being Judged

Do any of you ever feel afraid that God is going to Judge us more harshly because we know so much?,for example most all of us here have read and heard great books and sermons and we have so much light and so much responsibility.. do any of you feel scared about God's Judgement? James 3:1 My brethren be not many masters(teachers)knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation..1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the House of GOD and it first begins at us.... just a question

hi, when i see the blood i will passover you. i rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ,only....jimp

,for example most all of us here have read and heard great books and sermons and we have so much light and so much responsibility..Yes, we have had it many blessings for quite a few generations. And, yes, I belive that we will be held accountable for how we handled the Light when it was among us. One day I worshiped at a church that was going well - great progams, great sermons, great... everything. I mean, really! God was blessing that congregation. When I was praying for them, I asked God for a word about that church. I wondered how he saw them. I received words from Jeremiah 13. It seemed to be an admonishment to keep their eyes on God and not just on the blessings. They were not to take the blessings for granted. Also they were in danger of becoming prideful because of their blessings. Present blessings does not mean that down the road there will not be judgment: 15 Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. 16 Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. 17 But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD's flock will be taken captive. do any of you feel scared about God's Judgement?I say "no", not sure if that is because it is not a reality yet in my mind. But also God has promised that he will protect those who remain faithful to him - even for all eternity. "Neither death nor life.... nothing can separate us from the love of God...." Romans 8There are many verses that speak of God's protection during judgment - worth doing an entire study on. Diane

Andres,I am fearful of His discipline while we are alive. Since reading all the books, listening to truth in sermons, growing in Wisdom that he provides through His word and prayer...it makes me accountable to the Truth that I hear.I know that if I willingly choose NOT to obey that Truth (which I seem to do so much, blah), then God will discipline me like a Father does a Son.So yes....I do fear God, especially with the more Truth that I learn. At the same time though...His grace has never become more evident - there is no reason for me to be a minister except by the grace of Him - much less any blessings from Him. Praise Him for being a loving and Just God.In His,DOI Pet 4:2

I too fear the Lord's discipline. (Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.) I fear this scourging and I'm finding his compassion beyond measure but I know Jesus is very concerned about sin and once He puts his finger on something, He never lets up. I'm thankful that the Lord God of heaven is not a permissive God that can be manipulated simply because I'm unwilling to submit to Him.(Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.) I'm still in this grievous state but I know that I submit to Him, He will pull me through to victory and that's my hope...

One thing we should understand is that judgement for the Christian will not be a judgement of punishment. This is key! What is punisment for the non-repentant is discipline for God's children. And it may all happen through the same circumstances in life. The follower of Christ grows stronger through judgments and the nonrepentant crumbles. There is a big difference between having the "fear of God" and having a terror. I once did a word study on the word "terror" and found that it was the outcome of those who refused to repent. I would never want to experience that, but I know that many will. The fear of God is something that should always be a motivating force in our lives because it keeps us from straying into sin. That is much like having a healthy fear of oncoming traffic and hot stoves - not a bad thing. Fear of God is not the same as being "afraid" of God, which causes us to hide behind "figleaves" and "bushes" and is the product of failing to plead for his mercy and forgiveness. Does that make any sense?Diane

I too fear the Lord's discipline. Psalms 23 says 'His rod and staff COMFORT me'His rod is the rod of correction, yes it hurts when He chastens us but the fact that He does discipline us shows us He is our Father and so we don't need to fear Him as much as respect Him and look up to Him.Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the begining of wisdom, we need to clarify that our fear is a reverand awe, not that He will catch us doing something wrong and send us to hell :-( As for judgement, we won't be judged for our sins, they're under the blood as Jimp says, but we do stand before the Judgement seat of Christ where we will be judged for what we did or didn't do in His name. Leonard Ravenhill says a lot about this, one comment he says is; 'I'm not afraid of what I have done but what I have not done'Don't think that once your saved you can sit back and let God do all the work, He guides, we must follow (that takes effort on our part)

