1. While it is certainly true that Jesus has done “the work” is it not also true that the Bible portrays the Christian life as a struggle. Paul’s language is full of expressions of laboring and striving? To be sure, we are not to labor in our own self-sufficency but rather utterly dependent on God’s grace. Colossians 1:29: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” and Philippians 2:12b-13: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” would be a couple of examples of this idea. Also, Jerry Bridges examines this in “Disciplines of Grace”. Tim Keller also touches on this in a sermon on the subject of work and rest. He refers to the “rest beneath the work.”

2. While it is certainly true that we humans are self-centered and greedy, is it not also true that the idea of reward is ubiquitous throughout the Bible? My understanding is that it is not the idea of working for reward that is unbiblical. Indeed, it seems to me that to work dispassionately simply because it is the thing to do is rather unbiblical. Instead, the crux of the matter is what kind of reward we find attractive. The reward God promises is Himself, His Presence and Being. We, in our self-glorifying sinfulness can only find that attractive and desirable if we are enabled to do so by His grace. I believe that is the basis for John Piper’s definition of a Christian: “One who treasures Christ.”

What do you folks think?