Obedience

Jesus said to His disciples, " Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.' "~ Luke 17:7-10.

It's a very popular idea that if our "good" deeds outweigh our "bad" deeds then we must be heaven bound. However, this idea is certainly not biblical and actually takes a very low view of God and sin. The Bible describes sin in many ways ... not just as breaking the Law or performing acts of unrighteousness. James 4:17 says, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." Failure to do the right thing is just as sinful to God as doing the wrong thing.

So where do we get the idea that we will somehow be rewarded for our lack of committing the "big sins" [i.e. murder, rape, etc.]? This is a deception straight from the evil one. We don't live our everyday lives as if this were true ... after all, no one expects to receive a reward when they go the bank and don't rob it. Or who expects reward when they don't murder, rape, or steal? Such an idea is foolishness because we know we aren't supposed to do these things. In fact, we realize very clearly that not only do we not get rewarded for not performing these deeds, but we also expect punishment for those who do perform them (ourselves or anyone else)!

In the same way, Jesus made clear to His disciples that we will not be rewarded for obedience to God's commands since those are the things that we ought to do anyway. The Ten Commandments, written by the very finger of God Himself (see Exodus 31:18, 34:1), are not suggestions. They are commands. We understand that disobedience to civil law carries certain penalties yet we fail to discern that failure to obey God's Law does so as well. The major difference between God's authority and civil authority is that no infraction, big or small, escapes His notice. In fact, to God, failure to keep just one part of the Law is serious business (see James 2:10).

For the wages of sin is death... ~Romans 6:23a

Notice that "sin" is singular. Only one sin is needed for the death sentence. This is bad news for all of us. Fortunately, the verse continues ... but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6:23b). Praise God that He has offered salvation as a free gift to us who do not deserve it. We are able to be saved from the wrath that is to come purely by the grace of God. Have you received it, or will you bear the punishment for your own sins on the Day of Judgment? Confess your sins to the Lord, repent, and place your trust in Jesus alone for your salvation ... He is the Risen Lord who will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.