REWARDS

REWARDS Matthew 19:27 – 20:16 October 22, 2006 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction The debate rages on concerning the expression carrot on a stick. You know, the image of a stubborn mule being tricked into moving with a carrot held out in front of him, dangling by a string from a stick. Those who like to study origins of such expressions are divided on this one. Some argue that the expression was originally carrot and a stick, which, they insist, had to do with using both positive and negative reinforcement—the carrot as a reward for good behavior, and the stick, applied with force to the rump, as punishment for bad behavior. The debate gets me thinking about our topic this morning. Some critics of Christianity (indeed, of religion in any form) say that people who try to live good lives for God are being bribed by God who holds out a carrot of heaven in front of them as a reward to get them to behave. Or maybe it’s even temporal rewards in this life that are the pay off for the faithful. Critics charge that believers are nothing more than mercenaries, willing to serve the man in order to get what they want. Other cynics add that the stick can be interpreted as the threat of hell or other temporal punishments as the discipline for those who get out of line. Have you ever thought about that? ‘Ever considered what kinds of rewards motivate you to service? Does the promise of blessing cause you to want to give, serve, worship? Does the prospect of heaven make you want to live more faithfully? Some pietists insist that such motives are beneath them and they serve the Lord out of pure love for Him and gratitude for what He has done for them. Certainly, that is noble, but most of us would readily admit that the ideas of heaven and temporal rewards don’t hurt! Would you live faithfully for God without the promise of heaven? What will our reward be? When do we get it? Will there be levels? Let’s take a look at our text for this morning and we’ll come back to this topic before we’re finished. We’re going to encounter Matthew 19:16 through 20:16 in the animated version, which follows the New International Version translation. We’ll be going back to the start of the encounter with the rich young man from two weeks ago, just to get a good feel for the context of what follows. View DVD version of the text. Peter’s Question is Our Question Once Jesus clarifies that being saved, or getting into the kingdom of heaven, is only possible for us through God’s grace, you can almost hear the grinding of the gears in Peter’s mind. He wants to know what reward is coming to him and the other disciples for all they’ve done. After all, they’ve given up their careers as fishermen and tax collectors, left their families and have been living as itinerant missionaries for the past two years. Does that count for anything? What will there be for us? (19:27) Something in us is a little embarrassed for Peter and his selfish question. Isn’t serving Christ enough in itself, Peter? Do you really need additional extrinsic rewards? I don’t know about you, but when I come fresh to this text, I am bracing for another one of Jesus’ rebukes for Peter. I expect the Lord to chastise him again for only thinking of himself. But He doesn’t. Instead He gives Peter and us encouragement, telling us that those who give up earthly comforts for His sake will get a rather exciting reward. What do you tell your child when you tell them to clean their room or do the dishes or mow the lawn, and they say What will I get for it? A boss I once had gave me a list of extra work he wanted me to do beyond my regular responsibilities. When I asked him politely what I would get for doing that extra work, he said, I’ll tell you what you’ll get—you’ll get to keep your job! But, fortunately for Peter, Jesus was more gracious than that boss. He tells us we will judge nations and sit on thrones ruling with Him! He says whatever we give up in order to faithfully serve the kingdom we will get not only a hundredfold back, but we will inherit eternal life to boot! These outrageous promises in verses 28-30 are not literal—after all what would we do with a hundred mothers or sisters or brothers? Some interpreters who believe in an elaborate end times agenda go on about real thrones, an earthly reign with Christ before the end of the world, and so on. I don’t know about all that—I really don’t! But when Jesus describes the time of these rewards as the renewal of all things it sounds like heaven to me. So I understand the mention of our ruling and reigning with Christ as our eternity in heaven following the destruction of the earth and the introduction of the new heavens and new earth. Matthew 16:27 teaches Jesus will reward each person according to what he has done when He comes in the Father’s glory. Revelation 22:12 clarifies that this is after the second coming of Christ, the great judgment and the arrival of the new Jerusalem, during the time of heavenly reward when we will eat from the tree of life again. It is then, according to Revelation 22:5 the saints will reign forever and ever. The inheritance of the saints is in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12) and that inheritance is kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:4). That final reward is summarized in the New Testament several times through the symbolic imagery of receiving a crown (of life, of righteousness, of glory, the victor’s crown and the crown that will last forever and will never fade away). Now, I want to ask, is that awesome promise motivating to you? Knowing that reward is coming, do you want to serve Him more faithfully? Of course you do! There is nothing wrong with desiring that reward—there is everything right with it! The apostle Paul fairly panted for it. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8) That is not to say that all of our rewards are saved up until we get to heaven. There are many rewards we receive even during our lifetime on earth – the peace of God, the rest of God, the Spirit of God, the joy of service, answered prayer, power for witness, security. Let me specifically point out that one of the chief blessings in this life is the church. When Jesus said those who leave their families for the sake of Christ will receive a hundredfold, as they profit from the rich and blessed relationships they find in the body of Christ. There are promises galore for the children of God, even in this life, but especially and inexhaustibly in the age to come. Is it wrong to want these blessings and to be stimulated to better service for Him? Of course not! We ought to crave them all the more. Peter says he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4) In his book The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis notes how believers often underestimate the full riches God has for His children. …If we