SWM 03 - Chastening and Rewards

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 1) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

Eternal life is guaranteed to all believers, but they should never make the mistake of thinking Christians can live as they please without consequences. They cannot. This is very important because failure to make this clear can keep a person from wanting to trust Christ as his Saviour.

Privileges When you are saved, you become God's son and God becomes your Father. While you have certain privileges as God's child, your Father also has the responsibility of taking care of you.
Punishments If a person thinks a Christian could live in sin and not be punished for it, he doesn't know much of the Bible, nor does he understand the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian.

God deals with His children mainly in two ways:

( 1 ) For Blessing(s) When you respond to and obey the Lord's leading in your life, God's discipline for you will be mainly one of guidance, encouragement, and further instruction;

(2) For Chastening(s) When you rebel against God's leading, He will deal with you in as strong a measure it takes for you to obey Him.

People are motivated mainly by two things: love and fear. God uses each in a perfect blend that is just right for each Christian.

Proverbs 3:11, 12, "… For whom the Lord LOVETH He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." This is quoted in Heb. 12:6. Notice, when God corrects you, is it because He hates you? No, but because He loves you and delights in you, and knows what is best for you.
Job 5:17, "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty."
I John 1:9 When a Christian disobeys God, he should confess it right away. Every time you confess your sin, you will be forgiven.

Please notice two other things about I John 1:9:

God does not guarantee restoration of fellowship on the basis of confession of sin. Fellowship with the Lord comes when a Christian disciplines his life so that he has "things in common" with the Lord.
God does not guarantee restoration of damage resulting from sin on the basis of confession of sin. For instance, perhaps a Christian has gone away from things of the Lord and starts to drink, and he ruins his kidneys. If he confesses his sin, yes, the Lord will forgive him . . . but that forgiveness doesn't heal his damaged kidneys.

4. There is a natural result of sin as well as God's personal chastisement in your life. Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Notice that God does NOT add, "EXCEPT if he confesses it."

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 2) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

A Christian can do wrong things, but he cannot escape the CONSEQUENCES of doing wrong things. A person can put his hand into the fire if he wants to, but he cannot escape getting his hand burned. Some Christians want to sow wild oats all week long and then pray for CROP FAILURE at the end of the week!

People want to know "what God will do to them" if they do "this or that, but rest assured, you will receive "personalized" attention.
One could not say how often you could commit the same sin before God would severely chasten you for it. The Lord uses His discretion in every instance. Hebrews 12:11 says when God chastens it will not be pleasant.
I Cor. 11:30-32 A disobedient child is never happy. Continued sin often brings weakness and sickness into your life. If you refuse to respond to God's dealings with you, if you refuse to discipline your life, God can even take you home earlier than He would have otherwise.
I Cor. 5:1-5 This example of a Christian that is threatened to be taken home by God before his time. Sin in the life of a Christian will result in a loss of his joy, power, testimony, fellowship, and reward.
I Cor. 3 :11-15, should be clearly understood because it gives a good picture of what happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ for believers.
1. Verse 11, The only foundation God recognizes is the foundation of Jesus Christ.
2. Verse 12, The Christian may build either good or bad works in his life once he is saved.
3. Verse 13, We find that God will judge every person's work to see what was good and what was bad.
4. Verse 14, Says that those who have done good work will receive reward, but
5. Verse 15, Clearly teaches that those who have not done good works will suffer loss of reward even though they will not lose their salvation.

God has many ways of seeing that those who serve Him are rewarded, and those who do not suffer loss of blessings on earth and rewards later in heaven.

Ephesians 2:8,9 tells us we are saved by grace, but verse 10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,…." God wants His children to live a life of service to Him-not to be saved, but because they are saved.
After a person trusts Christ he should heed Romans 12:1,2 for service, "… present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 3) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

1. The "secret" of "Christian Victory" is obeying God.

Gal. 5:22 A life of service for the Lord will be richly rewarded both now and later. When you obey God's Word and let the Lord run your life, you will have love, joy, and peace in your life.
Job 36:11 God promises, "If they obey and serve Him they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures".
John 10:10 Jesus said, ". . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly".
John 12:26 If you want God to honor your life, you must serve Him. And if you DO serve the Lord, God is BOUND to honor your life. ". . . If any man serve me, him will My Father honor".

