All Are Accountable Before God

Much of the world‘s population is going their own way and doing their own thing, whatever is right in their own eyes. There is no objective truth in our culture, no moral compass, and people are not turning to any source of right and wrong. Name calling and assassination threats have become too common. There is destruction of property. People are speaking words of evil and hate. Most are not taking responsibility for their actions. There is very little accountability. The consequences of all this have been moral decay, lawlessness, deception, no foundation on which to build a safe and secure society, and God has been totally left out.

However, in the end there will be accountability for each and every person. Romans 14:12 says, “each of us will give account of himself to God.” Any person who refuses to acknowledge God will have no excuse, even though God has made it plain to them that he exists (Romans 1:18-20). Hebrews 4:13 says, “No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are…exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Teachers  of the Word of God will be held accountable. James 3:1 states with a warning, “Not  many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will  be judged with greater strictness.”

There will be accountability, even for the words we speak, especially for those who take God‘s name in vain or are using it as a cuss word. “I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak”(Matthew 12:36). “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain”(Exodus 20:7, one of the Ten Commandments).

Those who resist authority will be held accountable. Romans 13:1-2 makes it very clear, “Let  every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” I think what this means (and this is simply my opinion here) is that we don’t have to necessarily go along with everything that government is doing. It does mean that we need to respect the governing authorities in a general sense and not rebel against it in a destructive manner, because it has been instituted by God.

Nations are also accountable to God as stated in Psalm 22:28. “Kingship belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.” Jeremiah 18:7-10 adds, “…concerning a nation or a kingdom…I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.”

“Every other king, human or demonic, is under the authority and dominion of Jesus. Human kings have temporary and delegated autonomy and control. They are under the jurisdiction of the omnipresent God, who can dethrone them in a second to fulfill his plans.” (1)

God is over all of creation and humanity. If there was a “spiritual chain of command,”God would be at the top. He is, ”far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come”(Ephesians 1:21).

Each  and every person on the planet is accountable to God. Some will be judged. Some will be justified. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Only those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus as their Savior will be justified.

1. Pierre G. Rosa, The Book of Revelation, Unveiling God’s Plan for Humanity,  Truth With Grace, 2020, pg. 17