Accountability Before God

Transcript

GR 2139
11/10/19
Accountability Before God
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
Gil Rugh


We're going to Ecclesiastes in your Bibles, the book of Ecclesiastes. And we're going to be concluding our study of the book of Ecclesiastes today, a book that is focused on living wisely during our days here on this earth under the sun, days which can be challenging, which can be difficult. But it's an encouraging letter, not a discouraging letter as Solomon under the direction of the Spirit of God has given instruction on how to live wisely through this world that is under the judgment of God, a world in which we experience difficulties and trials, what he calls dark days, painful days. But every day can have its own blessings and we are to be sure to take advantage of those.

Going to put up again the foundational things for the book that we have looked at. The word translated “vanity”, as we look at it one more time, it's the hebel and here you have its basic meaning. The translators have put the word vanity, some put meaningless. There may be occasions where something is that, where a breath is meaningless or empty, worthless, but that's not true in the book of Ecclesiastes. You'll note its essential quality is lack of permanence, rather than lack of worth. It is something that is fleeting, transitory, ephemeral, brief. And that's what life is on this earth, and everything associated with it. It is but a passing breath. So, we keep that in mind. A second expression that we used and changed a little bit, “striving after the wind.” And I think a better translation is the wind's desire, the desire of the wind, the whim of the wind; something changing, unpredictable, out of our control. So, life here is temporary and out of our control. As you move through the book of Ecclesiastes, if you make those two corrections in the translations that most of you use, that will help you appreciate more the book.

We've looked through the main portion of the book which comes down through Ecclesiastes 12:8 where he concluded, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ ‘all is vanity!’” or with I think the better translation, breath of breaths, all is but a breath. Everything in this life and this life itself, is but a breath. Some things that I noted that characterize the book, just in a way of a summary before we look at his concluding remarks, beginning with verse 9.

The first thing to keep in mind that we have been reminded in Ecclesiastes is life goes by quickly. It is but a breath, it is soon over. Secondly, we are encouraged to live wisely, start young. The earlier you start walking with the Lord and walking wisely day by day in obedience to Him, the more joy and satisfaction you can experience in the life that you have here on earth. Thirdly, we are to work hard, enjoy life. The book of Ecclesiastes is about work. He started out asking about what the benefit is of all the toil we have during our life on this earth. And the world recognizes that. They live for retirement and sometimes they talk about the earlier you retire, the better. But God created us to be active, to work, and because of sin work can become a burden, toilsome, tiresome. But in it all God says enjoy life. As we said, God didn't take all the joy out of life when He brought the judgment on sin, on His creation. So, throughout Ecclesiastes he has not only encouraged hard, disciplined work, but to enjoy your life. This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Fourth, take advantage of every day. Life is made up of the days and Solomon emphasizes that. We are reminded this is a brief life, every day is important. Take advantage of every day. The week has gone by, another seven days, and they can't be recouped, they can't be relived, they are gone. We either lived wisely and took advantage of each day or there are opportunities which are gone, which is serious before the Lord as we will see in the section before us today. Last, make your brief life count. God has purpose for us being here, He has a purpose for these days. He just didn't put us here so we can trust Christ and then just hang on by our fingertips, hoping Christ comes today. We do hope He comes today, we are looking forward to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to gather us into His presence. But do you know what? He has put us here today for a purpose, this is a day that is to count and every day we waste is a time out of our brief life for which we will give an account.

As we come to the last section of the book, he has connected verse 8 back to where he began in Ecclesiastes 1:2 with that expression, breath of breaths, all is but a breath. Now he has some remarks in concluding his main message, now he will summarize and remind us. And he has prepared us for this, really, as we noted. Ecclesiastes 11:1 down through Ecclesiastes 12:8 sort of form the concluding overview of what he has written about in the book. As he moves along, Solomon talked about how we live in the first part of chapter 11, then in verses 9-10 he encouraged us to take advantage of the days of youth. Rejoice during childhood, the days of youth; pursue the desires of your heart in a proper way because God will bring us into judgment for what we do. But we don't have to be afraid to go forward, God didn't create us to park, just sit and wait. We are to be active. So, take advantage of the days of your life.

