The Crown of Righteousness

Introduction

When I was a teenager, I went with the Powhatan High School Marching Band to London, England.

I got to experience a lot of really memorable things, but maybe the one that stands out the most is when we got to go see the crown jewels.

They were well-guarded and under the eye of the most serious security.

Part of what was guarded in that room were the crowns of kings and queens gone by.

They were regal.

They were expensive.

They were beautiful.

I’ve been in a lot of museums and I have seen a lot of things, but those crowns stand out to me.

They are burned in my memory.

Well as great as those crowns are—today I want to tell you about a different crown of even greater value.

A crown that can only acquired by the grace of God.

A crown that our beloved ______________________ has already put on.

Context and Text

In order to learn of this crown, we turn to a passage of Scripture that is very appropriate for a day of temporary goodbyes.

I am opening to 2 Timothy where the Apostle Paul, at the end of his incredible life and ministry, is writing to his protege—Timothy.

And as he signs off, Paul gives us a word about this transcendent crown that we should all desire.

2 Timothy 4:8 ESV

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Outline

I want us to answer two questions before we leave here today and I pray the answers will give comfort:

1. Who receives the Crown of Righteousness?

2. What is the nature of the Crown of Righteousness?

3. When does one receive the Crown of Righteousness?

Who, What and When.

Let’s begin with the first question.

Who receives the Crown of Righteousness?

1. Who receives the Crown of Righteousness?

The crown of righteousness is the reward of the people of God.

It is the gift bestowed upon those who trust in Christ.

In Luke 13, Jesus is asked a question:

Luke 13:23 ESV

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”

Jesus doesn’t answer with a number, but with instructions:

Luke 13:24 ESV

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Those who receive the crown of righteousness are those who enter through the narrow door by faith.

They do not deserve to walk through that door and receive this crown.

But as they believe in Jesus, they receive His grace and the crown is bestowed upon them.

The Gospel

The Fall

The Bible teaches us that we have no righteousness of our own.

There was a time in which we did, but that time has been long gone.

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and they were righteous.

But they disobeyed God’s law and they fell from righteousness into wretchedness.

When they sinned against God, death entered the world with sin.

This is why many of you feel that saying goodbye to _________________ today does not feel natural.

That is because it is not natural.

Death is not God’s design, but sin’s result.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Sin and Separation

But death is not the only result.

Each of us has inherited a sin nature from our fallen father Adam.

And due to our nature, we have all fallen short of God’s perfect standards.

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And as those who have fallen way short of God’s standards, we are separated from God.

And we are in danger of being separated from Him forever due to our guiltiness before His Law.

Sin’s Conqueror

But praise God that He is abundant in mercy and great in love.

He is so great in love, that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born, to live and then to die.

And when He died, he took the punishment for our sin as if He had committed it.

And then, after He was placed in a grave, He resurrected from the grave to prove that He was the conqueror over sin and death.

And as the conqueror over sin and death, He offers the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to any who would believe in Him.

Any who would strive to enter the narrow door.

Repentance and Faith

But what does it look like to strive to the narrow door?

Well first of all, it looks like repenting of sin.

This is to agree with God that sin is wrong and admit to God that you are guilty of it.

And then to turn away from it with the intention of practicing it no more.

This is a hard business—if it wasn’t everyone would do it.

Everyone would be striving to enter the narrow door.

Secondly, it looks like trusting in Christ.

This is to believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart.

Not merely that He exists, but believe that He died for you and rose again so that you can be forgiven and accepted forever by God.

Believing that His death and resurrection has won paradise for you, on the other side of that narrow door.

Receiving the Crown

This is who the crown of righteousness belongs to.

It is for those who enter the narrow gate.

It is for those who have abandoned their sin and claimed Him with faith.

Sin brings death, but Christ brings eternal life through His death and resurrection.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The crown of righteousness belongs to those who have eternal life in Christ.

It is for those who follow Christ—like the Apostle Paul.

It is for those who love and wait upon His appearing—His second coming, which will take place at the end of time.

It is not earned by works. You cannot be good enough to earn it.

It is not a crown made of YOUR righteousness.

It is a crown of righteousness GIVEN as a gracious gift to those who believe.

A Choice

So in light of that, we should not assume the crown of righteousness will belong to us.

We have to ask ourselves: Am I striving to enter the narrow door?

Do I believe in Jesus Christ for salvation?

