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.
Michael E.B. Maher
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