Put aside the grief and anger of those things that would inhibit your enjoying life. Don't stew about yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow, as we have seen. Get on with your life, this is today. But do you know what happened to me yesterday? No, and nobody cares, my mother's favorite expression, “Nobody cares.” Second favorite expression, “Nobody is listening.” You know it is true. Move on. Why? The prime of life is fleeting. There is our word hebel, it's a breath. What he is saying is, utilize every day and the days when you are the strongest, you are the healthiest, and you can do the most, they will go by.

And so, we come into chapter 12 and the reminder, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” because the difficult days lie ahead, because the wages of sin is death. And in the plan of God, these physical bodies will begin to wind down and with that comes difficulty, less ability to do things that we could have done when we were younger and so on. And those difficulties seem to pile up as we get older and they culminate in death. And that has been a constant reminder. Not to discourage, not to frustrate, but it's the reality of life, and it is a reminder to use each day because these days will pass and the opportunities of today may not be there tomorrow. And what I could do today, I may not be able to do tomorrow. As we get older, we are more reminded of that, and it becomes more evident. Then he gave that clear presentation of our elderly years. And some of us are experiencing some of that right now, and some of us have more to look forward to. But it's not bad, it is just life. It is negative in the one sense because life is important. Becoming a Christian, and now I don't have to think of death the way I thought of it as an unbeliever, but death as I mentioned is still an enemy. I don't want to forget that. Death is no friend. I don't like death, I haven't made friends with death, I don't look forward to death. I wish there were no death, I wish the loved ones that I enjoyed fellowship with in past years were still here, but not in the deteriorated bodies they had.

And that's where it comes, where the body winds down to, soon we are ready. Even though we are not looking forward to dying you get to a point. And that's where he built, coming down into verse 6. And verse 6, there will come a time when the things you used to be able to do, you cannot do. And then when death comes every opportunity is over. Now we're talking about life under the sun, this physical life. And that's obvious to us all, we stop and think. I can't relive last week, last month, last year. It's done, those days are gone. And when I die this body will no longer function in this life. We put it in the grave. You can embalm it, surround it with things like the Egyptians did, but when they dig it up, it is still there, a little uglier. But it didn't do anything. It didn't use anything that was left with it. Why? It's done. That is his reminder. It ends up verse 6, uses these four images to show usefulness is over and life goes back to God and the body goes back to the dust. So, don't waste the days. Reality, you don't have many, it is brief.

Then a statement in verse 8, then we come to verse 9. And verse 9 down through verse 14, he wraps things up. He has two divisions in this, you don't maybe quite notice it in the English, but in Ecclesiastes 12:9, “In addition to being…” That's the same Hebrew word that starts verse 12 as well. But there it is translated “…beyond this…” In addition, beyond this, so it shows there are two basic divisions in these sections. In verses 9-11 he is going to talk about what God has said, the words of wisdom through Solomon, this is what God has said. And then in verses 12-14 he is going to emphasize the importance of listening to what God has said because God will bring us into judgment. So, what will God do? He will judge us. He emphasizes what God has said and then he emphasizes what God will do. He has said words of wisdom to guide us in our conduct here and we better pay attention because what will God do? He will bring us into judgment for everything we do on every day. So, it elevates the importance of every day.

We pick up with verse 9, “In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.” I think Solomon is still the speaker here. Some commentators, many commentators, one writer said most commentators think that this is an editor that now has worked over the material and is speaking. I think Solomon is speaking in the third person rather than the first person. He is not talking about what I did, but he is talking, stepping outside for a rhetorical kind of emphasis, and stresses that he steps almost back and looks at what he has done and addresses it. “In addition to being a wise man…” and Solomon was a wise man. 1 Kings 3:12 tells us God said He made him wiser than any man who lived before him or any man who lived after him. So, he was unique for his wisdom. And we have talked about before that he had a breadth of wisdom, it just wasn't on, as we would say, spiritual things. But he knew all about plants and trees and all kinds of things. He was the most knowledgeable, and the wisest.

