Eternal Rewards Sample

8/6/2019 Eternal Rewards Sample

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Jeff Meyer

ETERNAL

REWARDS

Vocatio Publishers

Phoenix, Arizona

sklad5:Layout 1 2009-09-21 21:01 Strona 3


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ISBN 978-1-935227-05-2

Copyright 2009 by VOCATIO

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior

written permission of the publisher. To request the rights

please write:

Vocatio Publishers

3841 E. Chandler Blvd, Suite # 106-106

Phoenix, AZ 85048, USAe-mail: [email protected]

www.vocatio.us

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

This book is written from tapes recorded at Arizona CommunityChurch, Tempe, Arizona, as a sermon series preached in 2006.



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Contents

Chapter OneGo For The Gold .................................................. 7

Chapter Two

What Does It Mean to Be Saved? ........................ 23

Chapter Three

What Jesus Will Be Looking For ........................ 39

Chapter Four

Reaching For The Prize ....................................... 54

Chapter Five

The Final Judgment ............................................. 65



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Front-load gospel

Others will say that there is more to the gospel than justbelieving in Jesus as Savior. This is what my seminary pro-

fessor called front-loading the gospel message. The Bible

tells us that a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ by be-

lieving that He died on the cross for their sins, and by that

death and that death alone the penalty of sin has been

paid.

Some will say that believing is not enough, however.People need to confess, they need to repent, they need to be

baptized. We add all of this to the beginning of the gospel,

instead of teaching the simplicity of believing in Jesus as

Savior.

Back-load gospel

We also tend to not just front-load the gospel, we back-loadthe gospel. In other words, we say, Now that you are

saved, heres what you need to do. And we add on all these

extra qualifications to make sure you are compliant. And

its not only what you do, but there is a list of restraints.

Have you ever noticed that the nonbelieving world tends

to define the Christian life as more of what we dont do

than what we do? We do this to ourselves. We add on all ofthese extra requirements to set up some kind of parameter of

being able to say, Now I know that I am saved. So we

front-load or back-load the gospel message.

To deal with this dilemma of the sinning Christian, were

going to take a look at what the Bible has to say about a

person who has a relationship with Jesus Christ and yet

they are not living a lifestyle that would bring evidence of

that relationship with Christ. What is going on? Will there



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be any consequence? What about the motivation for us

knowing that we are totally forgivenwhat is our motiva-

tion to live for Christ?

Church impact weakened

Do our actions and behavior really matter once we come to

know Jesus as Savior? We live in a world today in which

most people say that they are Christians or at least religious,

and yet the church is having very little impact in the worldaround us. Im not talking about individual local churches;

Im talking about the church world as a whole the body

of Christ. Matthew 5:13-14 calls us to be salt and light in

the world, but statistics show more and more that the church

is having very little impact in the moral fiber of our nation.

What is happening?

Salvation is by grace

Here are some facts the Bible clearly teaches about salva-

tion. The first fact is that we have to understand Ephesians

2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith and not by

works. In other words, heaven is not a reward. It is not a

prize that if we live a good enough life, we will earn or be

rewarded with heaven. We are not dealing with this issue.The eternal destination of a personwhether they will spend

eternity in heaven or separated from God in hellis based

upon a decision by faith in what Jesus Christ did on the

cross. There is nothing we can do to earn heaven.

Thus we are not talking about the idea of salvation of

deliverance from hell, based upon works. The Bible is very

clear about that in Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you

have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves.



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It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can

boast. If heaven is something we earn, if it is a reward for

living a good life, then the focus is on us instead of God.Thats basically what Paul is saying here in this passage;

God has designed salvation to not be an issue of us but to-

tally an issue of Him. It is not what we do but its what has

already been done. Romans 5:10 says that God loves us

and demonstrated His love for us while we were still an

enemy and separated from Him.

Salvation is a gift

Every other faith system, every other belief system, every

other ism in the world, says that somehow we have to

earn favor with God. Christianity is the only faith that says

its not about usits about God. And so we realize that it is

a gift, not of works. Titus chapter 3 says the same thing:

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior ap-peared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had

done, but because of his mercy (verses 4-5). Throughout

its pages, the Bible tells us that salvation is a gift. Heaven

and eternal life. It is the gift and not rewards.

So if you are trying to find favor with God by living the

good life, you are on a treadmill that will get you nowhere.

Its not about what you are doing; its about what God hasalready done. Thats one of the things we need to totally

understand when we deal with this idea of rewards and

where works fit in. Its not about salvation.

Life is eternal

Second, the Bible tells us we can know with certainty that

we have eternal life. With all of the uncertainty about life



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and the future, God wants us all to be absolutely sure of

one thing, and that is if we will spend eternity in heaven or

hell. First John 5:13 says, I write these things to you whobelieve in the name of the Son of God so that you might

know that you have eternal life. God wants us to know.

All of us have a dark side

There is a problem, however, with some of the answers to

the sinning Christian issue that I brought up earlier. If myconfidence in knowing Christ is based upon my works,

and that I am keeping my salvation by my behavior, I think

all of us know deep down that we dont have a certainty if

it is based on how good we are doing. We may have hid-

den behaviors nobody knows about. We may have some

invisible attitudes and issues going on, those private sins

of our lives that we all have. We may publicly be present-

ing a good person but we have a dark side internally. Andwe know that dark side whether anybody else knows it or

not. If my salvation is based upon how I am living my life,

both externally as well as internally, none of us can have

confidence in knowing Christ as our Savior. Well be won-

dering every time we sin, Is that a big enough sin for me

to have lost my salvation, and is God keeping track?

