Romans 14:12

12 Every one of us, then, will have to give an account to God.

Romans 14:12 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 14:12

So then everyone of us
this is the conclusion, drawn from the foregoing account of things, that there will be a general judgment, that Christ will be Judge, and all must appear at his bar; from whence it necessarily follows, that every man, and so every Christian, strong or weak, whatever may be his gifts, talents, and abilities,

shall give an account of himself to God;
that is, to Christ, who is God; which is another proof of his deity, for he will be the Judge, the Father will judge no man; it is before his judgment seat all shall stand; and therefore the account must be given to him by every one, of himself, and not another; of all his thoughts, words, and deeds, which will be all brought into judgment; and of his time and talents, how they have been spent and used; and of all his gifts of nature, providence, and grace, how they have been exercised for the glory of God, his own good, and the good of others: the formal manner in which this will be done is unknown unto us; however, this is certain, that the saints will have upon this reckoning, in what sort soever it may be, a full and open discharge, through the blood and righteousness of Christ. The Jews F17, say, in much such language as the apostle does, that

``when a man removes out of this world, then (hyraml anbvwx) (byhy) , "he gives an account to his Lord", of all that he has done in the world.''


FOOTNOTES:

F17 Zohar in Gen. fol. 49. 3.

Romans 14:12 In-Context

10 You then, who eat only vegetables - why do you pass judgment on others? And you who eat anything - why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him.
11 For the scripture says, "As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord, everyone will kneel before me, and everyone will confess that I am God."
12 Every one of us, then, will have to give an account to God.
13 So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make others stumble or fall into sin.
14 My union with the Lord Jesus makes me certain that no food is of itself ritually unclean; but if you believe that some food is unclean, then it becomes unclean for you.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.