The Lord’s Work – Part 7
Numerous times the Bible says that we will be judged ACCORDING TO our works.
But it does not say, nor does it mean, that we will go to one place or another based on our works.
It does not say, nor does it mean, that if we do evil we will go to an evil place, and if we do good we will go to a good place.
That isn’t how it worked under the law (e.g., theft, false witness, murder), and its not (for the most part) how it works here.
We are not sentenced to bad places, we are sentenced to receive evil things.
To be judged according to our works, is to be given back, recompensed, rewarded… exactly what we deserve, according to our works.
Psalms 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
When you are judged by the Lord it’s: here is what you did, and here is what you deserve in return.
You will be REPAID according to your works.
Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
You will be REPAID. You will be RECOMPENSED according to your works.
If your work was good, you will be recompensed good. And if it was evil, you will be recompensed evil.
You will RECEIVE according to your works.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Colossians 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
There is NO respect of persons!
You will be REWARDED according to your works.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
And that is NOT always a good thing…
2 Samuel 3:39 … the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
He’s not just going to give him evil because he is a doer of evil. He is going to give him an amount of evil according to his wickedness. It is proportional.
You will receive the due reward – the deserving portion – of your deeds.
You will be rewarded (given good, or given evil) according to your works.
God will judge the wicked and determine what evil he hath done, and how much evil in return is the just and fair recompense.
This is what it means to be judged ACCORDING TO your works.
Not that you will go where your works determine. But that you will receive what you deserve. You will reap what you sow. You will be repaid what you gave out. You will be recompensed according to what your works were.
NOT: if you do good things, you will go to a good place, and if you do evil things you will go to an evil place.
That may be how man judges according to works, but it is not how God judges according to works.
RATHER: If you do good things, you will receive (have) good things, and if you do evil things, you will receive (have) evil things.
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Your works follow you. Their works will be with those that die in the Lord. Their works will go through the fire with them. And those that are not in the Lord, well, I believe they will have their works too: their works will remain in the Lake of Fire with them.
We know that the righteous in NJ will get rewards for eternity. They will reap what they sow. But I believe the wicked with receive eternal “rewards” too. Not eternal good things, but eternal evil things.
All of your sins, all of your wickednesses will be in the fire with you.
Ezekiel 24:12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
Some will have “more abundant life”, and some will have “greater condemnation”… according to their work.
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
There are 2, and only 2, resurrections: the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation. Which one is yours?
There are 2, and only 2, sorts of people: they that have done good (the righteous) and they that have done evil (the wicked). There are no people that have done both good and evil.
There are 2, and only 2, sorts of people: the righteous and the wicked. There are no people that are both righteous and wicked. There are no people that have done both good and evil.
(Which resurrection is yours, having done “both”? Confused?)
If an unsaved man can do both good and evil, then God is an unjust judge to give him damnation instead of life. There has to be a line.
You have to divide flesh from Spirit to understand this. The works of the world – the flesh – are evil.
Likewise, there are only 2 sorts of work.
1 Corinthians 3:13 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.
Oh don’t you worry. It will be manifest. It will be evidenced. Your works will not be forgotten, or stricken from the record, or deemed inadmissible in court.
And the sort of your work will be clear. There will be no doubt. There will be no marginal judgments. No difficult cases. No grey area. No shadow of a doubt. It will be manifest of what sort your work is.
Notice: it, not they. It is a singular entity. It is of a singular type.
You are one thing, one tree. All your works result in one thing. You bring forth one type of fruit. Once we identify the tree by its fruit (which is the easy part), the only question is: how much? How much fruit was brought forth – how extensive is your work – how much reward is deserved?
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.
There’s good fruit, and there is evil fruit. A good tree does not bear evil fruit and an evil tree does not bear good fruit.
A good tree is very different than an evil tree. Their fruit is very different. One is a tree of life, one is a tree of death.
But.. a good tree (at least now) is no different from another good tree. If it’s a good tree it will be harvested.
IT is only different in quantity. And that is what you will be judged according to: how much good or how much evil.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
All those things (plural) are judged as one work, and IT is either good or bad.
Once it is determined which sort it is, then you will receive according to it – that work. A just and fair and equal reward, which is ACCORDING TO the amount of the work.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Your work is not of two sorts. Your work (it) shall be found to be good, or evil.
