God Redeems, God Rewards

9/26/2020 22 Comments

Reward for obeying God

The real God introduced in the Bible is a God who sees even the things that are yet to come. Because of that capability, He is able to prepare measures that can remedy or thwart the evil that is to come unto man.

Let me give you an illustration to prove my point. An engineer who has invented a machine or an engine has full knowledge of the potential, capacity, and limitations of his invention as he was the one who designed and put all of its parts together. As its maker, he also knows the proper way of using and taking care of it, hence, he prepares a manual of instructions that aims to educate its would-be users for them to get the best that the machine can offer. That is, by following the dos and don’ts enumerated therein.

It is apparent that even before the engineer came up with his finished product, being a person with foresight, he has figured out the problems that might arise as the machine grows old — and if its user becomes reckless and disobedient to his given instructions. And should the engine fail or malfunction, the manual of instructions also provides simple troubleshooting tips and a list of reputable and trusted service centers that could fix the problem.

God is also an engineer but He is no ordinary engineer because He is the One who makes engineers. Being man’s Creator, His wisdom, ingenuity, craftsmanship, and foresight are beyond compare — they are unparalleled. And His love for man, His masterpiece, is beyond question. One proof of that is before God created man, He first made sure that man would have a conducive dwelling place wherein all of his needs are already available and accessible. And that is the earth. 

God intended the earth to be man’s habitation. As it is written in ACTS 17:26, (KJV),

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

God knows His creation inside out, from the most prominent details to the microscopic ones. He knows man’s every aspect — his strengths and weaknesses, his tendencies and limitations, and even the possible course of action that he might take given a certain circumstance or situation.

But unlike a man-made engine whose function depends largely on human intervention, the man that God created enjoys a certain degree of freedom. He can do things out of his own volition because aside from equipping him with faculties, God also gave him free will.

However, his freedom is not really absolute because there are also certain dos and don’ts that God laid before him; God also gave him a set of laws that he needs to follow and a list of warnings and precautions that he needs to take heed of. And all these are written in His “manual of instructions” — the Bible. Concurrent with his freedom is the awareness that if he disobeys, there are corresponding consequences, the same way that there are rewards if he opts to obey. But just the same, the decision to obey or disobey is his prerogative because he has free will.

God had foreseen the possibility that man might misuse and abuse his free will. We have to remember that one of the attributes of God is that He has the power to see things before they happen. Actually, as for the story of humanity, He knows it from its beginning up to the end, although the end is yet to come.

As it is written in ISAIAH 46:9-10 (KJV),

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

In these verses, God introduced Himself, His power, and His capability, as incomparable. Like what He said, there is none like Him. Nobody can be equally like Him in power, not even His Son. For one, only God can declare the end from the beginning.

God knows what is going to happen in the future. God had foreseen the possibility that man might not use his free will prudently, that he would disregard His precautions and warnings, disobey His dos and don’ts, and consequently, fall into sin. But unlike the ordinary engineer whose care and concern for his creation is limited only to preparing a manual of instructions and recommending service centers, God’s love and compassion for man is beyond measure. In fact, even before man was created, it was not only his place of habitation that God prepared but also the sacrifice that is more than sufficient to redeem him when he falls to sinfulness. And that is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

This biblical truth inevitably leads one to ask this question: “Does it mean that the Lord Jesus Christ had been preordained to manifest Himself in the flesh from the beginning in order to redeem man from sins?”

The answer to this question is given in REVELATION 5:9 (KJV), which says,

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

The pronouns “thou” and “thy” in the verse refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was slain, and by His blood, He redeemed every kindred and tongue, every people and nation.

When was He slain?

REVELATION 13:8 (KJV)

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

The Lamb, which symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ, “was slain from the foundation of the earth.” The statement “from the foundation of the earth” refers to the time when God was still creating the earth, meaning, man still doesn’t exist yet during that time. But as early as then, God had already foreseen the need for a Redeemer because He had seen the possibility that man would later on fall into transgression. That Redeemer is the Lamb, representing the Lord Jesus Christ, who had been destined to be slain from the foundation of the earth.

Aside from having the capacity to declare the end from the beginning, God also said in Isaiah 46:10, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” This is a very significant pronouncement of God because that “pleasure” is the theme of our existence. It is the reason why we exist — to give pleasure unto our Creator.

REVELATION 4:11 (KJV)

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. 

All things that exist were created for the pleasure of our Creator. And we know that His pleasure has no evil in it.

Whenever cabinet secretaries are being challenged to resign from their posts by the citizens who are dissatisfied with their performance, but they do not want to resign, we often hear them say that they serve at the pleasure of the President. Meaning, only the President can remove them from office as he was the one who put them there. But unlike the pleasure of a President which can be wrong, the pleasure of the Almighty God can never be wrong. We will always be safe if we exist for the pleasure of our Creator.

As God’s creations, the best that we can do is to show Him our gratefulness for our existence and for the Lamb that He prepared, which was slain from the foundation of the earth. Because through His blood, we were saved from sins. Again, the Lamb symbolizes the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But God’s graciousness does not end there. He has also prepared a reward for those who will continue to live their lives for His pleasure and for those who will faithfully abide by His dos and don’ts written in His “manual of instructions,” the Bible. And His reward is also without measure — a life everlasting.  May we all be found deserving of His promised reward. Amen. 

22 comments:

  1. Thanks be to God for another logical blog Bro. Eli.

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  2. Thanks be to God for his kindness and for his mercies ❤️

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  3. From the creation, "manual of instructions" and to the redeemer that was setup due to the foreseeable future that the creator can see, yes indeed! #GodIsTheBestEngineer.

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  4. AMEN. SALAMAT SA DIOS.
    I am desiring to become an engineer and in God's will, i will be. As an engineering student who has compassion in science and math, I always seek math and science behind this creations- this world, planets and this universe we live in, and in that, I always see and realize just how intelligent HE is who made this wonderful universe we have. I do see how complex the mathematics he put here (tho i cannot uderstand it fully or even partially hehe) in the extent that our brain cannot operate and comprehend it anymore. I always admire HIM being this intelligent, and beyond is being this lovingkindness to His creations. I hope i can be a great engineer. Salamat sa Dios.

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  5. There are times when I wake up in the morning dumbfounded why I have been anxious, a certain clarity says I can survive this routine. It's like two separate individuals traveling and only one has a map. Both of them might reach their destination, on different reasons and experience or they may not. Some of us live a life without a purpose and a destination, let's start learning these and live a life under our Creator's guidance.

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  6. Through the grace of God, our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins by pouring his blood and dying on the cross.
    If we continue to please God by loving, serving, obeying, and honoring Him, He will reward us a happy and everlasting life in paradise. Thanks be to God!

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  7. We should not over use our freewill.

    Thanks be to God 😊

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  8. ito ang ang pagasa na dapat natin isipin lalo na kapag nahihirapan tayo. Maraming salamat po sa Dios nawa'y samahan Nya tayo hanggang sa wakas

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  9. #GodIsTheBestEngineer Yes, indeed 👍😊 very wonderful all of His works says it all. i am overwhelmed imagining these works of God, really an engineer.

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  10. "We will always be safe if we exist for the pleasure of our Creator." Right.

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  11. Words only Best to described The God Almighty!
    To God be the Glory!

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  12. Because of His blood, i am saved from sins. No greater joy than being able to live for God's pleasure. May you find me worthy of your calling Father until my last breath. To God be all the glory. 💕🙏

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  13. Bible..our manual of instruction

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  14. no contradictions on the inspired scriptures..

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