Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Master’s Eye and the Servant’s Soul: Vocation and Worship (Colossians 3:23–25)

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The Master’s Eye and the Servant’s Soul: Vocation and Worship (Colossians 3:23–25) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we're taking a thorough
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deep dive into the source material surrounding Colossians
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3, specifically verses 23 through 25.
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Right. And we have a pretty substantial
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stack of theological expositions sitting in front of us today.
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We're going to use these texts to analyze work, reward, and
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judgement strictly through a reformed lens.
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Yeah, that's the goal. Our mission for this deep dive
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is to basically shatter the illusion that your daily labor
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is somehow disconnected from your Christian devotion.
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We want to uncover how everyday tasks function as actual acts of
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worship to Christ. And that is a huge conceptual
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hurdle for a lot of people to get over.
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It really is. So before we get into the text
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itself, I want you, the listener, to just think about
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your most frustrating, repetitive task.
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Maybe you are managing an endless spreadsheet at a desk,
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or you're changing diapers at home, or you're sweeping floors
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in a factory. I want to propose to you that
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this specific task, the one you probably dread, actually holds
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eternal weight. Which is, you know, a massive
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paradigm shift for the modern mind to accept.
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People today constantly divide life into two completely
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separate realms. We have a sacred and we have the
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secular. Right, the Sunday versus Monday
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mindset. Precisely in this way of
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thinking, things like prayer, worship, reading your Bible,
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preaching, evangelism, those to consider the truly spiritual
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activities. Meanwhile, ordinary labor,
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working with your hands, managing a home, studying for
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exams, raising kids, filing reports, that's all treated as
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common. It's viewed as secondary and
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largely disconnected from your devotion to God.
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You just clock in, get it done and go home to do the real
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spiritual stuff. Yeah, exactly.
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Well, spot on. You might think of your job as a
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simple economic transaction, or maybe just a burdensome
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necessity so you can survive. But the apostle Paul, writing
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into the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does not permit the
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believer to imagine that Christ is Lord only over the church
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sanctuary. He doesn't say daily
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responsibilities belong to some lesser earthly sphere.
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He teaches that ordinary labor is not spiritually neutral
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ground. It is a theater for God's glory.
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The Gospel really tears down that imaginary wall between
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ministry and mundane life. It teaches you that your
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vocation is a sphere of discipleship.
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It's a place of accountability. It is, and we really need unpack
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this false division because it's just so easy to fall into.
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We tend to think we're doing the Lord's work on Sunday morning,
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and then on Monday morning we're just working for our boss.
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But verse 23 gives a command that leaves absolutely 0 neutral
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ground. Paul writes whatsoever you do.
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That is a wildly sweeping phrase.
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It's totally all-encompassing. He doesn't confine his
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exhortation to conspicuous acts of ministry.
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He doesn't restrict it to those tasks that society regards as
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noble or influential. He says whatsoever you do, every
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lawful action falls under the Lordship of Christ.
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There is no task too small for God to care about.
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Absolutely none. The work of the hand, the strain
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of the mind, the ordering of the home.
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Keeping your appointments and during tedious duties, all of it
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is included. The Holy Spirit reaches down
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into the routine, the hidden and the wearisome parts of your day
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and declares that even there you are called to labor in a
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distinctly Christian manner. And that sweeping command
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connects directly to our Reformed understanding of God's
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sovereignty. If we look at the Westminster
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Confession of Faith, specifically Chapter 5 on
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Providence, we find a really vital theological framework for
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how you should view your Monday morning.
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Let's dig into that. How does Providence change a
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Tuesday afternoon at the office? Well, the confession states that
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God in his ordinary Providence makes use of means.
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This means that a person's current employment is not an
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accident of history. Whether you are a chief
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executive officer or a domestic worker, your position is a
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decreed station. It is ordained by the sovereign
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decree of God. Wow, so it's not random.
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Not at all. You were placed in your specific
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role by Divine Providence. Therefore your obedience in that
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station is a requirement. To grumble against your work, or
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to treat it as disconnected from your spiritual life is
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essentially to grumble against the sovereign God who placed you
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there. Historically, Reformed
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theologians like John Calvin and the Puritans understood this
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perfectly. They had a very high view of
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ordinary work, right? They really did.
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They taught the doctor to vocation, illustrating that a
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milk maid brings as much glory to God as a minister and a
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pulpit, provided her heart is aimed at Christ while she works.
