Rewarded

Ephesians 2:8-9 “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.”

We’ve been saved by grace - aren’t you glad! When we came to Jesus for salvation, He didn’t tell us that we were too far in sin and needed to clean up first! Salvation was the last thing we deserved, but it was the only thing that was in God’s plan for us! When we were saved, it was a free gift of grace!

I am a grace man. I love the freedom we have in grace. I do everything I can to live out Ephesians 5:1 - “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” I know that my salvation was, and continues to be, a free gift of grace. I’m not striving for grace, I’m not trying to earn grace, and I refuse to forget that this grace cost God everything He had.

Having said that...I wonder sometimes why people don’t finish Paul’s thought in Ephesians 2:8 and 9. Let’s read the whole context: “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.”

Too many believers have the mindset that grace has made obedience unnecessary. What we need to realize is that we weren’t saved by works, but we were saved for works. Jesus saved us for a reason, He had things for us to do “prepared beforehand.” So, even though your salvation is absolutely free, you can’t expect to live your own life and let grace cover it. That’s not what grace is about!

Do you realize that every believer is going to stand before Jesus’ judgement seat one day? It’s true! 2 Corinthians 5:10 makes this very clear: “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Don’t be confused, this isn’t the white throne judgement of Revelation 20. That’s a judgment to decide eternal destination - that’s already decided for us! The judgement seat of Christ is to decide eternal rewards.

Pay attention to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Jesus Christ is the author of our salvation. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection secured our place with Him in eternity. This salvation is the foundation of our new lives. But a foundation isn’t the finished project, is it? Salvation is the start, but now we must build on it. And we can see from this passage, rewards will be given based on what we do after we’re saved. I do not want to be one of those who “makes it in” to Heaven but still suffers the loss of any reward. I want my life to be worth something for the Kingdom of Heaven!

Thankfully God didn’t leave us by ourselves, to try to be obedient on our own. The very same grace that brought us into God’s kingdom also causes us to live “soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:12) We don’t have to obey God by our own strength. Paul told Timothy where his strength came from in 2 Timothy 2:1 - “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 12:28 echoes this thought, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Why do we serve God with fear? Let’s read 2 Corinthians 5:10 again, this time including verse 11 - “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.” The fear of the Lord comes when we realize this, everything we do in this life will be seen on our judgement day and rewarded!

Remember these words from Jesus out of Revelation 22:12. This is from the closing chapter of the Bible, one of the last things Jesus had to say in His Word. “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” I don’t know about you, but I want all of Jesus’ reward that I can get!