General Articles

All Mankind Will Stand Before God :: By Grant Phillips

Published on: by RR10

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

1. Some people reject the fact that there is a god, let alone the one true God we all must stand before to be judged.

2. Others may believe that God might exist, but if He does, He will accept all into Heaven. These folks have various reasons for their beliefs, such as: man is basically good, I’m not really all that bad, I’m certainly better than that guy, God would never send anyone to hell, I walked the aisle, I belong to a church, my parents are Christians, I give a lot of money to the church, I support other people in need, I’m a pastor, etc., etc., etc. There are probably dozens of other reasons offered.

3. Then there are those, like myself, who know they are a sinner and have asked Jesus to save them. They believe He is the only way to Heaven and that He is God, that He died for them, is risen, and sits in Heaven today, preparing for the day He will return.

Of these three groups, which are you in? Maybe you have contributed much to society. Maybe you are well known in the music field, the sports arena, the Hollywood scene, the business world, or the educational field. Maybe you are a seminary professor at a respected seminary. You may have published many books, written many songs, or conducted symphonies. You may even be a household word as a world-renowned politician and leader. You may even be worth millions or even billions of dollars, of which you contribute to many needy organizations.

All of these things obviously could fit very well in any of the three categories above, but what are they worth … really? Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

I wonder what Jesus had in mind when He referred to our “treasure?” Ask yourself this question, and I think you’ll have the answer, “What is the most valuable thing you have?” Is it not your “soul”? Think about it. Everything we have can be replaced, but if we lose our soul, it cannot be replaced. If we allow Satan to steal our soul, we’ve lost everything.

Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God offers eternal life for your soul if you are willing to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross will cover all your sins, past, present and future. Instead of death, you will receive eternal life, but there is only one way to receive this free gift.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'” (John 14:6).

Have you mocked and rejected God’s free gift of salvation? Think about this.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Even every true Christian will stand before Jesus, but not to be judged for our sins. He paid our penalty for that, but to judge our works in determining any rewards we may receive for serving Him (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Each true believer in Christ must also answer to the Lord as to how we treat our fellow believer. We could lose precious rewards. Even though our salvation is secure (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:14).

“For it is written: ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (Romans 14:11-13).

Have you ever given someone a gift and they refused it or wanted to pay for it? It is insulting, isn’t it? Don’t you think it is also insulting to God when we do the same thing? Everyone will stand before Him for judgment. I would like to repeat our introductory verse.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

God is not impressed with our so-called accomplishments. He doesn’t care if our name has been up in lights. He doesn’t care how popular we may be. He doesn’t care how much wealth we possess or how much power we may have. We may be the most powerful, influential person the world has ever seen, humanly speaking, all of us will still stand before Him.

The only difference between the believer and non-believer in Jesus is that Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone who has come to Him to be saved. Those who refuse Him will pay their own sin debt in hell. If God wanted to, He could squish any of us under His foot like a bug, but instead, what does He desire of us?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-7).

Maybe you would like to say to me, “Now wait a minute. I’m not famous, powerful or wealthy. Where do I stand?” Everyone … everyone, regardless of our social status, will stand before God and give an account. The number one question will be, “What have you done concerning my Son who came into the world to pay for your sins and give you eternal life?” If you have put your trust in Jesus, you will be welcomed into the Father’s house. If you have rejected Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will spend eternity in the place you have chosen, separated from God, in the lake of fire.

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels'” (Matthew 25:41).

Grant Phillips

Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: https://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html

Daniel: Revealer of Secrets, Part 2 :: By Paul J. Scharf

Published on: by RR10

In the last installment, I introduced you to my friend from ancient Babylon, the prophet Daniel.

I commented on some of the overarching themes of his book in the attempt to demonstrate its significance and further provide some structure that might aid additional study. But I also tried to remind us of Daniel’s real, human experiences as a captive in Babylon—and the impression they should make on each one of us.

And that is where I want to pick up in this concluding installment—sharing specifically how the book has impacted my life and ministry.

In His infinite grace, the Lord has given me a wealth of opportunities to study and teach the book of Daniel. Surely the high point for me was in the fall of 1995 at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa, where I was blessed to be part of a modular course on Daniel taught by Dr. John Whitcomb. [i]

That was only my second class with Dr. Whitcomb. He had written a commentary [ii] on Daniel which I had read when I preached through Daniel in the first small church I pastored. I took notes in that textbook, then had him autograph it.

Dr. Whitcomb was just past 70 years of age at the time—which sounded much older to me then than it does now! It seemed to me that Daniel must have been a lot like him. It has also occurred to me how prophecy scholars like Dr. Whitcomb and another whom I heard at Faith, Dr. John Walvoord, lived such long and fruitful lives—like Daniel and the Apostle John, their distant predecessors (Dan. 10:1; Rev. 1:1).

That class gave me a passion and a hunger to truly “understand” this book—as two of the gospels especially command us to do (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). It certainly has to be one of the most important academic opportunities that I’ve had in my life.

Contrast that with the fact that I was raised in confessional Lutheranism and trained in amillennialism—and we studied the first six chapters of Daniel but were discouraged from looking beyond them to the second half!

But that spirit has never resonated with me, and I can’t see Daniel espousing it either (see Dan. 2:23; 7:16; 10:19; 12:8). Even as I see many from our dispensational circles moving ever closer to the Reformed camp and toning down enthusiasm for something like a detailed exposition—based on literal interpretation—of the prophetic sections of Daniel, I continue to move in the opposite direction.

I teach a weekly Bible study group which has asked me to lead them through a verse-by-verse series on Daniel, so I am turning my notes on the book into a complete set of multimedia slides for the first time. I am also reviewing a sampling of the wealth of resources out there that are freely available from some of our greatest teachers.

As I’ve begun this project, it struck me that I actually preached or taught through the book of Daniel in all four of my pastoral ministries. The last of these began the week following a church split. I was called in to speak, and I asked if the group wanted me to address the issues related to the split. I was told that had already been attempted and was advised to speak on something else.

So, I went far away, in time and topic, to the historical background behind the book of Daniel. It was, perhaps, an unusual subject to choose, but it stuck with this congregation, which we came to know and love. I became the interim pastor and preached through the entire book. [iii]

I’ve had two other special experiences with the book of Daniel. Back in the fall semester of 2001, I was privileged to teach a class on it at Maranatha Baptist Bible College. [iv] In fact, that’s what I was doing as the events of Sept. 11, 2001, unfolded. Later, I had the opportunity to edit the teaching curriculum on Daniel for Regular Baptist Press. [v]

So, those are the reasons that this ancient man Daniel seems like a personal friend to me—just as real as anyone I have ever known.

How has the book of Daniel impacted you? I would love to hear your story.

—

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

[i] “Daniel” module; Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 1995 (Ankeny, IA: Faith Baptist Theological Seminary).

[ii] Daniel—Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985).

[iii] These sermons, recorded at Grace Bible Church in Portage, Wis., are available here: “Daniel: Revealer of Secrets;” Paul Scharf—Friends of Israel; https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceonly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=pscharf&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Daniel%3A+Revealer+of+Secrets. Internet; accessed 22 September 2022.

[iv] Now Maranatha Baptist University, in Watertown, WI.

[v] Our God Reigns (Daniel). Life Design Adult Bible Study Leader’s Guide Vol. 58, No. 4, with Alex Bauman (Schaumburg, IL: Regular Baptist Press, 2010).