We do not receive both good and bad. Its whether “it” (not “they”, not “most”) be good or bad. It not the average or the difference. No percentages!
Your work (when finished, when revealed) is either all good or all evil. Your works (all of them) are found to be, and are judged as either a singular good work, or an evil work. It’s the end product that is evaluated. The finished work: the fruit.
It’s the FRUIT, not the works, that determines whether the tree will be gathered into the barn, or be hewn down and burned.
It’s the FRUIT, not the works, that determines the SORT of tree IT BE.
Jump back..
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Again, not whether THEY ARE, but whether IT BE. It is only of one SORT. It is all one work.
And not whether it WAS, but whether it BE. We are talking about something present, not something passed away. We are talking about the finished work. What is done.
The things (plural) you have done, your finished work, will be tried to reveal whether IT be good or bad. Then you will receive ACCORDING TO that work.
This is not the summation or the difference. This is not the average. All man’s works are the same. They are all one SORT.
These doingS are not evaluated and judged individually, but as one product. One product that is of one sort. Everything you did and everything you strove for your whole life and every thing that came out of your heart will be one complete work: wholly good, or wholly evil.
This is the finished work. This is the FRUIT of your tree. The only remaining question is: how much?
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
It can only be of one SORT. The things done are of a singular sort.
If it is good, how much good? You’ll receive as much – proportionally – again.
If it is evil, how much evil? You’ll receive proportionally again.
This is being judged according to your works.
A fig tree doesn’t bear thorns and thorn bush doesn’t bear grapes. If you’ve seen one fruit, you’ve seen enough.
“Lord, Lord, what about the good things I did?” Don’t worry, you’ll have your trial: Present them!
James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
If there is one evil work, there is confusion and every evil work.
Confused? I wonder why? … Maybe its because your works (all of them) are evil.
No one will go to heaven because they did good, but rather because they ARE good.
Likewise no one will go to the LoF because they did evil, but rather because they ARE evil.
All trees drink, all trees grow. All trees bring forth fruit. All trees sow their seeds. Those are works.
But it’s the resulting FRUIT, not the works, that determines the SORT of tree it BE.
Romans 2:6-10 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality [them that do good, the righteous], eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness [them that do evil, the wicked], indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
You doeth one or the other. Not both. You receive according to one or the other. Not both.
There is no middle ground. No grey area. EVERY means EVERY.
If we have all done both good and evil then we all will be given both peace and tribulation, both eternal life and wrath, both honour and indignation. That is not going to happen. They have separate resurrections entirely!
We have to draw a line: There are no people that have done both good and evil. IT is good or IT is evil. You are good or you are evil.
There is a line, and there are no people that are on both sides of it; doeth both good and evil.
There is no “mostly” here. It is “every”. If you worketh evil, you will receive according to it. There is no lessened sentence. There is no mercy or leniency.
Every one who doeth evil and receives evil at his judgment, will not also receive (some) eternal life.
Every one who doeth good and receives peace and eternal life at his judgment, will not also receive (some) tribulation and anguish.
John 10:10 … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Eternal life is a reward. Not that we must continually work to get or keep access to eternal life, but that we who have eternal life, can and should continually work to get MORE eternal life rewarded to us.
The first work(s) grant us eternal life (by grace). Then, according to the works -> fruit we produce in the Spirit, we will receive more eternal life… more abundant.
There is a “harsh judgment theory”, I think its called. Really its an inability to divide flesh from Spirit. But, if you do take that stance for EVERY Christian then you must take the opposite for EVERY unsaved man: he gets eternal life, right? Of course not. No way!
Eternal death will not be with rewards of glory, honour, and peace – or eternal life. That is not death.
Eternal life will not be with rewards of tribulation and anguish – or eternal death. That is not life / peace.
And this all has to hold true. A good work gets a good reward. An evil work gets an evil reward.
If you do even one true good work, you will receive eternal life.
Getting saved is one first true good work which brings forth good fruit. No one will receive eternal life unless they are saved by grace through faith. Repent, believe, and confess.
Thus, my belief, and what I will attempt to prove and explain to you in Scripture, is that man in the flesh does not have the ability to do TRUE good works.
Remember this: man’s good works cannot be true good works. If they were, he would already have eternal life. If they were, Christ would have died in vain.
