In today’s episode of Hope for Today, we delve into the profound concepts of judgment and accountability before God. Bible teacher David Hocking guides us through Ecclesiastes chapter 3, reflecting on the inevitable nature of divine judgment and how it applies differently to believers and non-believers. Understand the balance of sin, justice, and mercy as explored through scripture, and grasp the full depth of what it means to be accountable for our actions in the eyes of God.
00:23:44 Conclusion on Judgment and Accountability
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the righteous and the wicked. Everyone, believer and unbeliever, are going to be judged by God. It has to. Why? Because God is a God of justice. You say, well, are we going to be judged for our sins as believers? No, but let me just clarify one thing with you. God is a God of judgment and justice, and he will judge your sin. Right? He doesn’t excuse your sin. He doesn’t overlook it. Well, how is he going to do that? Well, you see, when Jesus died on the cross, God judged sin. So if I put my faith in Jesus Christ, there is no judgment to those who are in Christ Jesus. But that doesn’t mean that God never judged the sin. He did in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for me.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to the Friday edition of Hope for Today. You know, when we hear the word judgment, we tend to ask a personal question. What about me? Where do I stand? Will I be judged? Ecclesiastes chapter 3 reminds us that God is a God of justice. Right and wrong do not blur with Him. Sin, sin is not ignored, it is dealt with. And that raises a critical issue. If God judges both the righteous and the wicked, what hope does anyone have? Well, Scripture gives us a clear answer. God did judge sin, He does judge sin, but not by overlooking it, but by placing that judgment on His Son. Today, Bible teacher David Hawking continues in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 as God’s Word shows us how justice and mercy meet at the cross and why there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And boy, if you are in Christ Jesus, join me in saying, thank you. Thank you, Jesus. We are blessed and we are grateful. Well, we’ll get back into Ecclesiastes chapter three in just a moment. First, Matt, it’s that time of the week. We share a letter from one of our listening friends and this one short and sweet.
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John and Donna, what do they have to say? Love it. It says, thanking the Lord for you faithful saints and you’re serving him until he returns in Christ. Amen.
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Well, and John and Donna, thank you so much for your note. And by sending that encouragement to us, And praying for Hope for today, you are serving him as well. And we cherish you, our listening family. If you have a note of encouragement for us, maybe a prayer request, get in touch with us. We love hearing from folks that catch the program, catch David’s Bible teaching here on Hope for Today. And we’ll tell you just a bit later how you can get in touch. And now here’s our teacher, David Hawking.
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A time for judgment. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 16 to verse 22. Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there shall be a time there for every purpose and for every work. I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons of men, God tests them that they may see that they themselves are like beasts. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to beasts or animals. One thing befalls them. As one dies, so dies the other. Surely they all have one breath. Man has no advantage over beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust. All return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, which goes down to the earth? So I perceived that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? Solomon said there’s a time for everything. Well, if there is, what about judgment? You say that God is going to ask every one of us to give an account. But Solomon says what I observe under the sun is the exact opposite. Back to Ecclesiastes chapter 3. And maybe you can kind of in your own heart say amen right on. I see what you’re talking about, Solomon. That’s what I see. I see it everywhere. Where is the justice and the judgment of God in this world? When is he going to bring people into account? In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 17 and 18, he says two things, really. I said in my heart is the key to the outline. So there’s some principles he understood in his heart. The problem he observed in verse 16. But there were two principles he clearly understood in his heart. One, verse 17, deals with our accountability before God. And two, in verses 18 to 21, deals with the advantage of men when faced with death in this matter of accountability. I want you to look at it. The reasoning here is fantastic. He’s observing the problem. And instead of judgment, instead of justice, all we’ve got is trouble, sin, iniquity, wickedness. Things don’t seem right. So I’ve come to have two principles, he says, in my heart. I said in my heart two things. One, accountability before God is a fact. God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. For there shall be a time. You see, if you believe, verses 1 to 15, that there’s a time for everything, that God is in control, then there will be a time for every purpose and every work on the earth. Interesting. You see, how the believer adjusts then to all this wickedness and all this trouble and this lack of clearly straightening out matters that seem to be wrong. The believer’s confidence is in the Lord. Look, because I believe there’s a time for everything. Because God is in absolute control. Then I believe there’s a time for the judgment he says he’s going to bring. So God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. Everyone, believer and unbeliever, are going to be judged by God. It has to. Why? Because God is a God of justice. God has to. You say, well, are we going to be judged for our sins as believers? No, but let me just clarify one thing with