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I want to stop right there and look at that illustration of the
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milk maid, because it completely flips our cultural values upside
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down. Our culture measures the worth
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of an action by how much money it generates, or how much fame
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it brings, or how many people see it on social media.
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We assume the person speaking to thousands of people is doing
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something spiritually significant, while the person
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doing manual labor is just passing the time.
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Which is a totally secular way of measuring value.
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Right, but the Puritan view you just mentioned argues that the
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value of the work is determined by the object of the workers
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devotion, not the prestige of the task.
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The physical action of milking a cow looks entirely different
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from preaching A sermon, but the spiritual reality can be
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identical. Both individuals are fulfilling
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a divine mandate in their ordained station.
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That is spot on. And that brings us to a massive
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shift in motivation. Paul says to do this work as to
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the Lord and not unto men. This alters a worker's
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motivation entirely. We are talking about viewing
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work as a vertical offering to the Lord rather than a
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horizontal obligation to an earthly boss.
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That vertical versus horizontal distinction is huge.
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It changes everything. You certainly have earthly
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supervisors in a relative sense. Employees answer to managers,
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children answer to parents, citizens answer to lawful
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authorities. Paul is not denying that earthly
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structures exist, but he is lifting your eyes above all
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those horizontal structures to the highest reality.
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Behind every lawful task stands the Lord Christ as the true
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Master. So the boss in the corner office
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isn't the final authority, right?
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When you realize this, your work is no longer driven by the
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desire for praise, advancement, wages, or reputation.
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It becomes an offering of obedience to Christ Himself.
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You stop asking whether a task will please your supervisor, and
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you start asking whether a task will honor your Lord.
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That shifts the pressure entirely.
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But how does that actually play out in the 1st century context?
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Because Paul is writing this to people who are in situations
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much harsher than a modern corporate office.
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We read these verses today and think about dealing with a
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micromanaging boss, but the original audience had a vastly
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different experience with labor. What did work look like for
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them? To truly grasp the weight of
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this vertical orientation, we need to examine the Greco Roman
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context of the 1st century. Paul is writing to a
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congregation where many lived under the yoke of Roman bond
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labor. In that society, Stoic and
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Aristopelian philosophers viewed bond laborers not as full human
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beings, but his soulless instruments or living tools of
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production. Living tools.
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That is a brutal phrase. It is incredibly brutal.
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They were considered property, existing only to execute the
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will of their earthly masters, their laborers extracted by
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force or necessity, and they had absolutely no social standing
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into that oppressive, dehumanizing culture.
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Paul drops a theological Thunder clap.
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He commands them to work and he uses the Greek phrase XXS.
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Wait, what does that phrase actually mean in plain English?
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Because when I read my English translation it usually says
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something like do it heartily or work with all your heart.
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Does the Greek carry a different weight?
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It carries a much heavier weight.
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The phrase ex psychos literally translates to from the soul.
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This is staggering when you consider the context.
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Paul does not use the typical word for heart, but rather the
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word for soul. He is suggesting a total
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animation of 1's entire being and life force toward the task
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at hand. Because society was telling them
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they didn't even have souls. Precisely.
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Remember the prevailing philosophy of the day called
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these laborers soulless instruments.
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By commanding A marginalized laborer to work from the soul,
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Paul radically rehumanizes them. He grants them massive dignity.
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He tells them they have a soul and that their soul can be
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engaged in a vertical offering to the living God even while
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sweeping a floor or doing the most medial household chore.
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He elevates the lowest rung of society by telling them their
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inner life matters to the Creator of the universe.
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That completely changes the texture of the passage.
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Paul is demanding that the hands do not move while the inner
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person remains cold, resentful, distracted, or false.
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The world is often completely satisfied if a task is completed
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with external adequacy. As long as a spreadsheet is
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filed or the floor looks clean, the earthly boss is happy.
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They don't care if you hate them in your mind while you do it.
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Human supervisors only look at the outward appearance.
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Right, but the Lord searches the inner person.
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He sees whether the work is done with sincerity, diligence and
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inward engagement. This makes me think about how
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people work today. You know the scenario, an office
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worker is browsing the Internet wasting time, but the second
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they hear their managers footsteps coming down the hall,
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they quickly minimize the browser and pull up a work
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document to look busy. Is there a connection between
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that kind of modern behavior and what Paul is addressing here?
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Yes, there is a direct connection and this brings up
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the Law gospel dynamic starting with the Law functioning as a
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diagnostic mirror for our motives.
