Theological Myopia

(Proverbs 12:14 KJV)  A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.

Many Christians have a blind spot rooted in the orthodox doctrine that we are saved by grace.  They will quote a proof text.

(Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So far all believers are on the same page.

Then they take a leap of theology and conclude that since God is sovereign there is nothing we can ever do that will effect our salvation.  They ignore verses, like this one, that point toward the importance of living in obedience.  Our “recompence” (deeds NASB) (1576) shall be “rendered” (return NASB) (7725) to us.

Jesus Himself puts this out before us.

(Matthew 16:27 KJV)  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.

So?  We are saved by grace.  We could never pay the price of our sin.  Only the Perfect Lamb of God could do that.  At the same time, call it a paradox is you want, obedience is required.  Don’t ignore either side of the paradox.