Closer To Heaven
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Is this True, Somewhat True, or False? It is correct that the reward of eternal life should motivate our faithfulness. Join us as we discuss Lesson 12, Rewards of Faithfulness.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/rewards-of-faithfulness-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/
After Paul’s conversion, he dove fully into the cause of Christ. Because of his education and sharp mind, he could have been very successful from a worldly perspective. Like Moses, Paul chose to suffer with God’s faithful children and for the sake of Christ. He suffered beatings, stoning, prison, shipwreck, hunger, cold, and more as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:24-33. How was he able to endure all of this?
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The value Paul placed on the reward of the faithful is what kept him excited about suffering for Christ. He wrote from prison: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, , NKJV).
From the biblical perspective, prosperity is having what you need when you need it. It is not the accumulation of possessions. Prosperity is also claiming the promise of God in Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Finally, prosperity is to be thankful for what you have in the Lord and trust in Him in all things.
God does not promise His children that they will all be rich in this world’s goods. In fact, He says that all who live godly lives shall suffer persecution. What He does offer is better than any worldly wealth. He says, “I will supply your needs, and wherever you go I will be with you.” Then in the end He will give His faithful ones true wealth and responsibility and eternal life. What an awesome reward!
Near the end of his life Paul was able to say, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). May we all, through God’s grace, be able to say the same thing, and with the same assurance as well.
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Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 2:16 NKJV
Photograph by William Earnhardt
Fact: No created being unfallen or fallen has ever earned salvation. Life always has been and always will be a free gift we have never earned and never will earn. Life was a free gift to Adam and Eve before sin just as much as it was after sin. So when Paul said “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,” he was not saying anything new. He was simply stating an eternal fact. Even after I have lived a million years of perfect sinless living in the new earth, I will always sense my need of Jesus, and will depend on my relationship with him for all eternity. In heaven I will cast my crown at the feet of Jesus because I know even in heaven I will be nothing without Him. He is everything to me here on earth and He will be everything to me throughout all eternity. I sing “I need thee every hour” here on earth and I will still be singing “I need thee every hour” after a million years on the new earth.
Fact: While Adam and Eve were given paradise as a free gift, they lost it because of disobedience. The Bible speaks of disobedience and unbelief as synonyms.
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:18-19 NKJV
Disobedience and unbelief go together just like faith and good works go together. Wherever you find faith you will also find good works.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV
Good works are the evidence of our faith. This is why James writes,
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without our works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:18-26 NKJV
Our works are evidence of our faith. So when God acknowledges our works He is acknowledging the evidence of our faith which we express by acts of love.
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Revelation 22:12 NKJV
While Jesus and the Bible are clear that we are saved by grace and not by works, we still see Jesus acknowledging the works of the saved.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Matthew 25:34-36 NKJV
Notice Jesus does not tell those on His right, “you only believed so come right on into my kingdom.” As James 2:19 says, even demons believe and tremble. Jesus welcomes those on His right into His kingdom because of the good works that gave evidence of their faith. In Genesis 15:6 Abraham was credited for righteousness by his faith. James 2:21-24 explains that Abraham’s good works of obedience were evidence of his faith. In other words Abraham’s good works justified God in calling Abraham righteous because of his belief. Likewise in the parable in Matthew 25:34-36 Jesus shows the good works of those on His right as evidence of their faith, thus welcoming them into His kingdom. This is why Galatians 5:6 does not speak of faith or works, or even faith and works, but rather a faith that works, not motivated by reward or punishment, but by love.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/saved-by-faith-rewarded-by-faithfulness/
Near the close of Jesus’ ministry, His disciples came to Him privately and asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus then takes two chapters to answer their questions. Matthew 24:1-51 tells of signs in the world around us, such as wars, disasters, etc. Then Matthew 25:1-46 talks about conditions in the church just before Jesus comes again. These conditions are illustrated by three stories, one of which is a parable of the talents, which talks about how His people had used the gifts that God had given to them.
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We sometimes think of talents as natural gifts such as singing, speaking, etc., but in the similar story of the minas in Luke 19:12-24, money and its management is specifically stated. Ellen G. White also stated, “I was shown that the parable of the talents has not been fully understood. This important lesson was given to the disciples for the benefit of Christians living in the last days. And these talents do not represent merely the ability to preach and instruct from the word of God. The parable applies to the temporal means which God has entrusted to His people.” — Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 197.
It is quite natural for us to think that the other person has more talents than we have and is therefore more responsible to God. In this story, however, it is the person with only one talent — the least money — that proved unfaithful and lost the kingdom. Rather than think of the responsibilities of others, let us focus on what God has entrusted to us and how we can use it to His glory.
| How are you going to fare when God comes to “settle accounts” with you? |
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-settling-of-accounts/
The biblical description of the New Jerusalem is what Abraham saw by faith. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). The New Jerusalem is God’s masterpiece, built for those who love Him and keep His commandments. The New Jerusalem will be the home of God’s faithful children in heaven during the millennium and, afterward, on the new earth for eternity. There is good news for those of us who don’t like packing or moving. God takes care of everything. John says he saw the city. “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2, NKJV).
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There’s so much here that our minds can barely comprehend, damaged as they are by sin, and knowing only a fallen sin-racked world. But what we can understand is so full of hope.
First, just as Jesus dwelt with us in this fallen world when He came in the flesh, He will dwell with us in the new one. What a privilege it must have been for those who saw Jesus up close and personal! We will have that opportunity again, only now without the veil of sin distorting what we see.
Then, too, how do we who know only tears and sorrow and crying and pain understand one of the greatest promises in all the Bible: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, NKJV)? All those “former things” will have passed away, things that never should have been here to begin with.
Also, flowing from the throne of God is the pure river of life, and on either side of the river is the tree of life. God’s throne will be there, and “they shall see His face” (Revelation 22:4, NKJV). Again, the redeemed will live in a closeness to God that, for the most part, we don’t have now.
| Read Revelation 21:8, about the fate of those who will face the second death. Which sin of those depicted there cannot have been forgiven by Jesus? Why, then, are these people lost when some who have done the same things are saved? What is the crucial difference between these two groups? |
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