you. God is a God of judgment and justice, and he will judge your sin. Right? He doesn’t excuse your sin. He doesn’t overlook it. Well, how is he going to do that? Well, you see, when Jesus died on the cross, God judged sin. So if I put my faith in Jesus Christ, there is no judgment to those who are in Christ Jesus. But that doesn’t mean that God never judged the sin. He did in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for me. There is a time coming, however, that he’s referring to when all will be judged. God will ask us an account of what we have done in our lives. To the believer, the emphasis and theme is on reward. And to the unbeliever, the emphasis is on punishment. But everyone, no matter who you are, will stand before God. We believe that there’s going to be a gigantic time difference between those two judgments. We think they’re going to be separated by a thousand years. A lot of believers think they’re one and the same event. I believe there’s going to be a time for judging believers. The issue is reward. I also believe there’s going to be a time for judging unbelievers, and the issue is punishment. The truth is, what Solomon says has to be in everybody’s heart. Don’t get ticked off, upset, or try to take revenge yourself on anything. Instead, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. The truth is that God, the judge of all the earth, He will do right, says Genesis 18.25. You don’t need to worry about it. God is going to bring His vengeance, as Revelation clearly teaches, on the whole world. No one will escape. And every unbeliever will stand before God at the great white throne judgment of God. And he will have to give an account of all that he has done. God says he will open the books that are the deeds of men. And he will give us one crucial test that whoever was not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. Man thinks he can escape it, but he will not escape it. There’s a time for judgment. If God is who he is, God of very God, he must have a time for judgment or he can’t be God because he’s God of justice and judgment. And it’s very clear then, when I look at this, that there’s a principle that begins to control the believing heart about accountability to God, leaving matters with Him. I’ve seen husbands and wives that can’t leave matters with him. So you try to get back at each other. I’ve seen children and parents do that. We all have a natural tendency to do that. Somebody said something to you that was really cutting, ripped you apart, damaged your self-image, all of that. The temptation is even subconsciously. You’d never say that you’re going to do it, but you somehow do it. You say something you shouldn’t have said somehow to even the score. Solomon said, I perceived in my heart. I understood something. I said in my heart. I learned a principle that God shall judge. I have to leave this matter to him. What I’ve observed certainly confuses me. But I understand who God is. And my accountability to him is a factor. Turn in the New Testament, please, to John chapter 5. And I’d like to show you something that the New Testament teaches, our Lord taught, about judgment. And that all will be judged. Because that’s exactly what Solomon is saying. Whether righteous or wicked. Everyone will be judged. I want to ask you as I ask myself. Do you believe that one day you are going to stand before God and give an account of what you have done in your life? I find Christians do not want to believe that. I’m going to show you here that the Bible teaches that Christians are going to do it just as surely as non-Christians. The issues involved are radically different, praise the Lord. But the idea that Christians will never come into account before God simply is not taught in the Bible. Whether you’re in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, God continues to tell us that one day we’ll stand before him and give account of all that we’ve done. In John 5, we pick it up at verse 24. Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment. You say, see, I’ll never face judgment. But it’s passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all… who are in the graves, will hear his voice. If you’ve been reading so far, you would say, well, that’s referring only to unbelievers who will come into judgment, because in verse 24 it says we won’t come into judgment. Keep reading. Verse 29. All who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth. One, those who have done good, not meaning good works, the good is to believe on the Lord Jesus, which the context later describes. those who have done good to the resurrection of life, those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. You say, well, the text doesn’t say that those who come to life are going to be judged. No, it doesn’t. You’re exactly right. And there’s a sense in which the believer will never come into judgment because you put your faith in the judgment of God upon sin at the cross. But the other side of the coin is, is there any sense in which the believer will be brought into judgment or, let’s say, accountability before God? It’s an important question. Turn to Romans chapter 14. Romans 14. Many of us, I think, we lose our sensitivity about what is right and what is wrong, and we get involved in a lot of things we shouldn’t. We kind of just float through life. We got our ticket to heaven. We don’t seem to feel or sense that we’re going to be accountable to God for anything. And look at what Romans 14 says. In verse 10, it says, “‘Why do you judge your brother? Why do you show contempt for your brother?’ For we, now he’s writing to believers, there’s no doubt about that. We shall all stand before the, what’s it called that? Judgment seat of Christ. So there’s some sense in which I’m going to be, do you like evaluated better than judged? What helps you to understand it? Is it accountability? You see, there’s a sense in which I will not be judged for my sins. I understand that. There’s no condemnation of those who are in Christ. But for me to turn around and argue that I will never give an account as a believer to God for what I’ve done, I’d have to just bypass some scripture in the Bible and say I don’t believe it in order to teach that. The Bible says we must all, it’s writing to Christians, stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Now look at the basis of that from the Old Testament. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. That’s interesting. We normally apply that to unbelievers who will bow the knee before God and confess that he is Lord at the judgment of God. But all people, believers or unbelievers, you say, I do that when I receive Christ. Really? Verse 12, so then each of us shall give account of himself to God. That’s what it says. It didn’t say each of us has already given account of ourselves. It says we shall give account of ourselves to God. Now come over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I’m interested in what the Bible says, and I know Christians argue over this, but I think it’s fundamental to Christian life. I believe the Bible teaches the fear of God is the very controlling factor in our lives concerning the practice of evil. Why do some people who say they’re Christians just do all kinds of things and get away with it and seemingly don’t feel that anything’s going to happen? Look, there is not only some evaluation coming at the judgment seat of Christ, but the Bible teaches that God even judges in this life. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged, says 1 Corinthians 11.32. But Hebrews 12 says that the Lord chastens whom he loves. He will bring temporal consequences to our acts, as surely as a final accountability at a place he calls the judgment seat of Christ. which doesn’t deal with judgment for sin at that moment, but does deal with reward in what we have done for Christ now. How could the words of Christ be meaningful in his parables if there were no judgment when he said, You should look forward to hearing me say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. What was the issue there? He was evaluating how we have used what God has given to us in our lives. Go back to Ecclesiastes in your mind. God’s given us time to enjoy and to everything there’s a purpose and a reason. But he said, okay, enjoy it, but know this, God’s going to bring you into account for what you have done. That is a principle that nestles itself in the character of God. God couldn’t possibly not evaluate you. God couldn’t possibly have no point at which he gives you a judgment on what you have done. Now, if you’ve turned to Christ, there’s no sin, hell issue here. But you are going to be evaluated for what you have done for Christ now. Now, why is that such a problem? Many Christians have said to me, if you believe that, it’s like God’s in heaven ready to hit you over the head with a bat. You know, you’re living in fear. I’m not living in fear. Everything he says about that is reward and joy and blessing. So I’m literally robbing myself when I don’t live under the accountability of God. I’m robbing myself of the wonderful things that God says he will give me in the future. I ask you, do you believe it or do you not believe it? 2 Corinthians 5. Let’s take a look at this one. Verse 9. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For what? That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or… You know, really, God probably made a mistake there. Why don’t you just cross out bad, huh? Hey, you cross out bad, you’re under curse in Revelation 22. Don’t add to it, don’t take away from it. It’s amazing to me how many Christians read that verse and don’t like that word bad in there. They want to take it out, but it’s in there, isn’t it? Am I faithful to the gospel by ignoring that? Are you kidding? I don’t like it any more than you do, but that’s what it says. He’s writing to Christians, and he says that Christians will be at the judgment seat of Christ, and it says that we’re going to receive the things done in the body according to what we’ve done, whether it’s good or whether it’s bad. That’s exactly what he said. You see, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge for the believer, certainly. It’s the lack of our focus on God that is causing most of us to think we can get away with anything. You say, well, what loss is there? Okay, loss of reward, that’s one. And I think sometimes we don’t understand what the Lord has planned for us in the future. It’s as though it doesn’t make any difference what we do now. Some people feel from the moment they accept Christ to the moment they die, it’s kind of just like a lobby. You’re waiting for something to happen. You’re just in between. Like nothing we do now is of any significance to eternity? That is not taught in the Bible. God’s going to evaluate all that we have done. He’s going to have responsibilities in His kingdom on earth, by the way, that are going to be based on it. He’s going to have rewards that are going to be based on it. I don’t understand those. I don’t know what they will entail. But I know there’s nothing you’ve done in this life that you won’t receive a hundredfold according to the Lord Jesus Christ. Every cup of cold water given in his name shall receive a reward. The Bible says God will never forget your work of love that you’ve done in ministering to the saints. I happen to believe him. I believe him. Do you believe him? Do you believe it’s going to come? You see, it will make a difference in how we live in this world. Solomon looked at the world and he said, man, there’s no judgment here. There’s no justice. There’s nothing but sin. But I know who God is and everyone must give an account. I’m going to live by that principle. That means I won’t take revenge on people that have done me wrong. That’s one thing it means. And secondly, it means that I know one day I also will give an account of what I have done. And I want to please Him. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 here, I make it my aim, whether I die or live, to be pleasing to the Lord. I want His approval.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment or so to bring our study time today to a close. Some additional application is just ahead, so do stay tuned for that. First, though, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about a resource that is perfect to go along with our current radio series and to help you see the book of Ecclesiastes in an even more complete and profound way.