Don't think that once your saved you can sit back and let God do all the work, He guides, we must follow (that takes effort on our part)And don't think that just because you are saved, you are off the hook with God and won't be judged. That is nonsense. Scripture warns many times to be careful about how we live because there is a consequence for not living right. (See Rev 2,3)Take a simple example: If you eat too much and don't excercise you get fat - and you face the consequences - health problems down the road.Judgments can be supernatural, but they can also be natural consequences - programmed right into the creation. Let's not kid ourselves. Same goes for emotional issues. If you hold a grudge, you get ulcers, or you damage relationships. If you don't seek God with all your heart, you end up going after the things of the world -- and down the road, you face the consequence just as much as anyone else. Many "saved" people have a false sense of diplomatic immunity. You always have to wonder how many of those really are saved, because one who is truely born from above is very sensitive to the Spirit, to conviction, to the importance of holy living, etc. Diane

Andres,I struggle with the issue that I personally do not desire to be a "master", but what if God has called me to be one? Wouldn't it be a greater offense to avoid obedience out of fear (check the parable of the Talents) than to avoid being judged myself? Consider this, Jesus was tried and found guilty of blasphemy, which is claiming to be God. He was technically guilty of that accusation, which led him to the cross. However, the only difference between the blasphemer and Christ is that the blasphemer isn't God, where Christ is. I often wonder if Caiphas (I think I spelled it wrong) had seen this fact when Christ was standing before him and objected, if Christ would have said, as he did his cousin John, "This has to happened."It is a constant struggle and act of faith to speak on behalf of God, all the while knowing that there is the possibility that you are speaking out of your own flesh. After all "faith is the ... evidence of things unseen" and "without faith it is impossible to please him". Fear is the enemy of faith and cowardice is fear's victory (see the story of Jesus in sleeping in the storm, where he asks why the disciples have no faith), while courage is faith's victory. This is why God exhorted Joshua to "Be courageous".Don't get me wrong, we are to be pudent in our speech and seek His permission before speaking, however understand that there is a Judgement, and the main thrust of that judgement is "Will he find faith in the earth".Art Katz deals with this theme excellently in Gleanings From The Garden - Part 1 and Part 2.

I don't hesitate to say that I fear God, but as my Father in heaven not some other false notion. I remember witnessing to this kid I worked with and it finally hit home to him when I told him I had no fear of judgement and that I had already been judged at the cross of Christ and been found guilty. I knew that as a sinner I deserved every second of Hell's punishment for all eternity but that Christ had stood in my place and I was therefore judged, found guilty and set free all in the same woderful, beautiful act of redemption. He stood still for a moment when he realized that time for him was running out, that by not accepting the salvation of Christ he had made a decision. He too was judged and found wanting, and in that final moment there would be no last second decision. This kid was in construction, drove amateur dirt track racecars and was in the habit of driving drunk, no better case could be made for the unpredictability of his last breath. I would not exchange all his supoosed freedom for one second of eternal security, therfore truly I have nothing to fear. What hurts, what aches what drives me to my kn ess in tears before God is that I am so weak and yes my Father loves me but I know I don't love Him nearly enough. I fear that one missed oppurtunity, that word spoken in anger and haste, that inaction that should have been kindness and love. Why Lord do I say I love you when I show so little of your love for others? It makes me sad to know that I have not done or even undone so much of the Lord's work in my life by my own selfish, childish obstinancy. His word is so dear to me yet it has taken me forty years to open my heart to Him and let Him write His word on my heart as He wills. I despair of the ineptitude of my prayer because the blind don't see, the sick aren't healed and the dead don't walk and the lack is in me and not in the power of my Lord and Savior. If my sole concern was the glory of His name I would just be beginning and what I fear most is that in the moment I need to stand for my Lord I won't have what it takes to pay the price, take up my cross and follow Him. To hear your voice Lord, hear and obey; let fear open my ears and give me strength to do what is asked; whatever the cost. I so desperately want to love God with all my heart and strength but I still cling to some parts of myself for fear that they are what makes me who I am; instead of living crucified to the world. Yes I fear God, He is a consuming fire and only a fool doesn't fear fire. But then all of man's best wisdom is foolishness to God and what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the eyes of God. I pray, with fear, that when Christ looks in my heart He sees what is His and not the filthy, sin-stained clutches of the grave.I am completely capable of fooling myself but He whom with we have to do sees all and will accept no excuses, so yes Lord I ask with fear, remove all that is in me that is not of you, cast the branches that don't bear Your fruit into the fire. I love my Lord but fear is a reasonable response to Him who can cast me into the fire and I am by no means above some hard lessons because I'm hard-headed. But the Lord has brought me so incredibly far with grace and gentleness, far more than I deserve, and I believe it has all been for the benefit and witness of others, so that they too might come into the arms of a loving Father who desires to wipe all our tears away.Thank You Lord

