We Will Be Rewarded According to Works: Of Him to Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required

Steve Corley

• Given in Kingsport and Roanoke on December 4, 2021
• Given in Knoxville on January 1, 2022
• Given in London/Corbin on July 23, 2022

Often we will see two or more Scriptures which initially seem to contradict one another.  Let’s turn to John 5:22.  Christ tells us here that He, rather than God the Father, is the ultimate Judge of all mankind.  God the Father has committed the responsibility of judging mankind to His Son – the Father judges no one.  But let’s then turn to 1 Peter 1:17.  We are told here that God the Father actually does judge mankind.  Is there a contradiction here?  Not if we understand the type of judgment each of these two verses is referring to.  What we are given when Christ returns and we are resurrected as (or changed into) spirit beings is composed of two components.  The first part is that of salvation – the process itself of being made into an immortal spirit being.  The second is that of reward – the particular office or position in God’s government which we will be given as immortal spirit beings.  If we understand the key difference between these two concepts then we will be able to see that there is no contradiction between these two verses.  This sermon is on the short side but it is Scripturally intense – we will not actually turn to most of the Scriptures mentioned but I will reference them for note-taking.  It is my hope that this sermon will help to provide a springboard for further Bible study on the subject(s) involved.  In this sermon I would like to look closely at the disparate concepts of salvation and reward – and to show the relative functions of Jesus Christ and God the Father with respect to judging each, and how such should have an effect on how we live our Christian lives.  We can title this sermon “We Will Be Rewarded According to Works” with a subtitle of “Of Him to Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required.”

Christ, and not God the Father, indeed judges us with regard to salvation (as we saw in John 5:22).  We all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10).  Salvation is something which we cannot earn by any amount of works and is the free gift of God through the sacrifice of Christ (Rom. 5:15-19, Eph. 2:8-10, 1 Thess. 5:9-10 – but note that the passage in Ephesians also says we are created for good works).  Although we cannot earn salvation by good works, a pattern of repeated and willful disobedience to God can nevertheless disqualify us for receiving God’s free gift.  We can remember from Romans 8:11 that for a person to have the Holy Spirit at death is the prerequisite for salvation – for being raised and given eternal life at the return of Christ.  Acts 5:32 tells us that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.  King Saul’s repeated disobedience and failure to repent led God to withdraw the Holy Spirit from him (1 Sam. 16:14).  King David knew this, repented and prayed earnestly that the same penalty would not be applied to him also after his flagrant sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah (Psalm 51:11).

Even though Christ, rather than God the Father, is the judge of our salvation, God the Father does indeed have a role in judgment – not with respect to salvation but with respect to the reward which we will be given in the Kingdom (1 Peter 1:17 which we read earlier, Matthew 20:23).  A Scriptural passage which clearly illustrates the contrast between judgment with respect to salvation and judgment with respect to reward – and the importance of works in the latter – is 1 Cor. 3:11-15. 

Let’s turn to Matt. 6.  Christ tells us in verses 1, 4, 6 and 18 that our reward comes from God the Father.  Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12 (both quoted also in Romans 2:6) tell us that God renders to each one according to his work.  1 Cor. 3:8 tells us that each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.  According to Matt. 16:27, we will be rewarded according to our works and Christ will bring the reward (as determined by the Father). Similarly, in Rev. 22:12, Christ tells us that He is coming quickly, bringing His reward with Him – to give to everyone according to his work.  Until then, our future reward is being kept in heaven for us (Matt. 5:11-12, Luke 6:22-23).

And certainly a major part of the “reward” will be the offices which we will be given when Christ returns and we are resurrected as (or changed into) spirit beings, members of the God Family.  In Matt. 20:23 Christ tells us that our offices in the Kingdom will be determined by God the Father – Christ says specifically that He, Jesus Christ, will not be the one who assigns them – they are not His to give.  Christ has gone to heaven to prepare for us dwelling places (or offices) which will be given to us when He returns to earth (John 14:2-3).  However, God the Father will be the one who will determine who will occupy each particular office.

The message of the parable of the minas in Luke 19:13-26 is quite clear.  Our reward – in terms of the office we will be given – will be determined by the quotient of how much we accomplish in terms of good works divided by what God has given us.  Each of the servants was given one mina but the one who had multiplied it ten times was given the office of rule over ten cities, while the one who had multiplied it five times was given rule over five cities.  (As an aside – note the last verse of the parable of the minas, Luke 19:27.  Christ will not save anyone whom He cannot govern – who will not voluntarily come under His government.)  In the parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30, by contrast, the first two servants – though given different numbers of talents – achieve a similar amount relative to what they have been given (each doubling it) and receive a similar reward.  In these parables the unprofitable servant, who does no works with what God gives him, not only loses any reward but also loses salvation (Matt. 25:30). 

But doesn’t what happens to the unprofitable servant in these parables seem to contradict what we read earlier in 1 Cor. 3:15? In the passage in 1 Corinthians the person whose work (“hay, wood, stubble”) was “burned up” in the fire was nevertheless saved, although suffering much loss as concerning his future reward.  A closer look at all three passages, however, can resolve the contradiction.  In the two parables the unprofitable servant showed no attitude of repentance for his lack of accomplishment and did not beg forgiveness and throw himself on the mercy of his Master.  Rather, he turned around and accused his Master of making severe and unreasonable demands.  However, in the passage in 1 Corinthians the one whose work was “burned up” but who was still given salvation was not described as having any such unrepentant attitude – rather the implication was that he was truly repentant that he had accomplished so little with what God had given him.  Such resolves the seeming contradiction of 1 Cor. 3:15 with the two parables.

