Giving an Account

I perhaps "ponder" too much on things, but at times this issue still causes me to pause and wonder. Some might call it a contradiction in the Bible, but I don't personally believe that to be the case...only an apparent hole in my understanding.

In the following verses (all from the ESV), you can see that the Bible indicates that we will all (lost and saved alike) give an account of our lives to God one day….

Matthew 12:36-37 "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Romans 14:10-12 "Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 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 will give an account of himself to God."

2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

…and this is no doubt a sobering thought for all us.

Yet, we (the saved) are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and admitted into God's family based solely upon that...his righteousness and not ours in any measure. As such, the "verdict" (if you will) will all be the same for the saved....You are accounted as if you were innocent based upon the shed blood of Christ, and his perfect life.

However, the following verses seem to say that there will either be no judgment for us…

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

…or that God will not remember our sins…

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

Hebrews 10:17 "then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

(NOTE: Both of these are quotations from Jeremiah 31:34)

…and even that there is already (now) no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

…and Paul tells the Christians at Colossae that ALL our trespasses have been forgiven…

Colossians 2:13-14 "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

…and…

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

…and…

Psalms 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

…so rehashing each and every poor decision and outright rebellion on our part during this life would not seem to be required...or even provide any real value.

Some have suggested that this "rehashing" of our lives will serve to underscore God's mercy in saving us (first look at all the bad things we've done "in front of God and everybody", then praise Him for his mercy), and that is good as far as it goes. However, since the Bible doesn't state this anywhere, that is simply conjecture.

Personally, I've always considered true forgiveness to be of the "forgive and forget" kind (no doubt, the saying was at least in part taken from some of the scriptures above), yet there seems to be a dichotomy here.

While we all like to be forgiven for things, what we REALLY like is to be forgiven for something, and to know that the person offering that forgiveness won't place the forgiven act in a vault of remembrance to be paraded in front of us later.

Anybody care to cast an opinion on this one…?