Will God Judge Christians for Their Words and Actions?

I have heard a number of Christians indicate that certain other Christians will be held accountable before God on Judgment Day for the things they have said or done. I’ve heard other Christians say that they should exercise care in the way they live because they will one day have to give an account to God. Yet Romans 8:1 indicates that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," and concerning His people, God says, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Heb 10:17). If we trust in Christ, our sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven because of Christ’s death. Christ’s sinless life, then, is credited to our account.

Now, while we are not saved by works, our works do testify to the fact that we have truly trusted in Christ. If we are saved, we will have works and if we do not have works then we are not saved. Before we come to Christ we are in bondage to sin. We were slaves of sin (Rom 6:17), we were hard-hearted and darkened in our understanding (Eph 4:18), we were spiritually dead (Eph 2:1-3) and we were enemies of God (Rom 5:10). Before we came to Christ, then, there was nothing within us that would have inclined us toward God or the Gospel. We naturally hated God and wanted nothing to do with Him. We would rather have kept our life of sin. But God came to us mercifully and opened our eyes to the truth and gave us a new heart that inclined us to respond to him in saving faith (Ezek 36:26-27). Indeed, no one will come to God apart from this supernatural work in their lives (John 6:44). Christ is truly the author of our faith (Heb 12:2). This is why Paul can say, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9). If we accepted Christ because we had the good sense to recognize the truth or because we had the inherent goodness to do what was right or because we had the freedom to make the choice apart from God’s work in our lives, then we would have grounds to boast. But it wasn’t because of any goodness or merit within us. Rather, it was because God granted sight to the blind and faith to the faithless and a new heart to those who had hearts of stone. This supernatural work of God within our hearts, then, changes us so that we begin to desire the things that God desires. The result this produces in our lives is that we begin to live in accordance with those new desires. Our first act as people who have been changed is to trust in Christ. Afterward (or perhaps simultaneously) we also respond in obedience and joy to that to which God calls us. We may, for example, see that God calls us to speak the truth (Eph 4). Since we have been changed so that we love God’s law, we will then respond by striving to be truthful in our speech. Of course, we don’t do it perfectly on this side of the new creation (Rev 21), but we do begin to walk in ways that are pleasing to God. And as the Spirit works in our lives to sanctify us (by continuing to transform our hearts/desires), we become increasingly like Christ in the way we live our lives. But again, the point I really want to drive home here is that the internal change that takes place within our hearts changes us so that we naturally begin to do good works because we begin to desire to live for God more than we desire our life of sin. Therefore, if we are saved, we must do good works. They don’t serve as the grounds for our salvation, but rather our salvation serves as the grounds for our works.

Now, I think the reason people sometimes think that we, as Christians, will give an account to God for every sin we commit after coming to Christ is because of things like Matthew 12:36 where Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” But note that the context of this passage is one in which Jesus is making a point about the condition of a person’s heart. The condition of a person’s heart, He says, is revealed by the fruit it produces. And then note in v. 36, that the Greek word which is translated “careless” actually doesn’t connote sinful words, but rather words that might otherwise be considered insignificant. So the point Jesus is making is that even our seemingly insignificant words communicate something about the condition of our hearts. The implication, then, in this context is that if seemingly insignificant words communicate something about a person’s heart, how much more do the words of the Pharisees regarding the Lord Jesus in v. 24 indicate that they are evil and in danger of the coming judgment of God?

Lastly, look at v. 37. Jesus here provides the logical grounds for v. 36. The reason God will judge people based on the seemingly insignificant things they have uttered (v. 36) is because people are either “justified” or “condemned” by their words. Our words “justify” us in that they bear witness to the condition of our heart. If our hearts have truly been changed by the gospel, then it will be reflected even in the seemingly insignificant words we speak. Likewise, if our hearts have not truly been changed and if we remain at enmity with God, then that will also be evidenced by the things we say (just as it was evidenced by the words of the Pharisees in v. 24).

Our standing before God is based on Christ’s redemptive work—His life, death, and resurrection. If we have been reconciled to God, our hearts have been changed. Our changed hearts lead us to speak in God-honoring ways and our speech, then, serves as an indicator of our standing before God. In this sense, we will give an account for every insignificant word on the Day of Judgment. It’s not that God will reprimand us for every sinful word we speak, but that our seemingly insignificant words will be an indication of whether we will be either acquitted or condemned on Judgment Day on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives.

Grace, Grace, Grace

Consider this account from Charles Spurgeon:

One week-night when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, “how did you come to be a Christian?” I sought the Lord. “But how did you come to seek the Lord?” The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, “How came I to pray?” I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. “I did read them; but what led me to do so?” Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith; and as the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make it my constant confession. "I ascribe my change wholly to God."

I know, my new Christian brother, it seems like you did something in order to come to Christ. It seems like you are the one who took the initiative by choosing to trust in Christ. However, my friend, please understand that this was not something which you previously had the ability to do. It was a work of God. Before coming to Christ, you were spiritually dead and enslaved to sin. The Scriptures teach that there is none who seeks God (Rom 3:11). However, you were born-again. When you were spiritually dead, God gave you new spiritual life which then created in you the desire to turn to Christ. While you were spiritually dead and desired only sin, God gave you the disposition and frame of mind to see the beauty of Christ and the truth of the gospel so that as you heard God calling you through the proclamation of the gospel, you came to faith in Christ. Ultimately, then, your salvation is not the result of your choice, rather your choice is the result of the fact that God elected you to be saved. This is why Paul can say, “it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).