consider…the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures…like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. Our temporal rewards and our heavenly hope are a present possession—gifts from the hand of God, designed to strengthen us during the days of our sojourn and ministry on earth. We should never ignore or deny the power and encouragement they bring us. Martin Luther: If we consider the greatness and the glory of the life we shall have when we have risen from the dead, it would not be difficult at all for us to bear the concerns of this world. If I believe the Word, I shall on the Last Day, after the sentence has been pronounced, not only gladly have suffered ordinary temptations, insults, and imprisonment, but I shall also say: “O, that I did not throw myself under the feet of all the godless for the sake of the great glory which I now see revealed and which has come to me through the merit of Christ!” In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, a Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto, was competing in the team competition. Somehow, during the floor exercises, he broke his right knee. It was obvious to all reasonable observers that he would be forced to withdraw. But they reckoned without the determination of a true competitor. On the following day, Fujimoto competed in his strongest event, the rings. His routine was excellent, but the critical point lay ahead—the dismount. Without hesitation, Fujimoto ended with a twisting, triple somersault. There was a moment of intense quiet as he landed with tremendous impact on his wounded knee. Then came thundering applause as he stood his ground. Later, reporters asked about that moment and he replied, “The pain shot through me like a knife. It brought tears to my eyes. But now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone.” Remember, saints of God, that no matter how hard the tests of this life, no matter how trying it is to serve Christ, no matter how much you suffer, IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL! I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18) For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. (2 Corinthians 4:17) He (Moses) regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward. (Hebrews 11:26) While the New Testament pictures believers as striving for our rewards through faithful service and endurance, just arriving in heaven is reward enough. And that is all by God’s mercy and grace. But His grace is illustrated even further by allowing us to work harder for “extra credit”. There will be greater rewards bestowed on the more sacrificial followers of Christ. That is indicated in Jesus’ response to Peter about those who have left much to follow Him. I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Revelation 22:12) I am he who searches hearts and minds; and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. (Revelation 2:23) This distinction will occur at the judgment of believers (the BEMA). At the great judgment the books are opened on all men and they are judged, not on whether or not they merit God’s favor because no one does, but as to whether or not they have accepted Christ and been forgiven by His grace. But at the BEMA another judgment occurs that opens the books on Christians only, determining how they served Christ as saved people. 2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. The Vineyard Parable But there is a lesson to be learned in the parable Jesus taught. Please notice that the story he told is preceded by this phrase: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first (19:30). And at the end of the parable, he says again, So the last will be first, and the first will be last. (20:16) If ever you were sure of the point of a parable, it should be here. The point is this: while we serve the Lord in this life, we will often feel like losers and fools. We will look around at others who don’t value Christ and His kingdom and see them often rich in terms of this world’s comfort and material. But Christ’s words remind His disciples that this is not the end of the story yet. Those who are last in terms of enjoying benefits and pleasures now, will be first very soon. The other point in the parable is a reminder of God’s mercy. It is free and available to anyone at anytime. The latecomers who worked only an hour still got the promised reward. While we tend to wonder with the all day workers about the “fairness” of such a deal, we are reminded that none of us had a job before the vineyard owner invited us. That the all day workers had agreed to the wage tells us that it was quite a generous wage. This payment represents the reward of heaven. From this earthly perspective we worry about whether or not we’ll be paid what we’re worth, or whether some other shirker might get by with less work for the same wage. But we need to remember, first, to be paid at all is a miracle for any of us sinners. Secondly, the vineyard owner can make deals with anyone he wants at any time he wants—it’s his vineyard, and as he reminds us in verse 15, it’s his money as well. Worried about how a death row murderer who receives Christ minutes before his execution can get into the same heaven as the Christian who has known and served Christ on a demanding mission field for fifty years? Don’t worry about it—you won’t then! No one in heaven worries. Only those who aren’t there. Thirdly, the implication is that when we receive the great reward there will be no room for envy. It will be “enough”. Until we get there our sinful natures worry about who is getting the best deal and whether or not all settlements will be fair and just. But God’s mercy is perfect and His justice beyond question. He is preparing a place for each of us that will be perfectly satisfying for us. He’s calling for us to trust Him. We will be so enraptured and blessed by the presence of the Lord that any difference in the location or d?or of our room will be meaningless. Our accommodations will be more than enough. If the Cardinals go all the way and win the World Series, I don’t imagine any of the petty bickering will matter to Rolen and LaRussa, will it? There just isn’t any greater joy for a ball player than to win the World Series, and any issues that came up along the way will dissolve in the Champaign shower of victory. Multiply that joy by a few million and we have a semblance of an idea how our petty jealousies just won’t matter any more. We simply won’t have to deal with it in heaven. We will have met Christ and will have been changed into His character. Whether the curtains in our heavenly room are cotton or lace won’t matter then. Conclusion So what about the carrot on a stick ? Are we Christians mere mercenaries who will do anything for the bribe of heaven? Should we serve the Lord irrespective of reward? God doesn’t think so. We should not be afraid that heaven is a bribe. As C. S. Lewis put it, Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to   [Back to Top]