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When you look into the text, it exposes the ancient sin of
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Ophthalmodulia. That Greek word literally
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translates to eye service. Eye service working only for the
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eye. Yes, it is the wretched tendency
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to labor diligently only when the human supervisor is
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watching, and to slack in the moment human oversight
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disappears. It is the hypocritical
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performance of doing the bare minimum while pretending to be
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fully engaged. The diagnostic mirror of the law
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is relentless because it exposes the idolatry in our own hearts.
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It's funny, we think of ancient sins as bowing down to golden
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statues, but slacking off at work is right there in the text.
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It is I service is not just an ancient problem, it is rampant
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in our modern culture. We see it in the cultural trend
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of client quitting, where individuals intentionally
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withdraw their effort, doing only what is explicitly required
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to avoid termination while completely disengaging their
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soul from the work. So when a modern worker is doing
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that, when they are calculating the exact minimum amount of
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effort required to keep their paycheck without actually caring
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about the quality of the work, what is the root theological
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issue? Because from a secular
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perspective, that is just seen as a smart way to preserve your
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energy. It's seen as a pragmatic
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approach to a job you dislike. From a reformed theological
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perspective, working only for human approval or a paycheck is
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a form of idolatry. You are elevating the earthly
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boss or the financial reward to the position of ultimate
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authority in your life. The law in Colossians 3 exposes
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this self righteousness. It reveals that even our
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seemingly good daily labor is often tainted by the idol of
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human applause or the sloth of a divided heart.
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So even doing the right thing for the wrong reason is a
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problem. Absolutely.
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A man may fulfill an assignment and yet sin in the way he
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fulfills it. A woman may discharge a
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responsibility and yet dishonor God by doing so with a bitter
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and unwilling spirit. The text demands that you
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evaluate your motives in the workplace.
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Are you laboring from the soul, or are you just putting on a
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show for the people around you? Are you motivated by pragmatism,
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or are you motivated by a desire to honor the God who ordained
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your station? I want to ask you, the listener,
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to really evaluate your own motives Tomorrow morning when
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you log into your computer, or when you start your shift, or
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when you begin your household routines, what is driving you?
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Are you trying to get through the day with the least amount of
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friction possible? Paul will not allow such divided
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devotion. The old nature might work out of
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fear, pride, or desire for a financial reward, but the new
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nature in Christ is taught to labor from sincere devotion.
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And this brings us to a shocking turn.
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In the text, Paul does not just give a heavy command, he
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provides royal comfort. First Coming 4 says, knowing
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that of the Lord, you shall receive the reward of the
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inheritance that. Is such a beautiful promise.
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It is the fuel for the diligence of verse 23.
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Christian obedience is not driven by uncertainty.
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It is not the restless labor of a person trying to secure
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acceptance. It is the steady effort of one
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who will already belongs to Christ and lives in hope of what
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Christ has promised. Let's talk about the word
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inheritance there. The use of that specific word,
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which is clarinomia in the Greek, would have been a
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linguistic and social lightning bolt for the original audience.
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We have to remember the legal impossibility of this term for a
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1st century bond worker. Because they couldn't own
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anything, right? Under Roman law, a bond laborer
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had absolutely zero legal right to own property, hold status, or
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receive an inheritance. They were legally excluded from
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such privileges. They couldn't even pass down
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their own meager belongings to their children with any legal
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certainty. Yet Paul announces that from the
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Lord they will receive the reward of the inheritance.
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Which means they are family. Exactly.
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Yeah. Well, yes, this means the
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laborer has been adopted as a son or daughter.
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The gospel lifts the eyes of the lowly far above their present
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circumstances. However poor a believer might be
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in the eyes of society, in Christ they possess vast wealth.
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The inheritance language points directly to covenant privilege,
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adoption and final glory. It reveals the believers true
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identity. That is an amazing point.
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If you are a Roman laborer who owns nothing and someone tells
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you that you are receiving an inheritance, it means your legal
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status has been completely changed from property to family.
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But how does this relate to the idea of a reward?
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Because the word reward usually implies a wage.
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You clock in, you do the work, and you get paid.
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How do we understand this inheritance so we do not turn it
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into a transaction where we are just earning our salvation
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through hard work at the office? Could you break down the
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difference between the Covenant of works and the covenant of
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grace for the listener? That is a crucial theological
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distinction. Under covenant of works, the
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relationship is strictly transactional.
