Our Rewards

I. The Certainty of Rewards.

A. Judgment for All.

Hebrews 9:27 NASB95

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

We only die once. There is no Reincarnation; we will not be brought back over and over as ducks, cows, flies, or rats. Neither will we have any opportunities to do the will of God. We have only one shot to please God and after that we will be judged.

Matthew 16:27 NASB95

27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

Jesus is coming back. and when He does it will not be to "seek and save the lost" as it was the first time, but it will be to judge every man and woman who has ever lived.

1. Unbelievers.

Everyone will be rewarded whether they are Christians or not. "Wait a minute!" you say, "Certainly sinners will not be rewarded will they?" Yes they will, look.

Romans 6:23 NASB95

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

Just as your paycheck is your reward for the work that you have done so sinners will receive a reward for the work they have done. "But certainly God will take into account the good deeds that a person does won't He?"

Romans 3:10–12 NASB95

10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

Apart from Jesus Christ and His saving grace it is impossible to do good deeds.

Revelation 20:11–15 NASB95

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Are you ready to stand before the great white throne of God? If you have not believed that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again for you according to the scriptures and made Him the King of your life then you will stand before this throne and be condemned. It is certain.

2. Believers.

What about those who are disciples of Christ?

2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB95

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

This is the Bhema seat of Christ Notice we will be judged according to what we have done whether it is good or bad. Unbelievers don't have that privilege.

II. The Construction of and Condition for these Rewards

We want to focus on our reward this morning. What do these rewards consist of and what must we do to receive them?

A. The Crown of Life.

1. Construction

James 1:12 NASB95

12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The crown that is received not a physical crown. "Of life" stands in place of and gains the significance of "crown." If you were to reword this phrase in English in such a that would reflect the shade of meaning that is meant here, it would say "the crown which consists of eternal life." Essentially it is the gift of eternal life that is seen here as a reward.

2. Condition.

The condition for this crown is to love God and as He says in John, "if you love me you will keep my commandments." Notice that the condition is not that someone perseveres under trial or has been approved. The person who loves God will persevere and be approved just as practice and conditioning are naturally things that an athlete must go through, it is the actual race that determines whether he wins or loses.

B. The Crown of Righteousness.

1. Construction.

2 Timothy 4:8 NASB95

8 in the future 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.

This parallels the crown of life. These crowns are recognition of the righteousness or life that God has given us. So, in heaven we will be recognized as being righteous.

2. Condition.

the condition here is that someone must love or look forward to Christ's appearing. Only true believers can do this since unbelievers have the terrifying anticipation of judgment.

C. The Crown of Glory.

1. Construction.

1 Peter 5:4 NASB95

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

2. Condition.

they must shepherd the flock among them (vs. 2.)

D. Authority.

1. Construction.

Revelation 2:25–28 NASB95

25 ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

We don't have very many details but it is clear that we will rule with Christ. We will have authority over nations and we will even judge angels.

1 Corinthians 6:2–3 NASB95

2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

2. Condition.

The condition here is to hold on to we have. What they had is listed in Rev 2:19 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. This one is the most fascinating to me because it gives us a glimpse of what we will be doing for eternity. Many people's idea of heaven is to sit on a cloud and plink on a harp. Others simply can't imagine what we are going to do for eternity. Well, what we will do depends greatly on our rewards that we will receive in from Christ. Let's take a look at some other passages that deal with this reward and its criteria.

One criteria is motives.

1 Corinthians 4:5 NASB95

5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

this one scares me the most because I know that my motives are not always pure. Sometimes I will "minister" for Lord because maybe some will see me and think highly of me. Other people cannot see your motives but God can and He sees the secret places in your heart and will reward you for your work done with pure motives.

Another is opportunity.

Matthew 19:27–20:16 NASB95

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first. 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 “When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ 9 “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

This means that they were paid the same because each group was willing work as they had opportunity. so it will be with us. some com to know Christ at an earlier age and have opportunity to serve Him longer but others come to know Him later in life but are just as eager to work.

The final criteria is ability.

Matthew 25:14–30 NASB95

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The point to this parable is that we will be rewarded according to our abilities that God has given us. If we use them wisely we will gain more.

III. The Significance of our Reward.

1. The effect that our work has on the future.

As you can see it is very important what you do with your lives as a believer in Christ because to a great extent it will effect what we will do for eternity. What country will you have authority over, the US or Luxembourg? Sometimes I think about people who take their own life. It is hard enough to imagine how a believer could be so despondent to such a thing or if they were even a believer to begin with, but even if they were what a tragedy to lose all possibility to gain a reward when Christ comes again to set up His kingdom. God is very eager to reward us and He will be just and kind but His method of rewarding us is often different than what we expect.

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 NASB95

12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Conclusion

We are very important to God. If this were not so He wouldn't spend so much time with us trying to encourage us to do His will. He wants us to succeed and He wants to say to us "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master." Phil 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Put behind you the things of the past and let us as a church body press on toward the goal of that upward call and as we do we will be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven.