Today’s Scripture: Romans 11:35

“Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

Every aspect of our ministry is by the grace of God. We’re unworthy to minister, but God considers us worthy through Christ. We’re inadequate to minister, but God makes us adequate through the powerful working of his Holy Spirit. We’re not naturally given to self-sacrifice, but God gives us that spirit by his grace. All is of grace. No human worthiness or adequacy is required or accepted.

Such a strong, biblical emphasis on God’s grace apart from human worth or adequacy leads to the question of the relationship of grace and rewards. Doesn’t God promise rewards to his faithful servants? Didn’t Paul himself teach that we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due us?

God does promise rewards, and we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (see Matthew 25:21; 2 Corinthians 5:10). But these rewards are rewards of grace, not of merit. We never by our hard work or sacrificial service obligate God to reward us.

If all our service to God is made possible by his undeserved favor and made effective by the Spirit’s power, we’ve really brought nothing to him that we didn’t first receive from him. The Puritan Samuel Bolton said, “If there was anything of man’s bringing, which was not of God’s bestowing, though it were never so small, it would overturn the nature of grace, and make that of works which is of grace.” But every thought, word, or deed emanating from us that is in any way pleasing to God and glorifying to him has its ultimate origin in God, because apart from him, there’s nothing good in us (Romans 7:18).

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