FAITHFULWORD.ORG | TEACHINGS

Philippians 3:1-3; John 3:13-17; Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 10:1-15; Ephesians 1:1-13; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 1:14-16; I Peter 1:1-5; II Thessalonians 2:13-17; Romans 4:1-5; Galatians 3:1-5; Romans 3:20-28, 6:23; Titus 2:11-15; I Corinthians 3:9-15; II Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 22:12; Psalm 103:1-17; I Peter 1:18-25

AThe Scriptures declare that no one, regardless of background or position, was ever good enough to receive God's gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Further, no one, during the Old Covenant or today, has ever been able to keep the whole law because no individual or mankind collectively, was ever "good enough" to receive salvation. From the outset, God shows us man's need for a savior to redeem us — one with sinless blood who would qualify as that substitute, one we could believe on, accept God's plan, and thereby receive salvation.

We not only have the gift of salvation, but God sets before us a great incentive for faithfulness in this life, which is the new heaven and earth in which our works will result in rewards. We cannot confuse "gift" with "reward." One cannot be earned, while the other must be merited. An example of this wrong thinking is when our children are told if they are good, they will receive gifts. If they must be good to get these gifts, then they are not gifts, but wages or rewards.

God understands that we are dust and is not blind to the weakness of our flesh. Ephesians 2 says He is rich in mercy. The wages of sin is death, but God is merciful because of His great love. Mercy is the withholding of deserved judgment. Ephesians continues by saying we are saved by grace. It is the gift of God. God gave us the gift with a view towards good works. He gave us the gift of holy spirit and made us His ambassadors, so our logical response should be to want to serve Him with good works.

No man could keep all the law. That is why God gave us the good news of the gospel which is that Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, gave his life for our complete salvation and redemption. While we currently enjoy our redemptive rights, this is only a small degree compared to what it will be when Christ comes to gather us together. What we have now is the token or down-payment of our inheritance. An inheritance is a gift given out of love. I Peter speaks of this inheritance. In five different ways, Peter communicates that this is an accomplished reality. He says it is (1) incorruptible; (2) undefiled; (3) fades not away; (4) reserved in heaven; and (5) kept by the power of God.

When we realize what God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our logical response is to serve Him. As we do so, God's Word says we will receive rewards. Corinthians speaks of the rewards we will receive if we build them upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our works will be tried for those things we do in light of service in the kingdom of God. That is why we do not want to waste our time with second-rate works.

God knows us and remembers we are dust. We received incorruptible seed, which is why our inheritance is incorruptible. We are saved by grace. We will receive rewards for the good works.