Title: TROPHIES AND GRATITUDE
Focus: A person’s response of faith to God’s gift of eternal life always leads to fruits of gratitude.
Function: To move the people to make a distinction between God’s gift of salvation in Christ and our acts of grateful service, so that God’s grace will stand out, and our gratitude will increase.
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 24
Text: II Timothy 4:1-8
The other day, it happened again. This time we received an official-looking letter in the mail with the words “Urgent—Second Notice” written on the envelope. It’s one of those letters that makes you stop and wonder “Now what did I do?” Or, “Have I forgotten to pay a bill?” Anyway, I opened the letter. And there it was: an announcement along with an invitation that I should contact some office in Florida, because there was a million dollars waiting for me to be collected. A computer had randomly chosen my name to claim the promotional trophy of a million dollar.
My initial response to such a letter is “Yeh, sure! This is all bogus.” My second response? I tore up the letter and threw it away.
Now why do most of us respond that way? Because we are skeptical of anything that comes as a “freebie” to us. “Only the sun goes up for free,” we say. Life experience has taught us that there usually is a cost, a hidden cost, to everything that comes for free. Such skepticism is justified, I think. In my case, my upbringing has reinforced such skepticism, because my family taught me that nothing comes to us for free; we must work for things. Hard work—a solid work ethic—will get you a long ways. Hard work earns you money and respect. That’s what I learned as a child and teenager. Most of us, I think, can relate to this.
Such notions, however, work against a very basic truth of Scripture. There we learn that the most desirable thing in life comes to us for free: God’s gift of salvation is a free gift. We cannot earn it. We can only respond to it by faith, and express our gratitude by means of service unto God. In fact, a person’s response of faith to God’s gift of eternal life always leads to fruits of thankfulness.
This notion that God’s gift of eternal life or salvation is free does not “sit very well” with most of us. It goes against the grain of our human nature, which makes us suspect of anything that is advertised as coming to us for free.
I sense this in the questions of the bible teacher and her student in Lord’s Day 24. There we find a number of feisty questions. Listen: (Q. 62) “Why can’t the good we do make us right with God, or at least help make us right with him?” You can almost feel the resistance by the student. It’s as if we are a bit offended by this simplistic offer of God’s salvation as being free. Deep inside of myself I find some sympathy for this student of the Bible. Why can’t I contribute some of my own gifts, my own actions as a way of coming clean with God? Why must it be all God’s work and not any of mine? How annoying that my good deeds don’t count at all when it comes to my salvation!
The next question drips with annoyance. Listen: (Q. 63) “How can you say that the good we do doesn’t earn anything when God promises to reward it in this life and the next?” Surely, there’s irritation and a lack of patience in this question.
The third question comes with a final objection. The bible student raises a legitimate concern. Listen: (Q. 64) “But doesn’t this teaching (of eternal life as a free gift from God) make people indifferent and wicked?” In other words, isn’t true that people will take their salvation for granted if it is free? If I get a paycheck every month and I don’t have to do anything for it, won’t I soon take that paycheck for granted? If we give our children nothing but handouts, won’t they turn out to be “loafers,” and “slackers,” lazy and unproductive? No, freebies bring out the worst in a human being. It’s better that we do our share of hard work—so the argument may go.
Clearly, we
are dealing with some feisty questions. But thank God! The Bible teacher echoes
some very straightforward
answers from the Scriptures. The first straightforward answer
centers on God’s perfect standard and our human predicament. (Q. Why can’t
the good we do make us right with God, or at least help make us right with
God?) “Because the righteousness which can pass God’s scrutiny must
be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law. Even
the very best we do in this life is
imperfect and stained with sin.”
In other words, God’s will (by which we maintain a right standing before God) is perfect. We, however, because of sin and our sinful human nature, are imperfect and incapable to do God’s perfect will perfectly, or without sin. This is not an optimistic view of human nature, I know. But it’s a biblical view nevertheless. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says Scripture. And the newspapers, though never using the word “sin” only underscore this biblical truth: the never-ending cycle of corruption, violence, and vices by so many people expose this truth: there is “rot,” “depravity,” a power of sin lurking at the core of our being. And that power keeps us from keeping God’s perfect standard or holy will.