Well be living in fear of not knowing if we have salvationor not. This is why the Bible tells us we can know with

absolute certainty that we have eternal life.

Security in Jesus Christ

Scripture clearly teaches that we cannot lose our salvation.

I know there are godly people who would disagree with

this, but the Bible is very clear on this fact. We are secure



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in Jesus Christ. The first chapter of the book of Ephesians

tells us that we are called, we are chosen, we are sealed by

the Holy Spirit, we already have an inheritance guaranteedto us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself made the statement

in John 10:27-28, My sheep listen to my voice, I know

them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they

shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my

hand. My salvation was not dependent upon me to get it,

nor is it dependent on me to maintain it. I am secure in

Christ because He holds me.

Our accountability

There is something, though, that does provide an answer

for us about the sinning Christian. What about the person

who makes a profession of faith, who truly believes in

Christ, and then all of a sudden goes loopy in their walk

with the Lord? Do they lose their salvation? Did they everhave it? The Bible tells us that is not the right question. It

tells us simply that one day all of us will give an account

of our lives before the Lord.

Some will say that if I am already forgiven for all of the

sins I have committed, then what am I going to be judged

on? What will I give an account for? It wont be that big of

a deal if everything is already forgiven. This is what theapostle Paul says about giving an account of his life: So

we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home

in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before

the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what

is due him for the things done while in the body, whether

good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).

Paul includes himself with the statement, we must all

stand before the Lord. Writing to a group of believers in



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the church at Corinth, he says that one of the things we

strive for, one of our passions and purpose in life, is to

please God. He is not talking here about heaven or hell be-cause he is talking to believers, those who have already

made a decision for Jesus Christ. Nor is he saying that we

work real hard because we want to please God to earn sal-

vation. No, he is saying that we please God because we are

going to stand before Him someday and give an account of

our lives.

As parents you know there are times you love your chil-dren because they are your children, but you are not really

pleased with their behavior. How many of you as parents

have ever had that situation? You realize that, yes, this is

my son or my daughter and you may say it hesitantly, but

you know there is nothing you can do that can cause them

to no longer be your son or daughter. Its a blood relation-

ship, and this relationship itself is not affected, but the fel-

lowship of the relationship may be. This is what Paul istalking about. There is an opportunity for us to have a re-

lationship with our loving heavenly Father, but He may

sometimes be displeased by our behavior. Paul wants to be

sure he is living a life because of the relationship he has

with God that pleases Him, not just for the sake of being

able to say that he wants to have a happy God. The reason

Paul strives to please God is that we must all stand beforethe Lord. Every believer will give an account of his or her

own life.

First judgment: Consequence of being born into sin

The Bible describes three judgments that you and I face as

followers of Jesus Christ. The first one is an issue of the

past. We were judged as sinners. God looked down upon



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humanity and said, For all have sinned and fall short of

the glory of God (Romans 3:23). No one is able to pay the

penalty of sin because everyone is found guilty. So Godanswered the dilemma of the judgment of you and me as

sinners based upon Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to this

earth. He lived a perfect life and then shed His blood on the

cross to pay the penalty for sinnot His sin, but ours. So now

there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ

Jesus (see Romans 8:1). That judgment was placed upon

Jesus Christ. We no longer stand condemned under thepenalty of sin if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ.

Second judgment: Ongoing discipline

There is a second judgment that is ongoing right now. We are

judged currently as sons and daughters. Hebrews 12:7-12 says,

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you assons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If

you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes disci-

pline), then you are illegitimate children and not true

sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who dis-

ciplined us and we respected them for it. How much

more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and

live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as theythought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that

we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleas-

ant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it pro-

duces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who

have been trained by it.

The writer of Hebrews is saying here that currently we are

being disciplined, literally chastened, by God because of a



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love relationship He has as our heavenly Father. Although

we are forgiven from the penalty of sin, we still sin. We

still fall away. We still have issues in our lives that Godwants to deal with. We are not under a condemnation; thats

already been taken care of, but we are under the judgment

of our own sin right now. And God will discipline us when

we get offtrack in obedience to Him throughout life. Some-

times we wonder why we go through struggles and hard-

ships. It may be that God is disciplining us. It may be that

we have violated some principle or boundary within HisWord and He is saying that we need to get back on track.

It is not out of anger and wrath that He is pouring it out

upon us, but it is out of love. It is an issue of obedience.

Its just like you as a parent. The greatest act of love you

can give your children is discipline to help them understand

that their actions are not a good way to live. The greatest

act of love is when we say no and bring them back on track.

This is exactly the same way our heavenly Father deals with us.So just because we are forgiven doesnt mean that God

now lets us go and tells us to live however we want to, and

just before we go to bed at night pray, Please forgive me.

Thats not how it works. God is actively involved in our

lives right now, keeping us on track. He does it out of love.

We are being judged as sons and daughters by a heavenly

Father because of the daily activities of sin we find our-selves involved in.