That has come up through Ecclesiastes; just come back to chapter 1. A couple of emphasis because so many say this is an editor. I think it is Solomon, without doubt. Ecclesiastes 1:12, the writer, he is the Preacher, “I, the Preacher…” as he identified himself in Ecclesiastes 12:12. The Preacher is the one who assembled the group, so he is instructing this group that he has assembled. In Ecclesiastes 1:13, “…I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven.” So, you see this is Solomon. I'm the Preacher, the one who teaches the group. I applied myself with wisdom. Look at everything done under the earth, under heaven. It is a grievous task God has given us. Note, God has given us. This is not Solomon saying, because I've been such a failure. No, this is what God gave us because of the fall, as we talked about. So, his wisdom.

In Ecclesiastes 2:9, “Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.” The wisdom God gave him wasn't short term as far as just at the beginning of his life until he got things established, got the kingdom solidified and so on. No. It stayed with him throughout life. So even as I had grown and I had assembled much and had my wealth, I still had my wisdom. Down in verse 15, “Then I said to myself, ‘As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?’” In other words, wisdom has value in conducting yourself in life, but it can't take away the fact that you are going to die. You are going to die like the most foolish, stupid person who ever lived. Your wisdom will not enable you to escape death, is what he was saying. But he had his wisdom. Down in verse 19, “And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?” and so on. And yet all I've done to assemble with wisdom could be lost because the next person might be a fool. And his son Rehoboam was. And he divided the kingdom and lost ten of the twelve tribes and so on. But Solomon is the man of wisdom.

When you come back to Ecclesiastes 12:9, “In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher…” the one who called the people together to teach, “…also taught the people knowledge…” So, he just didn't get wisdom for wisdom's sake and all this knowledge. It was for the benefit of others. So, I taught them knowledge. And that is what he has been doing in the book of Ecclesiastes. This is not the musing of an old, sour, frustrated man who has wasted so much of his life. This is words of wisdom. And he taught the people knowledge. We learned about God and His working and His will in Ecclesiastes. And note, “…and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.” Solomon was a diligent worker, he encouraged work.

So even with his wisdom and wealth, he wasn't parked; he was working. He pondered, he searched out, he arranged many proverbs. It was work. He had the ability God had given him to grasp material and to sort it out and to see how it fit and applied. It took work though. “…he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.” In 1 Kings 4:32 as we noted on a previous occasion, we are told that he wrote 3,000 proverbs. We have seen some of them in the book of Ecclesiastes, and we have the book of Proverbs which comes from Solomon. It is interesting to me, that same verse in 1 Kings tells us that he wrote 1,002 songs. I'd think he might have rounded it off—1,000 songs. But he didn't write 1,000 songs, he wrote 1,002 songs. We have the Song of Solomon. So, he was a man who was diligent with the wisdom God had given him. This is an indication that we use the gifts and abilities God has given us. I can't be Solomon and I won't give an account for the wisdom that Solomon had, but I will give an account for what God has given me and how I have conducted myself with what He has given me, as will each one of us.

So, we benefit. I am just reminded what Scripture has to say about Solomon, he records the failure of Solomon toward the end of his life, being led aside to false worship and that, and somehow the black spots stand out in our minds. But the Bible doesn't focus on the black spot. As we have noted in previous studies Solomon is talked about in a positive way by God, even after he is gone. And here we are told the things God used him to write—so much of the Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Song of Solomon. Sometimes we pick out the black spot and we miss. I think that has contributed to a misunderstanding of Ecclesiastes. People have read into it that black spot and say this must be what Solomon is going through. He is a man used to write Scripture under the direction of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And we are benefiting from it 3,000 years after his body has turned to dust in the grave.