Have I repented of my sin and turned from it?

Do I long for Jesus to return?

But we should understand that if your answer to those questions are, “No—I don’t think so,” you only need to turn to Him today.

He is a gentle Savior who wills that none would perish.

His arms are open to you.

Praise God that _____________________ had run into those arms.

The crown of righteousness belongs to her/him.

But what exactly is the nature of the crown __________________ has received?

What is the nature of the Crown of Righteousness?

2. What is the nature of the Crown of Righteousness?

I want to give your four things to understand about the crown of righteousness.

But before I do, I want to say that the crown is symbolic.

It is not that Christians are living for nothing more than wearing a literal crown for eternity.

Instead, the crown represents the entirety of the reward that God has stored up for His people in heaven.

So understanding that—what will the reward be like?

Well first of all, the crown is unfading.

1 Peter 5:4 ESV

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Here is the thing about the crowns of the kings and queens of England gone by—-

—They will fade.

They will not shine forever.

They are temporary.

But the Crown of Righteousness that God awards to His children will not fade.

It’s beauty and splendor will last through unending ages.

The wonders of the this world will come and go, but the crown that is formed by God for His people will not.

This is why Peter says that Christians are born again to a living hope and:

1 Peter 1:4 ESV

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Secondly, the crown is glorious.

In 1 Peter 5, Peter calls it a “Crown of Glory.”

The Puritan Thomas Watson said:

It must be glorious because it is a crown of God’s own making. Sin has made us our crosses; God has made us our crown.

Thomas Watson

If the angels were to come down from heaven to speak to us of what the reward stored up for God’s people is like, they would not be able to find words to articulate it.

It is glorious beyond our ability to even comprehend it.

Jesus wore a crown of thorns in order to give us a crown of glory.

He died so that we might live and know the glory of this crown each day in heaven.

Thirdly, the crown is weighty.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul speaks of the “weight of glory.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

How heavy and weight is the glory to come?

Paul says your suffering is light and momentary compared to it?

These words are especially impactful today when many in this room are indeed grieving and feeling affliction.

Mourning and feeling the heaviness of the moment. The gravity of loss.

And yet—Paul says that if you take a day like this an compare it to what God is preparing for those who belong to Christ—it is light. It is just for a moment.

If Paul could speak of affliction in this way, surely the glory to come must be weighty indeed.

Lastly, the crown is an honorable thing.

The crown is not for everyone.

It is for those whose heads have been made fit to wear it by God’s grace.

It is like watching the Olympics.

I don’t want a swim relay and think, “I should be able to get one of those medals.”

I know that I am a very slow swimmer.

I am not fit to stand on that platform.

That medal is not made for my neck.

It is similar with the Crown of Righteousness.

It is reserved for those who have been made righteous by God through faith in Christ.

It is for those who have traded in their rags for the robes of righteousness that Jesus has provided through His life, death and resurrection.

And for those who are graced with it—it is a great honor for all of eternity.

To be called God’s own in this life is a reward within itself.

But for God to give you an eternal inheritance is much more.

To even be in God’s Kingdom forever is enough.

But God goes beyond that and promises an inheritance in the Kingdom for its citizens.

Romans 8:16–17 ESV

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

When Does One Receive the Crown of Righteousness?

3. When does one receive the crown of righteousness?

Well, as ____________________ just found out—it is fully received upon entering through that narrow door.

Once a brother or sister crosses over death’s cold river, they are met with the warm reward of the crown of righteousness.

As Christians, we believe that the bodies of believers will not rise until Christ’s return.

But even now, the soul of the believer is with Christ in heaven, awaiting the Day when Creation is restored.

And even now, the soul is crowned in the presence of God.

And so we can be confident that ________________________ has received his/her crown.

Suffering is over.

Pain is over.

Tears are no more.

They have been wiped away and replaced with a glorious, weighty, unfading, crown of honor.

Conclusion

Friends, will you receive that crown?

Will you find reward when you cross that river?

Are you trusting in Christ for the salvation of your soul?

If the life of ______________________ has taught us anything—it teaches us that a life of striving for the narrow door is worth it.

The weight of eternal glory lies on the other side.

Let us have the heart of Paul, who poured himself out. Who fought the good fight.

2 Timothy 4:6–7 ESV

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Believe in Christ. Keep the faith.

Strive for the Day when you will wear that crown.