Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Revelation 20:12 speaks of the “works” of unbelievers: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Our works, of course, cannot save us, “for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, works are evidences of belief or unbelief: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). The teaching of Scripture is unmistakable: God will judge fairly. For example, Psalm 62:12b states, “Thou renderest to every man according to his work.” In Jeremiah 17:10, God says, “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.” Romans 2:6 says that God “will render to every man according to his deeds,” and I Peter 1:17 adds that He “judgeth according to every man’s work.” We are all fairly warned of judgment to come. Even in the manner of this judgment, we observe the goodness of God, for He is under no obligation to show the reasons for judgment to each individual. He does reveal “those things,” though, because His justice, unlike man’s is perfect. For Christians, a good application is to remember that what we do reveals who we are; we are not working to get into heaven, but we are to be working on our way there.