Verse 10, “The Preacher sought to find…” note this, “…delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.” This is the one, qoheleth, we translate it to preacher, the one who assembled the group to teach them, that is his role. God gave him this wisdom and he searched out stuff, now he is teaching it to others. These are delightful words. People think of Ecclesiastes as a down book, discouraging book. It's a real book about real life in a real world that's under the weight of God's judgment for sin. But it's a great place to be. I'm thankful for today. I'm thankful for the life we have. Solomon says I wrote delightful words. Having a delightful life is not closing yourself to reality, closing your eyes to reality. It's living a real life and taking advantage of the different things that come in a life and realizing God has appointed the time, this day for me, and the events of this day for me. And it's a day the Lord has made and I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. And even in the dark days where I am hanging on by my fingertips, my God created this day for me and these events. And it is tough, and Lord, you know I'm just barely getting by. And I can say with Solomon, I wish I had never been born, but Lord, I have been, and here is the day for me. And this will be brief. And we move on.

So, these are “delightful words”. He wrote “…words of truth correctly.” I mean, that's important. Solomon understood the solemn responsibility he had to write delightful words, words that are helpful, help you and encourage you in your relationship with the living God and conducting your life wisely according to His will. They have to be recorded, they are words of truth because God is the God of truth. He cannot lie. So, these have been words of truth and they are written correctly.

Come back to Proverbs. As we are talking about other things, we've not gone a lot to other books because you could spend a lot of time in Proverbs when you are going through Ecclesiastes. Come to Proverbs 8. He talked about wisdom calling and understanding, lifting up her voice. Here getting his attention. Come, pay attention, listen. He told us in Proverbs, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And like we go out and call people to Christ, call people to the living God, to know Him, to trust Him. And now have your life conformed to His will. Come down to verse 6, “Listen, for I will speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will reveal right things. For my mouth will utter truth…” And anything contrary to truth is an abomination. This is what is being recorded. It's what we have in Ecclesiastes, it's what we have in the Word of God. Verse 8, “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them.” Verse 10, “Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her.” This is the truth about God, the truth from God, it's the most precious. That is what he is talking about.

Now I want to mention this is truth. Jesus prayed to His Father and said, sanctify them in the truth, your Word is truth. And this is the only truth of saving value. There is other truth, it doesn't tell you about how to do heart surgery or so many things. But anything related directly to God and His work, His will, His salvation is contained here. Everything we need for a life, for life and godliness is contained here. Now somehow the church can drift, we come up with other ideas and they seem good. We need to be careful. I, as a preacher, have no authority outside of here. So, don't put up with, we'll go to this verse and I'll give you then my ten best ideas for raising teenagers. Those kinds of pre-digested, how-to sermons, what's wrong with what God said? Well, it's good but I don't think it is adequate, it's not enough, it's not sufficient for everything. Well, wait a minute, we need to be careful. Do we really practice what we say we believe?

Come back to Ecclesiastes 12. We have delightful words, they are words of truth correctly written down. Here is how they work. The Word of God, God knows He is the Creator. Remember Ecclesiastes 12:1? “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” He knows what we need, He provides it. Verse 11, “The words of wise men…” the words that we have been reading, the delightful words, the words of truth correctly written. “The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails...” Two things about the words of wisdom we have in Ecclesiastes and in God's Word. 1. They are like goads. Now that could be unpleasant. The goad, they know from all they have found about the ancient Near East, were the long wooden poles with a metal prod on the end. They used it to stick the oxen, poke them when they start off the path, when they are not going the right direction, when they need to get moving. These kinds of things. Those are the negative things. Do you know what God's Word is to do? It is to be like a goad. Sometimes you need to be pricked with it, you need to feel that jab because you are not listening, you are not following what he said. You are drifting off the path. These are words of wisdom. That's why we come to the Word of God.