We have been given much both in the sense of physical/material resources and in the sense of spiritual knowledge – and hence much will be required of us (Luke 12:48).  We have Bibles in our homes – often many copies of different translations.  We generally own concordances and other Bible reference books.  The Church publishes a tremendous amount of literature explaining the truths of God’s Word and helping us to understand the Bible better (cf. Acts 8:30-31).  We generally live in some degree of comfort.  Most members of God’s Church in previous generations – especially during the first century when the New Testament was written – did not have these advantages.  The books of the Bible were on handwritten scrolls, far too expensive for any individuals (except for the very rich) to possess or have in their homes.  God holds us responsible for acting on the knowledge and other blessings we in this age have been given.

[Something also to remember in this light is told to us in James 3:1.   When we get up behind this lectern – in a teaching mode – to deliver a sermon or sermonette, we then become subject to being judged by God more strictly than others with regard to our obedience and works.  We will be held to a higher standard.  If a teacher is not practicing what he preaches then people start to question the validity of his message.  The prophet Nathan warned King David that because of his sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah he had “given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Sam. 12:14).  In Psalm 51:13 David realized that he would have to clean up his own act before he could expect sinners to be converted by hearing his teaching.  Christ brought to us a similar point in Luke 6:42 – a “log” in our own eye does not permit us to see clearly to remove the “speck” in our brother’s eye.  And, going back to James 3:1, this point of the “log” and the “speck” applies most specifically to us if we act in a “teaching” mode.]

“Good works” are obedience to God’s Law – the law of love.  The love of God is that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3, 2 John 6).  Love is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:8-10).  The first four of the Ten Commandments tell us how to how to love God – they tell us the good works we should perform toward God.  Christ tells us in John 14:15 that if we truly love Him we will keep His commandments.  The final six of the Ten Commandments tell us how to love our neighbor, our fellow human being – they tell us some of the good works we should perform toward him (or the bad works we should not do).  Additional commandments and instructions regarding details of the good works we should perform (and the bad works we should refrain from) are scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments.  A passage which specifically links our reward to the good works we perform toward others is Matt. 10:41-42.

The Good Samaritan parable in Luke 10:30-37 is noteworthy in that it portrays someone with a flawed religion who was actually obeying one aspect of God’s Law better than the priest and the Levite who understood in their minds much more of the truth.  Jesus was very open with the Samaritan woman at the well in telling her that her religion was wrong – the Samaritans worshiped what they did not know (John 4:22).  When persons who have a flawed understanding of the truth obey God’s Laws better than we do – such is to our shame.  Paul similarly noted in Romans 2:14-15 the Gentiles who obeyed sections of God’s Laws even though they had no knowledge of the Law.  Remember similarly that in Matthew 5:20 Christ warned His disciples (and by extension warned us) that their righteousness would have to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees – a group who prided themselves on their knowledge of the Law and made shows of strict obedience to parts of it, while flagrantly disobeying sections which were much more important (Matt. 23:23 – which by the way serves as an introduction to the sermon planned for my next time here).  Much of the rest of Matthew 23 details the different types of disobedience to God’s Law which the scribes and Pharisees were committing.

We are commanded to do good to all people to the full extent of our ability – particularly those of the household of faith (Gal. 6:9-10 – note that this is also another Scripture which links such behavior with our future reward).  Our charity, our acts of love toward others, should indeed begin with fellow members of God’s Church – as well as of course our own physical families (1 Tim. 5:8). 

We have seen that there is no contradiction between the verses we went over which state that God the Father judges no one but has rather delegated all judgment to Christ, but on the other hand God the Father does indeed retain a role in judging mankind.  We have seen that other Biblical passages show clearly that our judgment with respect to salvation, with respect to being admitted into the Kingdom and Family of God, belongs to Jesus Christ – but, on the other hand, our judgment with respect to what particular reward and office we will receive when we are admitted into the God Family, is indeed held by God the Father as His responsibility and prerogative.  We have also seen that salvation is a free gift of God, made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It is not something we can earn by any amount of good works on our part, but on the other hand a pattern of willful disobedience can disqualify us for salvation itself.  We have also, however, looked at many Biblical passages that show us that our reward and office within the Kingdom will depend on our obedience and good works during this life – how much we accomplish relative to what God has given us.  We want, or should want, to reach whatever potential God gives us.  We do not want to force God into a situation where He will have to give us a much lower office, a much lesser reward, in His Kingdom than the one He had planned for us – because we failed to use the knowledge, abilities and resources He had given us to accomplish the good works He had intended for us to do.   So let us go forth, let us obey God’s Law of love, let us do good to all people to the best of our ability, and as Paul says let us press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).  [In the sermon next time I am here in London, Kentucky I will plan to continue this study, delving into what Christ called the “weightier matters of the Law” – justice, mercy and faith.]