LIVING IN CHRIST

 

LIVING IN CHRIST

Eccl. 12:13,14 Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. NLT

Solomon had spent a lot of time thinking about life and its meaning. He had the opportunity and resources to look into just about everything that is common to man. He looked for purpose and meaning in what man does in life and came up empty time and time again. He discovered that there is no lasting purpose or satisfaction in anything people did with their lives.

At the end of his search, Solomon turned his thoughts to the eternal. He declared that what really life was all about was to fear God and obey Him. He declared that it is the duty of every person to do it. Much has been declared about what it means to fear God.

To fear God is to have a deep respect for who God is in His holiness and what He does for those who sin against Him. It is having a healthy sense of God’s judgment. It is living with the knowledge that God hates sin and will not tolerate it in His presence. It is respecting the reality of hell as a place of eternal tormenting suffering for those who reject Christ and live in sin. It is understanding that we are not able to draw near to God because of our sin. A healthy fear of God drives us to Christ who alone can make us holy before God.

We don’t like to think about it much, but God will judge us for everything we do. Every hidden thing we have done, good or bad, will be exposed before Him. God sees what no one else sees. He knows all that we do and even why we do it. We don’t like to think about it. God knows everything we do or think about, good or bad. No one always thinks about good things or always does good things. All of us are guilty of sin. No matter how hard we try, we can’t get away from God’s knowing eye. Such knowledge should cause us to fear what awaits us when we face God.

Only those who are living in Christ will be able to stand before God. Jesus is our holiness, our righteousness before God. He is the only one who can keep us from being subject to the wrath of God. God will bring wrath upon all in whom He finds sin. When sin is exposed, it will be dealt with. Hell has been prepared for those in whom sin is found. When God looks at the soul who is living in Christ, He sees not sin; He sees the righteousness of Christ. He will never look beyond the righteousness of Christ. Thus, for those who live in Christ, our sins are as if they never were. Our only hope is to fear God and obey Him, which means we live in Christ and let Him be our Savior and Lord.