PeterJens,you say this....
Does that mean your idol is your personal transformation and obedience/growth?
I do believe that our works will be judged. However, I believe the final judgement is upon Whom did you rest your faith? Jesus or yourself?
God judges the foundation. The world judges the fruit.
I choose to worship God.
Neither the idol of security or the idol of good works.
He leads me into green pastures and refreshes my soul. In Him I am secure and by His power I do good works, but neither matters as much as being in His presence and receiving His love.
It is an interesting idea, which to a degree I have not focused on.
Jesus said this
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
Matt 12:37
So our confession is very important.
I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant!
Luke 19:22
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matt 16:27
each person was judged according to what they had done.
Rev 20:13
Now how would you judge a believer.
1. Their confession of faith
2. Their walk or actions
So if before you you had someone who confessed faith in Christ yet nothing changed in their
life and they did not follow or do anything related to Jesus, and another who confessed
faith and followed after Jesus's teaching, who actually knew Christ?
So without transformation, confession and a changed life how could one ever claim to know
Christ or that this was a reality.
When is something a proposal and when does it become a reality.
For Abraham it was offering up Isaac. Until then it was looking good, but this proved he
feared God.
For Peter it was staying with Christ despite denying him three times after being boastful.
For each of us it is probably some crucial point.
For Israel it was going into the promised land despite the enemy seeming strong and powerful.
This was such an odd compromise after all they had seen and heard. Was God going to deliver
the promise or was it all a sham. They plumped for sham. And they were rejected.