Question:
I am a new Christian and have a lot of questions. I believe 100% that Jesus is my Saviour and only through belief in him and his sacrifice on the cross for my sins I am saved. Over Easter the church I’ve been attending taught Matthew 25; 1-46. It seems that it teaches that you can lose out if you squander your talents, don’t help others, etc. which seems contradictory to salvation through faith and not works. Could you please explain this? Thank you and God bless you.
Answer:
A person will miss out on REWARD if that person is not active for the Lord. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 says, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every 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. 14If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Our work for the Lord is VERY IMPORTANT, but as you can plainly see in verse 15 that a loss of reward does not result in losing your salvation. Clearly, the thief on the cross had NO OPPORTUNITY to do ANY works before he died, as he was nailed to the cross. Jesus said of the thief on the cross (in spite of his lack of ANY good work) in Luke 23:43, “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” No good works by the thief on the cross BUT belief by him resulted in the thief going to paradise. It is NOT TRUE that your rewards or lack there of affects your salvation. What affects your salvation is clearly laid out in John 3:18,36. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”