Third judgment: Judged as servants

The Bible also says there is a third judgment we will face.

This is a future judgment in which we will be judged as

servants. Earlier we looked at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Ro-

mans 14:12 is a parallel passage: So then, each of us will



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[stand before the Lord and (Romans 14:10)] give an ac-

count of himself to God.

Third judgmentfirst characteristic:

Individually, we will be face-to-face with God

The first characteristic of the third judgment is: This is

known as the Bema seat. A bema in the Greek literally was

a raised platform, similar to what winners stand upon at the

completion of an Olympic game and they are rewarded fortheir efforts. First of all, each of us will give an individual

account of our self to God. I will give an account of myself

and you will give an account of yourself. Its not a time that

I can come and say I did better than someone else. Nor can

I call in somebody else to defend me and say, You know

what? Thats really not how it was and heres somebody

who can defend me. No, its going to be standing face-to-

face individually with God.

Third judgmentsecond characteristic:

Impartially, our status has no bearing

Second, we find that we are going to be judged impartially.

God does not show favoritism. A persons power, wealth

and influence here on this earth will not matter when hestands before the Lord. Theres nothing wrong with hav-

ing power, wealth, and influence, but God is not going to

be impressed with that. Pastors and missionaries are not

going to have a different standard for judgment than a per-

son who may not have had that calling. In fact, the Bible

records in Romans 14:12 that pastors, missionaries, and

teachers will have an even greater accountability because

we are called to lead and show others how to live. If we



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arent doing it right ourselves, then we will have a greater

judgment. But we will be judged impartially. That may be

hard for us to imagine because we havent seen our judicialsystems always judge impartially. Although it is still the

very best in the world, there is always just a little tainted-

ness to some of the things that happen. However, God will

be an impartial Judge.

Third judgmentthird characteristic:

Thoroughly, our intent and attitude

We also know as well that we will be judged thoroughly.

First Corinthians 4:5 says, Therefore judge nothing be-

fore the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will

bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose

the motives of mens hearts. You see, we are not only

going to be judged for our behavior, but we will also be

judged for our intent and the attitude of how and why wedid what we did. God is not always as interested in the

results as He is in the process of how we get to the results.

We might be able to tell our kids to get a good grade on

their math test, but if they cheat, then we are disappointed

with the good grade. Its the same thing: The end doesnt

justify the means. God is not only going to look at the ends

but He is also going to look at how we got there. He isgoing to judge the very intentions of our hearts

Third judgmentfourth characteristic:

Graciously, judged with love

We also recognize that we will be judged graciously. Jesus

Christ is going to do the judging and the evaluation. He has

already proven to us that He loves us so He is not going to



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set us up to fail. He is not going to be judging us in anger

and wrath. That condemnation has already been completed.

He does tell us, however, that we will be judged graciously.Each mans praise will come to him from God. Im sure that

Jesus is going to find something good about all of us. I dont

mean that in a negative way. Its not going to be just the idea

of sorrow; there will be graciousness in how we are judged.

I recently read a great story that illustrates this truth. You

have two children and you tell one that if he mows the lawn

for the next six weeks you and he will go camping. You tellthe other one that if she cleans her room over the next six

weeks, you and she will go shopping. The one that likes

camping doesnt like shopping; the one that likes shopping

doesnt like camping. So you promise to do something with

them that they really want to do. The one whos supposed

to mow the lawn does it for the first couple of weeks, and

then the next couple of weeks he doesnt do all of it. He

just keeps putting it off. Finally on the sixth week hedecides, Im not going to do it at all. The one who was

supposed to keep her room clean for the next six weeks did

it very diligently. Now it is time for the reward. To the one

who didnt mow the lawn for the six weeks, you simply

say, You know what? Were not going to go camping. It

is not out of anger, it is not out of judgment, its not out of

condemnation. You simply say, We agreed that for sixweeks youd mow the lawn. You didnt do that so you are

not going to receive the camping trip. That child walks

away disappointed, frustrated, upset, and crying. You are

displeased and saddened, but youre not angry. You know

that your son is just facing the consequences of not doing

what he said he was going to do.

To the one child who kept her room clean, you say,

Lets go shopping, and you go. Youre not favoring one



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over the other. Youre simply saying the one who was obedi-

ent is experiencing the reward of their obedience. Its not

that you love one more or favor one more, or even that youlike shopping over camping. Its just that the reward is

based on the obedience. And thats exactly how the Bema

seat is going to be.

The Bible says there are things God wants us to do while

here on earth, and as long as we are obedient to those

things, we can expect reward. Not only heaven, but once in

heaven great rewards and great privileges. But if we choosenot to obey those things, just wander along in life, and do as

we please, then when it comes to the Day of Judgment, we

will lose out on the blessing and some of the privileges of

heaven. That is what the Bema seat is all about. And we

will be judged graciously.

Judgment conclusion: Where do you stand?

We now have the light of knowing that our lives here on

earth will have a huge impact on the quality of our lives

for eternity. We tend to think that heaven will be the same

for everybody, but the Bible doesnt tell us that. It indicates

heaven is going to be a wonderful place, but it doesnt say

everyone will have the same experience there. Those who

were disobedient will still obtain heaven because it is a gift,but their experience is not going to be the same.

