Tonight, we start on a journey regarding eternal rewards. This journey will take months as we dig into God’s Word concerning the many references on rewards. It’s important to study it and to make it part of your life because it has eternal ramifications and we need to know what God’s Word says about it. Open your Bibles to II Corinthians 5:10. It reads,

Before I go any further, I want to remind you again that when I talk about rewards, I’m not preaching about salvation. That’s a whole other subject. You are not going to receive any rewards unless you have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s the starting point. Doing good works cannot save you, but because you are saved you are going to do good works. Your salvation is a separate situation apart from your rewards. Rewards are what you receive as a disciple of Jesus Christ and involves what you have participated in for His glory; for the sake of others to hear and to benefit from the saving message of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Salvation cannot be earned. It is a free gift of grace that God has provided for us if we have trust and confidence in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I think I have made that clear these many years.

After reading this verse, I am going to give three examples of people who pursue goals or a prize. You will find these people in every walk of life, not just in these three examples, and you can apply the same principles and understanding to anyone. You could probably come up with a lot more examples, but for the sake of time let’s just stay with these three. One, we will look at an athlete; two, a junior executive in the work force; and three, a student in school. Like I said, you could substitute whatever situation you find yourself in where you are striving to reach a certain destiny that comes with a reward.

1. An athlete is our first example. Let’s look at a marathon runner who trains, competes and prepares for years to be in the Olympics. Now there is a process and he had to go through many contests before he qualified to be an Olympian participant. But I want you to think about the athlete—this is all going to take us somewhere so listen closely—and how much energy, how much time, and how much training the athlete dedicates to get to that point: to make it to the Olympic games. Just because he is there doesn’t mean he achieved what he’s been training for and putting his energies into for a good portion of his life. No, the prize is still out there, that gold medal. Yes, it is nice to get the silver or bronze, but the gold is the goal and finally after pushing himself day after day, month after month, year after year, the day finally arrives. Everything he has been training for—like I said for a good portion of his life—has arrived. Throughout all the agony, all the sweat and tears he kept pressing forward—probably with his mind and body saying, “No, just sleep in today. Just take a day off from training. You’ll catch up tomorrow.”  Athletes don’t think that way unless they are injured, and they must take time to heal, but they’re not programed that way. They know what the goal is, and they know what it takes to achieve it.

Just think about a marathon runner who arrives at mile 25. I ran one marathon in Long Beach, California and I can tell you I’m no Olympic marathon runner. I’m glad I did it, but I would never do it again. My body was crying out to stop. I’m sure they have the same feelings because they are training at a whole different level of intensity and dedication—it is their life. But where do you find yourself? In a place where you quit and stop? Or do you keep pressing forward and go all in and then when you are at that last mile, last half mile, last quarter mile, you find something in yourself and you give that final kick to the finish line and to your surprise you came in first. What happens next? I’m sure enough of you have watched the Olympics to know, but for those that haven’t there is an award ceremony, and because you came in first place you are going to receive the gold medal. So, what does that mean? You are standing on the highest part of the platform and are presented with that gold medal. Everything up to that point in your life has now being realized, because you arrived at the finish line and you won the gold. I can only imagine that these athletes who reach that level and place in the competition probably experience all kinds of emotions and it makes me think, ever wonder if they ask themselves if it was it worth it? What do you think the answer would be? Obviously, the answer would be, “Yes, of course it was worth it because I received the reward that was promised if I got to the finish line first.”

2. The second example is a junior executive. You could be a business owner or anyone in the workforce, whatever situation where you set your mind to accomplish a goal, so you can obtain the reward that comes with it. But let’s say you’re a junior executive and you poured your life into the organization, the corporation for several years and because of your efforts the president or top executive came to the realization that your contribution provided spectacular growth to the company. The day comes when that executive walks into your office and offers you a vice president position, and not just a vice president position, but all the perks that come with it—such as stock options and things that will benefit you in your future.

For example, let’s take the stock options. That executive comes in your office and offers you a vice president position, something you have strived for, and here come the perks—the rewards—the stock options that you know will set up you and your family, maybe for the rest of your lives. All that time and effort you put in means mission is accomplished. Can you imagine asking yourself, when you get to that point, if it was worth it? It’s the same question posed to the athlete, with the same answer, “Of course!” See, the world can grasp that. They see people participating and striving for rewards in this world. So why not the Christian world?

3. Our last example is a high school student. If you know your parents can’t afford to send you to college, and that is your ambition, what do you do? You work hard year after year while you are in high school. You do everything you can to get good grades. You participate in activities so when colleges are evaluating your portfolio, they see this all-around student who will be beneficial to their college or university. So, you work hard, you strive to be at the top of your class. You might even have to sacrifice your social life studying through the night burning that midnight oil, and you know when all is said and done that you met all the requirements to have that opportunity to obtain a scholarship. Then you get that call or you get that notice or notices, because maybe multiple scholarships start pouring in, giving you the opportunity to go to the best schools in the nation that want to reward you for your efforts. The same question, looking back—was it worth it? The obvious answer, absolutely!

