Fear God because He is our judge

This week we are continuing to work our way through to fully understand Peter's phrase "fear God." Last week we noted that Peter called his readers' attention to the miracle of salvation, and then gave three explicit instructions....
                                             
                                                                  Be holy
                                                                 Fear God
                                                           Love one another

This week we are continuing on the middle one!
The last time we studied together, we saw that Peter told us one reason to have this fear or respectful love for God was because our time here on earth is short.
Today, we are looking at the fact that He is our judge.
Peter says that we call on a holy Father God Who judges impartially.

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (I Peter 1:17)

You know, to call God our Father is very comforting.
To say that He is our judge? Not so much.
Am I right?
It's the present tense -- He is watching us now, in the present, as we speak.  He is judging us at this very moment. And because He is the Great I Am, he judges impartially.
What do we mean by impartially?
Lawyers would tell us that it means "not partial or biased, treating or affecting all equally."

My commentaries tell me that the word here carries the implication of "without a mask." Think about that for a minute....When God looks at us, He sees right through the little masks that we put on. The ones that we use to make ourselves look better to others. Well, God isn't fooled!

“I the Lord search the heart    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,    according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

He looks at our hearts. And He looks at our works. The things we do. The things we say. That bothers some people....they begin asking, "But we are saved by faith, right?" And the answer is a resounding "YES!" We are saved by faith, but we are judged by our works. Let's not fall into the trap of thinking that since we are saved by faith, it doesn't matter so much what we do, nor how we do it.

Remember these verses in James?

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

And this one in Hebrews?

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

And Paul told us this, too:

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (I Corinthians 3:12-15)

A faith that is secure in the Father, and that pleases Him, will always produce a life of good works. You see, our works will be judged, not to determine our eternal destiny (heaven or hell), but to determine our rewards in heaven. I know that some folks don't agree with me here, but hear me out... Paul says the sad part is that some people will discover that they wasted some of their time here on earth. They built with wood, or hay, or stubble. They paid attention to things that were not important in the long run.
Others, who loved and respected God, built with gold, silver, and costly stones. Their faith produced a fruitful life for God, one in which they tried to help others, witness to them, and live "godly in Christ Jesus." Are we paying attention to the important things of life? Are we distracted by the unimportant?

Are our hands busy working for Him? Are our feet carrying us to places where we can witness or minister in His name?
Sometimes I fear that we (and that includes me, OK?) are living as if we don't fear God. Maybe as if we don't even believe in Him. Let me explain. Do we let hurtful words fly out of our mouths when we should consider what we say? Do we tell "white lies" to excuse our behavior or our mistakes, when we should take responsibility for them? Do we hang on to our treasures when we should give freely to someone who needs our assistance? Do we have to win every argument, every competition, and be A-Number 1? Do we complain about persecution, or about how hard we have it, or how easy someone else seems to have it? Oy vey. We are living then as if we don't believe in Him. We don't love and respect Him enough to behave generously, patiently, quietly, as we witness for Him.

Does anyone besides me remember this song?



That may be a kids' song, but it has a lot of truth there!

God does look down in love, and we should watch our hands, our feet, our lips.....we love and respect God, and one day will face Him as He judges what we have done, or have left undone!