Surviving the judgments: Be victorious

So the question you have to ask yourself today is, In the

light of knowing, as Paul said, that I strive to please Christ

because I am going to face Christ one-on-one to give an

account of my life, how does that affect my life today?



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You see, it is not a license to do as we please; the Bible

calls us to live lives worthy of our calling. If you have

never taken that first step of knowing Christ as your saviorand realize that He paid the penalty for your sin, your judg-

ment as a sinner has not been dealt with yet. He simply asks

you to receive salvation by faith and begin a wonderful

journey and relationship with him. Heaven is not to be

earned. Its not for working hard. Its realizing that He has

already paid the penalty for your sin and He invites you to

ask Him into your life and to forgive you of your sin. Thatsthe first step. If you have never done that, you can do it

today.

If you have accepted Christ, then you need to realize that

your life and your behavior do matter right now. An ac-

countability and evaluation will take place when you stand

before God. So living in the light of that, what needs to be

different? Have you gotten lazy or maybe a little bit relaxed

with the grace of God in your life? Paul conveys in 2Corinthians 5:8-10 that he strives, he passionately desires,

to live a life pleasing to God because he knows he will face

Him one day.



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Prayer:

Lord, I have been reminded again that Your Word providesfor me a lot of answers on how I am to live life. Lord, I have

gotten lazy at times in my personal life and in my walk with

You. I have allowed sin to continue in my life and I dont

take it seriously because I may not face immediate conse-

quences. But Lord, You have called me to be salt and light,

to be an influence, to live a godly life because I will some-

day stand before You. And so, Lord, as I have opened YourWord, may You open my heart and my mind. May I today

have a sense of anticipation and a desire to live a godly life

before You. Lord, You have not given me that command

without giving me the resources of Your Spirit, of Your

Word, and of Your people to help us journey through this

life together. I commit myself into Your hands, and I know

that through it all, that it is by grace and grace alone that

I am able to live each day. So I again, afresh and anew,commit myself in Jesus name. Amen.



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Chapter Two

What Does It Meanto Be Saved?

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In the last chapter we discussed the idea that each of us will

stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives.

Sometimes believers ask the questions, What does thatreally mean? If I am forgiven of all the sins I have com-

mitted and Jesus has paid the penalty for these sins, what

will I be accountable for?

The apostle Paul was very passionate about this issue. It

motivated him in his walk with Christ. He said that in many

ways this was a tremendous passion for him: to make sure

people understood that just because they are forgiven, thisdoesnt mean they wont give an account of their lives. He

writes: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of

Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the

things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Co-

rinthians 5:10).

Oftentimes we have questions about the sinning Chris-

tian, the person who professes a relationship with Jesus

Christ but their lifestyle contradicts that profession. What



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about them? In the last chapter we discussed one of the

ways people try to answer that question: They probably

never were saved. They really didnt have a true professionof faith. And so we question the sincerity of their salva-

tion. Others will say, Maybe they were saved at one time

but now theyve lost their salvation because of some be-

havior or some attitude.

How do we deal with this issue? The Bible tells us that

perhaps we dont totally understand this issue of salvation.

And thats where a lot of the confusion comes in.Lets look at what the Bible teaches us about what sal-

vation is really all about. The word salvation basically

means to deliver. There are two components: 1) some-

one who is in desperate need of rescuing but cannot save

themselves, and 2) someone else who is both willing as

well as able. Now we recognize that there are times that

people may be willingto save someone else, such as to res-

cue them from a swimming pool, but they are not able todo so as they cant swim themselves. Or we find times that

someone will come along who may be able to save some-

one else but they are not willing to do it. Thus the person

who is doing the rescuing both has to be willing, as well

as able to deliver, to save someone from an impending

danger.

The word saved in Scripture often deals with the ideaof physical deliverance from danger, disease or death. We

see this in the Old Testament with the nation of Israel being

saved or delivered from their enemy. This has nothing to do

with spiritual or eternal salvation.

We need to be careful when we look at words in Scrip-

ture. We cant just automatically assume that because the

Bible says saved, it is talking about spiritual or eternal

deliverance. The passage may be dealing with danger or



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disease or death. We see the apostle Paul out on a boat

heading toward Rome and a storm comes along and he says,

God saved me. Pauls not talking about eternal salvationhere. Hes saying that God delivered him from danger.

But we also know that there is another part of salvation

in Scripture that deals with spiritual deliverance. This is

the ultimate deliverance in which God rescues us from eter-

nal damnation in hell. Thats the idea of salvation.

We are condemned

Now again, recognize those two components we mentioned

earlier. First, someone is unable to save themselves. We are

desperately sinful and we cannot save ourselves. We can-

not deliver ourselves from hell. Nothing we can do can do

that. We are desperately in need of a savior.

We have a Deliverer (Rescuer)

The second component is that Jesus Christ is both willing

as well as able to deliver us, to save us from hell. And thats

spiritual deliverance. There are three aspects to this salva-

tion in Scripture, which we want to look at now as this is

where most of the confusion arises when it comes to the

question of what do we do with the sinning Christian.

We are justified

The first aspect of salvation is what we call justification,

that which has already been accomplished because Jesus

saved us from the penalty of sin. There are a couple of

things we need to understand about justification. First, jus-

tification is a judicial act. God as the Judge declares the



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sinner righteous. It is not that we become righteous; we are

declared righteous. God is making a judicial act as Judge

to be able to say that you and I as sinners are now declaredrighteous when we place our faith in Jesus Christ.