Sometimes it seems like life is getting confusing. Sometimes I just want to go in, I close my door and I think I'm going to read the Word. Lord, things are not out of Your control. I need to get my sight readjusted. It's sort of like you go to the doctor periodically and you have your checkup. Talking about age, some of you just tune out for a minute. But you know your eyes don't see as well, you look better. It's like looking in the mirror, you look in the morning and the wrinkles are all gone. Then you put your glasses on, I've added 400. But you go get your eyes readjusted and they say you needed adjustment and they make the adjustment and you say I can see clearer now, I can read a little better. Sometimes we need to be doing that constantly with the Word because the world is constantly pushing in, the flesh is constantly pushing us this way, the devil is constantly pushing us another. And we get out here and suddenly we bring confusion to our lives. These are words of wisdom, they are like goads. You say wait, my thinking is off here. I have gotten off the track. That's why God gives His Word. There is the negative side, it is to stick you. I tell people, don't run from the Word. Well, I don't like what I heard. Well, decide. If it wasn't biblical you shouldn't like it, but if it is biblical and it's just unpleasant because it brought a sense of guilt, fix it. That's the goad. Then the other side, “masters of these collections are like well-driven nails…” And that could be a tent peg that anchored the tent, it could be something anchored to the wall that was secure to hang something. But the point is that the Word of God gives us stability, firmness.

So, this is what the words of wisdom do. They prod us if we are not doing what we should do, and they help anchor our life as we listen to them. So, two things are accomplished by these. This is sort of like what the New Testament talks about, Ephesians 4, we are to be taught the Word and take the Word in. Why? So, we are not driven about by every wind of doctrine and trickery of men and things like that. That doesn't change, that has always been the purpose of God's Word, to anchor us and to prod us when we are not. That's why when churches move away from teaching the Word, they are no longer getting prodded. And then they don't know when they are getting off track and they lose their stability. That happens to individuals, that happens to churches. It's as we would say, not rocket science. But the wisdom of God tells us, and this is what the Word of God does.

And you would expect it because note that last statement of verse 11, “…they are given by one Shepherd.” Do you know where these words of wisdom came from? They came from God. He's the God of truth, He is the God who cannot lie. There is only one ultimate author of Scripture. Sometimes you hear talk about the dual authorship of Scripture, but there is only one ultimate author and that is God. Now for example in Ecclesiastes, God uses Solomon and in His supernatural way the Spirit of God, as 1 Peter 1 tells us, moved on Solomon to write what God wanted written. But He used Solomon's personality and mind so that you see the different characteristics of the different writers of Scripture there and yet the very words that they chose to use were the words that God directed. They are given by one shepherd. We better pay attention. He is not only the creator, He is the shepherd. He is the one watching over us, He is the one looking out for us. Psalm 23, we all know. The Lord is my shepherd and I won't be afraid, I won't fear though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Sounds similar to Solomon. In fact, Psalm 1 is sometimes classified as a wisdom psalm because of similar kinds of language. He is our shepherd and He has given words of wisdom for guidance in our lives. Where else would we want to go. I'll tell you, I created you and I'm the one shepherding you and watching over you. Here are my instructions.

Verse 12, a warning. This is serious. Those first three verses, this is God's Word, it's God's wisdom, it comes from Him. It is true wisdom and the world doesn't have it. That's why it is emphasized, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. The world, I don't care how smart and intelligent they are, they don't have the true wisdom of life and salvation and living in a manner pleasing to God that can only come from Him. Now he is going to tell us in these last three verses that we better do it because you are going to give an account for everything you do in every day of your life. This is serious business. God is not giving recommendations, in fact he moves to imperatives here and giving commands. This is serious business. Well, nobody is perfect and today . . . Every day is important because every day will be one that we give an account for.

Verse 12, “But beyond this, my son…” the only time he uses that expression my son here. It is used often in Proverbs, instructions given like to his son. “…be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” What he is concerned about here is our use of books. And Solomon has made clear, even with all your wisdom, come back to Ecclesiastes 8:16, where he says “When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one would never sleep day or night)…” Twenty-four hours a day you are applying yourself with wisdom to sort out everything. “…and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, ‘I know,’ he cannot discover.”

