THE GOOD WILL BE REWARDED AND THE EVIL WILL BE PUNISHED

Proclamation:

“The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs.” Proverbs 14:14 (NIV)

Explanation:
This proverb was written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God. This fourteenth proverb of Solomon continues the pattern which he started in the tenth proverb of presenting a series of seemingly unrelated sentences that compares and contrasts that which is good and righteous with that which is not. Much is said in this proverb contrasting the wise man and the fool. He who forsakes The Lord God will be punished and made to pay for his sins. The righteous believer will be rewarded for following the ways of The Lord. He shall eat the fruits of his labor and he shall be blessed for his good deeds. (Isaiah 3:10)

Application:
As we sow, so shall we also reap. (Galatians 6:7-8) He that sows evil and wickedness will reap the same as he sows. (Job 4:8 and Proverbs 22:8) Those who enjoy doing evil and those who seek only the pleasures of the flesh or worldly treasure will have to answer for their rejection of The Lord God and His way. (Revelation 20:15) While those who are faithful believers, who follow The Holy Word of God, will be rewarded for being good stewards and faithful servants. (Matthew 25:21 and 25:23)

THAT WHICH WE DO FOR THE LORD WILL BE REMEMBERED

Proclamation:

“The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot.”  Proverbs 10:7 (KJV)

Explanation:

This proverb, like all but the last two of the proverbs, was written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this tenth proverb Solomon compares and contrasts the wise and righteous man with the wicked man with respect to their temperament, conduct, actions, and their resulting effects.  He begins by saying that the wise son brings joy to his parents while the foolish son brings grief. (Proverbs 10:1)  He ends by saying that out of the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom and it brings favor, whereas out of the mouth of the mouth of the wicked comes that which is perverse and he will soon be silenced. (Proverbs 10:31-32)

Application:

Within days after the funeral, most of the kind words are forgotten and the deceased person is rarely thought of except by loved ones.  However, those who accomplished something for the Lord God will be remembered by the people of God outside of their immediate family.  As the song says, “Only what you do for Christ will last.”  The righteous will be remembered forever. (Psalm 112:6)  Many worldly men, who do things in order to be remembered, will be forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 8:10)  In the case of the saints who have gone on before us, they may be gone, but they are not forgotten.  If we live for the glory of God, we will be remembered.  For there are three who keep a record in heaven of all that we do, God, The Father, God, The Son, and God, The Holy Spirit. (1 John 5:7)

God Will Remember And Reward Our Work

"God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them."  Hebrews 6:10 (NIV)

The unknown author of The Book of Hebrews was writing to the scattered believers after the death of Christ, in order to encourage them to hold on and keep the faith.  He told them that God would not forget what they had done in His name, and that they would be rewarded.

Believers know that God sees all that we do (Proverbs 5:21), hears all that we say (John 9:31 and 1 John 5:14), and knows all of our thoughts (Psalms 94:11) and intentions (Psalms 19:14).  He does not forget anything, He just chooses not to remember our sins which have been forgiven. (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, and Hebrews 10:17)  Our Heavenly Father will remember all of the work that we do in His name, and all of the help that we give to the poor.  Our efforts will be rewarded and we will inherit the promises of God. (Hebrews 6:12)