What about rewards?
“What about rewards?” I was immediately asked this question following the sermon in almost all three services last Sunday. For good reason. The sermon, which explored The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16, focused on the scandalous nature of God’s grace. The shockingly good news that we all come to God in the same way and we all receive the same grace, whether we have “borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” or “worked only one hour” (Matthew 20:12). In other words, whether we have served Jesus faithfully and sacrificially our entire lives or whether we have come in with only minutes to spare, like the thief on the cross (Luke 22:42-43).
A few, and many others I’m sure, were wondering: OK, but what about rewards? What about storing up treasure in heaven? What about those passages that seem to suggest we will be rewarded according to what we have done?
It’s that question to which I want to turn. For help to answer it, I turned to Herman Bavinck, the Dutch theologian from the 1800 and 1900s. He writes in his magisterial work, Reformed Dogmatics, “It is true that all believers have been promised the same benefits in Christ’s future: they all receive the same eternal life, the same abode in the new Jerusalem, the same fellowship with God, the same blessedness, and so on. Nevertheless, Scripture leaves no doubt whatever that in all that oneness and sameness there is enormous variation and diversity.”
The Bible is clear that what we do in this life matters. Our deeds, good or otherwise, are most certainly not the basis of our salvation. We are saved by the sinless life, sin-bearing death, and death-defeating resurrection of Christ. To use the language of the Reformers, we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone! If we are in Christ, judgement day need not terrify us; our judgement took place over 2,000 years ago at the cross. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1).
This helps to explain why, remarkably, the Apostle Paul can describe judgement day as an occasion of “praise” (NIV) or “commendation” (ESV) for the believer: “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). As we saw last Sunday, Jesus made a similar promise in Matthew 19, offering the assurance that everyone who gives up anything for his sake ‘…will receive a hundred times as much…’ (v.29). Similarly, Revelation 14:13 says about those who die in the Lord, ‘…they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them.’ Another important passage is 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, which suggests a distinction in reward that is dependent upon the quality of our work: “If any man builds on this foundation (Christ) using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day (of judgement) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” Not to mention those passages which suggest that what we sow in this life will be harvested in eternity (e.g., Matthew 25:14-30; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:7-9). All of this leads to the conclusion that what we do in this life matters and any future reward is linked with and proportionate to what has been done in this life (e.g., Matthew 16:27; Luke 6:38; 19:17; Romans 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:8; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 11:26; Revelation 2:23; 11:18; 20:12; 22:12). As Bavinck says, “Blessedness is indeed the same for all, but there are distinctions in “brightness” and glory (Daniel 12:3; 1 Corinthians 15:41).”
What exactly does God reward? According to Randy Alcorn, author of The Law of Rewards, “…God rewards for many things, including doing good works (Ephesians 6:8; Romans 2:6, 10), denying ourselves (Matthew 16:24-27), showing compassion to the needy (Luke 14:13-14), and treating our enemies kindly (Luke 6:35). He also grants us rewards for sacrificial and generous giving: “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). God promises rewards to those who endure difficult circumstances while trusting him (Hebrews 10:34-36), to those who live faithfully and with good motives (1 Corinthians 4:2,5), and to those who persevere under persecution (Luke 6:22-23). God will richly reward a life of godliness (2 Peter 3:11-14). God will also reward those who make wise and productive use of the resources and opportunities he has given them (Matthew 25:14-23).”
There is much more that could be said and many more questions that could be explored. If you’re interested in further study, I’d recommend the series of articles from Randy Alcorn found at: www.epm.org/resources/tag/rewards/ as a good place to start.
For now, let me give the final word to Herman Bavinck, who reminds us that even rewards are not earned, but a gift of grace, “There is no reward to which humans are by nature entitled… even if they have fulfilled the whole law, it only behooves them to say: “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” (Luke 17:10). … For believers are what God has made them, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be their way of life (Eph. 2:10). … God crowns his own work, not only in conferring eternal life on everyone who believes but also in distributing different degrees of glory to those who, motivated by that faith, have produced good works.” Or as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it succinctly (I guess I’m giving the final word to Heidelberg not Herman), “Question 63: But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next? Answer 63: This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.”
Grace and peace,
Adam
