work since his fall. Pride in sharp, apt, confusing words gives no cause for boasting, for those words will bring confusion of face, shame and despair when each receives according to deeds done in the body whether good or bad. Jesus knows every falsehood, misrepresentation, and slander, in a little while the day of judgment comes and the lying tongue will be stopped, so the soon coming of Christ calls for staying with present truth and the last message of mercy instead of turning aside to answer opponents whom Satan uses to divert minds.

Parents will be brought before God for review and at the final reckoning parents and children harmed by failure will meet face to face. They must answer for neglecting duty to train children according to the pattern God gave, for corrupt appetites and passions passed on and left uncorrected, and for forming character for usefulness here and for society with heavenly angels hereafter, with thousands of children who are slaves to appetite and debasing vice, moral wrecks, standing before the parents who made them what they are. This includes the work of educating and training children, where every secret and hidden thing is brought to light and every dishonest act with its motive appears exactly as it is. Daily family words and actions are judged as good or evil, including careless talking, censuring, faultfinding, irreverence and disrespect, and unkind looks and stinging words written day after day in heaven's books where angels picture character as exactly as an artist photographs features. Because home prepares for the home above and tempers that cannot live in harmony here could not, unless converted, live in harmony in the heavenly family, patience, kindness, forbearance, and abiding love must be cultivated to keep love warm, develop qualities Heaven approves, and share the divine nature fitted for the holy family above through close relationship with God.

Teachers and educators will meet their students before Christ's judgment seat and face the record of how they managed them, with all work done brought in review before God. Teaching minds is solemn work for time and eternity with students' future immortal life at stake, requiring bearing patiently with dullness and ignorance in dull scholars and dealing tenderly, kindly, and very patiently with the sensitive and nervous, keeping students' good ever in view and never exhibiting self. A sense of personal imperfection and failure should make educators sympathetic and forbearing, correcting wrongs faithfully in a way that draws the student closer, joining firmness and exact justice with mercy and pitying tenderness rather than harshness and aloofness, as Christ has borne with the erring and rebellious without giving them up, representing Christ by precept and example to show forth His grace in kindness, patience, and meekness. Those who so represent Christ in training youth will receive a good reward and not be put to shame when meeting students and the record of management, while wasting that golden opportunity to build up personal dignity loses souls that might have been saved for acceptable work for the Master. In that day every word and deed passes in review and teachers meet the lasting fruits and influence upon pupils and others, including sharp written criticism of a teacher, parents' poorly concealed justification of a son's wrong course, influence against God's instrumentalities, colored statements keeping youth from truth, neglected home duties, and being drunken with cares, hurry, drive, and intense worldliness that molds children, church, and world, all to be met again and answered for especially where souls are lost.

Physicians and medical practitioners must take to heart personally that all must appear before Christ's judgment seat to receive according to deeds done in this life good or evil, shaping actions by God's ways so lives prove they are doers of Christ's words, have been with Jesus and learned of Him. Lived out, this makes a physician a power for good carrying healthful influence of righteousness and truth, refusing to be bribed by larger wages to desert duty and do dishonor, refusing for any money to betray sacred trusts as traitor to God's cause, especially at the decisive time when faithfulness makes an efficient helper and unfaithfulness makes a great hinderer and destroyer. Every physician will meet again before Christ each soul ministered to in sickness and dying, especially when losing hold on life with last opportunities slipping away, and will meet those who died in their care. Responsibility extends beyond protecting the body, for to work only to avert bodily peril while forgetting peril of the soul ignores solemn realities of the future life and neglects the highest trust committed to physicians equally with gospel ministers for cure of souls. Therefore each must now do his best, offering consecrated service and using God-given talents for the highest, holiest purpose to accomplish greatest good, with medical missionary workers to teach and live this truth to contacts and schools to teach students a real aim, true education, and how to become true gospel medical missionaries to labor with ministers of the Word in needy fields.

Violations of physical law are judged, for all will be judged for deeds done in the body from a record of all acts where even most secret things must be met again. Injuring self physically and morally and debasing passions and affections to lust instead of devoting entire being to God's service requires preserving the body holy and being prepared to meet that judgment. When judgment sits each is judged personally and hears sentence, reaching professed Christians who indulge defiling appetite and destroy brain nerve power and physical health, showing they misrepresented Christ in practical life as a savor of death unto death, with joining many others in lustful practices neither excusing iniquity nor lessening condemnation. Professed Christian women taking lead in patronizing fashions will have a fearful account in final reckoning, for by example they open temptation's door to weak sisters, charming the inexperienced with respect paid to stylish dress until infatuated with artificial adornment and led to ruin by self-adornment, to privation and overwork to keep pace with changing styles, even to dishonesty and theft. Spending on needless display while people lack food or clothing withholds help, loses opportunities to do good, and brings loss in immortal life, with purposes and motives weighed and nothing thought, said, or done hidden. In facing life's record all will regret wasted precious hours in self-gratification, dancing, parties and pleasure, and neglected opportunities that could have secured immortal treasures, making readiness for death and judgment urgent to honor God and choose modest dress over vanity and pride.

Business dealings are registered in heaven's books, including unlawful dealing, defrauding a brother, and taking money from a neighbor without equivalent, with motives, actions, and governing spirit weighed by God who deals with each as each dealt with others. When judgment sits and books are opened every case appears just as it is and each receives according to deeds, so unlawful dealers should tremble now lest they quake then, righting wrongs by undoing fraud, restoring what was taken, and confessing sin that now goes beforehand to judgment where Christ cleanses. Those in positions of trust who do wrong, taking advantage and keeping what should have gone to needy faithful workers, are known by the Lord in every dishonest transaction and will be awarded according to work, while every unselfish action is rewarded, leaving no reason for envy but only pity and prayer. Those entrusted with responsibility answer for actions and influence on others, and failing to distinguish sacred from common or leading minds wrongly meets God's judgment unless repented, delayed but certain, with the unfaithful servant meeting consequences of unfaithfulness. There is a higher tribunal above earth's tribunals where all must answer for deeds in the body, so earthly position, lawmaking, and court sentences do not end accountability. God keeps a record of those whose reason and homes alcohol harms, revealing drunkenness's miseries, drunkards made, murders committed, and homes afflicted as the devil's work, and those who legalize liquor traffic and license its sale destroy instead of keeping their brother and must answer, beware lest blood be on their hands.

Daily conduct at home, in business, toward neighbors, in church, and toward believers and unbelievers passes in review, including words spoken at home, behavior in business, and spirit shown, for God judges according to deeds in bodily life good or evil and obedience to His Word shapes character like His, a principle applying to men and angels. All are accountable for conduct in the body and warned not to follow impulses from an unsanctified heart. Deeds, words, and actions affect the future, life is preparation forming character for the life to come, each is responsible for that work shaped by choices yet cleansed from stains through Jesus, requiring training the mind to delight in spiritual exercises to endure Heaven's purity and transcendent glory and be translated without being overwhelmed, since arts, sciences, music, penmanship, and pleasing manners have nothing to do with that preparation. In the day of judgment books are opened and each judged by deeds in the body, with knowledge accepted in unbelief, sophistry, untruthful representations, and lack of faith standing against one so that accepters will wish they never learned such lessons. Everyone will be judged by Christ according to bodily life good or evil, with opened books calling each to meet God's moral standard of righteousness ready without spot or wrinkle.