1 Timothy 5:19-25 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. (20) Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. … (24) Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. (25) Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.”
We have seen in an earlier section that there are some works done on the earth that can be blotted out, and those works will not be remembered on that day. The works that I am referring to are all sins that we commit which we repent of and ask forgiveness for. We have seen that our Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and they are blotted out of heavens records by His precious blood. You can readily see then why it is so important that we keep a short account of sin and confess them before the Lord as soon as they are committed, for sin that is unforgiven remains on heavens records and will be brought to account on that day, for scripture plainly teaches us that we will be held to account for both the good and the bad that we have done in this life (2 Corinthians 5:10). And so we come to the even more serious aspect of the believer’s judgement, which is unforgiven sin. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals to us two aspects of our lives that we will be held to account for on our day of judgement i.e. our good works and also our sins, for I want you to notice that when Paul makes the comment about some men’s sins preceding them to judgement that he was dealing with the issue of elders in the church who were sinning. And so clearly this statement was made in relation to the judgement of believers and not unbelievers.
Matthew 5:18-19 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (19) Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
In support of what the apostle Paul taught in the preceding passage of scripture we also have the statement made by our Lord Jesus regarding the judgement of believers who commit sin. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus is referring to believers and not unbelievers, for He tells us that these individuals are in the kingdom of heaven. And we also know that He is talking about believers who commit sin because He speaks of those who break the commandments of God. And so clearly we can see from this teaching that our Lord has given us that sin in the life of the believer will have an impact on their eternal standing in the kingdom of heaven. So why is that? The reason for that is simply because their sin will be brought to account on their day of judgement.
Michael E.B. Maher
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