Romans 14.12-Each And Every Christian Will Give An Account Of Himself To The Son Of God
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 23, 2010
Romans: Romans 14:12-Each And Every Christian Will Give An Account Of Himself To The Son Of God
Lesson # 476
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 14:10.
This evening we will complete the first paragraph in Romans chapter fourteen by noting Romans 14:12 and in this passage Paul draws an inference from his statements in Romans 14:10-11 teaching that each and every church age believer without exception will have to give an account of himself to the Son of God.
Romans 14:10, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”
Romans 14:11, “For it is written, ‘AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.’”
Romans 14:12, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”
“So then” is composed of the “inferential” particle ara (ἄρα) (ar-ah), “so” and the “emphatic” use of the post-positive conjunction oun (οὖν) (oon), “then.”
The conjunction oun is emphasizing Paul’s statement in Romans 14:12 and the particle ara is inferential indicating that Paul’s statement in Romans 14:12 is a conclusion or inference from his preceding statements in Romans 14:10-11.
“Each one of us” refers to “each and every” member of the body of Christ who have been declared justified through faith alone in Christ alone without exception regardless of race, gender or social status.
It makes clear to Paul’s Christian readers that “each and every member” of the body of Christ “without exception” will give an account of himself to the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church.
“Will give an account” is composed of the third person singular future active indicative form of the verb didomi (δίδωμι) (thee-thoe-mee), “will give” and the accusative masculine singular form of the noun logos (λόγος) (low-goce), “an account.”
The verb didomi means “to give” and is used with each and every member of the body of Christ as its subject and the noun logos, “account” as its object.
Together, these two words form an idiom that denotes the act of the believer making himself accountable to the Lord since to be “accountable” means to be subject to giving an account.
These two words denote the act of the believer making himself accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ in order that the believer’s service and stewardship of his time, talent, truth and treasure can be evaluated by the Lord to determine if their service was faithful or not and to determine if their stewardship was profitable or not.
This will take place at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church, which will be conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ immediately after the rapture.
Therefore, the verb didomi and the noun logos refer to the act of the believer presenting himself at the Bema Seat and having his actions as related to his service evaluated by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat to determine if these actions related to his service merit a reward or not.
They refer to the Christian giving an account to the Lord or in other words, being held responsible by the Lord for his service, which involves a four-fold stewardship: (1) Time: Were they profitable in how they used their time on earth that the Lord gave them? (2) Talent: Were they profitable in how they used their spiritual gift the Lord gave them? (3) Truth: Were they profitable in how they used the truth the Lord gave them? (4) Treasure: Were they profitable in how they used their finances that the Lord gave them?
At the Bema Seat, the believer’s service, as expressed through their stewardship in these four areas, will be evaluated by the Lord Jesus Christ to determine if they were a faithful and profitable steward in these four areas or not.
If they were a faithful and profitable servant and steward with the time, spiritual gift, truth and finances that were given to them by the Lord as trusts, they will receive a reward from the Lord and if they were not, they will not receive a reward.
Therefore, the verb didomi and the noun logos do not refer to the believer offering an explanation for actions in life since no explanation could alter or change what the believer said or did in life.
To give an account to the Lord does not mean that the believer will be giving an explanation as to why he did not do something or did do something.
It will not be a time for explanations or excuses but rather it will be a time when his actions as related to his service and stewardship in life will be evaluated to determine if they were a good steward with their time, talent, truth, and treasure that the Lord gave to them as trusts to be invested for His kingdom.
To give an account to the Lord is thus making oneself accountable to the Lord in order to have one’s service and stewardship evaluated by the Lord to determine if they merit rewards or not.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 reveal that the believer’s works as related to service will be evaluated by the Lord to determine if they merit rewards or not.
There is nothing in these passages mentioning the believer giving an explanation for what he did since no explanation could justify or change that which the believer said and did in life.
At the Bema Seat, the believer’s service will be evaluated by the Lord Jesus Christ to determine if they were a faithful and profitable steward with their time, spiritual gift, the Word of truth, and finances.
If they were a faithful and profitable servant and steward with the time, spiritual gift, truth and finances that were given to them by the Lord as trusts, they will receive a reward from the Lord and if they were not, they will not receive a reward.
At the Bema Seat, the Lord will determine if they were a faithful servant in life by being a good and profitable steward with their time, talent, truth and treasure or if they were unfaithful by being a poor and unprofitable steward.
Therefore, the verb didomi and the noun logos refer to the believer being held accountable by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat as to how they used their time, spiritual gift, the Word of truth and finances on earth.
Romans 14:12, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”
“Of himself” emphasizes the action of the Christian making himself accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ at His Bema Seat.
“To God” is the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) (thay-oce), which refers to the Lord Jesus as indicated in that 2 Corinthians 5:10 teaches that the Lord will conduct the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church.
In Romans 14:12, Paul is teaching that the believer will make himself accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ in order that his service and stewardship of his time, talent, truth and treasure can be evaluated by the Lord to determine if their service was faithful or not and to determine if their stewardship was profitable or not.
Therefore, if we view Romans 14:12 in its context, the implication is that the weak believer must never condemn the strong believer for his convictions and the strong must never regard and treat with contempt the weak for theirs since both groups will be held accountable to the Lord for their service and stewardship.