Biblical Facts about Rewards, Part 1

Scripture not only supports the idea of eternal rewards, it spells out the specifics. In 1 Corinthians 3:10–14, I find three primary facts about rewards. We’ll look at the first two today and complete the list tomorrow.

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Can We Really Ever Forget?

A question flashes through my head as I write these words: can our minds actually allow us to forget? The way God has made us with that internal filing system we call “memory”—it is doubtful we can fully forget.

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Genuine Humility

When we think of what the great apostle Paul was like, the idea of humility isn’t the first one that jumps into our minds. Consider his own admission.

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Transparent Humanity

The great apostle Paul was just like you and me . . . he had a love for God blended with feet of clay. Great passion . . . and great weakness. The longer I thought about this concept, the more evidence emerged from Scripture to support it.

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Don’t Get Burned!

Compromise never works. We always get burned. Even though we rationalize around our weak decisions and tell ourselves that wicked associations really won’t harm us (“they’ll get better, our good will rub off their bad!”), we get soiled in the process.

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The Home, Part One

God has ordained and established three great institutions: the home (Genesis 1:27–28; Ephesians 5:22–31), the church (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:41–47), and government (Romans 13:1–7). There is no question regarding our belief that the church and state (government) should be separate and distinct. Each is a unique entity, not to be consolidated.

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Determination

Years ago a certain issue of Sports Illustrated featured a lengthy article on Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Those who know me won’t be surprised to hear that I read every word of it. I was living in Dallas when the Cowboys were formed into a team and Tom Landry was first introduced as the head mentor of that original, rag-tag bag of unknown athletes. The first few years were bleak, to say the least.

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Jealousy

Like an anger-blind, half-starved rat prowling in the foul-smelling sewers below street level, so is the person caged within the suffocating radius of selfish jealousy. Trapped by resentment and diseased by rage, he feeds on the filth of his own imagination. “Jealousy,” says Proverbs 6:34, “enrages a man.”

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“Little” People, “Big” People

God makes some people large, others moderate in stature. Still others are small in size. We frequently make the mistake of calling small folks “little,” but that is an unfortunate and unfair tag. I’m not picking at terms . . . there is a great deal of difference between being small and being little. If you don’t think so, just ask someone who is less than average height. They won’t hesitate telling you they may be small, but they’re definitely not little.

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The Legal Swamp, Part One

Law never fails to turn me off. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t think we need it . . . it’s just that it leaves me cold. It frowns and demands. It requires and warns and threatens. With a grim glare, it dares us to forget its rules or even think about disobeying its regulations. I know, I know. It protects us. It gives us recourse when we’ve been assaulted or abused.

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