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Do this and you will live. Fail to do it and you will die.
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If our reward were based on a covenant of works, our half
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hearted labor, our moments of eye service, and our inward
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grumbling would earn us nothing but absolute judgement.
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We would all be fired by God by 9 of 0 AM on Monday.
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Without a doubt, a bond worker could never earn an inheritance
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through labor, and inheritance is inherently a gift given to
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family members. A son does not earn the family
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estate by doing chores. He inherits it because of his
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birthright under the covenant of grace.
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The inheritance is a secure gift purchased entirely by the
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perfect obedience of Jesus Christ.
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So we work from the inheritance, not for it.
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That is the key. You do not labor as a spiritual
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slave trying to purchase divine favor.
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You labor as a redeemed child who's already been brought near
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through grace. The good works we perform in our
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daily vocations are real and necessary, but they are the
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fruit of our union with Christ. God is crowning His own grace in
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His people. When the Lord rewards His
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people, He is not paying a debt, He's fulfilling a promise.
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So we are not trying to bribe God with our good work ethic.
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But if the inheritance is already secure, why does God
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care about our daily obedience at all?
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Some people might hear this and think, great, my salvation is
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secure. By grace, I have the
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inheritance. It does not matter if I am a
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lazy employee because God loves me anyway.
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How does the Reformed tradition handle that tension?
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To solidify this, we look to the Westminster Confession, chapter
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16, which deals with good works. The Confession clarifies that
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works that in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and
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evidences of a true and lively faith.
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They are the visible proof that the Holy Spirit dwells within
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you. They do not purchase divine
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favor. Our best works, even our most
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diligent days on the job, are still stained by a remaining
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corruption. Even our best days are flawed.
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Yes, but because our persons are accepted through Christ, our
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works are also accepted in Him. God looking upon us, and His Son
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is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, even
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though it is accompanied by many weaknesses and imperfections.
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This protects the passage from moralism.
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You do not obey in order to become an heir.
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You obey because in Christ you already are an heir.
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That distinction is so critical to grasp.
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The promise of reward flows directly from grace.
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This truth confers immense dignity on the humblest calling.
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The world ranks labor by prestige, income, and
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visibility. Christ ranks it by faithfulness.
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What society calls small might be incredibly precious in his
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sight. What earthly supervisors ignore
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Christ receives as a holy offering?
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That is a staggering comfort to the listener.
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Christ sees what others overlook.
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He remembers what others forget. When you're doing a task that
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feels invisible, you are actually doing it before an
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audience of one who values your sincerity.
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But Paul does not stop there. He pivots in verse 25 to a very
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sober reality. The text issues a righteous
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caution. He that do with wrong shall
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receive for the wrong which he hath done.
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A. Very sharp warning.
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Christian obedience is never motivated by promise alone in a
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way that eliminates moral seriousness.
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The Lord who graciously rewards faithful labor is also the Lord
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who judges evil with perfect righteousness.
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The very lordship of Christ that dignifies your ordinary labor
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also makes ordinary wrongdoing weighty and inexcusable.
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Paul preserves the moral balance of the Christian life here.
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Daily life has lived not only before the eye of a rewarding
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master, but also before the tribunal of an impartial judge.
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Sin will not vanish into forgetfulness.
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No, nor will it be dissolved by excuses, appearances or social
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standing. Wrongdoing will be repaid.
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To understand the weight of this warning, we must define the
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concept of partiality. Paul states there is no respect
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of persons. The Greek concept here is prostu
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palimcia, which literally translates to receiving the
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face. Receiving the face, What does
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that mean practically? In human courts and in human
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workplaces, justice and favor are constantly swayed by the
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face a person presents. Human supervisors are easily
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influenced by wealth, flattery, physical appearance, social
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connections, and prestige. A boss might overlook the
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laziness of an employee who constantly flatters them, or a
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court might deal leniently with a wealthy citizen while dealing
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harshly with a poor laborer. If we see that all the time
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today. We do.
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But Christ is perfectly impartial.
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He cannot be bribed, manipulated, deceived, or
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intimidated. He does not excuse sin because
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it is committed by the rich, nor does he overlook faithfulness
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because it is rendered by the poor.
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He is not impressed by social prestige and he is completely
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blind to the external markers of human status.
