The Bible offers us several examples of two ways people deal with their sin: Judas and Peter, Nineveh and Moab, and the two thieves hanged alongside Jesus.
Last night, I tried something different at my Bible study and received a clear example of two types of sinners: God-fearing and zero respect for God.
Because we have so little time out of our cells, I offered a free cup of coffee to encourage more prisoners to come participate in Bible study (special thanks to the donor). As expected, it did draw some prisoners, especially since this has never been done here. Inmate ‘Kat’ plainly sat an empty bag in front of me and said, “Do the Christian thing and give me coffee because Allah forbids I join you, and I deserve some.” Inmate #2 ‘D-Monkey’ looked at the offer and said, “I want some coffee, but God knows I’d be faking to get it.”
It stuck with me that I have had both of those attitudes at some point in time. With much joy, I have a new ‘adjusted’ perspective: “I deserve the blessing because I am forgiven, I fear God, and I am thankful.”
You can’t always go by what people say. I repeat -you can’t always go by what people say, especially in prison. There’s a certain image that needs to be maintained and being interested in Christianity isn’t it.
There was a guy some time ago called Serge. Born in Montreal to a 13 year old prostitute, juvie growing up, called crazy and wore the name like a banner. Became a gang leader -prostitution and drugs. A murderer and drug addict and one day found himself in jail and solitary no less.
A guard gave him a Bible and he threw it against the wall. It lay there for many days before he finally picked it up and began to read. He started with the gospels and he related to Jesus as a gang leader. The disciples were his gang, but this was a different type of gang. When he got to the end, he was astounded that these disciples remained faithful to their leader and when he found out they died for their faith in Him, he couldn’t believe it. The only explanation he could think of was that it must be true and Serge got on his knees and gave his life to Christ.
So don’t take at face value what these men say. There’s an opportunity here and the outcome belongs to God.
We, as believers in Christ, don’t “deserve” anything, not according to Scriptures.
Ephesians 2:8–9
“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.”[1]
Salvation is entirely unmerited. Faith itself is a divine gift, not a human achievement. Nothing Christians do earns salvation.
Romans 3:23–24
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”[2]
Justification is freely given because humanity cannot attain God’s standard. No human merit can claim righteousness; all is received through Christ.
Titus 3:5–7
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”[3]
God’s mercy precedes any human act. Even baptism and spiritual renewal are God’s work, not human entitlement.
1 Corinthians 4:7
“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”[4]
Every gift, including faith and spiritual ability, is received from God. Christians have no basis for claiming merit.
James 1:17
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”[5]
Every blessing, temporal or spiritual, originates in God’s generosity, not human entitlement.
2 Timothy 1:9
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”[6]
Election and calling are determined by God’s purpose, not by human merit. Christians receive the call entirely by divine grace.
1 Peter 1:3–5
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”[7]
Regeneration, preservation, and future inheritance are all God’s work. Christians participate but do not earn these gifts.
Salvation is wholly by grace
Faith is a gift from God, not human-generated
Blessings, trials, and growth are God-applied, not earned
Even obedience and fruitfulness are responses to grace, not credit-bearing actions
J.
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. KJV
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. KJV
For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? KJV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. KJV
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. KJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. KJV
What you are doing is a very common category error. You are taking texts that speak about vocational remuneration within covenant community structure and universalizing them into a metaphysical claim about what sinners deserve before God. The two passages are not addressing ontological desert before a holy God; they are addressing economic justice within ministry labor.
let’s have a look at them…
In Matthew 10:10 the Lord is commissioning the Twelve for a specific itinerant mission to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The prohibition of bag, extra garment, sandals, and staff establishes dependence upon hospitality. The grounding clause reads, “for the workman is worthy of his meat.”[1]
The key term is ἄξιος (axios), “worthy,” which in Koine usage denotes correspondence or fittingness, not intrinsic moral merit. It means something like “commensurate with” or “appropriate to.” The noun τροφή (trophē), translated “meat” or “food,” refers to sustenance, not wages in a contractual sense. The syntax indicates proportionality: a laborer engaged in gospel work appropriately receives sustenance from those benefiting from that labor. The point is pragmatic and communal, not soteriological. It does not say the worker deserves reward before God; it says the worker’s labor justifies material support within a human community.
Further, the immediate context is mission logistics, not anthropology. Christ is not defining what fallen humanity merits in divine justice; He is instructing apostles how to rely upon covenant hospitality.
Now 1 Timothy 5:18. Paul writes, “For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.”[2]
Again we have ἄξιος (worthy) and this time μισθός (misthos), “wages” or “pay.” In classical and Koine Greek, μισθός refers to compensation for work rendered. It does not imply moral desert in a judicial sense; it refers to agreed or appropriate payment in an economic exchange.
The context is church governance. Paul is arguing that elders who rule well, especially those laboring in word and doctrine, should receive financial support. He grounds this in Deuteronomy 25:4 and in a dominical saying. The analogy with the ox demonstrates the principle of fairness in labor relations. This is jurisprudential equity, not theological anthropology.
Now contrast that with the passages that speak about what humanity “deserves” before God. “For the wages of sin is death.”[3] Here μισθός appears again, but the agent paying wages is sin itself. The term functions ironically. What fallen humanity has earned in strict justice is death. Eternal life, by contrast, is explicitly called a “gift” (χάρισμα), not wages.
Similarly, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.”[4] (~Rom 3:20). Before divine tribunal, there is no positive merit.
The hermeneutical distinction is essential. Scripture affirms that in horizontal human relations, labor warrants compensation. It simultaneously denies that fallen humans possess positive merit before God that obligates Him.
If you are arguing that we deserve salvation, blessing, or divine favor, you directly contradicting the Pauline doctrine of grace. Grace (χάρις) by definition excludes wage-based entitlement. Paul makes this explicit: “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”[5] (~Rom 4:4). If salvation were deserved, it would be debt, not grace.
The cross settles the issue definitively. Christ dies “for the ungodly” (~Rom 5:6). If humanity deserved life, atonement would be unnecessary. The resurrection vindicates Christ’s righteousness, not ours. Our standing is derivative, grounded in union with Him, not intrinsic desert.
So my correction is precise. Matthew 10:10 and 1 Timothy 5:18 articulate the ethical principle that workers should receive material support. They do not establish a doctrine that humans deserve divine blessing. In fact, when Scripture uses μισθός in redemptive context, it declares that what sinners have earned is death, and what they receive in Christ is unmerited grace.
If you want to argue from these texts, you must confine them to their contextual domain: ecclesial economics, not soteriological entitlement.
Do we agree?
J.
Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. KJV