Clarity

I think it's interesting how I can suddenly get clarity on a certain verse or topic when I'm reading the Bible or another book.

In Sunday School, we've had some intriguing discussions about how faith and works tie in; how we'll be judged (are Christians judged too?), rewards in heaven, and the idea of being 'given much so much is expected.' And I've been reading an Andrew Murray book called True Vine that deals with the vine & branches passage in John 15. Some things came together...

Last night while reading Knowing God by J.I.Packer, a few passages really stuck out to me:

Index of the Heart:
"...The relevance of our doings is not that they ever merit an award from the court (the chapter was on God, the Judge)--but that they provide an index of what is in the heart--what, in other words, is the real nature of each agent."..."Similarly, in the sheep-and-goats passage appeal is made to whether one had or had not relieved Christians' needs. What is the significance of that? It is not that one way of acting was meritorious while the other was not, but that from these actions it could be seen whether there was love to Christ, the love that springs from faith, in the heart. (Mt. 25:34-46)"

"How do free forgiveness and justification by faith square with judgment according to works?
The answer seems to be as follows. First, the gift of justification certainly shields believers from being condemned and banished from God's presence as sinners. This appears from the vision of judgment in Revelation 20:11-15, where alongside "the books" recording each person's works
"the book of life" is opened, and those whose names are written there are not "thrown into the lake of fire" as the rest are. But, second, the gift of justification does not at all shield believers from being assessed as Christians, and from forfeiting good which others will enjoy if it turns out
that as Christians they have been slack, mischievous and destructive. This appears from Paul's warning to the Corinthians to be careful what lifestyle they build on Christ, the one foundation. "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work shall be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames" (1 Cor 3:12-15). Reward and loss signify an enriched or impoverished relationship with God, though in what ways it is beyond our present power to know. Final judgment will also be according to our knowledge. All people know something of God's will through general revelation, (I thought of Rom. 1:19-20, where creation has made God known to all people)
even if they have not been instructed in the law or the gospel, and all are guilty before God for falling short of the best they knew. But ill-desert is graded according to what that best was; see Rom 2:12 and Luke 12:47-48. The principle operating here is that "where a man has been given much, much will be expected of him" (v. 48 NEB). The justice of this is obvious. In every case
the Judge of all the earth will do right."

Pretty wordy, I know, but he says it much better than I could. It really made me think about if I am living to the best of what I know about God. When talking about our actions showing if we really loved God, I thought of John 14:15, 'If you love me, you will obey what I command.' Seems like a tall order. But in True Vine, the point is brought out that the power to bear fruit in our lives comes from God, if we only abide in him. I've been pondering what 'abiding in him' looks like. John 15:9 points the way: 'If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love.' Lots to think about and continue studying.