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He judges by truth. Let's talk about how this
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creates A strict 2 sided accountability because no one
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gets a free pass here. Let's look at the lazy worker
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first. A worker cannot use a lowly
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station, a difficult task, or even a harsh boss as an excuse
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for sloth, deceit, or resentment.
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The phrase doeth wrong includes all manner of injustice,
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dishonesty, cutting corners, and sinful negligence.
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You can't just blame your environment.
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Right, You cannot say to God, well, my boss is a jerk, so I am
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justified in stealing time from the company or doing a terrible
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job. The Lord's judgment penetrates
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beneath all those earthly justifications.
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You answer for your own deeds before the Lord.
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But this sword swings the other way too.
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What happens when we apply this absolute impartiality to the
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unjust boss or the abusive leader?
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Because that is a massive issue in our world today.
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Earthly authority is real, but it is never absolute.
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Those who lead are themselves under authority.
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A manager, a chief executive, a pastor, or a parent cannot
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assume that their social power places them above scrutiny.
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Titles, education, wealth, influence, reputation, and
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outward religious profession cannot shield anyone from the
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judgement of God. That levels the playing field
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entirely. It does.
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We see rampant abuses of power today where individuals imagine
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that their visible success or their high rank excuses private
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injustice, exploitation, or harshness.
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The text shatters that delusion entirely.
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The office worker and the wealthy employer stand on exact
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equal moral ground before the impartial judge of heaven and
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earth. The master isn't off the hook
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just because he's writing the checks.
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The master is not above the text simply because the immediate
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command is addressed to the laborer.
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The one who governs others must remember that Christ does not
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receive the face. If an executive exploits his
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workers to maximize profits, or if a church leader uses their
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position to crush others, they will face the impartial judge
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who sees every hidden motive. I think this creates a beautiful
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theological balance. On one hand, this absolute
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impartiality offers vast comfort to the oppressed.
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If you are in a situation where your hard work is ignored, or
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you are treated unfairly, or you are suffering unseen under a
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difficult supervisor, you can take comfort in knowing that
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Christ sees every wrong done against you.
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He is not indifferent to what the world ignores.
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He will judge righteously. It is a profound, I should say.
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It's a huge comfort. On the other hand, it sends a
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strict, terrifying warning to the oppressor.
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No hidden sin, no act of manipulation, and no abuse of
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power escapes his eye. The wrongdoer cannot stand
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before such a judge in their own righteousness.
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Every task is performed before Christ, and every wrong is known
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by Him. And this raises a critical issue
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for every person listening. How do we possibly stand before
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such an impartial judge when our own motives are so often flawed?
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If Christ repays wrongdoing with perfect justice, and if his
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diagnostic mirror exposes our constant tendency toward eye
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service and half hearted labor, then every single one of us is
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condemned. We have all minimized the
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browser window. We have all labored for the
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applause of man rather than the glory of God.
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We are all guilty under the law. We are.
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This is why we must shift our focus to the ultimate worker.
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Mere moralism fails completely. Just telling people to try
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harder or be better employees is a dead end.
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We must look to Jesus Christ. He is the only one who perfectly
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fulfilled the mandate of Colossians 3.23.
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He labored entirely from his soul.
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Because he never once gave eye service to the father.
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Never consider His obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane, where
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He sweat drops of blood and perfect submission to the
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Father's will. Consider His labor on the hill
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of Golgotha. He did not offer eye service.
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He offered a perfect, soul deep obedience.
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He endured the ultimate wrong on the cross, taking the impartial
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justice of God upon Himself so that His people could receive
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the partiality of His grace and be clothed in His perfect
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righteousness. That is the core of our hope
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because Christ labored perfectly for us.
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Our relationship to the commands of God changes entirely.
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And earlier you mentioned the law gospel dynamic.
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I want to bring up the concept of the third use of the law
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because once a person realizes they are saved by the perfect
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work of Christ, they might wonder what the point of the law
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is anymore. If the law cannot save us, why
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does Paul, given these strict commands about our daily work,
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could you explain what the third use of the law means for the
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believer listening right now? We can consult the Westminster
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Confession again, specifically chapter 19, which explains the
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law of God. The Confession teaches 3
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distinct uses of the moral law. The first use is to restrain sin
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in society through the fear of punishment.
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The second use is the diagnostic mirror we discussed earlier.
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It exposes our sin and drives us to Christ for salvation.
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OK, so restraint and then a mirror.
