The Revelation Of Jesus Christ: “to give every man according as his work shall be.”

 

Revelation 22:12 KJV

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

 

We all will answer for what we have done in our lifetimes.

For those who are saved, we will all give an account for how we handled the many opportunities for service which our Lord has graciously given to us.   Did we, by faith, step up and take advantage of opportunities to serve our Lord?  Did we do it with the right motives in our hearts?  Did we use methods that were pleasing to the Lord?  These areas, and others, will be areas of judgment for those who know Christ as their Savior.

The Apostle Paul clearly concerning this judgment in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, while Christ used a parable to illustrate this judgment in Luke 19:11-27.

 

Those who have never trusted in Christ, they too must answer for their actions in this lifetime.   When they stand before the Lord the many times that they have disobeyed the Lord will be brought into clear view.  What act of disobedience was performed?  Was this  sin committed due to  ignorance or was it an act of willful rebellion?  Was it a private act or a public act?  How many others followed the sinful example that was set?  These and other areas of responsibility will be examined during this time.

John describes this judgment in Revelation 20:11-15, where we can see the Lord will use the absence of their name from the Book of Life to reveal their standing before Him and the 66 books of the Bible to reveal the sinfulness of their works.  Paul also speaks of the same judgment in Romans 2:5-8.

 

King Solomon taught on the final judgments in his closing words of Ecclesiastes.  Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s diary that he wrote to share his experiences and the life lessons he had learned as King.  In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Solomon summarizes these life lessons in two short sentences….

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

Not only have these final judgments given us a glimpse of what will take place in the future, but they also give us a tremendous motivation to serve the Lord.   It is just as Solomon says, the whole duty of man is centered upon man’s need to fear, reverence, and obey God.

All three of these involve a recognition and submission to Christ as the Lord of their life.  This only comes when a person turns from their sin and turns to Christ, trusting in Him as their Savior and the Master of their life.  It is only then that a person can come to understand the greatness of their Lord, fear and reverence Him, and live their lives in submission to His authority.

This is the key to being found faithful at the final judgment, this is the whole duty of man.  May we all use the final judgments to motivate us to turn from our sins to Christ before our opportunities to trust in Him pass us by.

 

For an in depth look at these sections of the Revelation:

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