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Among most Christians today, there is little thought
given to eternal rewards. Quite a bit of energy by contrast is committed
to the things
of this life and to securing God’s blessings here and now.
There are those who may be more spiritually minded, but since they
are taught that salvation is settled once for all by grace through
our faith, they do not dwell on their eternal reward. When we leave
this world and go to be with the Lord, we will find out. All we know
is that it will be glorious. In the meantime, we focus our attention
almost exclusively on earthly matters.
But is it “unspiritual” or not worth our effort to focus
on our heavenly reward? No, it is not. It’s clear that God created
man in a way such that he responds in an appropriate fashion to the
environment, especially to rewards and punishment. Even repenting and
putting one’s faith in Christ is our response to the gospel.
If we repent, we have eternal life. If we do not, we will suffer eternal
condemnation in hell. The Lord is well aware of how He created us,
and has included teaching in Scripture about eternal rewards as well
as punishment.
Scripture teaches us that in addition to and apart from salvation,
there is an eternal reward for us. This reward will depend on our work
for the Lord and the quality of that work. Those of us whose work for
the Lord does not pass the test will not receive any reward even though
our salvation may be intact.
1 Corinthians 3:12 If any man builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work
will be shown
for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be
revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s
work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved,
but only as one escaping through the flames.
Matthew
16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s
glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according
to what he has done.
Revelation
22:12 “Behold,
I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone
according to what
he has done.
Our reward is not based on our faith. It is based on the works and
the quality of those works which are a result of our faith.
Our reward includes the authority to rule
Among those who do receive a reward, it will vary from person to person
and be given out according to what we have accomplished for Him. Since
the Lord is just, the ability that each person has been given is also
factored into the determination of the reward apportioned to that person.
In the parable of the minas, the master entrusts to each of ten servants
the same amount of money---one mina. We can reasonably assume from
the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 that these servants all had
the same ability. When the master returned home from his journey, he
sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find
out what they had gained with it.
Luke 19:16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina
has earned ten more.’ 17 ”‘Well done, my good servant!’ his
master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very
small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 “The second
came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His
master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
We see
here that the reward apportioned by the master to each servant was
in direct proportion to what the servant earned
for him. And the
reward was authority over cities in the master’s kingdom. Similarly,
our eternal reward has to do with authority to rule for the Lord in
His coming kingdom. And the more we have accomplished for him on earth
(given the ability entrusted to us), the greater authority
we will have in His kingdom.
Revelation 2:26 To him who overcomes and does my will
to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 ‘He
will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces
like pottery
just as I have received authority from my Father.
Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
“I will put you in charge of many things”
The parable from Matthew 25 reinforces this conclusion.
To the two faithful servants who had gained five and two talents
respectively
for their master, each according to his ability, the master apparently
gave the same reward. To each he promised the same thing: “I
will put you in charge of many things.”
Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and
faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will
put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
To the third servant who, paralyzed by fear, did nothing with the
talent entrusted to him aside from hiding it in the ground, the master
meted out severe punishment.
30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We who call ourselves Christians, believers, or servants
of God should take notice of what befell this third servant. Let
us not ignore this
as we have done for so long. We should not twist this Scripture to
fit our preconceived ideas or theology. As James said, “faith
by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James
2:17)
Real property of our own in the next life
Scripture also describes our rewards in terms of “true riches” and “property
of our own” in heaven. These are reserved for disciples who know
what to do with the worldly wealth entrusted to them by the Lord. Our
wealth in this life is actually His property; we are only stewards
of that wealth. If we are trustworthy in handling His property in this
life, He will give us property of our own in the next life. In this
way we are encouraged to store the treasure entrusted to us here on
earth in heaven above.
Luke 16:11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling
worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you
have not
been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give
you property of your own?
In Luke 12 Scripture gives a hint of what kind of work in terms of
quality we are expected to do in order to qualify for our reward.
Luke 12:42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the
faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his
servants to give
them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for
that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 I tell
you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
We as
managers are to be faithful in feeding and teaching God’s
people. If when Christ returns we are in fact engaged in teaching His
sheep properly, we will be put in charge of all His possessions. This
is wonderfully difficult to imagine. However,
there is a very unpleasant flip side to this.
Assigned a place with the unbelievers in hell
Luke 12:45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master
is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat
the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect
him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the unbelievers.
This poor servant finds himself in a place with the unbelievers, that
is, hell. How did this come about? He began to beat the other servants
and to eat and drink and to get drunk. He began to rule over the other
servants and to mistreat them as people in authority on earth often
do. (See The
Teaching of the Nicolaitans for more on this.) He began
to love his life in the world, doing the things that unbelievers in
the world do. Figuratively, he is eating and drinking and getting drunk.
Moreover,
this servant of God is teaching God’s people to do
the same. Such ministers are feeding the people a very poor diet of
sugar and candy. They are teaching God’s people how to maximize
God’s blessing, comfort, and success in this life. Not a few
servants of God are doing this today. Some are hired hands and really
do not care for the sheep as Jesus does. They are out to fleece the
sheep and at their expense to enjoy life on earth, eating and drinking
just
as
the
lost do. They are not ready for the Lord’s return, and will be
in extreme dismay when they stand before the Son of Man on the day
He is revealed.
Luke 17:26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will
it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the
ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the
same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and
selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire
and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It
will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
In contrast,
the reward for the servants who are feeding nutritious food to God’s
people and are watching for the Lord’s return
is diametrically the very opposite. These are the servants who are
dividing and teaching God’s word accurately.
Luke 12:37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself
to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait
on them.
It’s not unspiritual to focus on our eternal reward
We see from these many Scriptural references that the Lord does not
discourage us from looking ahead to our eternal reward. We are in fact
commanded to set our hearts and minds on things above, and not on earthly
things. This must include our eternal reward as well. Those who want
to be wise and to prepare for the life that is truly life should change
their focus from the earthly to the heavenly.
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand
of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him
in glory.
This emphasis will help us to focus our time and resources on the
most important task of preaching the gospel and harvesting the crop
for eternal life.
John 4:36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he
harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be
glad together.
Unimaginable
Let us
therefore avoid the mistake of ignoring our eternal reward when
Christ returns. If we are truly serious about eternity, we will change
our perspective radically. The next life will not be as it is popularly
imagined.
We will not
spend eternity floating
on
a cloud
with angels
popping
grapes
into
our mouths to the accompaniment of harp music. No, there will
be much activity in the next life as we rule with Christ over the
nations.
It will be unimaginable.
1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those
who love him”—
2 Timothy
2:11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also
live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign
with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us...
Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit
with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father
on his throne.
Focusing
attention on what is to come in eternity will encourage us to
live holy lives on earth and enable us to resist the temptation
to sin against God. It will strengthen our resolve to serve God fruitfully
and wisely with our time and resources, especially for the harvest
and the Great Commission.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7)
The teaching of the Nicolaitans
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Judgment is coming to the pulpits of America
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