“And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Matthew 10:42 ESV
Who are the little ones? Is Jesus referring to his disciples while he’s about to send out? According to commentary and context, this seems to be the case. Although, I’ve always read it from a different perspective- little ones being those “little ones” whom the disciples will serve.
I believe one truth we can take from this is the fact that your Christ motivated serving doesn’t go unnoticed, whether you are serving those in your church or those out on the street. We should always understand our serving isn’t done for acceptance into the Kingdom, but our serving is a response to being invited into the Kingdom through the sacrificial death of Christ Jesus. Jesus was willing to die so that we can be forgiven and saved. And we love because he first loved us.
And it is by grace you have been saved through faith, this is not of yourselves but a gift from God, not of works that no one may boast. (See Ephesians 2:8-9)
Anything added on top of what Jesus did, for salvation, is religion. True believing will no doubt lead to works of righteousness, but those works have absolutely no power in saving a person. Christians are saved by the one true God who loves them through the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
Agree