Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

At the close of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who had been given wealth, fame, status and great wisdom, said that “all is vanity.” 

He discovered that the end of the matter is, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Solomon saw that all that he had achieved and all that he had gained did not satisfy him nor allow him to avoid judgment.  It all boiled down to his relationship to God. 

And that relationship would determine what judgment would look like.  God would bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing.  Wealth, fame, status, and wisdom would mean nothing when he stood before God in judgment.

Knowing that one will stand before God and every deed will be examined should strike terror in every individual if his or her relationship to God has not been made right.

But for the believer in Jesus Christ, that reletionship has been forever changed by the great exchange.  Our sin has been placed on Christ at the cross and His righteousness has been placed on us.  That has completely reconciled us to God.  Christ has taken the punishment for every deed, every secret thing.

The judgment for the believer is not to determine his salvation and bring ultimate punishment.  He has been redeemed and there is no condemnation.  The judgment will be for reward or loss of reward, but his salvation has been assured by the blood of Christ.

If we truly fear God, there is no need to fear condemnation.  Rejoice with me today that knowing God is not vanity, but is life itself.

Dale