Paul muses for a moment about the desirability of being at home with the Lord, and then reveals the relationship between our present conduct and the house from Heaven.

The above verse is not received by many Evangelicals of our day. The current preaching is that no Christian need have any fear of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Satan has a large stake in how we interpret this verse. If he can convince us that Jesus Christ will not act according to Paul's words, then, Satan hopes, he also may be spared in the Day of the Lord.

Though every preacher and devil in the country says that Christians have no need to fear the Judgment Seat of Christ they are mistaken. Paul trembled with terror at the thought of it, as all true Christians should.

First of all, we will not just be presented before the Judgment Seat, we will be revealed. The Day of the Lord will not result in a transformation of our personality and moral behavior but a revealing of them for everyone to see.

We shall all be revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

I am not certain the expression "receive what is due him" accurately portrays what Paul is saying. The idea seems to be that what we are going to receive is more closely related to what we do than just the idea of a reward.

For instance, if someone wins a race he or she may be given a trophy, a cup or some other award. But running and a trophy are widely separated in kind.

I think Paul means we will get back in our body what we have done. If we have been cruel to people, somehow we will get back cruelty or the effects of cruelty in our body. Maybe we will look cruel—something like this. Maybe we will be unable to stop being cruel.

If we have behaved with integrity, then in some manner we will receive integrity. God says the righteous shall shine as the stars. Their righteous deeds have shone on the earth in the sight of people. Now their new house shines with righteousness.

It appears we are going to be clothed in our own behavior.

"Whether good or bad." This is where Evangelicals draw the line. They simply will not accept that someone who has professed belief in Christ could receive something bad in the Day of the Lord.

Well, they are mistaken. And the result of their erroneous teaching is multitudes of Christians who do not have a proper fear of Christ or of the Day of Judgment. They have been taught they are saved by grace, meaning no matter what they do they will hear nothing negative at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The result is gross immorality in the churches. This breakdown of morality has carried into all areas of American life. The testimony of the churches has been cunningly destroyed by Satan.

Oh, there is an abundance of Gospel preaching in America. But preaching is one thing, the witness of God is something else.

We can preach all we want to, but if the Christians are not leading godly lives, then there is no testimony to the community.

To be continued.