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What is the third? For the justified believer,
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there is 1/3 use. The law is no longer a covenant
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of works to secure justification, nor is it a
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threat of condemnation. Instead, it functions as a rule
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of life, directing us to grateful obedience.
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It shows us the will of God and our duty, binding us to walk
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accordingly. It reveals the sinful pollutions
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of our nature, driving us to a clearer site of our need for
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Christ's ongoing grace. It becomes a guide for
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gratitude. Yes.
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So when the text commands us to work from the soul, it is giving
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us a guide for how to express our gratitude for the gospel.
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We look to the commands of Scripture not to earn life, but
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to express grateful love to the One who is already our life.
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Our daily labor becomes a living sacrifice offered in response to
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the grace we have received. That is incredibly helpful.
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It changes the whole posture of the worker.
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You are not working to avoid the wrath of God, you are working to
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say thank you for the grace of God.
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But let's be honest, working from the soul is exhausting.
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You cannot maintain that purely on your own willpower.
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Your willpower will deplete the moment you face an ungrateful
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boss or a tedious, exhausting routine.
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How does a believer actually find the strength to do this day
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in and day out? It is only through our union
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with Christ that we find the actual stamina to maintain
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integrity in a difficult or dead end job.
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The believer is united to Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit
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empowers new obedience. The Spirit provides the strength
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to find joy in the whatsoever of daily life.
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So it's not about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
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Not at all. When you are tempted to cut
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corners or when you feel the bitterness of an unfair
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workplace rising in your heart, you draw upon the life of Christ
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within you. He empowers you to labor
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joyfully to maintain punctuality, truthfulness, and
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diligence when no human eye is watching.
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The grace that saves does not produce indifference to
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holiness. It establishes the proper motive
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and the actual power to obey. You are no longer relying on
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your own depleted reserves. You are drawing from the
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infinite well of Christ's Spirit.
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We have covered a massive amount of theological ground.
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I want to take all of these truths and apply them surgically
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to you, the listener. The sources we are looking at
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mentioned specific groups of people, and we want to spend
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some real time applying this text right into your specific
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situation. First, let's talk to the weary
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believer. Maybe you are in an exhausting,
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uncelebrated role. I want you to picture the mother
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who is pouring herself out in the unseen repetitive routines
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of the home. That is a physically demanding
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station. It is she is waking up at 2:00
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AM with a crying infant, washing the same dishes every day,
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folding endless piles of laundry and settling disputes between
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toddlers. Or maybe you are a factory
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worker, clocking in for long hours of weary routine on an
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assembly line with very little praise.
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Or you are a caregiver, spending day after day attending to
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someone who cannot even say thank you.
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The world measures worth by prominence and visibility.
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Because your work is hidden. You might feel like your labor
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is completely insignificant. What does this text say to that
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person? To the weary believer,
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Colossians 3.24 reassures you that your hidden faithfulness
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possesses eternal weight. The Lord sees your quiet
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diligence. He remembers what others forget.
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No sincere act of obedience rendered to Christ is ever
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wasted When you change that diaper or tighten that bolt on
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the assembly line, or sit quietly beside a sick relative,
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and you do it as an offering to Christ, Heaven takes notice.
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Your dignity is not tied to a paycheck.
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Your dignity remains completely secure because you are laboring
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for the Lord of Christ. You do not need the applause of
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a massive audience to validate your existence.
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You have the approving eye of your savior.
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Let that steady your soul and keep you from bitterness when
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the exhaustion sets in. Remember the inheritance.
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You are a child of the King, fulfilling A decreed station
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with absolute dignity. Now let's pivot to the complete
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opposite scenario. Let's talk to the ambitious
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professional. You might be a manager and
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executive or someone fiercely chasing career advancement.
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You were staying late at the office just to be seen by the
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Vice President. You are obsessing over your
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LinkedIn profile. The world tells you that your
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worth is determined by your salary, your title and the size
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of your portfolio. You are tempted by the idol of
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careerism, seeking self glory and validation through your
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professional achievements. How does the absolute
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impartiality of Christ confront the ambitious professional?
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This text challenges the ambitious professional to repent
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of self glory. You must recognize that your
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true supervisor is Christ. You are called to strip away
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vain glory and man pleasing. You need to ask yourself hard
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questions. Are you manipulating situations
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to get ahead? Are you stepping on your
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colleagues to climb the corporate ladder?
