Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9
not by works, so that no one can boast.
This is one of the seminal verses on which the Protestant Reformation
was based, and its influence quite obviously continues on into
evangelicalism today. However, in reacting to the error of the
Catholic Church (and of the legalistic Judaizers in the case of
the early Church) emphasizing works, the Church has gone to the
opposite extreme of focusing nearly exclusively on grace. Something
similar also happened in the early Church.
Changing the grace of God into license
Jude 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you
about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you
to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the
saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about
long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men,
who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and
deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Jude was
eager to write about the salvation we share---which is by grace and
not by works. However, he felt he had
to warn the
believers about a threat to the faith which had been entrusted
to them. The threat came from godless teachers who took
the grace of God to an unscriptural extreme. Since Jesus
died on
the cross
to bear our sins, all we need to do after we sin is to
confess it to God according to 1 John 1:9, and all will be
forgiven
and wiped clean. Logically, therefore, we can sin with
impunity and
without fear of consequences. The grace of God in this
way is changed into a license for immorality. Such a teaching
denies
our Lord
Jesus Christ. The Greek word for “deny” also means
to “contradict.” Such godless teachers contradict
what Jesus taught and in doing so they essentially deny
him.
An unbalanced
and in some circles extreme focus on grace in the Church today has
similarly raised up a generation of believers with little discipline
and self-control, and who at their own risk do not live
holy lives.
Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men
and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The role of works in our lives
In order to correct this dangerous imbalance, we should study
the role of works in the lives of believers. The Church, with its
traditionally heavy emphasis on grace, tends to shy away from teaching
on the importance of works. Unfortunately, this is to our own loss.
By this we are referring to possible loss of eternal reward for
believers in the next age. Let us find out what this means.
Ephesians
2:10 For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for
us to do.
We are created in Christ Jesus to
do good works. Why is it important
to please the Lord by doing good works---inasmuch as our salvation
is by grace and not dependent on works?
For one
thing, the reference to works in “it is the gift
of God---not by works” refers primarily to a legalistic adherence
to the Law of Moses. They are called “dead works.” By
contrast, “good works” refer to obedience to the Lord’s
commands to love God and to love one another.
Matthew
22:37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Let’s
now bring up a cogent reason why as human beings we should do good
works here in this life.
2 Corinthians 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether
we are at home in the body or away from it. 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.
What happens to us at the judgment seat of Christ?
One day
every believer must appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.
There we will receive from the Lord
whatever is due
us for what we did while we were on earth. For the good
things we have done, we will be rewarded. For the bad things
we have
done, we will suffer loss of reward. At this
point there could a tendency for us to become super-spiritual
and to dismiss the “selfish” talk
of rewards and loss of rewards: we should obey God
simply because He loves us and we love Him. However, while certainly
admirable, this falls short of the whole counsel of God. Let us not
forget what befell David, the "man after
God's
own heart"
who despite his very intimate relationship with God still
sinned grievously again Him. There are such "Davids" in
the Church even to this day. Something is clearly missing. Perhaps
it is failing
to admit
and acknowledge
the
basic fact
that God
created
man such that he responds to both rewards and punishment.
As essential as it is, it is not sufficient simply
to love God. We must also fear Him and the consequences of sinning
as well. (Proverbs 1:7)
Let's
consider what will
happen to believers at the judgment seat of Christ as taught by Paul
the apostle.
Based
on our understanding of Scripture, we can say that Paul here is
not teaching that salvation or eternal life for
us is to be
determined at this judgment seat. Rather he is teaching
about the eternal reward we as already-saved believers will
receive
in the
next age based on our works in this life. Unlike the case
with salvation, we will not all receive the same reward.
Some will
receive more, others will receive less. This will be
based on “the
things done while in the body.”
The analogy of retirement
Almost
everyone prepares for their eventual retirement from working. We
put as much as we can into our retirement accounts. We try to
maximize our salary just before retirement since the exact
amount of our monthly retirement pension may be commensurate with
it.
We do this to make our remaining years on earth---twenty
or thirty years---as enjoyable as possible.
Interestingly,
there is little interest among believers to maximize their reward
in the age to come after they
enter their rest in
the Lord’s presence. This reward will not
be for a mere twenty or thirty years, but for eternity.
Why is
there such
little interest
in an eternal matter of which the importance should
rank only second to salvation itself?
It must
be because a teaching on rewards would conflict with the Church’s
traditional emphasis on grace. Everyone likes freebies and giveaways.
So we tell people that salvation is by grace and
therefore “free.” By doing so we hope to draw
the crowds to fill our pews (with of course the best possible
intentions).
So as not to confuse the easily-spooked sheep, we minimize
any mention of eternal rewards based on works and obedience
to the Lord’s commands. “Works” have
almost become a dirty word in some circles.
