Does God Reward Righteous Living? Is God’s Help Ever Earned?

Have you ever read a passage in the Bible that made it sound like God helps people because of their good works? Does that mean we can earn His favor? If salvation is by grace alone, why does the Bible sometimes speak of God rewarding those who live righteously?

DAVID’S WORDS

One such passage is 2 Samuel 22:20-25, where David declares that God helped him because of his righteousness:

“He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands, He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in His eyes.”

At first glance, this passage seems to suggest that God’s help is based on our moral performance. But does this mean that if we are good enough, God is obligated to bless us? And how does this align with the New Testament teaching that salvation and grace are not earned by works (Ephesians 2:8-9)?

Let’s take a deeper look at this passage through a New Testament lens and discover how God’s help is based on grace, relationship, and faithful devotion, rather than transactional works.

God’s Help is Rooted in Grace, Not Our Works

David’s words in 2 Samuel 22:20-25 are not a claim that he earned God’s help. Instead, they reflect his covenantal relationship with the Lord. While David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), he was far from perfect. His failures—including adultery and murder—show that his righteousness was not about sinless perfection. Rather, it was about a life of faith, repentance, and devotion to God.

The New Testament makes it clear that salvation and God’s favor are gifts of grace, not human effort:

• Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
• Titus 3:5 – “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”

David’s righteousness was not a currency he used to purchase God’s favor. Instead, it was the fruit of his faithful relationship with the Lord. God’s help is an act of grace, not a wage for our works.

God Rewards Faithfulness, Not to Earn Favor, but to Strengthen Relationship

While we cannot earn salvation, the Bible does teach that God rewards those who seek Him. Jesus said:

• Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

This is a spiritual principle, not a transaction. Seeking God’s kingdom does not mean we manipulate God into blessing us—it means we align our hearts with His purposes. Those who walk in faithfulness position themselves to receive what God desires to give.

Similarly, David’s claim that God rewarded him “according to his righteousness” does not contradict grace; rather, it reveals a pattern seen throughout Scripture:

• Hebrews 11:6 – “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
• John 15:5, 7 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit… If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

David’s faithfulness positioned him to receive God’s help—not because he was perfect, but because he sought the Lord with a sincere heart.

Righteousness in the New Testament: A Gift That Transforms

David spoke of being righteous and blameless, but the New Testament clarifies that true righteousness is a gift from God through Christ:

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Once we receive this righteousness, our lives begin to reflect it. True salvation produces a transformed life:

• James 2:17 – “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
• 1 John 3:7 – “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

David was not claiming a righteousness apart from grace, but rather the kind of living faith that the New Testament affirms—one that is evidenced in obedience and devotion to God.

God’s Help Flows from Relationship, Not a Transaction

The key takeaway is that God’s help is not earned through works, but received through relationship. Jesus and the apostles taught that those who remain in close fellowship with God experience His provision, guidance, and deliverance.

• John 14:21 – “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
• Galatians 6:7-9 – “For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

God does not bless people because He is obligated to do so; He blesses those who walk with Him because they are living in the overflow of His love, wisdom, and truth.

The New Testament Answer to David’s Words

So, does God help us based on our righteousness? Yes and no.

• No, because salvation and grace are not earned (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Yes, because those who walk faithfully with God naturally experience His help (Matthew 6:33).

David’s words in 2 Samuel 22:20-25 do not contradict the gospel of grace but confirm a relational principle: God rewards those who seek Him, not because they earn it, but because faithfulness aligns them with His will and blessing.

In the New Testament, we see this principle in full clarity—God’s help is given by grace, but those who seek first His kingdom position themselves to receive His provision, wisdom, and strength.

So, rather than striving to earn God’s favor, the invitation is to seek Him first, knowing that in Him, all things are added (Matthew 6:33).

What are your thoughts?