Open your Bibles to Hebrews 6:1.

“Therefore leaving the principles…” A better translation would be the word of the beginning of Christ. “Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us go on unto perfection [or completion]; not laying again the foundation of repentance [a change of mind] from dead works, and of faith toward God,”

If you read various commentaries and other sources there are several different interpretations on just who he—if Paul wrote to the Hebrews—is addressing. Was it just Jews or Christians, or Jews and Christians? It goes on and on and I’m not going to bore you with all the details. I’m going to tell you that I believe he is writing to Christians—Jews that became Christians in this case, but the message applies to those who put trust and confidence in Jesus Christ.

At the very least you can agree he is writing to people who were enlightened with the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus Christ at one time.

“and have tasted of the heavenly gift, [the heavenly gift is God’s spirit] and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost [or Holy Spirit],

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; [In other words, change their minds again why they need to apply the Gospel to their lives.] seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

I’m getting to a certain point because this is about rewards.

In other words, nothing will be forgotten. If it deserves rewards, you will be rewarded and all the effort and work that you put in for the glory of God will be worth it.

I want to focus on verse 10. Before we go any further, let’s read some things from one commentator which I think are worth sharing. He says concerning this verse:

“Work and labor of love won’t save you, [I totally agree, and you know where I stand on that] but if you are saved this is why you are rewarded. This is where good works come in. Although they have nothing to do with your salvation, they certainly do have a very important part in a believer’s life.”

I want to add especially when they are at the judgment seat of Christ. He goes on to say:

“First of all, [and I agree with him on this also] let me call to your attention that the writer is not discussing the question of salvation at all in this passage. I believe he is describing saved people. [I already told you that]They have been enlightened, they have tasted of the heavenly gift, they have been partakers of the Holy Spirit and they have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. The whole tenor of the text reveals that he is speaking of rewards which are the result of salvation.”

You can’t do anything to earn salvation, but because you are saved, because you have become a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are going to participate in things that require good works. In this case, I told you the word is ergon. In most cases, it is the employment of the Word of God in whatever capacity God has called you. He has called you to do it and it can take many different avenues if it brings glory to Him. If it is in His will—whatever it is that He wants you to participate in—when you stand in front of Him at the judgment seat of Christ and profess what you have done (I have said this before) He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That is amazing to me, but it is what the scriptures say. He sees what you have done, and you will profess what you have done, and then He will determine what is good and what is worthless. Let’s continue:

He is making the point that this is a message for believers and, of course, when authors like this use the word repentance those of you who have been around for a while know exactly my take on that word. If you don’t, then I recommend you go to the website and read or watch the Change of Mind Series. It is available there for free. If you want to order a book go to Amazon where there are three volumes on the Change of Mind Series.

“So the writer of Hebrews is talking about the fruit of salvation, not about the root of salvation. Notice verse 9 again, ‘But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation [he hasn’t been discussing salvation, but the things that accompany salvation] though we thus speak.’ He is speaking of the fruit of the Christian’s life and the reward that comes to him as the result. The whole tenor of this passage is that he is warning them of the possibility of losing their reward. There is danger Paul said of our entire works being burned up so that we have nothing for which we could be rewarded.

We covered these verses.

I’m going to read that again. I like it.

You are probably asking, “What about people who become believers and put their trust and confidence in Jesus, and He takes their life away in a matter of days? How about newborns? How about children who haven’t even had a chance to be born of the flesh because they were aborted? What about any of those situations?” I’m sure He also has a plan for those people. Quit worrying about the rewards of someone else. Just focus on what is clear about what is in store for you. He has a reason why He prolongs your life. He wants you to be useful to Him in the here and now and if you are faithful to that calling you are going to be rewarded. You are not going to have salvation because of your works. You can’t merit your salvation, only Christ can do that for you, but you are going to be involved in participating somehow, somewhere, someplace. God doesn’t call people to do absolutely nothing and coast their way into eternal life. “Well, I don’t know what to do. I’m stuck at home. I’m handicapped. I can’t get out.” I’m sure you receive some type of income. You could participate that way. You should all be participating continuously in the offering, but you can participate in other ways. There are things to do. Especially in today’s environment where you can reach the world with your computer. “Well, I don’t know how to really talk to people about Jesus.” Can you say a word to others so they can learn more about Jesus? The answer obviously would be yes. Well then, do that. You can send them here. Let me continue:

My Christian friend, I am not sure that I am looking forward to the judgment seat of Christ because He is going to take me apart there. I am not going to be judged for salvation [That is right. It is what I preach.] because I am saved. He is going to find out whether or not I am able…” [Not able, but if I am to receive a reward.]

“Now notice that he is illustrating the fruit of the Christian’s life, ‘For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.’ [We read Hebrews 6:7 and 8 at the beginning of this message.] If the believer’s life brings forth fruit, it receives blessing from God. If it brings forth thorns and briers, it is rejected.”

I said in the first two messages and I will say again that this is a long overdue message. You would be hard pressed to find churches, pastors, evangelists, teachers of God’s Word teaching on this subject and it is a shame.