I too fear my own foolishness, laziness and lack of concern for the dying souls around me. I fear quenching the Holy spirit and not allowing the Lord to be totally glorified in my life. I am absolutly and totally desperate to be what Jesus has called me to be! My prayers have been so desperate lately. I would rather die than continuing living a life that does not honor and glorify Jesus at all times!! I'm sick of my own cleverness. Sick of my foolish talking and sick of being cordial and putting on a good act for this dying world! I want this world to see Jesus in me and nothing else!! Let them hate me, let them call me despised, weak and foolish. I'd rather know the suffering of Jesus than all the pleasure of this dying world!! It's all dung!I fear this the most... this is the image I have in my mind:I am standing before the great judgement seat of Christ. I am there giving an account for my life. I know that I am washed in the blood and headed to heaven. But as the Holy King looks at me and sees through the timeline of my life, I see all of the times that I have failed Him. One by one those who are condemed to be eterally sepearted from Christ come forth. Some are co-workers, some are neighbors and some are from my own family. They cry out as a final plea to HIM... "The one whom is your servant, did not tell us. If she told us we would have accepted the truth and we would not be cast away into the lake of fire." And as they are saying it I know it's all true. But then Jesus in all of His awesomeness and holiness address those and He says to them "Yes, what you've said is true, but I have written MY laws upon your heart, and all of nature declares MY magesty. I died for you and called to you daily, but you never responed to my call." At that point there will be no more arguing or pleaing because His final judgment was made.

I am standing before the great judgement seat of Christ.I certainly agree with those who have claimed the blood of Christ but the thought of empirically experiencing what we have known through faith does cause me to shiver some times.Even with the knowledge and hope of the Gospel, I think the Lord let's still let's us keep a healthy taste of fear for the Day of Judgment in our hearts. It gives value and perspective to the glorious hope we have been given in Christ. He is our Passover Lamb that has saved us from the wrath of God. Remembering the wrath keeps grace all the more precious.Also, I think it gives perspective to all of life. It's so easy to forget that we were not created for our own pleasure...but for His. I find this verse from King Solomon to be a balanced thesis for life. "Be happy, young man; while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment."In this light I think holding a hushed fearful expectation of standing before the one true and living God is only sensible. In our own country, America, death is often made to seem unreal or avoidable. In my lifetime I can count on one hand the number of sermons I remember that looked hard at dying and meeting our maker. Most of those were at funerals. Yet, for most of the church's history there were prayers and meditations specifically written to keep that day in mind even while we are young and healthy. "REMEMBER your Creator in the days of your youth."Here is a translation from the Latin Requiem text. It has Catholic overtones, but when I get a sense of lowliness before El-Shaddai, the Almighty God, I can certainly relate to this trembling.Liber MeDeliver me, O Lord, from eternal death, on that fearful day when the heavens are moved and the earth when thou shalt come to judge the world through fire. I am made to tremble, and I fear, when the desolation shall come, and also the coming wrath. That day, the day of wrath, calamity, and misery, that terrible and exceedingly bitter day. Rest eternal grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.This is the cry of Christian between worlds in Pilgrims' Progress. He cries “woe is me” for he learns from scripture that he has offended his Creator. Although we are blood-bought, there are times when we might still feel tempted to pick up our old burdens and try to “impress” our Creator and Judge. When we do, there is a description given to God in 1 Peter 4:19 that reminds us of the his Everlasting Covenant to redeem his fallen creation.Faithful Creator."...let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful creator." Amen.

thanks, all for all your comments they really spoke into my heart, so this is what i learned :1.there will be different Judgments for the faithful and not faithful2. difference between fear and terror3.no fruit no saved(fruit of the Spirit? or Fruit of Souls?)4.healthy fear is good it keeps you on track thanks again andy