The second straightforward answer centers on God’s promise of eternal life and the earning power of our good works. (Q. How can you say that the good we do doesn’t earn anything when God promises to reward it in this life and the next?) “This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.” The Bible teacher is short in her answer and very consistent. If we are dead in sins and trespasses, we should not imagine that we can pull ourselves up by the bootstraps of good works and so score brownie points with God. Our good behavior does not function like a paycheck. Our good deeds cannot pay for the wages of our sins. Only God can. And he has done so in and through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that’s why a person’s response of faith to God’s gift of eternal life always leads to fruits or works of gratitude.
Straightforward or even blunt is the Bible teacher’s answer to the third question: (Q But doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked?). “No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude.” There is no need to worry that a true Christian believer will become lazy, indifferent and corrupt. Why not? Because when the Holy Spirit brings new birth into our hearts, he grafts us, like a branch, into Christ. And grafted into Christ, it is impossible to produce fruits or deeds that dishonor him and point to the presence of evil in our lives. Provided, of course, that we do what Jesus commands us to do: (John 15:5) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” So, I’ll say it again: A person’s response of faith to God’s gift of eternal life always leads to fruits of gratitude.
But the question remains: Does not the Bible also teach that our good deeds have value—so much so that they lead to trophies, to treasures, to rewards handed out by Jesus Christ on Judgment Day? And if that is true, how must we make a distinction between God’s gift of eternal life and our own acts of thankfulness?
Perhaps the
Apostle Paul, in his final letter to Timothy, can help us. (Some of the insights
expressed are from Stott’s commentary on II Timothy). In II Timothy
4:1-8 we hear Paul issue a powerful call to action for Timothy: “Preach
the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” In this
passage, we notice that Paul’s thoughts move along these lines: First, he draws
our attention to Jesus’ final coming as judge and sovereign king (vs. 1-2);
then, Paul draws our attention to the present, contemporary scene. What’s
happening in our world today? (vs. 3-5); then Paul draws attention to his
upcoming death (vs. 6-8) “For I am already being poured out like a drink
offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me
the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to
me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
What is this “crown of righteousness?” Is it payment, a trophy won because of hard work done by Paul, or is it God’s undeserved gift to Paul, and to all other believers in Christ? Take note: The crown of righteousness
The apostle Peter (I Peter 5:4) refers to this crown or trophy, saying: “…when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will received the crown of glory that will never fade away.” And the Lord Jesus, in Rev. 2:10, says to the believers in Smyrna: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” The crown of righteousness points to God’s gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Perhaps a picture will help. Think of God’s promise of eternal life as a country: the new heavens and new earth—beautifully restored, free from sin and death, where life in glorified resurrection bodies will last forever and ever. Every believer in Christ Jesus will inherit that country—that life—as a gift from God. Why? Because Jesus paid the wages of our sins. Eternal life is God’s free gift.
Knowing this wonderful truth today becomes the wellspring of our good works or actions. In response to God’s gift of eternal life, we now produce fruits of gratitude. And these fruits of gratitude have great value: they lead to God granting us “treasures” in heaven, to God rewarding us with stewardship responsibilities.
Think of it this way: When the time comes for Christians to inherit the country of eternal life called the new heavens and new earth, we shall all enter it. Once we enter it, we shall all exercise dominion or kingship or stewardship. Christ will give us tasks to do, and these tasks of dominion are rewarded to all believers on the basis of their good works or actions done here on earth today. In the parable of the talents (Mt. 25) we hear the master tell his faithful servants: (vs. 21,23) “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
Congregation, drink deep from God’s well of eternal life, found in Jesus Christ. Drink deep. Then respond with faith and faithfulness; every day and every night, remain in Christ, and he will remain in you. Draw upon his Spirit, his life-giving power, and we shall produce fruits, works of gratitude. The trophy of eternal life is God’s gift to us. The rewards of stewardship on the renewed creation are God’s way of saying: “I value your faithfulness and work of gratitude today.” Learn to live with outstretched hands of faith to receive eternal life in Christ. Then live with rolled-up sleeves to serve the Lord Jesus with a grateful life.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.