“He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (Luke 18:9-14 WEB)
Religion tells you that in order for God to accept you, you have to go to Him with your hands full—full of service, good works, devoted prayer, knowledge of the Scriptures etc.
But Jesus is saying that He doesn’t want all that from you to try and justify yourself before God.
All of those works reek of self-righteousness, religious pride and can never make you right with God—they are like dirty rags before God.
Jesus just wants you to come to Him with empty hands and admit that nothing you do is worthy of complete forgiveness of sins—that only through His finished work at the cross alone you can become righteous through faith.
After you are saved, the truth remains that you have been saved through faith alone, in Jesus alone.
Keep receiving every blessing and benefit of the cross through faith.
You will unconsciously start to come into God’s presence with your hands full of acceptable worship, prayer, offerings and service.
You won’t even be trying to do them because these are the fruits of beholding the glory of Jesus.
We can’t earn a single blessing of God. Even when we tithe, partake of the Lord’s Supper and apply anointing oil, these are visual aids that help faith to arise in us and remember what Jesus has done for us.
The only things you can earn with your good works are eternal rewards that you can’t enjoy yet in this mortal lifetime.
These will be measured out for you for every time you had faith in Jesus and every time you demonstrated love for Jesus’ sake.
This is crucial for you looking forward in your journey ahead. The apostles Paul and Peter both likened the Christian life to a competitive race where there are prizes to be won.
Blessings are good but only focusing on that makes you earth-bound. Looking unto eternal rewards makes you focused on the things above in Heaven rather than the things below on earth.
When navigating sufferings and persecutions on earth, eternal rewards will keep you focused on Jesus’ smiling face at the finish line and you’ll have the strength and motivation to run your epic race of faith.
Dear brethren, there’s prizes to be won which will affect your quality of life in eternity. What roles of honor will you have in the eternal city of New Jerusalem? What degree of closeness will you have with Jesus? If that’s important to you, you need to understand the truth about eternal rewards and what the judgment seat of Christ means for a believer—and it’s all good news!
I can’t wait for you to read my book “Sandcastles Don’t Last Forever”. I just launched the Kindle edition on Amazon this past week.
Read it if you want to learn more about eternal rewards, end times prophecies and fulfilling your God-given calling in life.
I believe once you’ve finished reading it, you’ll be looking forward to standing before Jesus’ throne for judgment, without a trace of fear or worry in your heart.
Get the Paperback edition on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sandcastles-Dont-Last-Forever-Biblical/dp/172671327X
Get the Kindle edition on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082Z49KW4
Get the eBook version (digital download) on my online store: https://www.miltongoh.net/store/p12/sandcastles-dont-last-forever-milton-goh-book.html
All God Every Morning (GEM) and above tier patrons receive this ebook as one of their many rewards on Patreon: http://Patreon.com/miltongohblog
#Righteousness #Jesus
