2002-12-14 - What You Get Paid

Part 1

I have had many jobs and earned many different wages through the years. I have received wages as small as $3.25 an hour and as high as $15.00 dollars an hour. I had a part-time contract job that paid a straight $300.00 per month. I can honestly say that I received wages for all of the work that I have done.

My work ranged from working as a Stockperson in a dime store, moving stock from the stock room to the sales floor. A Kennel Assistant working in an animal hospital, grooming pets and cleaning up cages. A gas station attendant that stocked shelves and the cooler, swept the gas station lot and cleaned the bathrooms. A Pizza delivery driver, delivering a hot tasty pizza to your doorstep. A Computer Technician, assembling computers from parts, for retail sales. A Salesperson selling computer software applications and games. A Salesperson selling electronics in a merchandising store. A Computer Systems Research Integration Specialist for a company that produced OSHA safety training software for the chemical field industry. A Computer Help Desk Support Technician for a nuclear power plant and for a Natural Gas company. A Computer Support Technician for two companies that provided onsite technical support to many businesses in the community.

In all I have had many job titles, performed many different types of work and received many different wages for my work.

Having the foundational understanding that we have to work to receive something, we naturally apply that to our belief of how to be saved. Knowing that we sin, we believe that we have to do some good work to outweigh our sin, and we hope that the wage of the good works will either cancel out or outweigh our sin and get us into Heaven. However, this is not what Jesus has told us to believe.

The Prophet Isaiah said that all of our good works are sin.

Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.

According to the apostle Paul, none of us are good.

Romans 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one.

According to Jesus, the fruit of a bad tree is always only bad.

Matthew Chapter 7:17-23 Thus every good tree brings forth beautiful fruit. The bad tree brings bad fruit. Neither a good tree can bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree can bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bring forth good fruit, is cut down and burned. Therefore, from their fruit you will know them. It is not whoever says to me, 'My Lord, my Lord,' who enters the Kingdom of Heaven, except whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'My Lord, my Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform great powers?' And then I will declare to them that "I never knew you, go away from me, workers of abomination."

The Apostle Paul said (Romans 6:23): For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal Life in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

So therefore, we learn that any works that we do to try to save ourselves is sin, and there is only one way to be saved, and that is to receive a Gift.

To be continued next week

rob@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org