In other words, even our life under the sun, you cannot exhaust the knowledge of it in this world, let alone now we get out here into the realm where God dwells and the angelic realm and the spirit world. We always delight in wanting to know more than we can know. Everything we need to know is here and indeed guides us in our life here. So, you can't exhaust it. When you come to Ecclesiastes 12:12, he talks about don't weary yourself. He has already talked about the importance of the Word of God. But beyond that be careful. Part of what corrupts the church and seminaries and Bible schools is the desire to be knowledgeable in so many ways and in so many areas. I realize there are things we have to know in the world and God appoints for us, to work certain jobs you have to learn about that. You don't learn how to be a heart surgeon in the Bible for example, and so many other things. But we understand certain things are of prime importance, and I don't want to fill my life with everything else. So just be careful. That's not saying you can't have books and you can't read, but remember the world is driven, we have to solve this problem, we have to get the answers for this. What the Bible is concerned about first and foremost is the relationship with God and we know how we live our lives each day pleasing to Him.

Solomon was wise in a lot of areas, we are told in other places in Scripture about Solomon. In 1 Kings they came to hear, and he would lecture on plants and he would lecture on trees, he knew a lot about a lot of things. But be careful, is what he is saying, because you can exhaust yourself and accomplish nothing.

So, verse 13, “The conclusion…” He is going to give us a concise summary. Do you want to know what God says about life? “The conclusion when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Because if you don't listen to this, you are going to an eternal hell. Now he doesn't get into that, he is primarily concerned that you can't really understand life in any real meaningful way. Look around, look at the leaders of a country, look at the smart scientists, they don't have a clue because they are not interested in what God says. I read a blurb in the news today, early this morning, talking about billionaires. And the one billionaire nearing the end of his life just says, “I'm an agnostic, I'm not interested.” A fool. He is like the rich man who has accomplished a lot of things, made a lot of preparation and Jesus said, you fool. Tonight, your soul will be required of you. He is not taking God into account.

So, fear God. That's to recognize Who He is, come to bow before Him, acknowledge your sin and guilt, claim the salvation He has provided in Christ, and believe in Him. And then keep His commandments. Don't reverse this. Trying to keep His commandments doesn't do anything, you can't. First, you fear God, then you obey Him, keep His commandments. The danger, I mention this, is young people growing up in a church like this and a Christian home, and you conform because your parents require it, it's what the church expects. So, we try to live the kind of life that is required. Somewhere along the line you are going to have to come face to face with God and who you really are. You are a sinner, on your way to an eternal hell, just trying to live a life that seems like what God would want. But He wants the heart. Until He takes control of the heart, cleansing it, forgiving and making new, you can't do anything to please Him. There is none that does good, not even one. That's the condition apart from God.

So, you fear God, keep His commandments, this applies to everyone. And another reason, “For God will bring…” note this, “…every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” We as believers sometimes flip. I'm going to heaven, I've trusted Christ, that is settled. I can just go on now. You understand everything in every day is something I will give an account for. It is true for everybody. Now I think, wow, everything? That's what he says, “…God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” We fear God, we keep His commandments, we know we will give an account. He is the Creator, He's the Shepherd and He's the Judge. That makes every day important. This may seem like a nothing of a day. What do you have going on today? Nothing. Well, you do because this is a day we will give an account for. That doesn't mean I shouldn't be doing anything that is too much fun because I have to keep in mind judgment. Well, God told me to rejoice and enjoy the day. Are you rejoicing? Are you enjoying the day? Well, no. Why would you not do that? God says He is going to call you into account. He told you what to do, remember Ecclesiastes 12:1? “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” What did he just tell us in Ecclesiastes 11:9? “Rejoice during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant.” I want to do what God says. Be wise, He will call everything into judgment.