This means that when we stand before God, apart from

Jesus Christ, we stand totally guilty before Him, ready for

whatever wrath or condemnation God wants to place on us.

But because of what Jesus did on the crosstaking our sin

and placing it upon Himself, and paying the penalty for our

sinHis righteousness is now placed upon those of us whohave placed our faith in Him. Its not just that we gave Him

our sin and He paid the penalty, but He also gave us His

righteousness, His purity. Now it is ours (2 Corinthians

5:21). So now when God looks down upon us, He no

longer sees a guilty sinner, He sees the righteousness of

Jesus Christ in us.

We recognize this from Romans 3:21-22: But now a

righteousness from God, apart from law, has been madeknown ... This righteousness from God comes through faith

in Jesus Christ to all who believe. This righteousness is

not anything that we do. It is not because we are better than

someone else; it is not because God looks down in favor

upon us. It is that His righteousness is placed upon us.

We also recognize that the work is already done. For

the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal lifein Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Again, it has been done in the past. When Jesus died on

the cross more than two thousand years ago, He paid the

penalty of sin. And people who receive that salvation are

now saved. They are now justified.

We also recognize that salvation is a gift. We continue to

repeat this because this message oftentimes brings a lot of

confusion for people. It has nothing to do with works. For



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all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are

justified freely by His grace through the redemption that

came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).We also know from Ephesians 2:8 and 9 that it is by

grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from

yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no

one can boast. Justification is the gift God has given us.

Romans 3:20 says, Therefore no one will be declared

righteous in his sight by observing the law. It has nothing

to do with works. It is by faith and faith alone that we arejustified and saved from the penalty of sin.

This idea of faith being so simple as to just place our

faith in Jesus Christ to be saved has confused a lot of peo-

ple. They say, It must take more than that. We have

changed some of the language when we talk about the issue

of faith. We talk about a saving faith, we talk about a dead

faith, and we say it has to be more than just an intellectual

assent to what Jesus did. But the idea of faith in the Bibleis really only asking, Do I take God at His word? Do I be-

lieve what God has said about this aspect of salvation?

Conditions of salvation: Believe Jesus is Gods Son

What has God told us about this aspect of salvation? Num-

ber one: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Thats the firstthing we must believe. Not that He was just a great teacher,

not that He was just a great prophet, not even that He was

just one of the great moral leaders of human history. We

must believe in the very deity of Jesus Christ, that He left

all of His glory and came to this earth. That He was fully

God and fully man.

Part of the gospel message is understanding it has to do

with the person Jesus Christ. Thats not that easy to believe,



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ments. For example, we say a person must first repent and

believe. In other words, they must have anguish and painful

sorrow over their sin to truly be saved. The Bible doesntteach that, although it does talk about repentance.

The idea of repentance means that we change our minds

and our thinking. When Scripture says to repent and be saved,

it is saying we must change our minds about who Jesus is.

You see, John the Baptist and all of the apostles were deal-

ing with the Jewsthe rabbis and teacherswho didnt be-

lieve that Jesus was their savior. They told the people thatthey couldnt be saved by merely believing, that the law

could save them. However, John the Baptist and the apos-

tles said the people had to repent and change their mind

about the law and toward Jesus Christ. Thats repentance.

Im not saying people arent going to be sorrowful for

their sin. We need to understand our need of a savior before

we believe in Him. If you believe you are good enough to

attain heaven on your own, you will never have sorrow forsin. Many people are sorry for their behavior and are

painfully aware of the consequences of their sin, but that

doesnt save them.

Expressions of salvation: Surrender

Others will say that a person must first surrender their lifeand make a commitment before they are saved. Surrender-

ing is something that you and I as followers of Jesus Christ

are to do; it is not a condition for salvation. Surrender is an

expression of salvation. Romans 12:1 and 2 says, There-

fore, I urge you, brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer

your bodies as living sacrifices.

Once we are saved, once we are justified, we begin to

surrender our lives. But we cant ask a person who is not



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saved to first surrender. They dont have the ability to do so.

They need to be saved and then they surrender their lives.

Expressions of salvation: Baptism

Then some churches add on that a person must believe and

be baptized. Again, baptism isnt a condition of salvation;

its an expression of salvation. When we celebrate with

those who are being baptized, we realize that many of them

may have known the Lord for a long period of time, but theyhave never followed Him in obedience of baptism. Thus,

baptism is a public profession of something that has already

taken place in their life. It's not a condition for salvation.

Expressions of salvation: Church involvement

Others will say that you need to join a church, to become

part of a denomination. Again, joining a church is not acondition of salvation; it is an expression. In fact, the Bible

tells us that we need to be a part of the family of God. I re-

cently read a newspaper article stating that the state of Ari-

zona, where I live, ranks near the top in the number of

people who do not attend church on Sunday morning. Ap-

parently in this Southwest state the streets are pretty empty

on Sunday mornings, other than people jogging and head-ing over to Starbucks. People just dont feel the importance

of church anymore, and that might be our fault. We are not

providing something worth coming to. This needs to

change as the Bible tells us that we are not to forsake the

assembly. Hebrews 10:25 says Let us not give up meeting

together.