In Hebrews 6:10, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work…” Why is He not unrighteous? Because He says He is going to remember it and God is not a man to lie. He doesn’t go back on His word; He is going to remember your work and labor of love. Do you think He wants people to say, “Ah, I have to somehow figure out what good works I can do so I can be rewarded?” If it is not a labor of love, my friend, that is probably going to be thrown in the fire also. He sees your heart, He sees your attitude, He knows what is in your mindset. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”  And that, my friend, is not for just the preachers. That is for everyone.

“And we desire that every one of you…” [If you didn’t believe me that it is not just for preachers.] “And we desire that every one of you—here we go now—do show the same diligence [underline those words] to the full assurance of hope… [not for just a little while, for just maybe a few Sundays or whatever time you want to put into it. No.] …unto the end.”

And that is not all. Let’s read the following verse, “That ye be not slothful…” Slothful is a good word here, but this Greek word comes with other meanings besides being just slothful. It could easily have also said: That ye be not lazyor That ye be not dull. Dull towards what? Dull towards laboring in love the work you do for the cause of Christ. One more meaning could be used for this Greek word: That ye be not stupid. You don’t believe me, check it out. Don’t be slothful, don’t be lazy, don’t be dull, don’t be stupid. “Well, I just don’t like the way you preach. You always come up with insults.” Not me! I’m just preaching God’s Word. Prove me wrong. Paul is saying, “That ye be not slothful, ye be not lazy, ye be not stupid, ye be not dull, but followers of them who through faith and patience [endurance would be a better word here] inherit the promises.” It didn’t say promise, right? It says promises. We know we have the promise of salvation if we put trust and confidence in Jesus Christ, and we have the promise of eternal life because we put our trust and confidence in Jesus Christ. We also have the promise of receiving the Holy Spirit if we start trusting and have confidence in Jesus Christ, putting our faith in Him. Why not this one? The New Testament is loaded with information about rewards, so shouldn’t the promise of rewards also be included? It is there my friends.

In these last days, more people exist on this planet than all the millenniums prior. This is a message that needs to get out. The Change of Mind messages need to get out, the rewards messages need to get out. All the other series need to get out and I can’t do it on my own. You need to be participators also because God will reward.

Let me tell you a story. I usually don’t tell too many stories, but I think this one is worth it. About a century or so ago on a rainy stormy night there was an elderly couple that were trying to get out of the storm. They entered this small hotel inquiring if they could get a room. The clerk at the registration desk said they were full [every room had been filled] and not just their hotel but every hotel in that city. But this clerk felt bad for this couple and he didn’t want to leave them out in the rain, and he didn’t want to send them out in the storm so he asked the couple if they would be willing to stay overnight in his room. Now at first the couple didn’t want to do it. They hesitated, but this clerk at the registration desk was persistent and he insisted that they stay in his room. The elderly couple were impressed, and they took his invitation. The next morning, they went to the registry desk to check out and they told the clerk that he was the type of person, the type of man that should be managing the best hotel in the United States. Now the clerk thought he was just trying to be nice, but this elderly man said, “You know, someday I’m going to build that hotel just for you.” The clerk was polite about it and smiled and he never thought anything would come from that statement. Some years go by and this clerk receives correspondence from this elderly man. He was surprised. The elderly man recalled that rainy night and this elderly man asked him to come to New York and he enclosed a round trip ticket with his correspondence. Now when the clerk arrived the elderly man, now the host, took him to the corner of 5^th Avenue and 34^th Street. I know exactly where that is growing up near New York City and there at that time stood a beautiful magnificent building and that elderly man said to the clerk, “I have built this hotel for you to manage.” I’m going slowly on purpose. I want this to sink in. Now, who was this man and anybody who has done any traveling will be familiar with it—William Waldorf Astor—and the hotel he built was the original Waldorf Astoria. So, who was this young man that this hotel was built for him to manage? His name is George Boldt and he became this hotel’s first manager.

Why am I even mentioning this story? I’m telling this story by the way of contrast here. If a man—an earthly being—was that careful and went out of his way to reward a good deed, then how much more would our loving Father, who is faithful to His word, reward you and me for the things we do for His glory? That is the point I’m trying to make. In other words, as I said in each message so far, He is going to make it worth it. That is His promise and let me tell you my friend, you can count on His word and hopefully these reward messages make a difference in your life between now and then, because it does matter. It is important; it should not be neglected. God would not spend so much time in His Word on this. When you understand what to look for, it leaps out of the pages of scripture. It is almost like God is saying, “Dummy, let me get your attention! Don’t miss out on this!”

He is faithful to His word and He will reward all the good deeds done in His name for His glory. Amen to that. We have so many promises and so many different categories and rewards should not be neglected. Do you understand that? Are you starting to get the understanding that you need to start paying attention to this subject? Remember God is faithful to His word and to His promises and rewards are part of His promises.

Copyright 2019 Faith Cometh By Hearing

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In 2 Corinthians 9:7 it reads, “God loveth a cheerful giver.” The Greek word for cheerful is Hilaros which means when someone is prompt to do something, they are ready in mind, with a joyful heart. In the Septuagint it also means to cause to shine. Today I am looking for Hilaros Givers who are ready and full of joy for the opportunity to cause others to shine by hearing, learning, and growing in God’s Word. Join with us today and participate as a Hilaros Giver. If you wish to participate use the following link:http://www.teachingfaith.com/giving

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