Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(1 Corinthians 15:58)
Work has its rewards. This is so true. Hard work indeed pays off! Hours of practice produces winning results. Ask any coach or teacher. It is the same with the Christian life. No work for the Lord goes without benefit. If nothing else, God sees it and one day, He will reward those who are loyal to Him. But it takes faith in the God who created us.
But
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.(Hebrews 11:6)
Faith, as is mentioned throughout Hebrews 11 goes hand in hand with diligent and consistent hard work. A sincere faith in the Lord compels us to labor for His will to be done. A faith without labor is a dead faith according to James.
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.(James 2:17)
We are not saved nor sanctified by our works however. God's grace not only calls us to Him, but also calls us to labor for His Kingdom purposes. (Ephesians 2:8) This faith, which is from God in itself, cuases us to work for the Lord.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.(Ephesians 2:10)
We are saved to work for the Lord. We do not and cannot work to be saved. We may not see the benefits of our labor here on earth. However, because we trust in God's promses and believe His plan for us, we work . . . we persevere . . . we do not quit!
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