In all three examples, of course it was worth it if you met the objective, but what if you came up short? What if you didn’t get any medal or if the president of the company chose someone else and you missed out on all those stock options and perks? How disappointing not to get the scholarships because your grade point average was not good enough. Now, if you could have predicted your future you probably would have changed your mindset on how you lived, and it probably would have made a difference. If you didn’t achieve the gold medal, if you didn’t achieve the stock options and the position of vice president, if you didn’t receive the scholarships and you know the reason is because you didn’t put enough effort into it, would it have changed your attitude? It probably would have and it probably would have made a difference in your life—even though in the back of your mind you probably knew that you had to work harder, you had to participate, and you had to train and press forward, but for some reason you liked the couch potato days more than you liked hard work, the training and the sacrifices. Now let me put this in spiritual terms.

II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;”

There’s an evaluation coming my friend, and preachers and pastors do not focus on this enough. They have been derelict in their duty to prepare you for eternity. There is an evaluation coming at this judgment seat for Christians and you should be striving to receive a good report in order to receive these rewards that can’t possibly compare to any worldly rewards you might be trying for now. They just can’t.

Look at the words: judgment seat. In the Greek it is bema. In the ancient Greek/Roman world, a bema was a raised platform mounted by way of steps. It was used by high ranking officials and it could also be a high seat for a king or a judge. There are multiple uses for this word in the Greek and at the Olympic games it is where athletes came to receive their rewards. Now here in II Corinthians 5:10 for a true Christian, a true disciple of Jesus Christ, the bema will be a place of evaluation. “Well, I thought I was safe?” Yes, you are, but that is not what this verse is referring to. You might not like to hear this, but the day of reckoning is coming for the believer also. Not whether you are going to see a second death—Christ has already taken care of that for us if we put our trust and confidence in Him and His redemptive work—but there is still a day of reckoning.

In Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account [Logos. You are going to have to use your words.] of himself to God.”

There will be a day of evaluation and there are Christians who go through life thinking they never have to answer to God because heaven is a sure thing because sin have been removed by Jesus Christ, and yes, that is true. Like I said, there is no second death for those who put their trust and confidence in Jesus Christ, but you still must answer for your actions and how you applied and acted on what Christ wanted you to participate in. I’m sorry you might not want to hear it, and if you think I’m wrong, prove me wrong, but you better use the scriptures rightly divided. God is going to evaluate your life and He is going to evaluate my life. Everyone—every true Christian without exception—will face this evaluation before the Lord Jesus, everyone.

The future is also going to be a time of compensation. Go to I Corinthians 9:24,

Paul is using athletic language once again. In the Olympic games only one could receive that top prize, the gold medal. The wonderful thing about the spiritual race that we are in—and that applies to every true believer of Jesus Christ—all can win the gold. Not just one, but everyone can win the top prize, can win the gold. Paul says here to run in such a way that you may obtain it. I repeat, all of us can get the gold, all of us can have positions of prominence and status in His kingdom. See, Christians don’t talk this way because they are so humble. It is a false humility by most and they don’t see what God is pointing out in His Word. It’s like laying up your treasures for yourself. “Well, I never thought of it that way. That’s selfish thinking. Then you are saying that Jesus is telling me to be selfish.” No! Your mindset has been skewed and who is at fault? Once again, the people who call themselves scholars, the people who preach and teach and for whatever reason do not bring these truths out, so you can absorb it, apply it in your life, run that race so you can obtain the things that He has promised us in His kingdom. After the evaluation comes the reward.

Go to I Corinthians 3, verses 8 through 14 with emphasis on verses 8 and 14 as we keep piling on verse after verse after verse concerning rewards.

“Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour [or trouble and toil]. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry [or your cultivated field], ye are God’s building.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [evaluation day]; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Don’t tell me there are no works in the scriptures. There are plenty of works; not works for salvation but works for rewards which not only benefit you, but also benefits others—you through eternal life—and benefits to others in the here and now that carry over through eternal life.

Rewards are one of the most neglected doctrines and it’s a shame. I think it’s a spiritual crime and it is the most misunderstood doctrines that few even dare preach on. I said last time that there are over 100 references in the New Testament alone. How many times have you heard rewards being preached? I’ve read countless books through the course of my Christian life, commentaries, you name it, and most are silent on this subject. I repeat, it’s a shame. It’s a subject that will have profound impact concerning your future. It is extremely important for you to know about them and strive to receive them at evaluation day. You get the message!?

So, what is the purpose of rewards and why should you care? Tell me if you want to know. We have a long way in this journey and like every subject I have taught, I will try to leave no stone unturned. I want to know if you are interested in knowing what God says you should expect on evaluation day, which not only concerns your future here and now, but throughout eternity.

To be continued. . .

Copyright 2019 Faith Cometh By Hearing

Please email us at email@teachingfaith.com if this has encouraged and strengthened your faith.

In 2 Corinthians 9:7 it reads, “God loveth a cheerful giver.” The Greek word for cheerful is Hilaros which means when someone is prompt to do something, they are ready in mind, with a joyful heart. In the Septuagint it also means to cause to shine. Today I am looking for Hilaros Givers who are ready and full of joy for the opportunity to cause others to shine by hearing, learning, and growing in God’s Word. Join with us today and participate as a Hilaros Giver. If you wish to participate use the following link:http://www.teachingfaith.com/giving

Write us at

Faith Cometh By Hearing

539 W. Commerce St., #577

Dallas, TX 75208