A Day of Evaluation and Rewards
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 16:24-27 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Not many people want to live a selfless life. Yet Jesus has asked us to pick up the cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him daily. As Christians, we must be careful not to succumb to the world’s lure, with its lust of the eyes and the flesh, lest we risk selling our souls to the world.
In the opening passage, Jesus tells us what it takes to be a disciple. A believer believes in Jesus and waits to go to heaven, whereas a disciple works and lives for Jesus while waiting to be united with God in heaven. We need to count the cost of discipleship.
We are eternal beings, and therefore pilgrims and sojourners in this world, because heaven is our eternal home while earth is our temporary abode. All of us will leave this earth. We should look forward to the day when we will meet our Creator and Saviour face to face and spend eternity with Him.
The opening Scriptures make it clear that our actions and work on earth for the Lord matter, even though they do not affect our salvation. It is a matter of choice whether we yield to the flesh or the Holy Spirit. While salvation is a gift of grace, there will be a final judgement for all believers, when He will evaluate how we have lived.
The Day of Judgement is for believers only. We are saved by grace through faith. God has imputed His righteousness to us, and our salvation rests entirely on the atonement and redemptive work of Jesus Christ! Therefore, the Day of Judgement is not to judge whether we have been saved, but to reward us according to the responsibilities we have carried out for the Lord, based on our faithfulness and willingness to serve Him with the gifts, talents, and financial and material blessings He has given us. We are saved to do good works because He is the master craftsman.
Jesus will come back one day, and we must each give an account of what we have done for Him with all that He has given us, and we will receive our rewards accordingly.
Reflection: Are you excited or fearful when you contemplate the Day of Judgement? How does the truth that we will one day have to give an account to God affect the way you live today?
Sermon Series: Pick up the cross to follow Jesus
