Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: HEIR/HEIRESS (04/07/22)
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TITLE: Heirs of Christ | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
04/11/22 -
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In the secular realm, an heir is someone who has been appointed to receive an inheritance. An heir does not receive his or her inheritance until the death of the one who made the will has passed away; all debts of the estate has been settled; and if and when all qualifying, if any, conditions have been satisfied.
In the spiritual realm, born-again believers are heirs of God the Father, and fellow heirs of Christ. Obviously, God the Father is never going to die, and there are no liens on His estate. But it is His will that born again believers are to be the recipients of an inheritance at the time and in the place that He has willed.
As fellow heirs of Christ, we are to share, for example, in the coming 1,000-year kingdom of God here on Earth that will take place following the Second Advent (1Thess. 4: 17/Rev. 20: 6).
To the degree that born-again believers choose to embrace post salvation discipleship, there are rewards (1Cor.3: 14) and privileges (Revelation 2/Revelation 3) to be received in eternity that are in addition to the eternal life that they received at the moment of salvation (John 5: 24).
Therefore, it is important to note the difference between the things that an heir of God has already received, and the reward and privileges that one may receive or forfeit in Heaven (1Cor. 3: 14, 15).
The (Romans 6: 23) gift of eternal life (John 3: 16), that a born-again believer receives the moment he or she first believed, is irrevocable (Romans 11: 29). This irrevocable gift (Romans 8: 1) settles the question of WHERE one will spend Eternity future.
Although the WHERE question has been settled, HOW any given heir will experience eternity (with or without rewards and privileges) remains to be seen.
The reception or forfeiture of these rewards and privileges is what will determine HOW the eternity future will be experienced.
All born-again believers are forever saved, but not all born-again believers will receive all of the rewards and privileges that he or she could have.
In addition to 1Cor. 3: 15, 2John 1: 8 also warns heirs of Christ that heavenly rewards can be lost.
“Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward (2John 1: 8 NASB).”
In closing consider the ominous words of Eph. 5: 5.
“For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5: 5 NASB).”
Sexual immorality involves ANY sexual activity forbidden in the Word of God. Among them are fornication (sex outside of marriage) adultery, rape, incest, sexual molestation, homosexuality, lesbianism, and bestiality.
Jesus taught that one can engage in sexual immorality without there being any physical contact (Matt. 5: 28).
An idolater is a person who places any thing or anyone above God or the things of God on his or her list of priorities. An idol is the person or thing being idolized.
If one’s mind is not occupied with God and the things of God, then whatever else it is that has his or attention can easily become an idol, be it oneself, or the things that one self desires.
The books of Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Revelation are among Scripture that teaches on being an heir in the spiritual realm.
It’s worth noting that these books were not initially addressed to unbelievers, but to the Church-going Christians in the ancient world.
Salvation does not mean that heirs have a license to sin, but have an opportunity to serve. An heir does not serve God to be rewarded, but God has chosen to reward and to privilege in Heaven, the ones who choose to serve Him, here on Earth.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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All born-again believers are forever saved, but not all born-again believers will receive all of the rewards and privileges that he or she could have.
could be tweaked like this:
All born-again believers are saved, but they all might not be able to receive every possible reward or privilege.
It's just a tiny difference that avoids repeating words yet still stays true to your message and voice. You've done a fine job of writing on topic, packed a lot of information in the limited word count, and delivered a clear Christian message.