But again, church attendance is not the condition of sal-

vation; it is an expression of it. We do not gather together



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as a requirement of our salvation, it is because we are saved

that we wantto gather together. We wantto be with Gods

people. We want to learn from Gods word. But we dontmake it a condition of salvation.

Expressions of salvation: Public profession

Another aspect that we need to be aware of is believe and

confess (Romans 10:9-10). People in many denominations

feel a person cannot be saved unless they make a publicprofession of their faith by walking down an aisle. There is

nothing wrong with this. There is something very powerful

about making a public profession of faith. But the danger is

when we make it a condition instead of an expression of sal-

vation. We add on to the gospel. Instead of saying that a per-

son needs to believe, we say that a person needs to believe

and then we add on these other things to be saved. In answer

to the question, What must I do to be saved? the Bible sayssimply, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt

be saved (Acts 16:31). Thats the first aspect of salvation.

It comes by faith and faith alone. And we are justified.

Process of salvation: Sanctification

The Bible says there is more to salvation than just justifi-cation, however. It also talks about a second part of salva-

tion known as sanctification in which Jesus saves us from

the powerof sin. You who know Christ as your savior and

have walked with Him realize that just because you were

justified and declared righteous doesnt mean you are

righteous. You deal with sin issues every daysome of them

are perhaps the same ones you dealt with before you were

justified.



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As you struggle with these sin issues, you ask yourself,

How can I do this? What is going on? If I truly knew

Christ, would I still be doing this? The Bible says we aretempted in every way, even though we know Christ as our

savior (1 Cor 10:13). Just because we are justified and

saved from the penalty of sin doesnt mean we are auto-

matically saved from the power of sin. Thats an ongoing

battle, and its different with everyone. Issues you are deal-

ing with I may never deal with. And some things I experi-

ence in my walk with Christ and the power of sin in mylife, you may never experience. Thats why the Bible says

we shouldnt stand in judgment of one another as we all

have weaknesses and limitations.

Part of the salvation we are experiencing is Jesus saving

us from the power of sin in our lives. Paul, in speaking to

believers, says in Romans 6:11 and 12, In the same way,

count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ

Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodyso that you obey its evil desires.

Paul is saying, as a believer in Jesus Christ, dont let sin

have lordship in your life. Hes not questioning whether a

person is saved or not. He is saying although you are saved

and justified, make sure that you are also being sanctified

and that is an ongoing process.

We also know that sanctification is based totally uponworks, whereas justification has nothing to do with works.

Philippians 2:12 says to continue to work out your salva-

tion with fear and trembling.

When we read a passage like this, we need to make sure

we understand what aspect of salvation we are talking

about. If I am reading a passage like this in Scripture, and

all of a sudden I see a verse on working out my salvation

and I think that it is talking about justification, Im going



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to think I am working to be saved from the penalty of sin.

But the Bible says salvation is a free gift that has nothing

to do with works.Sanctification, howeverbeing saved from the power of

sinis a daily battle which has to do with obedience. It has

to do with my willingness to admit that what God has to say

in His Word is vital for my life and I need to do what it

says. We face this battle daily. God has given us all the in-

struction we need in His Word to have victory over the

power of sin in our life. He has also placed His Spirit withinus and given us other believers to keep us accountable.

Now heres the interesting thing. We may be saved from

the penalty of sin and we are secure. Other people, how-

ever, are not being saved from the powerof sin in their life,

and those are the ones the Bible refers to as carnal Chris-

tians.

The book of Corinthians tells us that there are three

types of people in the world: the spiritual, the nonspiritualor the nonbeliever, and the carnal Christian. The third type

is a follower of Jesus Christ who is saved from the penalty

of sin, but they are not allowing Christ to save them from

the power of sin in their life. They are not growing and

gaining victory over this power, they are not keeping Christ

on the throne of their lives, and they do not live Christ-cen-

tered lives. Obedient to the Word of God, they are follow-ing the law and when they sin, they ask for forgiveness.

Thus, as they continue to grow, Jesus Christ is saving them

from the powerof sin.

Other people have kept self on the throne. They have

never received Jesus as their savior and the Bible says that

they are literally lost and hell will be their destiny unless

they accept Jesus Christ.



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Where are you? Christ-centered vs self-centered

Then there are those who receive Jesus Christ, but who stillkeep self on the throne. They are not Christ-centered; they

are self-centered. The question for you today is, Where are

you? If you know Jesus Christ as your savior, do you also

allow Him to lead your life? Not only does He want to save

you from the penalty of sin, He also wants to save you from

the powerof sin in your life. Hes given you the resources

to do that, but you need to allow Him to deliver you fromthat power.

Or perhaps you have been justified, you are saved from

the penalty of sin, but Jesus Christ isnt the center of your

life. So the question to you today is, Where is Jesus in

your life? Is He outside looking in, or is He in the center

of your life, leading you and saving you from the power

of sin?

Progress of salvation: Glorified

Now lets look at the third aspect of salvation which is glo-

rification. We are saved from the penalty of sin in justifi-

cation, and we are being saved from the power of sin in

sanctification. The Bible tells us, however, that there is a

future salvation by which Jesus will save us from the verypresence of sin in our lives. Romans 8:30 says, And those

he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also jus-

tified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Glorification is also a progression. It is an accomplished

act, but it is something that will be completed in the future.

The apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:20, Our citizenship

is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the

Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to



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bring everything under his control, will transform our

lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

This is what we are looking forward to. At that time wewill ultimately be saved from the very presence of sin. It

will be done away with. We wont have to deal with it any-

more. We are not talking about justification here, nor are

we dealing necessarily with sanctification. Rather, we are

talking about whats going to happen with this third aspect

of salvationbeing saved from the very presence of sin.

We often tend to think that our sanctification has to dowith our justification. But its important to understand that

the believer who continues to keep sinning may question

their justification which becomes a problem. Justification

is a gift; it has nothing to do with works. We are saved by

faith and faith alone.

Sanctification doesnt have anything to do with justifi-

cation, but it has everything to do with glorification. When

we question our salvation because we are sinning or welook at someone who professes to know Christ as their sav-

ior but is living a lifestyle contrary to that, we tend to ques-

tion whether they are justified. The Bible says that if we

believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved from the

penalty of sin. But if were not living an obedient life and

not being saved from the power of sin, this will have an

impact on our glorificationthe moment we stand beforeGod and give an account of our lives.

My eighteen-year-old son, after one of my sermons,

asked, You said that heaven is not going to be the same for

everybody. What does that mean? Its easy to think that

it is going to be the same for everyone, but the Bible in-

dicates it is not. Now it is still going to be marvelous with

many wonderful things to experience. We will live with

Christ and our bodies will be transformed, but there are cer-



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tain things we wont be able to experience unless we are

being saved from the powerof sin right now.

In the next two chapters we will discuss the rewards wewill receive, as well as the conditions of these rewards. The

apostle Pauls motivation to live a godly life had nothing to

do with the penalty of sin. He was secure in that. We need

to be secure in that as well. But he was desperately want-

ing to make sure he lived a godly life so he wouldnt miss

out on anything in glorification.

My son also asked, If there are different categories ofpeople in heaven, wont there be jealousy and strife and all

of that stuff? And I replied, Dan, did you graduate from

high school? He said, Yeah. I said, Did you graduate

with honors? No. Are you angry and upset with those

who did graduate with honors? No. Thats a small il-

lustration of the idea of different rewards in heaven.

I could ask you the same questions: Did you graduate

from high school? If so, you get to share all of the bless-ings of being a graduate. Did you graduate with honors?

If not, are you angry and upset with those who did? Typi-

cally we are not. Were happy for them. However, when

they give out those special honors, we may sit back and

say, If I would have just worked a little bit harder, I could

have been one of those. So rather than condemning those

who receive the honors, were motivated to do better.That is how it will be when we stand at the judgment

seat of Christ and give an account of our lives. When we

watch those who were obedient getting rewards and bless-

ings, we wont be angry or jealous. Well just realize, I could

have received those too. I had the same opportunities but

I squandered them away. Thats what motivated the apos-

tle Paulthe idea of glorification, and thats the celebration

we look forward to.



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We know God loves all of us and He demonstrated that

love for us on the cross. He wants to save us from the

penalty of sin. We also realize that there is a dilemma be-cause God wants to have a relationship with us but sin sep-

arates us. However, Jesus Christ solved that dilemma.

Thats the celebration we have, to realize we have to be-

lieve in Jesus Christ to be saved from the penalty as well

the power of sin, and thats what we celebrate around the

Lords Table.

The bread and the cup are simple daily elements, com-mon to us all. But they become significant when the body

of Christ gathers together to be reminded of our salvation.

Communion takes us back to the cost of our salvation. Al-

though it is a free gift, it was not cheap. It cost Jesus Christ

His very life.

Self-reflection

So as we conclude this chapter, my question to you is, Are

you saved from the penalty of sin? You can be. Place your

faith in Jesus Christ. Are you being saved from the power

of sin? Jesus can save you and He can deliver you if you

recommit yourself and say, Lord, Im going to follow

Your Word. Ultimately He will save us from the very pres-

ence of sin. If you know Christ as your savior, celebratewith joy what He has already accomplished, what He is ac-

complishing, and what He will accomplish in your life.

Thats salvation.



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Prayer:

Lord, today as I anticipate salvation, part of it has beendone; I am saved from the penalty of sin by faith. But Lord,

there is also the process of being saved from the power of

sin. Lord, I pray that you give me that power and that

strength through Your Word, through Your Spirit and

through Your people. Lord, I look forward with wonderful

anticipation to glorification, to being saved from the very

presence of sin. But Lord, until that day comes, I pray thatI will be faithful. Each time that I partake of the elements

the bread that represents Your body, the cup that represents

Your shed bloodmay they remind me again that although

salvation is free, it is not cheap. It cost You Your very life.

In Jesus name. Amen.



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If you have never taken that first step in your journey withJesus Christ, ask Him to come into your life and forgiveyou of your sin. When you do that, He promises you heavenand eternal life. I would encourage and challenge you todayto pray this very simple prayer for the beginning of a won-derful journey with Christ:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I know I cant savemyself. There is absolutely nothing I can do to earn sal-vation. But I know that Your death on the cross paid the

penalty for my sin and I believe by faith that what youdid on the cross can save me. I ask You to come into mylife and to forgive me of my sin and then become theleader of my life. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer and you believe Jesus Christ isnow your savior, you dont need to fear hell and eternityseparated from Him.

