Your Reward From God

What is Your Reward

The subject of reward should be very important to Christians because it is the time when all good fruit of your life are shown to have made a difference. Everyone who enters the kingdom of God at Christ’s return receives the gift of everlasting life… but what you experience and enjoy within the kingdom of God is unique for each individual AND depends on what you do in this life.

We don’t often dwell on the subject of reward because it gets all tangled up in the various misunderstandings about “trying to earn your salvation”. Understanding the biblical teaching on reward means understanding the difference between the judgment of your sin (which leads to salvation unto eternal life or eternal death) versus judgment of your works – (which leads to reward).

[refer to chart]

The judgment upon you sins can be spelled out this way à you are justified (made right with God) through your faith in Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for your sins and His resurrected life has opened up the door to eternal life for you. You enter into this through your baptism and it’s yours to have as long as you want it (meaning you always  have the option to throw it away).

The judgment upon your works is a different matter. Judgment upon you works is about what sort of person you were while you lived in the flesh, your character, your nature – refer to chart – Three little pigs

Other reasons we shy away from the idea of reward:

12. The influence of socialist philosophy - the idea that everyone should share equally in whatever rewards there may be… “from each according to his ability… to each according to his needs”.
13. The influence of egalitarianism and - a Utopian idea that everyone should be equal with no wealth, status of power in society.
14. Some might interpret conscious, active pursuit of reward as un-christian and unworthy of the humility and self sacrifice exemplified by Jesus.

All these concepts have a grain of truth within them but go wildly astray because we put them together with a very worldly idea of what rewards are.

What are the rewards God has in store?

We tend to think of reward in terms of, more money, a bag of candy, more power, more status and so forth. But regarding the rewards God has in store… scripturally we don’t really have a lot of details or specifics. We get an inkling from various scriptures such as the parable of the pounds and talents that reward is tied into greater responsibility or authority Luke 19:12-24.

However, greater responsibility and authority within the kingdom of God is not away to gain greater physical comfort, ease, or perks. Neither is Godly reward to boost your ego at the expense of others

Jesus tells us that whoever wants to the great in the kingdom of God will humble themself as a little child and will be a servant of others.

When I think about the lack of explicit detail of what our future rewards might be I like to think of 2 Corinthians 2:9 which says "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.''

The Idea of working in the hope of a reward IS Biblical

12. Matthew 6:19-21 Seek after treasures that are everlasting. This is referring to something other than receipt of eternal life. Because eternal life is a free gift not something you can store up for yourself.
    14. Note: that reward is presently stored up for you and kept in heaven, but Christ says He will bring it with him when He returns.
13. Matthew 16:24-27 seeking reward from the Father is not about getting ahead of others. It is about mastering all the conflicting pushes and pulls that war within you. 

The time when those who are in Christ at His return give account of themself before God is not about sin.  When Christ returns those who are in Christ are resurrected to spirit born life. That is their salvation from death. He also brings the rewards He has to bestow. Presumably this is the time when we stand before Him to give account for our deeds as part of the receipt of our reward.

How do we seek reward?

Sometime instead of using the word “reward” the bible uses the word “crown”. For example, 1 Corinthians 9:23-27 the Greek word there is stephanos. This crown is given as a prize based on effort. Therefore, it cannot be referring to salvation from death… Romans 6:23 tells us eternal life is a free gift given to us from God. Your salvation from death is not based on works.

Note: There is another type of crown mentioned in the bible: a diadem: a crown that is a symbol of office and is not something given to mark achievement – diadem is only used in two places both referring to Satan Revelation 12:1-3 and 13:1.

So the stephanos type of crown should be considered a synonym for reward for a job well done.

Let’s take a quick look at types of service that relate to reward:

Endurance and Perseverance

1. Luke 6:22-23 enduring persecution for sake of Christ (Matthew 5:12)
2. James 1:12 enduring temptation or trial
3. Revelation 2:10 willing to die for Christ

Participation in the Work

4. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 faithfully doing God’s work and loving His appearing
5. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 soul winning – helping to convert people
6. 1 Corinthians 3:8 faithful pastoral work also 1 Pet 5:2-7  faithful pastoral work (read on--because of context could extend to humility and self control… fruits of the H.S.)

Doing Good to Others

7. Luke 6:27-35 love your enemies, generosity (not hoping for anything in return) – implies forgiveness, which require humility and self control…fruits of the H.S.
8. Matthew 6:1-4 giving to the poor and needy (in secret)
9. Matthew 10:40-42 (Mark 9:41) hospitality toward fellow workers of God and members of the church. 

Spiritual Discipline

10. Matthew 6:5-6 (in secret, not vain repetition)
11. Matthew 6:16-18 Fasting

Good Attitude

12. Colossians 3:22-24 Serving wholeheartedly as if working for God – (Eph 6:7-9 shows this also applies to the master as well as the servant)
13. Hebrews 10:32-37 having confidence in the promises of God over material well being and status (Hebrews 11:26)
14. Hebrews 11:6 earnestly seeking God – seeking His will, and character for example: bible study

Notice these works (which are unto reward) are not matters of obedience and sin they are matters of character – who are you what are you like inside, motive, endurance, perseverance.

Rewards can be lost or diminished

12. Matthew 6:1-2 doing you acts of righteousness for the sake of praise from other people forfeits what reward you might have received from God
13. 2 John 7-8 straying from the sound teaching of Christ into heresy [pursuing bad doctrine]
14. Colossians 2:18 you can lose your reward [be disqualified] for worshiping angels [pursuing false worship]
15. Revelation 3:11 saying let no man take your crown … presumes it can be taken. This means letting another persons bad behavior negatively affect your pursuit of endurance, participation, doing good, spiritual discipline, or developing a bad attitude [bitterness].

Reward is about going above & beyond what is “required” of you

Luke 17:7-10 You are not rewarded for doing as you are commanded. You are rewarded for going above and beyond. The works unto reward as previously mentioned are not about commandment keeping…because commandment keeping is your duty.

I Corinthians 9:14-19 Paul’s personal take on his ministry. Paul tells us that he preaches the gospel not because he volunteered for the job but because he was been commanded/compelled to do so by God.

Paul realizes that was a commanded  assignment there is no “reward” in the equation. If he were doing what he did of his own free will then it would be different. However, Paul made a personal decision to go above and beyond what God has commanded him by preaching free of charge.

Although he has every right to expect to make a living as a preacher/apostle like his peers, he does not… He goes above and beyond to serve others, to preach the gospel and to sacrifice self for the sake of Jesus Christ. This is the sort of behavior, thinking, attitude that God likes and that He rewards!

Conclusion:

Working towards your reward is a sound biblical concept that should not get mixed up and lost in discussions about the mechanics of salvation from death and receiving eternal life.

We may not have a lot of specifics or detail on the rewards God has in store but if we know Him, know his character and trust Him… then the rewards are beyond what we can imagine… The nature of the righteous acts God rewards are such that in pursuing them we actually build God-like character that does not crave reward and recognition… which of course is a real reward in and of itself. Revelation 22:12