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There is a lot of ongoing & passionate debate on here about the teaching of “once saved always saved,” and that discussion goes back many years, in multiple threads. While my beliefs are that God saves people by renewing their spirit with His life, thereby making believers His children forever, my intention here is to look into the accountability side of what it means to be His children. There is accountability and discipline for what the children of God do, after they have received His life into them. That means that because He loves His children, He wants them to grow and mature effectively in His life and thereby overcome personal sin. This requires His loving care and discipline. Ultimately, this accountability culminates in the Judgement seat of Christ, where we will either receive rewards or loss. This is something the children of God have to look forward to, where they can (hopefully) hear those wonderful words, “Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things – enter into the joy of your Lord!” (Matt 25:23) Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that as God’s children, “all things are lawful.” That is, Christians have complete freedom to choose what they want in their life. However, in this same sentence he finishes by saying, “but not all things are profitable.” The child of God has the freedom to choose whatever he or she wants (as do all human beings due to their God-given free will), but Paul points out that the Christian’s choices may or may not be profitable or pleasing to the Lord. (The reality is we have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ and we are actually NOT our own, but He still allows us the choice.) Again, this has nothing to do with condemnation for sin, as that has been removed in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice - His free gift of grace to us (also resulting in being reborn as His children). However, sin can very much still have a negative impact on the believer, even though God’s penalty for it has been removed. We cannot “play” with sin in our lives and think that there are no consequences whatsoever. God states that He actually forget our sins (Jer 31:34 & Heb. 8:12; also see Psalm 103:12), but sin in our lives can still damage us and our walk with the Lord! Sin can deceive us, dull our conscience and senses, break fellowship with God (from our side), damage human relations, cause physical issues, and many other negative things! So in this respect, these kinds of choices are certainly not profitable to born-again believer. The New Testament reveals there will be major, future judgments by God. Two of these are the Great White Throne, found in Revelation 20:11-15, and the Bema of Christ (often rendered “judgment seat”) found in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 14:10. The Bema is the first to occur of these two judgments, and Christians are the focus of examination there. Then, some time afterwards, there is the Great White Throne, which is the last judgment by God. The result of this final judgment is, “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). Our focus now, as believers in Christ, should only be the Bema judgment. Romans 14:12-13 says, “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another.” (“Bema” is a word the ancient Greeks used for a physically elevated position where awards were given to competing athletes at the Olympic Games. Paul is clearly likening the Christian life to the athletic discipline of these games and the resultant awards for competing well. See 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.) Next up - more about the Bema Seat and its serious implications for all believers . . .