Rewards and Punishments

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34.
The Saviour presents before us the scene of the last judgment when the reward is given to those upon His right hand, and the sentence of condemnation to those upon His left hand. The righteous are represented as wondering what they have done for which they are to be so liberally rewarded. They had had the abiding presence of Christ in their hearts; they had been imbued with His Spirit, and without conscious effort on their part; they had been serving Christ in the person of His saints, and had thereby gained the sure reward. But they had not had in view the reward they were to receive, and the expectation of it had been no part of the motive that had actuated their service. What they did was done from love to Christ and to their fellow-men, and Christ identifies Himself with suffering humanity, and accounts that all deeds done in sympathy and compassion and love to men, are done to Him….
In a subordinate sense we should all have respect unto the recompense of the reward. But while we appreciate the promise of blessing, we should have perfect confidence in Jesus Christ, believing that He will do right, and give us reward according as our works have been. The gift of God is eternal life, but Jesus would have us not so anxious concerning rewards, as that we may do the will of God because it is right to do it, irrespective of all gain….
Those who will receive the most abundant reward will be those who have mingled with their activity and zeal, gracious, tender pity for the poor, the orphan, the oppressed, and the afflicted…. There are about us those who have a meek and lowly spirit, the spirit of Christ, who do many little things to help those around them, and who think nothing of it; they will be astonished at last to find that Christ has noticed the kind word spoken to the disheartened, and taken account of the smallest gift given for the relief of the poor, that cost the giver some self-denial. The Lord measures the spirit, and rewards accordingly, and the pure, humble, childlike spirit of love makes the offering precious in His sight. Maranatha p. 342
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Prayer Requests
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Dear Friends,
A few years ago, our pastor asked if anyone knew the significance of October 31. He reminded us that it was on this date that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of his church in Wittenburg. That one act, kindled a light that would grow in brightness and spread around the world until Jesus comes.
From the moment he ascended upon his knees “Pilate’s staircase,” till his death from unwise cooking, Luther’s life was filled with an unceasing activity to bring to the people the truth that “The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1:17 He was looked down upon as a heretic by many and loved and admired by others for his stand. As he studied, more truth was impressed upon his mind. Some of these he immediately shared with his followers, some he kept to himself, others were kept in the background until a later time, following Jesus’ example when He said to His disciples, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. John 16:12Truly Luther was one of the greatest of the Reformers. One to whom our Saviour will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful…enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matt 25:21
May we stand firm for the truth as did Martin Luther. May we faithfully spread God’s message as he did. May we live all that God reveals to us from His Holy Word is my prayer.
Rose