If you think about how God runs things, he made things quite simple. The route to salvation, for example, is pretty straightforward.
Romans 10:9-10 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
There are only two basic conditions for salvation: committing to the lordship of Jesus Christ and believing that God raised him from the dead. However, is just being saved good enough for you?
The commentary on Bible Hub, in reference to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, reminds us that “Paul laid the one foundation—Jesus Christ. Every believer builds on it with materials that vary in quality. A coming day of fire will reveal what lasts, bringing reward or loss, though the builder is still saved.
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
How about all those good things you have accomplished in life? How about your reward for your stand for God?
Most people want to enter eternal life with more reward than just life everlasting. You want your good deeds to be rewarded and your bad deeds to be forgiven.
Obviously, the first step is to keep your mind renewed to God’s word. What does the word say about your situation? It’s not about your ability. It is what you do with what God has given you. Most of us worry too much about worldly things that God has already promised that he would take care of.
Matthew 6:31, 33 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . 33But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness and all these shall be added unto thee.
What is first in your life will manifest itself to those who observe what you do and say. If we are concerned with doing what is right, that makes us stand out from the crowd in life.
For example, people always notice that Joe picks up trash when he is standing around. He doesn’t just say that people should clean up after themselves; he sets the example. He demonstrates the standard he expects others to carry out. He illustrates his standards by his actions.
The spiritual life, to a very large extent, is reflected in the natural life that people around you observe. We are a living witness of the goodness of God that leads man to repentance.
Remember the parable of the talents? It didn’t matter if the servant gained 5 or 10 talents for the master. He did something with what the Lord entrusted him with.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
However, the lord was not pleased with the lazy servant who did nothing with the talent the lord gave him.
Matthew 25:24-28 24Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
The man who did nothing with the talent God had given him was lazy and presumptuous. Why was he given a talent? To do something with it, right?
If God gives you a talent in a category of life, it is lazy and presumptuous to do nothing with it. There is always something you can do.
For example, if you haven’t learned how to speak in tongues yet, or aren’t very good at it, can you pray for somebody with your understanding?
Look at Martin Luther. He knew a small fraction of the greatness of God’s word that we take for granted today. Yet, when the authorities came in through the front door to kill him, he was going out the back door. That takes boldness and trust in God.
It’s not how much you know of God’s Word. What do you do with what you know? Will not the God who created the heavens and the earth and who gifted you with eternal life make good on the promises that he gave you? God is not a piker. He did not promise something with the right hand and take something with the left hand. That’s the government of man; not the government of God.
In the Old Testament, Israel wanted a king. They had, in effect, rejected the government of God, saying they wanted a king like all the other nations. They didn’t want to wait for God’s promised Messiah; they wanted a man to lead them -- not God’s man.
Israel did get godly men now and then, but the kings they got tended to be evil and took advantage of them. We see the same thing in politics today. Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Today, men in government rob the poor and give to the rich. We see that pattern over and over again in the Bible and in our lives today.
It is assumed by many that they can improve on the simple, straightforward truths of the Bible with their own ideas of what justice should look like. Or what love should look like, or what righteousness should look like. God set the standards in His Word so that man could have a straight path to follow and get godly results.
Proverbs 3:5-6 5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Do you trust the ways of corruptible man, or the ways of the God who designed everything?
Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
If God designed the heavens and the earth and life itself, can we trust God to have the best plans for godly governance both in our lives and in the world in general.