Sep 6 2020
The Lord’s Work – Part 7
Downloadable Word document:
The Lord’s Work – Part 7
The Lord’s Work – Part 7
Numerous times the Bible says that we will be judged ACCORDING TO our works.
But it does not say, nor does it mean, that we will go to one place or another based on our works.
It does not say, nor does it mean, that if we do evil we will go to an evil place, and if we do good we will go to a good place.
That isn’t how it worked under the law (e.g., theft, false witness, murder), and its not (for the most part) how it works here.
We are not sentenced to bad places, we are sentenced to receive evil things.
To be judged according to our works, is to be given back, recompensed, rewarded… exactly what we deserve, according to our works.
Psalms 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
When you are judged by the Lord it’s: here is what you did, and here is what you deserve in return.
You will be REPAID according to your works.
Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
You will be REPAID. You will be RECOMPENSED according to your works.
If your work was good, you will be recompensed good. And if it was evil, you will be recompensed evil.
You will RECEIVE according to your works.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Colossians 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
There is NO respect of persons!
You will be REWARDED according to your works.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
And that is NOT always a good thing…
2 Samuel 3:39 … the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
He’s not just going to give him evil because he is a doer of evil. He is going to give him an amount of evil according to his wickedness. It is proportional.
You will receive the due reward – the deserving portion – of your deeds.
You will be rewarded (given good, or given evil) according to your works.
God will judge the wicked and determine what evil he hath done, and how much evil in return is the just and fair recompense.
This is what it means to be judged ACCORDING TO your works.
Not that you will go where your works determine. But that you will receive what you deserve. You will reap what you sow. You will be repaid what you gave out. You will be recompensed according to what your works were.
NOT: if you do good things, you will go to a good place, and if you do evil things you will go to an evil place.
That may be how man judges according to works, but it is not how God judges according to works.
RATHER: If you do good things, you will receive (have) good things, and if you do evil things, you will receive (have) evil things.
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Your works follow you. Their works will be with those that die in the Lord. Their works will go through the fire with them. And those that are not in the Lord, well, I believe they will have their works too: their works will remain in the Lake of Fire with them.
We know that the righteous in NJ will get rewards for eternity. They will reap what they sow. But I believe the wicked with receive eternal “rewards” too. Not eternal good things, but eternal evil things.
All of your sins, all of your wickednesses will be in the fire with you.
Ezekiel 24:12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
Some will have “more abundant life”, and some will have “greater condemnation”… according to their work.
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
There are 2, and only 2, resurrections: the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation. Which one is yours?
There are 2, and only 2, sorts of people: they that have done good (the righteous) and they that have done evil (the wicked). There are no people that have done both good and evil.
There are 2, and only 2, sorts of people: the righteous and the wicked. There are no people that are both righteous and wicked. There are no people that have done both good and evil.
(Which resurrection is yours, having done “both”? Confused?)
If an unsaved man can do both good and evil, then God is an unjust judge to give him damnation instead of life. There has to be a line.
You have to divide flesh from Spirit to understand this. The works of the world – the flesh – are evil.
Likewise, there are only 2 sorts of work.
1 Corinthians 3:13 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.
Oh don’t you worry. It will be manifest. It will be evidenced. Your works will not be forgotten, or stricken from the record, or deemed inadmissible in court.
And the sort of your work will be clear. There will be no doubt. There will be no marginal judgments. No difficult cases. No grey area. No shadow of a doubt. It will be manifest of what sort your work is.
Notice: it, not they. It is a singular entity. It is of a singular type.
You are one thing, one tree. All your works result in one thing. You bring forth one type of fruit. Once we identify the tree by its fruit (which is the easy part), the only question is: how much? How much fruit was brought forth – how extensive is your work – how much reward is deserved?
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.
There’s good fruit, and there is evil fruit. A good tree does not bear evil fruit and an evil tree does not bear good fruit.
A good tree is very different than an evil tree. Their fruit is very different. One is a tree of life, one is a tree of death.
But.. a good tree (at least now) is no different from another good tree. If it’s a good tree it will be harvested.
IT is only different in quantity. And that is what you will be judged according to: how much good or how much evil.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
All those things (plural) are judged as one work, and IT is either good or bad.
Once it is determined which sort it is, then you will receive according to it – that work. A just and fair and equal reward, which is ACCORDING TO the amount of the work.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Your work is not of two sorts. Your work (it) shall be found to be good, or evil.
