"CHRIST OUR REWARD"

"To him that worketh is the reward NOT reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Rom. 4:4). To the laborer in religion, what he merits or earns can never be called a gift, a favor, or mercy; it is an obligation owed to him. If work is involved at all in our salvation (regardless of the degree of work), it is a debt and NOT GRACE AT ALL. It is not that the believer does no good works, but that he does not work in order to obtain life and salvation. We work because we love Christ Jesus, not in order to be justified.