{"id":12956,"date":"2025-12-19T10:08:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=12956"},"modified":"2025-12-19T10:08:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:08:29","slug":"the-two-great-alternatives-december-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=12956","title":{"rendered":"The Two Great Alternatives (December 19)"},"content":{"rendered":"


Download MP3 Audio Track<\/strong> . . . or listen on SoundCloud<\/strong>, YouTube<\/strong>, or Spotify<\/strong><\/p>\n

“He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6-8).<\/p>\n

JESUS SAID THAT EVERY TREE IS KNOWN BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS. Our outward deeds are important because, in the end, they will have shown the kind of persons we were on the inside, in our hearts. God\u2019s judgment of us will be based on truth, and if the truth is that self-will was the principle we allowed to govern us, we need not fool ourselves that He will treat us the same as if we had lived otherwise. \u201cHe will render to each one according to his works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality.<\/em> Unlike the self-seekers in the next verse, these individuals \u201cseek for glory and honor and immortality.\u201d And these things are more than just vague ideals; it is by actual deeds \u2014 \u201cby patience in well-doing\u201d \u2014 that these goals are pursued. The path of obedience was their choice, and to them God \u201cwill give eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness.<\/em> Since salvation is by grace, many question the concept of \u201cobeying the gospel,\u201d as if that attaches too much importance to obedience. But clearly the choice between obedience and disobedience is critical. For those who \u201cdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like every basic truth, this truth that God \u201cwill render to each one according to his works\u201d is both comforting and sobering. It is comforting to know that God deals with individuals, based on their own choices \u2014 we don\u2019t have to fear being lost because of someone else\u2019s choices. But freedom of choice and personal responsibility are also sobering. People are not saved on the \u201cgroup plan.\u201d Each of us must choose individually and personally.<\/p>\n

And finally, there is something else that must be said: God\u2019s judgment will be on the basis of our actual works and not merely good \u201cattitudes\u201d or good \u201cintentions.\u201d The lordship of Christ requires more than mere sentiment. \u201cWhy do you call me \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 and not do what I tell you?\u201d (Luke 6:46).<\/p>\n

“You can be certain of this: when the Day of Judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived” (Thomas \u00e0 Kempis).<\/p>\n

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Download MP3 Audio Track . . . or listen on SoundCloud, YouTube, or Spotify “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[527,2421,281],"class_list":{"0":"post-12956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-devotionals","8":"tag-alternatives","9":"tag-december","10":"tag-great"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}