Through the centuries theologians and preachers have wrestled with the tendency of mankind to believe that a person’s good works (human effort on earth to be acceptable to God for admission to his heaven) will suffice to find safety to affirmation after death. The memorials of persons following their demise continue a type of human deification in records, busts/statues and speakers, especially from those who were close to heroism and self-risk for family or country, or have made contribution to life and society that deserves honor and appreciation. All that dedication and effort deserves our honor of them, but they did what life was meant to accomplish. They have fulfilled the objective of their human creation and existence. Did we expect them to fail, or do less than their best even if earth is their ultimate home, and they enter ultimate rest? Rest in this sense is a euphemism for dead. Life, while I possess it calls me to contribute to life, which may make me a person of respect, not because of accomplishment on my part, but because so many others may not live up to the norms of life. Accomplishments on earth carried up to the level of our competence, is the normative pattern – to be expected. We affirm the point: Virtue has its own reward.
The Apostle Paul reasoned through the issue in his Epistle to the Romans, Chapter Four, using Abraham as his model. The Apostle is concerned with God’s evaluation to conclusion achieved through a process of reckoning. Reckoning is, in human terms, a mutual intellectual exchange to gain a desired end. What needs to be done or believed to achieve a desired end or conclusion? The word implies quite a list of factors that may be adopted so to gain acceptance: inventory, estimate, counting, esteem, impute, number, reason, supposition, and the call to decide and conclude (think on). When the discussion occurs between imperfect mankind and perfect God, there is a wide range of difference in the conclusions. According to the Apostle we are: Not to worry, because God has reckoned a faith plan that is acceptable to him
Was Abraham acceptable to God before his circumcision or after? He was acceptable before and the surgery was a sign of the genuineness of his faith – or he would not have submitted to it. God accepted the faith so reckoned Abraham to be acceptable to God. What follows the faith reckoned as having status with God is to verify to self and others what has become reality for the person. The Apostle makes the point very practically when he notes that a person, casual, perhaps lazy, less devoted to personal evidence of faith would be more acceptable to God than a person following the order of physical performance in spiritual context, but failing in faith. Faith, not works, makes the difference. God knows the difference and in his grace reckons one acceptable and the other unacceptable. The person offering performance for faith is perceived of God as hypocritical in making earth performance ticket for admission to God’s kingdom. The good performance was ticket to earth’s kingdom. Persons who failed their calling in earth lived lives by sneaking through. It is clear from Scripture that Christian faith is to be witnessed in righteous life, in good citizenship, in various means including the practice of Baptism, the Lord’s Table, and whatever other ordinances the church finds acceptable as proofs of faith. God will sift out the hypocrites in his evaluation. The point is made that all this is related to reckoning between mankind and God for life in his kingdom.
But there is more. Reckoning can be used in such matters as the conflict between righteousness and sin in earth’s experience. With God’s assistance, we can reckon ourselves to be dead to sin. Sin is present but with prayerful involvement, we can deal effectively with the matter by making deliberate choice to reject it. This includes the memory of the embarrassing past in which we may have engaged thought and deeds that God has forgiven in the penitent person so justifying that person in the faith of Christ. It is not easy to do and requires some attention to achieve. I remember two lines from a poem I lost long ago: The sins of all my youth condemn me with untruth. Sweet Spirit, comfort me. We ought to know that there is, in genuine faith, the forgiveness of all that would condemn us. This is part of the reckoning, known in theology as justification. God reckons to treat us as though we never sinned – if that faith is genuine in Christ. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020