Prayer for believers

Lord, as followers of Christ, let us recommit ourselves.

As believers, we have the answer that people are lookingfor, the good news of Jesus Christ as savior. We commitourselves to be the instruments that You, Lord, use totouch peoples lives. May we boldly speak Your Wordthat reaches out with love and compassion to those inneed. Father, may we never grow weary, never be lazy in

sharing the good news of Christ. So Lord, we commitourselves afresh and anew to You today. We pray in

Jesus name. Amen.

Invitation



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Kitty Chappell

I CAN FORGIVE

IF I WANT TO

Forgiving the Unforgivable

ISBN 978-0-9792342-3-1

This book is a true story of Gods power and grace. This triumphant storyis liberating for every person, especially for those who do need to forgive theunforgivable, because ultimately the choice of forgiveness is before us all.

Kitty, her mom and siblings suffered terrifying abuse at the hands of herfather. She was born into an environment of violence, experienced the

pain of abuse and the ravages of rage and resentment. Kitty Chappell feltshe could never forgive her father even after becoming a Christian, espe-cially after her father attempt to murder her mother. The question fromsomebody, Have you forgiven your father? infuriated her and agitatedher for months with gut-wrenching anger and bitterness until she realizedshe needed to forgive her father. The problem was, she didnt want to. Indesperation, she asked God to give her the power to forgive. God didntanswered that prayer, Kitty relates, for He was waiting for my obedi-ence according to His order to forgive the others. Eventually she under-stood that God was waiting for her own personal decision to forgive her

father, against all her emotions. When she did it God poured down on herHis all heavenly blessings and empowered her to experience true freedomof her horrible legacy. Following Gods rules Kitty emerged not as justa mere survivor, but as a victorious overcomer.

Chappells story is extraordinary not because of its anguish, but becauseshe has emerged emotionally and spiritually whole. While her book be-gins with the horror of a child born into abuse, it ends with hope, for it isa book about overcomingnot merely surviving. There are millions ofsurvivors, but few overcomers. What makes the difference? Read about it

in the true story of Kitty Chappell, and know how she learned to becomea victorious overcomer.

77

VOCATIO PUBLISHERS Books For Those We Love www.vocatio.us


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Author: Justyna D. WacawikIllustrator: Jakub Kuma

Parental Guidelines written byJosh McDowell

THE CRUCIALTASK

ISBN 978-0-9792342-6-2


Author: Justyna D. WacawikIllustrator: Jakub Kuma

Parental Guidelines written byGary Chapman

THE TRUE FRIEND

ISBN 978-1-935227-04-5

The forest animals invite you into their world of challenges through a se-

ries of ten Character Builders books. These books will inspire children

and have a positive impact on their lives. The purpose of this series is to

provide parents and teachers with the proper tools to develop healthy char-

acter traits in children.

The blessing of starting while they are young is seeing in your child es-tablished strong, solid fundamentals, developed values and shaped char-

acter when they become young adults.

Each of the forest animals has its own unique character and values.

Through their attitude and choices their character is revealed which affects

their characters. These stories help children to distinguish between good

and bad choices.

Both books contain special guidelines for parents and teachers. Ques-

tions for a discussion are provided which link the story with Biblical prin-

ciples. This will help to shepherd the childs heart enabling him or her to

think through situations and to make wise decisions.


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79


Author: Piotr Haraszewski

Illustrator: Zbigniew Freus

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

ISBN 978-0-9792342-5-5

This book presents a big picture of Gods salvation plan from the very be-ginning, when the first people had to leave the Garden of Eden. They re-

ceived Gods promise of the Savior, who will reconcile people with God.

Over the ages God repeated many times His promise to the prophets like

Isaiah, Jeremiah or Zacharias. Eventually, He sent the angel to a young

girl, Mary, who was chosen by Him to be the mother of the Savior.

The Christmas story in this book contains also evangelization part in

which there is a short summary of Gods salvation plan through Jesus and

an opportunity to become a Christian through a simple prayer.

Author: Piotr Haraszewski

Illustrator: Jakub Kuma

THOSE PESKYBACTERIA

ISBN 978-83-927983-3-0

What parent wouldnt want their children to mature, be healthy, and learn

about the world that surrounds them?

We want our children to understand the basics of hygiene, proper nu-

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dont just happen overnight. They have to be patiently taught to our chil-

dren. The book series LEARNING AND GROWING-UP is intended to

help parents do a better job at just that.


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PEARLSOFWISDOM

FROMGOD

ISBN 978-0-9792342-1-7


TREASURES OF

GODS PROMISES

ISBN 978-0-9792342-0-0

Bible quotations in these books are from the best and the most recogniza-ble Bible translations including NIV, NLT, ESV, Gods Word, HSCB, NCV,

NKJV, NRSV, NASB, ERV and The Message.

These beautifully bound, hard cover books contain many of the best

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Each scripture verse is complimented by a beautiful corresponding pho-

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The original photographs and the unusually beautiful graphics provide

a compelling gift. These are books that anyone would be proud to give

or to own themselves.

A great idea for a GIFT!

Eternal Rewards Sample

Documents

Transcript of Eternal Rewards Sample