Priceless Woman MinistriesPriceless Woman Ministries
Julia M.
Faulkner
sunshine@pricelesswoman.com
http://www.pricelesswoman.com
(Life After Salvation)
Julia M. Faulkner
Matthew 13:23: *But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.*
Matthew 6:24: *No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.*
Romans 6:6: *Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.*
John 12:26: *If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.*
Hebrews 9:14: *How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?*
Man is born with a natural nature to serve sin. There is no love within him for God. The sad truth is that God made us and God loves us, but man does not naturally love God, nor does man want to serve God. That is one reason that God sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. To change our nature, and to help us understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14).
John 15:16 tells us that Jesus chooses us, not the other way around. *Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.*
If man cannot naturally understand the things of God, then how does salvation occur? First of all, the word must be preached to the lost (Romans 10:14). And then God draws that person to Him, opening their understanding of the word (John 6:44; 1 John 5:20; Acts 16:14). After that, it is up to that person to accept or reject Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior.
What happens after salvation? One very important thing. Without the Holy Spirit in our lives, we would forever remain the same old creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17: *Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.*
So, what is the significance of the new creature? To be able to understand, and perform, the will of God. 1 Corinthians 2:14 *But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.*
According to Jesus, there is no way that we can bear fruit apart from the true Vine. *Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.* John 15:4-5. What does this mean to me and you as Children of God? That our goal as His Children should be working for Him.
Is working for God a choice? Yes, and no. Yes, in that even as children of a loving Father we often rebel against Him and refuse to do His will (Romans 12:1-2). No, in that Jesus has a fierce message for those who do not work for God. John 15:1-2 *I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.*
What does this verse mean? Let's look to some verses on chastisement for a moment. Hebrews 12:6-10: *For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.*
God's chastisement is for our own good. In a way, you could say that it helps get us back on track. After all, don't we tell our own children that punishing them is for their own good?
But what happens when we don't heed God's chastisement? Obviously from the above verse God deals with us severely. God will either stop using us, or He may very well require our life. This may seem harsh and cruel, but what we often fail to realize it that God means business! Look at 1 Corinthians 11:30. *For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.* If you read the verses immediately before verse 30, you will see that these people were doing something displeasing to God. What was the outcome? Illness and death.
Now that we know how serious God is about the fruit of a Christian's life, how can we be sure we are working for the Lord? What are some things we can be doing for Him?
In God's family, as in any earthly family, we each have responsibilities. Some are common to all, some require a calling, or are a gift, from God.
Those that are common to all members of the family are (to name a few):
There are many different callings from God. 1 Corinthians 7:7 *For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. Some are preachers, teachers, singers, directors of various events in the Church, and so on. We all have been given a *job*. Be sensitive to the Lord so that He wants to use you.
Some people have the notion that since they're saved, that's all there is to it. The sad thing about that attitude is that they will have no rewards in Heaven. I think I would be embarrassed to stand before my Lord to receive my rewards, only to be told I have none.
Eternal life is already ours through faith in Jesus according to John 3:16. But rewards are what we receive for faithful service to God. Matthew 20:8 *So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.*
1 Corinthians 3:13-15: *Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.*
Just because we have works, though, does not guarantee reward. Nonetheless, we need to do our best for the Lord. Motivation and attitude are great factors in determining reward or loss.
As I close, I would like to offer some verses to encourage you in your work for the Lord:
Julia M. Faulkner
The End
© 1996 by Julia M. Faulkner, Sonshine Publications