I want to read a few verses with you and then we will be done with Ecclesiastes. Keep His commandments, that is consistent instruction. We won't go back, but Deuteronomy is filled with that. Go to one verse in Deuteronomy 13:4, and a warning, don't listen to others, don't listen to false teachers. That would fit about be careful about use of books. We want first wisdom from God. Too many believers have gotten out into schools and seminaries and colleges and they listen to false teaching. If a prophet or dreamer of dreams comes, so you don't listen. And do you know why God allows these false teachings and error to come? The middle of verse 3, “…for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Same thing Paul told the Corinthians. He said to the church at Corinth, there must be divisions among you. Do you know why? So that those who, and the word is dokomadzo, those who pass the test become evident because those that are apart from the truth in these divisions fail the test. That's the same thing He said in Deuteronomy. The Bible is consistent. “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him…” There is our word, fear Him. “…and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”

Israel didn't do it. We look at it and say why, what's wrong with them? And here we carry around the Word of God, things come up, we're just like Israel. It's like we never learned anything. Well, I still feel this way. Nobody cares how you feel, it's what God says. Now if you need prodded with the goad, take it. But the solution is not to get off track, it's to get back on track. This is a test and I have to show I love Him more than I love life, more than I love my closest friends, more than I love my family. I want to pass the test. These tests come up in our days and we blow by it and think nothing of whether we passed or failed the test. And when the pressure comes that should drive us to the Word, what does it say? Jesus said if you love Me you will keep My commandments, and those who don't love Me don't keep My commandments. This is a dividing line. And we will give an account on the day of judgment.

Come to Matthew 12:36. Jesus is talking, and He is talking about the condition of the heart. This is the problem. Verse 33 said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad...” Don't be saying you have the bad fruit hanging here, but I'm a good tree. And if you have a heart that has been changed by God then you ought to be producing the character of God in your life. And if you are trying to produce that without the heart.” You are going to be a frustrated, unhappy, visible person. We will be judged by our words because the end of verse 34 says, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” You see the heart is the issue. You are bringing out of your heart, so your words and your actions are a revelation of your heart. That's why you need to begin with the fear of the Lord, placing your faith in Him and the salvation He provides so you can get a changed heart, a new heart.

Verse 37, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” You say a lot of words in one day, but they are all being stored up and we will be accountable. Every day is not only important, every word in every day is important. We throw out words carelessly, and yet the New Testament book of wisdom, James, tells us you better guard the tongue. It's the hardest thing to control. We will listen to things you shouldn't listen to, we will say things that shouldn't be said. Nobody is perfect. What does God say? You shall be holy for I am holy. That won't cover it, thinking we are going to stand before God, He is the judge and He is going to bring it up and I'm going to say, you know, Lord, nobody is perfect. I don't think so. I didn't even try that with my human father, let alone the heavenly Father who is the judge of all men.

Come to another passage, 1 Corinthians 3. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and he is reminding them, there can be no other foundation for a life laid, no other foundation for the church but Jesus Christ. And now we are building on the foundation as we have come to trust Christ. And the church is being built on that foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, the fear of God. The end of verse 10 says, “But each man must be careful how he builds…” on this foundation, which is the only foundation, Christ. “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work…” we're down to each individual, “…will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.” If it is burned up, he will suffer, but he will be saved if he has built on the foundation of Christ. You can have a relatively wasted, do-nothing life, even as a believer. We say, it won't matter. As long as I'm going to heaven, I'm good. It will matter on that day. There is nobody going to be saying, I don't really care about this, Lord; I don't care whether you make me the lowest person or the highest person or what rewards I get. I'm not interested. There is not going to be anybody there because those kinds of people are going to be in hell, because those people who don't care about what God has to say, what God's will is, are not God's children. You don't fear the Lord and talk back, you don't fear the Lord and tell Him. He is telling us it will matter, it makes a difference.

And then he gives a warning in verses 16-17 that the church is God's temple and anybody who destroys God's temple is going to be destroyed by God. So, the person who attacks and destroys the church is an unbeliever. This is going on at Corinth. He has to tell them there are divisions, there is conflict, there is the Paul faction. We ought to get here. You may have to sort out, are you a believer not functioning as you should? You better get functioning right or you will lose the reward that will be so important. But if in your working you destroy the church, you just revealed a heart that doesn't belong to God. There is no middle ground. So, these judgments we are seeing were the same places Solomon was with Ecclesiastes. Fear God, keep His commandments, prepare for coming judgment. That's the same thing Paul said, it's the same thing Jesus said.

