Spirit Works Bring Rewards

Romans 8:4 “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.”

So what works will be rewarded by the Lord Jesus on that day? The answer to that question for the new covenant saint is very simple, if we understand the make up of man. Under the new covenant we are born-again. What that means is that our spirits have become new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). And so because our spirits are born of God, they are perfect creations of God, and they will always do that which pleases the Father. However, there is a part of man that does not change at the new birth. That part of man is called the flesh and is made up of our physical bodies and the unrenewed mind. And so just as our spirits will always do that which pleases God our Father, so it is that the flesh will always be at enmity with God and His word (Romans 8:7). The reason for that is because, as the apostle Paul teaches us, sin dwells in our flesh (Romans 7:18). Although all believers have eternal life in their spirits, sadly not all believers walk in the spirit and many still walk in the flesh. And so born-again believers at all times, are either walking in the spirit or they are walking in the flesh. There is no so called “grey area”. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul counsels all believers to walk in the spirit and not to walk in the flesh, for He tells us that those who walk in the spirit fulfil the righteous requirements of the law. In other words the works that believers do in the spirit will be well pleasing to the Lord, and it is those works that will be rewarded by Him on that day.

Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil.  (18)  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  (19) Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus gave us some insight as to just what works will be rewarded on our day of judgement, for He tells us that those who do the commandments of God and teach others to do the same will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. You will recall that our Lord Jesus has given His church a new commandment, which is that we should love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). And so for the saint that keeps this commandment and teaches others to do the same, they can expect to be called great in the kingdom of heaven on that day. In the flesh it is impossible to keep this commandment, and it is only by walking in the spirit that the believer can keep the commandment of love, for the scripture teaches us that the love of God has been poured out in our spirits (Romans 5:5). And so we see that the more we walk in the spirit in this life, the more we will be rewarded on that day. This truth makes it vital for believers to learn to walk in the spirit.

Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

 In the passage of scripture quoted above the word translated “heartily” is an unfortunate translation, because that word does not communicate clearly to us what the Holy Spirit is saying. A more accurate translation of the word “heartily” would be to say, “out of the spirit”. And so this verse of scripture should read, “And whatever you do, do it out of the spirit, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Clearly from this passage of scripture the Holy Spirit is teaching us that that, which is done in the spirit, will be rewarded on that day, for it is the works that are done in the spirit that will endure and not be burned up on that day? 

Ephesians 6:5-8 “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; (6) not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, (7) with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, (8) knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reinforces the truth that that, which is done in the spirit will be rewarded on that day, for in this passage He tells us that doing the will of God from the heart is what will be rewarded on that day. The word translated “heart” in this passage can also be translated “spirit”. In other words the apostle Paul is teaching us that doing the will of God from our spirits is what will be rewarded on that day.

1 Corinthians 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit reveals to us that even the most benevolent works done outside of the love of God, will count for nothing on the day of judgement, and the reason for that is because those works will have been done in the flesh. The flesh does good works to feel good and to be recognised by men, while the spirit does good works to please the Father. And so we can see that two individuals can do exactly the same work, i.e. they can both bestow all their goods to feed the poor, and because from the outside, both works look exactly the same, we would think that both will be rewarded equally by the Lord Jesus on their day of judgement. God however, looks on the heart and so only the work done from the spirit will be rewarded on that day, while the other will be burned up because it was done in the flesh, for we can only walk in the love of God by walking in the spirit.

Matthew 10:42 “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

 Heavens account of our good works, are far more detailed than we can even begin to imagine. And so there will be works for which we will be rewarded on that day that we never imagined heaven would have noticed, but nevertheless nothing goes unrewarded in heaven. In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus stated that something that to us may seem trivial, such as giving someone a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, would not go unrewarded on that day. No wonder the apostle Paul encouraged the saints to maintain good works while on the earth (Titus 3:8).

Matthew 26:6-13 “And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, (7) a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  (8)  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  (9) For this fragrant oil, might have been sold for much and given to the poor."  (10)  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.  (11)  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  (12)  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  (13) Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

When viewed in the natural, a work done in the spirit does not always look like a good work, for you will recall that the scripture teaches us that spiritual things are foolishness to the natural man (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells us to judge nothing before the time, for on that day God will reveal the motives of the heart for the works that have been done in this life. Again I must emphasize that God looks on the motivations of our hearts in all that we do. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit records an example for us of a work done in the spirit that will be rewarded on that day. We see in this passage that Mary was led by the Spirit of God to anoint the Lord Jesus with costly fragrant oil in preparation for His burial that He was about to undergo. In the natural this did not look like a good work at all, because of the apparent waste of money that could have been used for the more “noble” work of giving to the poor, and this passage reveals to us that all who looked at what Mary did that night condemned her for what they deemed to be an extravagant waste. But nevertheless we see that in the spirit this was an exceptional work that Mary did, and she was commended by the Lord Jesus for her obedience to the leading of the Spirit. And so from what we have seen in this section it is very clear that all works done in the spirit will be rewarded on that day, and I would encourage all believers who desire to be rewarded on their day of judgement to learn to walk in the spirit.

Michael E.B. Maher

Eternal Judgement

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