Personal Responsibility

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."  Romans 14:12

Here's another single verse that is packed with truth!  I want to take a few minutes to break down the verse in small pieces and see what can be learned from it and how we can apply it to our lives.  This will be a brief study!  I'm going to bullet point key words and phrases and offer some commentary on them.

• every one of us  There are no exceptions, exclusions or escape clauses.  Every one of us - without exception - will have to give an account.
• shall give  This is a future event.  This is a sure event.  It might be tonight, it might be tomorrow, but regardless of the day, it will happen.  The verb tense in Greek indicates that it is a 'certain occurrence of an event that has not yet happened.' (Blue Letter Bible)
• account  This word means a reckoning, an explanation.  We will have to give a truthful and accurate report on what we did with our time, talent, etc.  To see other ways this word was used, take a look at Matthew 12:36; Luke 16:2 and Hebrews 13:17.  In each of these verses you will see the word 'account' being used the same way it is meant here in Romans 14:12.
• himself  Personal responsibility!  Notice the verse says we will give an account of ourselves.  We are only responsible for ourselves, not our friends, family members, co-workers, etc.  I'm not saying we don't help or care for others!  But more importantly we must realize that it is our life and our life alone that we will give an account for before the Lord. 
• God  God is the supreme Judge.  He is the one we must give an account to - not another person.

Please keep in mind that this verse is not speaking of judgement for a Christian's sin.  Once you've trusted Christ as your Saviour, you will not stand in judgement for your sins as Jesus paid the penalty for you (See John 5:24).  However, Christians will stand before the Lord to be judged for their works of Christian service.  This judgement does not determine if you get into heaven or not, it does determine your rewards in heaven.  Please read 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Take a few moments to think over this verse, how can you apply it to your life today?