Food for
thought: In America we say that “freedom is not
free.” There is truth in that statement. Is there
any possibility at all that freedom from sin and eternal
life in the same way are not “free” in
the way that we have been led to believe? It would behoove
every believer to examine the Scriptures closely.
By minimizing
the importance of works, we are doing a grave disservice to God’s
people. To use an analogy, how would we feel as people working for
a living
if we were
never advised
to save up
for retirement? What if we never knew that we could
maximize our retirement benefits until after we
stopped working?
It would be
unthinkable. In the same way, believers should
be taught about what happens after they enter life
in
the next age.
Salvation and eternal reward are independent and distinct
If our
work or ministry for the Lord bears fruit that lasts (John 15:16),
we will receive our reward. If not, we will suffer loss
of reward. Even though we ourselves might be saved, we
might enjoy little or no reward in the next age. The quality of
our work counts towards our reward.
1 Corinthians 3:14 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.
It is
arguable that Scripture also teaches that eternal rewards might in
some way be commensurate with the quantity of
good fruit which we bear in obedience to the Lord in
this life. To understand this, let’s
take a look at some of the parables Jesus taught.
The Parable of the Talents
Luke 19:12
He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant
country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So
he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put
this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come
back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after
him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our
king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home.
Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the
money, in
order to find out what they had gained with it.
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.’
Because this servant earned ten minas for his master, he was given
commensurate authority over ten cities. Could this symbolize the
authority which disciples will be given in the next age to reign
with Christ?
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir,
your mina has earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge
of five cities.’
Because this servant earned five minas for his master, he was
given commensurate authority over five cities. Again, could this
symbolize the authority which disciples will be given in the next
age to reign with Christ, the level of authority to be related
directly to the quantity of good fruit we bear in this life?
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir,
here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece
of cloth. 21
I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take
out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own
words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard
man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not
sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit,
so that when I came back, I could have collected it with
interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take
his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten
minas.’
25 ”‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already
has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone
who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has
nothing,
even what
he has will be taken away.”
The mina
was taken away from the third servant and given to the servant who
had the ten minas. In the economy of the
kingdom of
God, indeed “the rich get richer, and the poor get
poorer.”
2 Timothy
2:12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him,
he will also disown us…
In the
next age, we may be given authority to reign with Jesus Christ. The
level of authority given to us might depend on the
quantity of good fruit we bear in this life.
“Each
according to his ability”
The Parable
of the Talents as taught in Luke 19 tells us that rewards may be
based on the amount of good works we have done in obedience
to the Lord. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, however,
is taught
from a
slightly different perspective.
Here there are three
servants of varying levels of ability to whom are
given talents each according to his ability. The
first two servants
were
given five and two talents, respectively. While
their master was gone,
they each doubled their master’s talents.
But even though there was a clear difference between
the absolute
production
of the two, there was no apparent difference in
the
rewards which
they received.
The Lord
is just, and may take into account the factor of varying degrees
of ability among his disciples.
Other things like ability being equal, eternal rewards in the
next age then might be determined by the quantity or amount of
fruitful work we have done for the Lord in this life. Before we
can come to this conclusion, however, we need to deal with some
troubling verses from the parable of the workers in the vineyard
in Matthew.
The
Parable of the Workers
Matthew
19:25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished
and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this
is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to
follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at
the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on
his glorious
throne,
you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
In the next age, the apostles of the Lamb will be given authority to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. But what about the eternal
reward for the rest of us? Jesus continues:
29 And
everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or
mother or children or fields for my
sake will receive
a hundred times as much…
“A hundred times as much” may
refer to the eternal reward given to those who have left houses or
brothers
or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for
his sake and
for the gospel. It is therefore based on works. (According
to Mark
10:29, this reward will be given to them in this present
age as well.) While on earth, they stored their treasure
in heaven.
In
the next age they will be getting it back one hundred fold
as their reward. Those who have not left houses or brothers
or
sisters,
etc. for his sake in this life might not receive the hundred
fold reward in the next age.
…and
will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last,
and many who are last will
be first.
In addition
to their reward, of course, they will inherit eternal life. But as
for eternal life, the reckoning will
be entirely different.
Jesus teaches that with regard to eternal life, “many
who are first will be last, and many who are last will
be first.” What
could this mean? Jesus explains it in the very next chapter.
A “troubling” parable
Matthew
20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like
a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to
work in his
vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the
day and sent them into
his vineyard.
3 “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing
in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also
go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5
So they went.
“
He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did
the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found
still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why
have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 ”‘Because no one has hired us,’ they
answered.
“
He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the
first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came
and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired
first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also
received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble
against the landowner. 12 ‘These men who were hired last
worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you
have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of
the work
and the
heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not
being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?
14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last
the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right
to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious
because
I am
generous?’
16 “So
the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The workers
received equal pay regardless of how long they worked. What does
this mean for us believers? “Equal pay” may
refer to the salvation which every born-again believer shares.