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Are you neglecting your family, your church, or your own soul
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for the sake of a promotion? And are you exploiting those
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under your authority? Yes, that is a critical
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question. You must remember that Christ is
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no respecter of persons. Your visible success does not
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excuse private injustice. Your title carries no shielding
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authority before the impartial judge.
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You are called to approach your work with humility, realizing
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that your professional skills are a means to glorify God, not
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a mechanism to build your own Kingdom.
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The coroner office offers zero protection from the piercing
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gaze of the Lord. You must labor from the soul,
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not from a desire for earthly dominance.
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I think that warning is so necessary in a culture that
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idolizes hustle and corporate success.
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But let's look at another group. What about the young person or
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the student? Listening to this deep dive, it
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is so easy to think that school work, studying for exams, or
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doing chores around the house are beneath spiritual concern.
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A student might think I will start working from the soul when
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I get a real job. For now, I'm just going to cram
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for this test to get a passing grade, and I will clean my room
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only when my parents threaten to ground me.
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How does this text speak to the student?
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It prompts the student to see those exact places as the
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training ground where character is forged before God.
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The habits of sincere labor must be learned early.
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When you write an essay or when you take out the trash, you are
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establishing a life of integrity.
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You're training your soul away from man pleasing and toward God
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centered faithfulness. They can't wait until they
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graduate to start obeying this command.
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No, do not wait until you have a career to start applying this
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text. Your current station as a
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student is ordained by God, and He calls you to diligence right
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there in the classroom. If you cheat on a test, you are
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committing eyeservice. You are trying to gain a reward
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without laboring from the soul. The Lord calls the young person
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to recognize His Lordship over their textbooks, their exams,
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and their chores. By being faithful in the small
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things now, you are preparing your heart for the heavier
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responsibilities God will entrust to you later.
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Finally, we have to address the unbeliever.
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If you are listening to this and you have not placed your faith
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in Jesus Christ, you need to hear the solemn urgency of this
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text. We have talked a lot about work,
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but the final issue here is you're standing before holy God.
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If Christ rewards faithful service and repays wrongdoing
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without any partiality, then no Sinner can stand safely before
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him on the basis of their own record.
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What is the warning and the call to the person who does not know
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Christ? The impartial judgement of
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Christ exposes every single heart.
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Your hidden sins, your neglected duties, your dishonest motives,
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and your inward rebellion all come under His blazing gaze.
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You cannot rely on your social standing, your wealth, or even
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your general morality to save you.
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You might be the hardest working person at your company, but if
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you do not belong to Christ, your labor is entirely
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disconnected from the inheritance.
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The work ethic won't save them. Therefore, you must not simply
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admire the strong work ethic presented in this text.
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You must flee to the Savior of the text.
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The impartial judge is also the merciful Redeemer.
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The only safe refuge from His righteous judgement is His
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saving mercy. We call you to repentance and
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faith in the Lord Christ, who offers the free gift of the
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inheritance to all who trust in Him.
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You cannot earn it. You must receive it by faith.
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Let's summarize the core insights we have uncovered
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today. We started by tearing down the
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false division between the sacred and the secular,
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realizing that all lawful work is a theater for God's glory.
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We examine the command to work from the soul, rejecting the
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hypocrisy of eyeservice and recognizing that our daily tasks
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are vertical offerings to Christ.
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We found staggering comfort in the promise of the inheritance,
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understanding it as a secure gift of grace, not a wage for
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our imperfect works. We face the sobering warning
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that the Lord judges with perfect equity, showing no
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partiality to earthly titles or status.
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And we saw that our only hope and our only strength come from
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our union with Jesus Christ, the ultimate worker.
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These truths reorient the entire framework of the Christian life.
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Every duty, however small or tedious, must be approached with
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a heart devoted to His glory. The Christian life is not
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measured by the applause of society, but by faithful, quiet
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obedience to the Lord. I want to leave you with a final
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provocative thought based on this text, something for you to
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Mull over as you return to your daily routines.
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Think about your schedule for tomorrow.
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You probably have a morning prayer time, which is wonderful
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and necessary. But consider this.
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What if the most spiritually significant action you take
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tomorrow isn't your morning prayer, but the silent, unseen
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integrity with which you handle your most frustrating, tedious
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task? What if the way you respond to
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an unfair e-mail or the diligence you show in cleaning
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up a mess no one else will see is the exact moment where the
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gospel shines brightest in your life?
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Let that thought echo in your mind.
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Every moment is holy ground work from the soul.
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We will see you next time on Reformed Thinking.