You might sometimes think that to discipline your life to serve the Lord is difficult. What you want to do will often be the opposite of what God wants you to do, but the reward is great . . .

Consider what it will cost you if you don’t serve the Lord?
1. Job 9:4, ". . . who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?"
2. Listen to the warning in Deut. 28:47,48, "Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, …he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until he have destroyed thee."
3. In Isaiah 30:1 God says those Christians who rebel against Him will have trouble . . . "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of My spirit, that they may add sin to sin."

Satan will always give you the best excuses why you shouldn't obey God. But the decision as to what you will do with your life is completely up to you. As we have mentioned before, salvation is voluntary, and service is voluntary.

3. If you don’t serve the God, you can only blame yourself.

Perhaps you may feel you have no particular "talent" to give to the Lord. God says the greatest ABILITY in Christian work is DEPENDability. ". . . It is required in stewards that a man be found FAITHFUL" (I Cor. 4:2). It is not required that you are (1) popular, (2) wealthy, (3) successful, (4) educated, or (5) influential.

God honors the believer who faithfully does his best for the Lord.

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 4) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

I Tim. 1:12, Paul’s Life: God put him into the ministry because he could be counted upon to continue being FAITHFUL.
God enabled him
Paul was faithful
God put Paul in the ministry
Ecclesiastes 8:11, God has given us the real reasons why many people do wrong and think they can actually get away with it, even in the sight of God, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily." People forget that there is usually a TIME LAPSE between planting and reaping.
Deut. 32:35, says, "To Me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in DUE TIME...." The result of what we do is often not produced until later. If you sow to the flesh, you will reap of the flesh.
Luke 12:15, Worldly pleasures:
1. Are trouble to get,
2. Don't satisfy when you do get them, and
3. produced great sorrow when they are lost. It has been said that the life of the world is the "life of the constantly bursting bubble."

A disciplined life for the Lord will cost you work, time, and effort. But an undisciplined life costs much more. Usually you will find it is not so much a question of KNOWING God's will for your life as being willing to DO it.

Determine that your life is going to amount to something for the Lord, and then discipline your life to that end.
AIM FOR THE HIGHEST. Don't settle for being an "average Christian." After all, "average" is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top. Don't be ordinary. STAND UP for the Lord Jesus Christ, and serve Him with all that is within you.
Your future is being determined by what you do TODAY. If you want to accomplish great things for the Lord in the future, you must accomplish something for the Lord today.

II Chron. 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him . . ."God wants to exercise His mighty power in your live.
Hebrews 11:24-26, "… for he had respect unto the recompense OF THE REWARD.” Moses served the Lord, motivated by the knowledge of future rewards. While it would be wrong for the Christian to serve the Lord ONLY because he will be rewarded for it, there is nothing wrong with realizing that God has set such a HIGH VALUE upon serving Him that He does promise to reward us.
Matt. 16:27, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works."

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 5) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

We should serve the Lord for the praise of God and not for the praise of men. It is the Lord who will reward you. Certainly men will not.

Eph. 6:8, "Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive OF THE LORD, whether he be bond or free."
Matt. 25:21, "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
II Cor. 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."

Make it very clear that this person is not in a judgment to determine if he will go to heaven or hell. That was determined while the person was still living on earth, on the basis of whether or not he had received Christ as his Saviour. But this is a judgment for believers only, to determine whether or not they will have rewards during the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.

The gospel has not been presented clearly, until the person you are talking to understands it. Even so, the teaching of a saved person to serve the Lord has not been made clear, until chastening and rewards has been understood.

This must constantly be emphasized to people, and especially to an audience. If you are in the position of teaching a group on this subject, you must not only make the gospel clear in their minds, but clear enough in their minds so that they know how to make it clear to someone else; and not only so, but clear enough in the minds of your group so that they not only CAN make it clear to someone else, but that they will see the IMPORTANCE of staying with the gospel to others, until it is clear to them also.

