He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
Did Paul just say that God will "render" (also translated "reward," "pay," "give") according to our works? What about sola fida, by faith alone? But you have to keep reading...
Yes, we are rewarded by our works, but not by the work itself, but by the motivation behind that work. Those whose works seek to honor and glorify God get eternal life. Those who are self-seeking and obey unrighteousness, get wrath and fury.
My mind immediately goes to the story of the Pharisee and the tax-collector. (Luke 18:9-14) Both men prayed. Prayer is good, so does this mean that both men get rewarded the same? Jesus says no. The Pharisee's prayer was self-seeking and unrighteous. He was praying to God, but he was also prayig to the audience at hand, and his prayer only sought to glorify himself. Reward: He was not justified. The tax-collector, who wouldn't even look up, who was not playing to an audience, and simply asked for mercy, according to Jesus, was the one who went away justified. Both men prayed, both had the same work, but they were judged differently because of their motives.
It is the same thought that Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31, where he says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Righteous living is not so much about what you do as why you do it. That is why some can count one day as holy, and others count everyday the same. The key is to be fully convinced (Romans 14), and do it to the Lord.
This blessing is not just in the eternal reward either, because the peace that comes as a result of this attitude is one that is given now. Like the peace that Paul felt while being in prison, fastened in stocks, that still enabled him to sing praises to God (Acts 16).
There is no peace in exaulting yourself. There is no honor in placing yourself at the top.
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace. Show all posts
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Peace, bro.
If God responds to my obedience, then I can impress Him. If He responds to my faith, then He will impress me!
Do I really want to worship a God that I can impress?
The law was given to show me my faults, of which there are many. Scripture tells me to "live by faith." But what does that mean? It means trusting God. It means allowing Him to set me free. I just read that sentence again. Me allowing God, somehow that does not sound right. How can I allow God? I don't think I can. So perhaps a better statement would be that I allow myself to experience freedom.
God wants me to be free, and has made it so that I can experience freedom. It is His gift to me, the gift of a loving father. But I fight that gift. I allow things to enlave me because I do not let go. I hold on to thoughts and emotions that are not good for me.
Galatians 3:12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
We live by what we do, and we do according to what we live by. So, if we live by faith, if we trust God completely, then we can have peace because what we do is guided by Him. If we hold on to other things, then we do not live by faith, and what we do is based on something other than God's guidance. And if we are fighting God, we cannot have peace.
My wife reminded me of something I had said before about peace. Peace is not contentment, it is not the absence of conflict so that we just become a floormat for those who want to walk all over us. Peace is a powerful force. Just like the U.S. has powerful peacekeeping forces that are a deterent to conflict, God is our peace. He is our powerful force that when we are in His hand, takes away the conflict and gives us peace.
Ephesians 2:14
Do I really want to worship a God that I can impress?
The law was given to show me my faults, of which there are many. Scripture tells me to "live by faith." But what does that mean? It means trusting God. It means allowing Him to set me free. I just read that sentence again. Me allowing God, somehow that does not sound right. How can I allow God? I don't think I can. So perhaps a better statement would be that I allow myself to experience freedom.
God wants me to be free, and has made it so that I can experience freedom. It is His gift to me, the gift of a loving father. But I fight that gift. I allow things to enlave me because I do not let go. I hold on to thoughts and emotions that are not good for me.
Galatians 3:12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
We live by what we do, and we do according to what we live by. So, if we live by faith, if we trust God completely, then we can have peace because what we do is guided by Him. If we hold on to other things, then we do not live by faith, and what we do is based on something other than God's guidance. And if we are fighting God, we cannot have peace.
My wife reminded me of something I had said before about peace. Peace is not contentment, it is not the absence of conflict so that we just become a floormat for those who want to walk all over us. Peace is a powerful force. Just like the U.S. has powerful peacekeeping forces that are a deterent to conflict, God is our peace. He is our powerful force that when we are in His hand, takes away the conflict and gives us peace.
Ephesians 2:14
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)