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Matt? Inside Is Life Worth Living, my dad expresses his sincere desire and prayer that his study of Solomon’s messages in Ecclesiastes under the direction and supervision of the Holy Spirit, will powerfully motivate and encourage your life. Matt, this month we’re offering Is Life Worth Living?
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by David Hawking, together with the complete set, the complete set of audio messages for our current radio series in Ecclesiastes, the complete package. For just $40. Well, hey, let’s take a quick look inside the pack for the topics covered. And Matt, this is incredible and so perfect for what our listening friends are facing today. Oh, we got a time for everything, a time for judgment. Wow. In Chapter 5, the tragedies of life, Solomon’s reflections on that.
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Wow. The importance of friendship from Chapter 6.
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Chapter 7, Matt, what happened to integrity? Yeah, right? Yeah. Chapter 8, the problem with wealth. How about chapters 10 and 11, the value of wisdom and the search for wisdom? Chapter 12, the problem of authority. Is there a problem with authority today? Nowadays, yeah. Chapter 16, the characteristics of a fool. Chapter 17, what we do not know. Wow, wow. So much. Matt, this and so much more are in store for you inside Is Life Worth Living? David Hawking’s 172-page deep dive into the riches of Ecclesiastes and inside our radio series in this power-packed Old Testament writing.
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Everything you’ll hear in the Ecclesiastes series on radio plus the book Is Life Worth Living? are in our featured resource pack this month for just $40. The Is Life Worth Living Pack will bless you.
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And your purchase will bless and help the ministry of hope for today. To get your copy of this amazing Bible study resource, call us at 875-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. Our Canadian friends call 888-75-BIBLE. You can also get this resource pack on our website, davidhocking.org. And right before David comes back, let me share a reality with you. The reality is that hope for today stays on the air because people like you decide that it matters. Your gift doesn’t disappear into a system. It pays for airtime. It pays for our web outreach. It helps us purchase the What Is Christianity booklet to share with those who don’t yet know Christ and so much more. It keeps these teachings moving out to real people in real places who are hungry for God’s word without the spin. So if you’d like to be a part of that, you can give in a few simple ways. If you still like pen and paper, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. That’s in the U.S. Our Canadian friends, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. You can also get by phone. Again, the number in the U.S., 875-BIBLE. In Canada, 888-75-BIBLE. And Bible is 24253. Or you can give online anytime you like at davidhawking.org. Thank you for stepping in and for standing with this work and for helping keep God’s Word front and center. Well, as promised, here’s David with our wrap-up.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, our discussion of chapter 3, verses 16 to 22 continues, and I hope you’re enjoying it and you’re understanding how serious this whole matter is of being accountable to God and facing our inevitable judgment. God is a God of justice. I don’t personally believe that true believers are going to be judged for their sins. That happened in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But we are, according to the Bible, going to have to give an account of what we’ve done in our lives. Our works are either like gold, silver, and precious stones that become more beautiful in the fire of His judgment, or they’re like wood, hay, and stubble that are burned up. So we need to be careful. God wants to test us and purify us. It’s interesting that Solomon talks that way. He sees that. He sees the hand of the Lord in everything that’s happening. And I hope that if you miss any of this, you go back on our website, davidhocking.org, and look at some previous broadcasts that you might have missed to catch up on it. Our commentary on Ecclesiastes, Is Life Worth Living?, would really be something good to have during this series and as a follow-up. Try to get that by just calling our ministry either here in the U.S. or in Canada. Now, right now, it’s been busy for us at Hope for Today, and we’ve been seeing the blessing of the Lord. And we do thank you for your continual prayers for us. God bless you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you, David. And like David said, the Ecclesiastes commentary is available at our website or by calling us and requesting your copy. By the way, you can get that commentary as part of our current monthly package. That’s the Is Life Worth Living Ecclesiastes package, which includes the commentary and all of the messages in our current Ecclesiastes radio series. The complete package, just $40. Oh, and add the study notes for the Ecclesiastes series. That’s David’s original sermon outlines. Those are just $10. Call 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible, again, by the numbers is 24253. And our website, davidhawking.org. Well, next time, more from God’s wonderful Word, right here on Hope for Today.
