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Judgments and Rewards

During this Summer I've been teaching a series we called "Potpourri", largely because it was a series of messages from all over the place.  These were teachings suggested by people from our fellowship last Spring and they represented interests, questions, concerns in some cases of what Scripture says about a variety of topics.

Yesterday I didn't teach.  We had a marvelous presentation from a missionnary - Jennifer VanderGalien, who directs "Shining a Light" Mission in Tanzania.  If you missed her talk, you can get information on her at www.shiningalight.org.

This week I'm diving back into the Potpourri series on the theme of "Why do People Who Don't Care About Knowing God Seem to Prosper and Do Fine Without Him?"  I'll post the talk on that theme beginning next week.

For this week I'm going back to one I did previously - the theme is on Judgments and Rewards.  I did this teaching on June 15th.  I'll post these thoughts over a few days of time, so check back tomorrow for more.

The question that was posed to me went something like this:  

“How does the issue of judgment and rewards – especially as it relates to what believers might receive – work out in scripture?”

Here's a couple of verses to consider as we begin:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
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.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)
7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8  Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing.



One of the things Scripture says is that after death, in Heaven, there will be a time of giving and receiving Rewards.  

These Rewards come to us because of various acts of faithfulness based on both obedience and love for Christ and the Kingdom of God that we live out while alive on the earth.

For all of us, those rewards represent more than "performing" our way to get God's approval; instead they represent our heart and desire to serve Christ faithfully with our lives.

Scripture talks about our eternal rewards in rather general terms, and understandably so, for we see now only a dim reflection of eternity to come.

Paul saw his life as a place of discipline in order to receive the prize…and later he calls that prize a crown of righteousness.
We’ll get to the idea of crowns shortly, but I want us to stop and think about the whole idea of rewards.

The idea of Rewards bothers some people.

The reason is – I think – that they can’t reconcile the idea of God’s love, grace and forgiveness with the idea of Rewards.

BUT, Jesus talked more about this than anyone. 

Matthew 6:19-20 (ESV)
19  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

It shouldn’t be a stretch for us to think of Rewards.

There’s a NBA Championship, State Basketball Championships, Olympic Gold Medals, the Lombardi Trophy, World Cup Trophy…

There is Summa Cum Laude, Valedictorian, Honor Society, etc…

There is Silver Cross, and the Purple Heart.

In otherwords, we see Rewards in our own world all of the time.

Some of what we struggle with is the jealousy of others getting rewards that we don’t think they deserve. But, God’s Rewards will always be completely fair and according to just reasons.

Matthew 25:20-21 (ESV)
20  And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’
21  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Here is the basis for the rewards:  Good deeds, and Faithful Service.

I think this is a challenge because it comes down to not only WHAT we do, but HOW and WHY we do them.

This speaks loudly of the idea of Christ-like Character.  Character is what we are in the dark…when no one sees us what do we do and why do we do it.

We should think about it this way:  Rewards are connected to both our behavior and motivations.

This brings up the most important thing to note about these rewards…this is not a reward that gives us salvation…our salvation is already achieved in Christ’s work and grace through our faith in Him.

The confusion usually comes from understanding the differences between SALVATION and REWARDS.
Salvation is a free gift, but rewards are earned by our works after we are saved. No one's works will ever earn them salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Salvation is a present reality, but our rewards will be given in the future, in heaven as a result of our service to Christ Jesus in His Kingdom as we serve in Obedience and Love.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
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.

Scripture says they will be given at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Greek word is the Bema), when our works (NOT our sins, which were paid for at the Cross) will be tested and judged.

A few weeks ago we were in Rom. 14 – the principle of life and rewards is summed up by Paul…

Romans 14:10-12 (ESV)
10  … we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
11  for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

What happens in this “standing before the Lord” is what Paul describes in 1 Cor. 3...

 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (ESV)
10  According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13  each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14  If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15  If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Again, the issue isn’t salvation, but it does have to do with doing what we do in life for the right person and for the right reasons.  

More Tomorrow... Peace

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