We all enter eternal life; we are all spared from condemnation
in hell. It is unlikely that this parable teaches equal eternal
rewards for every believer, regardless of their work for the gospel
in obedience to the Lord’s commands. That would conflict
directly with the many other Scriptures which deal with
the subject of rewards.
Therefore
we can conclude from the three parables we have studied that eternal
rewards for us might be determined
by both the quality as well as the quantity of our work in obedience
to the Lord’s
commands. And what we have given up on earth for
His sake can also be taken into account in the reckoning
of our eternal
reward.
To their
loss, unfortunately, believers have rarely been taught about this most
important aspect of life in the next age. They are taught rather to
pursue God's blessings in this present age after they are assured
over and over that they indeed are saved. Some indeed are correctly
taught to please and to obey God. They should also be taught why they
should please God over and above loving Him and obeying Him as an end
in itself. It's because we will all, as Paul clearly reminds us,
appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Does our level of personal holiness affect our reward?
We have looked at the factor of our works for the Lord in the
determination of our heavenly reward. Now let us address the question
of our character---the matter of personal holiness.
2 Corinthians 5:10 teaches that at the judgment seat of Christ
each one of us will receive what is due him for the things done
while in the body, whether good or bad. This would include good
deeds as well as bad deeds, the latter referring to sinful acts
and behavior.
Paul teaches
that there are things we do in this life which can in fact “disqualify
us for the prize.” If
the prize does not refer specifically to salvation---and
this is
not absolutely clear---then it likely refers to our eternal
reward.
1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners
run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the
prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get
a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like
a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the
air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I
have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for
the prize.
Paul treats
his body strictly and makes it his slave so that he himself will
not be disqualified for the prize. By
his “body” he
is referring to his flesh or the works of his old nature.
He takes authority over his flesh, and does not allow it
to
enslave him
as it did before he came to know Jesus Christ. He makes
his flesh submit to him so that he will not sin against God
and
be disqualified, as we shall see in the next section.
Sin can disqualify us for the prize
We know
that it is in fact sin which can disqualify
us for the prize. This is confirmed in the very next verses as we
continue with Paul’s
teaching.
1
Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact,
brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and
that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate
the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for
they drank
from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that
rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of
them;
their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our
hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not
be idolaters,
as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down
to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” 8
We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and
in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not
test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.
10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and
were killed by the destroying angel.
11
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as
warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment
of the
ages has come.
12 So, if you think you are standing firm,
be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except
what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not
let you be
tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he
will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under
it.
14
Therefore,
my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
We must do our part: flee from idolatry
Paul urges
us to flee from sin and idolatry in our hearts. It can cause us to
be disqualified for the prize and suffer loss of
eternal reward in the next age. Yes, God is indeed faithful
and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But there
is
a condition for this. We cannot be passive, but we must
do our part---we must flee from the sin and idolatry which
are so prevalent in our culture today. We must beat our body and
make it our slave.
We must actively take authority over and assertively rebuke
and deny our flesh. We must exercise the self-control and
discipline given to us by the Holy Spirit as we grow in
maturity.
Titus
2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness
and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed
hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem
us from
all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that
are his very
own, eager to do what is good.
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and
rebuke with all authority.
The true
grace of God enables us to live self-controlled, upright and godly
lives in this present age. It is entirely
possible for
believers to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly
passions. We must do this if we want to maximize our eternal
reward.
Jesus reinforces this in the final chapter of the New Testament.
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.
13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning
and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that
they may have the right to the tree of life and may go
through the
gates
into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice
magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters
and
everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I,
Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.”
Jesus indicates that these words are for the churches. These words
are for those who profess to follow Jesus Christ. They are for
us who have the hope of eternal life.
A final word of caution
This article rests on the valid presumption that salvation and
rewards are separate and distinct. However, it is not wise to overemphasize
the distinction as has been done with the teaching on grace. Scripture
does not repeatedly remind us of the distinction between the two,
and we believe with good reason.
There
is a danger that some people will seek to “get to
heaven by the skin of their teeth.” They will try
to do the minimum in order to be saved. They would like
to enjoy a bit of
sin and the world as long as they can still be saved. They
don’t
mind losing their eternal reward as long as they get to
heaven. This is what happens when we overemphasize the
distinction between
salvation and rewards.
By contrast,
Scripture more often than not blurs the distinction between the two.
And it is for our own good. It warns
us
not to play with God, but rather to follow Him wholeheartedly.
This also weeds out those who want to have one foot
on earth
and the other in heaven. Heaven is actually not meant
for such people.
Rather, heaven is for those who “set their hearts
on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand
of God. They set
their minds on things above, not on earthly things. For
they died, and their lives are now hidden with Christ in
God. When Christ,
who is their life, appears, then they also will appear
with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
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