We do not receive both good and bad. Its whether “it” (not “they”, not “most”) be good or bad. It not the average or the difference. No percentages!
Your work (when finished, when revealed) is either all good or all evil. Your works (all of them) are found to be, and are judged as either a singular good work, or an evil work. It’s the end product that is evaluated. The finished work: the fruit.
It’s the FRUIT, not the works, that determines whether the tree will be gathered into the barn, or be hewn down and burned.
It’s the FRUIT, not the works, that determines the SORT of tree IT BE.
Jump back..
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Again, not whether THEY ARE, but whether IT BE. It is only of one SORT. It is all one work.
And not whether it WAS, but whether it BE. We are talking about something present, not something passed away. We are talking about the finished work. What is done.
The things (plural) you have done, your finished work, will be tried to reveal whether IT be good or bad. Then you will receive ACCORDING TO that work.
This is not the summation or the difference. This is not the average. All man’s works are the same. They are all one SORT.
These doingS are not evaluated and judged individually, but as one product. One product that is of one sort. Everything you did and everything you strove for your whole life and every thing that came out of your heart will be one complete work: wholly good, or wholly evil.
This is the finished work. This is the FRUIT of your tree. The only remaining question is: how much?
Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
It can only be of one SORT. The things done are of a singular sort.
If it is good, how much good? You’ll receive as much – proportionally – again.
If it is evil, how much evil? You’ll receive proportionally again.
This is being judged according to your works.
A fig tree doesn’t bear thorns and thorn bush doesn’t bear grapes. If you’ve seen one fruit, you’ve seen enough.
“Lord, Lord, what about the good things I did?” Don’t worry, you’ll have your trial: Present them!
James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
If there is one evil work, there is confusion and every evil work.
Confused? I wonder why? … Maybe its because your works (all of them) are evil.
No one will go to heaven because they did good, but rather because they ARE good.
Likewise no one will go to the LoF because they did evil, but rather because they ARE evil.
All trees drink, all trees grow. All trees bring forth fruit. All trees sow their seeds. Those are works.
But it’s the resulting FRUIT, not the works, that determines the SORT of tree it BE.
Romans 2:6-10 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality [them that do good, the righteous], eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness [them that do evil, the wicked], indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
You doeth one or the other. Not both. You receive according to one or the other. Not both.
There is no middle ground. No grey area. EVERY means EVERY.
If we have all done both good and evil then we all will be given both peace and tribulation, both eternal life and wrath, both honour and indignation. That is not going to happen. They have separate resurrections entirely!
We have to draw a line: There are no people that have done both good and evil. IT is good or IT is evil. You are good or you are evil.
There is a line, and there are no people that are on both sides of it; doeth both good and evil.
There is no “mostly” here. It is “every”. If you worketh evil, you will receive according to it. There is no lessened sentence. There is no mercy or leniency.
Every one who doeth evil and receives evil at his judgment, will not also receive (some) eternal life.
Every one who doeth good and receives peace and eternal life at his judgment, will not also receive (some) tribulation and anguish.
John 10:10 … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Eternal life is a reward. Not that we must continually work to get or keep access to eternal life, but that we who have eternal life, can and should continually work to get MORE eternal life rewarded to us.
The first work(s) grant us eternal life (by grace). Then, according to the works -> fruit we produce in the Spirit, we will receive more eternal life… more abundant.
There is a “harsh judgment theory”, I think its called. Really its an inability to divide flesh from Spirit. But, if you do take that stance for EVERY Christian then you must take the opposite for EVERY unsaved man: he gets eternal life, right? Of course not. No way!
Eternal death will not be with rewards of glory, honour, and peace – or eternal life. That is not death.
Eternal life will not be with rewards of tribulation and anguish – or eternal death. That is not life / peace.
And this all has to hold true. A good work gets a good reward. An evil work gets an evil reward.
If you do even one true good work, you will receive eternal life.
Getting saved is one first true good work which brings forth good fruit. No one will receive eternal life unless they are saved by grace through faith. Repent, believe, and confess.
Thus, my belief, and what I will attempt to prove and explain to you in Scripture, is that man in the flesh does not have the ability to do TRUE good works.
Remember this: man’s good works cannot be true good works. If they were, he would already have eternal life. If they were, Christ would have died in vain.
By Pastor • Individual Lessons, Salvation • 0