II Timothy 2:2, Paul was expressing this in when he said, "And the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."
I Cor. 3:8, "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his OWN reward ACCORDING TO HIS OWN LABOUR." Situations are bound to occur in your Christian service in which you have done something for the Lord but another Christian seems to be receiving all the credit. Don't let it bother you. The Lord is keeping the books. YOU will be rewarded for what YOU do regardless of how other people look at it.
I Cor. 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 6) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

Instructions for a New Christian (1 of 2)

The four talks

Study your Bible…….…..………….…..God talks to you
Prayer…………………………….…..….You talk to God
Meet with other Christians…….…You talk with believers
Witnessing…………………..…You talk with unbelievers

Study Your Bible.

Encourage the new believer to read his Bible, perhaps beginning with the Gospel of St. John. Tell them to look for keywords like; receive, believe, unbelief, hath, and everlasting (eternal life) life, in various forms.

The best way to understand the Bible is to study it, God's Word is power! KNOWLEDGE of God's Word and HOW TO PRESENT His Word will give you the power necessary to be an effective soul-winner.

I Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby."
John 5:24, A person has faith that Christ will save him when he hears the plan of salvation from the Word of God and believes it.
Rom. 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" a person strengthens his faith when he believes God's Word, and obeys God's Word.
II Timothy 2:15, The Bible tells us to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth". (Read II Timothy 3:16-17)

Pray

There is no reason why a Christian should approach God with formal speeches. Prayer is not some stilted, memorized speech that you make to God but talking with your heavenly Father. It should be just as natural for a Christian to talk to the Lord as it is for a little boy to talk to his Daddy.

Romans 8:15, the word "Abba," referring to our heavenly Father, is just like our word "Daddy".
Galatians 4:6, says that God Himself has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, so that we would call our Father "Abba."
Jer. 33:3, God invites us to talk to Him, "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not".
I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." The Lord will never turn a deaf ear to you: He is always interested in what affects you. Encourage the new believer to pray often every day.

The Soul Winner’s Manual

CHAPTER III (PART 7) OUTLINE BY RALPH “YANKEE” ARNOLD

Chastening and Rewards

Instructions for a New Christian (2 of 2)

The four talks

Study your Bible…….…..………….…..God talks to you

Prayer…………………………….…..….You talk to God

Meet with other Christians…….…You talk with believers

Witnessing…………………..…You talk with unbelievers

3. Meet Together With Other Christians

Your love for the Lord, for Christians, and for the unsaved will be greatly increased as you meet with believers and have fellowship with them. The New Testament believers gathered together to encourage one another in their witnessing and comfort one another in their testings.

Acts 14:27, "And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them . . .".
Heb. 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching". Also see Acts 15:4; Acts 20:7; Acts 21:18-20; and Galatians 6:1, 2.

It is the rare person who can withstand the pressures of his friends. You must make your friends the kind of Christian you aspire to be. Some of the most precious times in the lives of Christians have been where believers gathered together to share their needs and help one another through the encouragement of testimonies and the power of earnest, intercessory prayer. Encourage the new believer to attend a good, Bible-believing and teaching church.

4. Tell Others How To Be Saved

Never leave a new Christian thinking that witnessing should be done only by experts, but, that it is the responsibility of every Christian. A newly-saved person will usually see the need for his friends to trust Christ as their Saviour. This glowing "first love" is best nurtured by convincing them to give the gospel.

I Thess. 2:4, It is such a privilege be put in trust with His gospel. "But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, …".
Jeremiah 20:9, "Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, …But His Word as… a burning fire … and I COULD NOT STAY"
II Cor. 5:18-20, “…WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST…”

Any person who understands enough to receive Christ as his Saviour knows enough to tell others what happened to him and how they also may be saved.

Memory Verses for Chapter Three

Prov. 3:11-12 1 John 1: 9 I Cor. 5 :5 I Cor. 3:15 Job 36:11

Eph. 2:10 I Cor. 11:30 Rom. 12:1, 2 Gal. 5:22, 23 I Peter 5:7

I Cor. 4:2 II Cor. 5:10 I Cor. 3:11 I Cor. 15:58 I Peter 2:2

I Thess. 2:4 Rom. 10:17 Heb. 10:25 Heb. 12:6, 11 I Cor. 3:8

SWM 03 - Chastening and Rewards