Tuesday, November 19, 2013
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Well, it's time to get out the old winter wardrobe again, and a lot of us don't mind. You see, there's something very special about winter clothes - they're big, they're bulky. In other words, those sweaters cover a multitude of bulges and figure-faults unlike those summer clothes. Remember them? They reveal entirely too much, and I'm not even talking about modesty here. I'm talking honesty about all the figure problems. You know? Winter covers the bulges; summer exposes them. And in that sense, summer is coming for each of us.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Sweaters."
Well, you've got an appointment, and there is no way to cancel it; no way to reschedule it. It's defined for us in 2 Corinthians 5:10, our word for today from the Word of God. "For we must all..." Okay, this is speaking to Christians now, "We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body whether good or bad." Actually the Greek word for "bad" there means worthless, useless - whether it's good or whether it's worthless.
Now, this is sort of a good news/bad news statement. This appointment we have to keep before the Judgment Seat of Christ is not to determine whether we go to heaven or hell. That's settled on the basis of whether you've given your life to Christ or not and accepted the forgiveness that He bought for you on the cross. No, this is Christ's evaluation of how you spent the one life He gave you. Did you spend the days of your life on things that He considers good or things He considers worthless?
See, people are making their evaluation of your life right now. And you may have impressed people very favorably with your Christian commitment, your busyness for the Lord, your spiritual talk. But you can wear spiritual sweaters when you're with people, because they can't see all the bulges that are underneath. They can't see who you are when you're alone; how you treat your family; what you do when no one else is looking. They can't see your motive, whether it's to impress men that you're doing this spiritual thing, or whether it's to please your Lord.
See, this word "appear," "We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ." It's an interesting word in the original Greek. It means to be laid bare - to be turned inside out. Everything can be seen; nothing hidden. The Judgment Seat is a place of no secrets. Your image won't matter there, your reputation, your pedigree, the impressions men have had of you. None of that is going to matter. Our eternal rewards will be based on who we really are.
One of the early church fathers responded to this passage this way. He said, "Let us then imagine Christ's judgment seat to be present now, and account the Judge to be already present and everything to be revealed." I agree with that. Why wait till the Judgment Seat to see the me that nobody knows? Right now, go to work on the dark corners; the spiritual bulges...that sinful secret that maybe only you know about - those twisted motives.
Then the summer unveiling at Christ's Judgment Seat will be a celebration of God's transforming grace in your life, and of rich rewards for an authentic faith. It's time to get in shape! Remember, when you stand before the gaze of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are no sweaters.