Gospel's Explained: A righteous man's reward
Matthew 10:41: "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."
Muslims do not recognise Christ as the Lord, only as a prophet. Indeed the majority of mankind do not recognise Christ as the Lord. Some do not recognise Him at all whilst some recognise Him as 'a wise man' or 'good teacher'. I wish to mention Muslims for the fact that they see Jesus as a prophet of God rather than the Lord himself. As a result, Matthew tells us that they will not receive a righteous man's reward, but a prophet's reward. This begs the question, 'what is a righteous man's reward and what is a prophet's reward'?
A righteous man's reward is eternal life in the presence of God; for only the righteous can physically be in the presence of God. It is impossible for somebody who is not righteous to be in the vicinity of God because God is too glorious and too perfect. The righteous inherit the kingdom of God.
A prophet's reward may be broken down into two: a physical element and a spiritual element, although as we will see both are one in the same.
The physical reward:
From reading historic accounts throughout all cultures and religions, true prophets are more often than not met with the same fate: martyrdom. I say true prophet so as not to include those who come in their own names as ear ticklers and people pleasers (1 Timothy 4).
The spiritual reward:
Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.".
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 14:6 "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Christ is the righteous man. He is not a righteous man, He is the righteous man. As we know we cannot become righteous by our own efforts because we are sinful, therefore our own efforts are futile. Our hearts are sick and the cure must come from something completely independent of us. It is impossible for it to come from something of ourselves, because our self is the very thing that is causing the problem. To become righteous we have to put our trust in someone who is righteous already, who then can act as the mediator between ourselves and God; so that when we stand before God, He does not see our sinful selves but Christ Jesus and His righteousness within us. Nothing else will suffice.
A prophet is unable to act as the righteous mediator, for he himself is not righteous. Only one is righteous - Christ, and He is the only one who is able to take our deserved punishment upon His shoulders.
The wages of sin is death. A prophet's reward is the same as the reward of anything that is not righteous: death. The reward of a prophet is death. In our world and in eternity. For a prophet is not good enough to take away our sins. We need the righteous man to put our faith in.
This passage in Matthew 10 is a warning to all those, not just Muslims, who do not appreciate the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ Jesus. For if we do not see Christ as righteous, then the gospel is worthless. If we do not see Christ as Lord, then the cross is to no effect over us. It is impossible for those who do not recognise Christ as Lord, or do not believe His power over the wind and the waves, or His ability to heal, or His resurrection, to inherit the kingdom of God. For to reject any of these things is to call Him a liar. Again, if He is a liar then the gospel is worthless, because that would mean He was not perfect and therefore He would not of been able to be worthy to take our punishment for all our wrongs upon His shoulders when He died on the cross. Furthermore if you just see Lord Jesus as a 'good teacher' or as a 'wise man' then you will not see heaven when you die. Regardless of whether you respect Jesus or partially receive 'some' things that the Bible says about Him, if you do not accept Christ for who He fully claims to be then you will not enter heaven. It is all or nothing. For if you pick and chose what you want to believe then you are calling Him a liar and if He is a liar then He is not the righteous man that is able to save you. You will receive a prophet's reward: death.
If you do not receive Christ as the righteous man, above all things, then the whole Gospel has no effect over you. A prophet cannot help your standing with God, only a righteous man can. That righteous man is Christ. You must accept Christ as the righteous man to receive a righteous man's reward. Anything less is useless.
Muslims do not recognise Christ as the Lord, only as a prophet. Indeed the majority of mankind do not recognise Christ as the Lord. Some do not recognise Him at all whilst some recognise Him as 'a wise man' or 'good teacher'. I wish to mention Muslims for the fact that they see Jesus as a prophet of God rather than the Lord himself. As a result, Matthew tells us that they will not receive a righteous man's reward, but a prophet's reward. This begs the question, 'what is a righteous man's reward and what is a prophet's reward'?
A righteous man's reward is eternal life in the presence of God; for only the righteous can physically be in the presence of God. It is impossible for somebody who is not righteous to be in the vicinity of God because God is too glorious and too perfect. The righteous inherit the kingdom of God.
A prophet's reward may be broken down into two: a physical element and a spiritual element, although as we will see both are one in the same.
The physical reward:
From reading historic accounts throughout all cultures and religions, true prophets are more often than not met with the same fate: martyrdom. I say true prophet so as not to include those who come in their own names as ear ticklers and people pleasers (1 Timothy 4).
The spiritual reward:
Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.".
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 14:6 "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Christ is the righteous man. He is not a righteous man, He is the righteous man. As we know we cannot become righteous by our own efforts because we are sinful, therefore our own efforts are futile. Our hearts are sick and the cure must come from something completely independent of us. It is impossible for it to come from something of ourselves, because our self is the very thing that is causing the problem. To become righteous we have to put our trust in someone who is righteous already, who then can act as the mediator between ourselves and God; so that when we stand before God, He does not see our sinful selves but Christ Jesus and His righteousness within us. Nothing else will suffice.
A prophet is unable to act as the righteous mediator, for he himself is not righteous. Only one is righteous - Christ, and He is the only one who is able to take our deserved punishment upon His shoulders.
The wages of sin is death. A prophet's reward is the same as the reward of anything that is not righteous: death. The reward of a prophet is death. In our world and in eternity. For a prophet is not good enough to take away our sins. We need the righteous man to put our faith in.
This passage in Matthew 10 is a warning to all those, not just Muslims, who do not appreciate the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ Jesus. For if we do not see Christ as righteous, then the gospel is worthless. If we do not see Christ as Lord, then the cross is to no effect over us. It is impossible for those who do not recognise Christ as Lord, or do not believe His power over the wind and the waves, or His ability to heal, or His resurrection, to inherit the kingdom of God. For to reject any of these things is to call Him a liar. Again, if He is a liar then the gospel is worthless, because that would mean He was not perfect and therefore He would not of been able to be worthy to take our punishment for all our wrongs upon His shoulders when He died on the cross. Furthermore if you just see Lord Jesus as a 'good teacher' or as a 'wise man' then you will not see heaven when you die. Regardless of whether you respect Jesus or partially receive 'some' things that the Bible says about Him, if you do not accept Christ for who He fully claims to be then you will not enter heaven. It is all or nothing. For if you pick and chose what you want to believe then you are calling Him a liar and if He is a liar then He is not the righteous man that is able to save you. You will receive a prophet's reward: death.
If you do not receive Christ as the righteous man, above all things, then the whole Gospel has no effect over you. A prophet cannot help your standing with God, only a righteous man can. That righteous man is Christ. You must accept Christ as the righteous man to receive a righteous man's reward. Anything less is useless.
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I read some where the prophets reward was to be able to see and to hear.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I suppose a prophet spoke the Word of the Lord to others, therefore they saw and heard things that others do not.
DeleteIn any event, a prophet's reward may bring seeing and hearing during this life, however it will not be enough when they stand before God to be held accountable for the things done on this earth. Only a righteous man will be deemed innocent before God, and only Jesus is righteous, therefore only those of us who have put their trust in Jesus and adopted the sacrifice made unto themselves will receive a righteous man's reward.