One more passage, come to 2 Corinthians 5. He is talking here, sounds like Solomon, the end of chapter 4 verses 16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying…” sounds like the first 8 verses of Ecclesiastes 12, the outer man was decaying. The arms and legs aren't functioning right, the ears don't hear, the walk has become a shuffle. The outer man is decaying. Solomon is saying the same thing consistent through Scripture and the same thing Paul says 2,000 years later. That's true for us 3,000 years after Solomon, our outer man is decaying but the inner man is being renewed. So, Paul gives a fuller picture with additional revelation than Solomon gave, but same basic truths. Fear God, obey Him, prepare for judgment. Our earthly tent, chapter 5 opens up, may be folded up. That's death, the body is going to the grave, dust to dust. But Paul focuses more on what is going to happen after death, Solomon was just limited here. But the same things he said are important.

Down in verse 6, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage…” We'd rather be with the Lord. True. Verse 9, “Therefore we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” Same thing Solomon was saying. Fear God, obey Him, prepare for judgment. We want to please God. So, when you walk with wisdom you are walking in accord with the will of God through the sunshiny days, through the rainy days. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body...” Note that, same thing Solomon was focusing on. Fear God, keep His commandments, obey Him. You will give an account. We want to walk wisely, that this life is important. It is brief, it passes quickly, the days go by. We will give an account and be recompensed for what we have done with these days. I can't recoup, most of my days are in the past. I can't say, if I had that to do over, I would. All I can do is say, Lord, this is the day you have made for me. I want to function with your wisdom, which will be a life and a day that honors you with my obedience.

I can't go back to yesterday. No sense in sitting in a puddle saying I've wasted my life, or I should have done this. That is sin. I recognize, Lord, in my yesterdays I have failed in many ways. But today is today. That's just an excuse not to do today and live today the way I should. No wonder Christians get depressed and discouraged. Yesterday is gone, the world sings about that. And it's true, we can't go back. We are going to be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, that's this physical life. We say, all Solomon was interested in was the physical life. Well, Paul was interested in that, too. It's not all that is in the Scripture, but it's all God gave Solomon to write about in any detail on that occasion.

Whether good or bad. Now how that all will work out, because we're going to be presented holy, blameless and without spot. I only know what God has revealed to this point. He tells me I will be accepted in His presence because of the work of Christ. He also tells me I will be accountable for every word and every deed done on every day. That is a fearful thing. Look at verse 11, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men…” You see that's what Solomon was talking about. Yes, because the Scripture is clear. We fear God, we obey Him, we want to live lives pleasing to Him. If you love Me, you will keep My word, Jesus said. And we prepare to face Him. That's a fearful thing, there is uncertainty. But I am confident because of the One who is my Savior, but I'm not cocky in thinking it won't make much difference what I did with today. I don't know how that will all work out. I know the ultimate end, I know the glory God has promised, but today is important and what I do with today is important.

So, the question. First, have you entered into the fear of the Lord? I don't want to know if you grew up in this church, if you have Christian parents, or this is your first Sunday here. It doesn't matter. Have you ever come to recognize your own personal sin and guilt? Do you note how individual these judgments are? Each one, each one, each one. You will individually stand and be evaluated before God. You have to get your heart right with Him, or you don't have a beginning. He'll cleanse the heart, He'll make you new. Now you can walk in wisdom with the enabling power He gives. And for those who have, we have all the more motivation to walk wisely in accord with His will. And don't run when He prods you with His Word, don't ignore it because He is using His Word to direct us back to where we should be for our good and His glory. In all of this knowing some day we will give an account for these brief lives.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your Word. Thank You for the book of Ecclesiastes, thank You for Solomon and the wisdom You gave him and his diligence to apply himself and carefully record the words as you directed him so that we could benefit from your wisdom in living life under the sun. Lord, may we take these truths to heart, may we not put them aside and forget about them. May we keep them as guides day by day. Bless the day before us, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.