Salvation is not earned by human initiative or merits, but is offered freely by God’s elective decision to grant access to himself, the true God and his truth enter into a covenant relationship with those who embrace that access. One gains access to the true God and his covenant family by grace, and it is only through membership in this family that redemption from divine estrangement is secure. God promises to remain loyal to this offer and plan, in return, he demands one’s loyalty. Those who embrace the offer and this access, because they believe in its validity and exclusivity, must be loyal to the true God. They must reject all other gods and their pseudo promises, terms and demands, both loyalty and rejection of other gods are demonstrated by means of obedience to the true God’s allegiance. Embracing another god or rejecting the true God’s offer and access, means everlasting destruction, because other gods cannot save.
God expresses his loyalty to what he said he would do, and if we believe that, then we show it by being loyal in return, this is what God wants. God doesn’t want us to do a dog and pony show, do enough tricks and then I’ll like you and let you in, but he wants a commensurate response with his own loyalty. It’s always with regard to how one behaves in the relationship, you can’t just throw away the conduct part, because we can’t validate your claim of being loyal to the gospel. Salvation by covenant mercy and judgment according to works are complimentary, you are going to be loyal, if you believe in the gospel, your conduct is important, because it shows if you are a poser or if you are real.
2 Corinthians 5:10, we must all stand before the judgment, Paul sees this as a universal judgment, to reveal publicly the character or the faithfulness of God’s people. During your life, the way you behave, normally reveals what’s in your heart, who you love, what you value. How you live, reveals that pattern of one’s life is what will be publicly revealed at this judgment. The judgement, a metaphor of that one’s way of life, this is why the psalmists talk about judge me according to my way. Paul really believes that you must patiently do good and seek for glory and honor and immortality. Most Israelites thought God was already happy with them, he called this slave nation out of Egypt, not because they were worth anything, God set his love upon them. Then why do anything? The same reason in any relationship, you do things to please your partner, because you love them. This is exactly how Israel’s situation worked, why were you to keep the law? Because you love God and God loves you, this is how the relationship is set up, it’s not to earn anything, but at the same time that obedience is important. Think of a marriage and a husband who says, “I love you.” Then cheats on his wife and spends all the money and doesn’t have anything for the kids’ clothing. Wait a minute, this isn’t going to work, and its not going to work between the people of God and their God the same way.
The works talk is really another way of saying, stay in the faith, be loyal to my gospel through Jesus Messiah, because if you are, you will live a certain way. You will not go off in disobedience, your heart will be known by the way you conduct yourself, if you stay in the faith. Nobody practices allegiance unless they believe something, allegiance does not just happen in a vacuum. At the end of the day, I’m not changing course, I’m not choosing another god or another gospel, I’m choosing this gospel as imperfect as I am, and in some cases as rebellious as I am, but I am not trading the exclusivity of this for anything else, because I believe this is the only means of salvation, and that is going to orient what I do as far as works, one’s works reveal what is hidden in the heart.
God expresses his loyalty to what he said he would do, and if we believe that, then we show it by being loyal in return, this is what God wants. God doesn’t want us to do a dog and pony show, do enough tricks and then I’ll like you and let you in, but he wants a commensurate response with his own loyalty. It’s always with regard to how one behaves in the relationship, you can’t just throw away the conduct part, because we can’t validate your claim of being loyal to the gospel. Salvation by covenant mercy and judgment according to works are complimentary, you are going to be loyal, if you believe in the gospel, your conduct is important, because it shows if you are a poser or if you are real.
2 Corinthians 5:10, we must all stand before the judgment, Paul sees this as a universal judgment, to reveal publicly the character or the faithfulness of God’s people. During your life, the way you behave, normally reveals what’s in your heart, who you love, what you value. How you live, reveals that pattern of one’s life is what will be publicly revealed at this judgment. The judgement, a metaphor of that one’s way of life, this is why the psalmists talk about judge me according to my way. Paul really believes that you must patiently do good and seek for glory and honor and immortality. Most Israelites thought God was already happy with them, he called this slave nation out of Egypt, not because they were worth anything, God set his love upon them. Then why do anything? The same reason in any relationship, you do things to please your partner, because you love them. This is exactly how Israel’s situation worked, why were you to keep the law? Because you love God and God loves you, this is how the relationship is set up, it’s not to earn anything, but at the same time that obedience is important. Think of a marriage and a husband who says, “I love you.” Then cheats on his wife and spends all the money and doesn’t have anything for the kids’ clothing. Wait a minute, this isn’t going to work, and its not going to work between the people of God and their God the same way.
The works talk is really another way of saying, stay in the faith, be loyal to my gospel through Jesus Messiah, because if you are, you will live a certain way. You will not go off in disobedience, your heart will be known by the way you conduct yourself, if you stay in the faith. Nobody practices allegiance unless they believe something, allegiance does not just happen in a vacuum. At the end of the day, I’m not changing course, I’m not choosing another god or another gospel, I’m choosing this gospel as imperfect as I am, and in some cases as rebellious as I am, but I am not trading the exclusivity of this for anything else, because I believe this is the only means of salvation, and that is going to orient what I do as far as works, one’s works reveal what is hidden in the heart.