Rewards
The Bible teaches believers will give an account of their lives as they stand before the Lord. Paul plainly says, “For we shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10). Notice Paul says “we,” including himself; this is a judgment of believers. We gain heaven by faith, not works, but when we get to heaven, we will be rewarded for our works.
Paul explains, “Each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). That idea strikes sheer terror in the heart of some believers. Perhaps it should. Jesus said, “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment” (Mt. 12:36). I do not look forward to that!
Perhaps we should look forward to it. Paul also says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Cor. 4:5). Everything will be revealed, including the counsels of the heart. Then every believer will be
praised by God! God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Mt. 25:21). We should look forward to this because “each one” will be praised by God and it only takes faithfulness over “a few things” to hear Him say, “Well done.”
Dave Mumby served his country in the Navy and later in the Navy Reserves for decades. As an enlisted man, he rose to the highest rank possible, that of Master Chief. After a long and illustrious career, the time came for Dave to retire. The Navy has a ceremony for that. Being his pastor, I was invited to pray and even speak at the ceremony (for my
brief speech, see “A Piece of My Mind” article # 161, “How to Finish Well.”) As only the military can do it, the service was impressive and moving. One of the things that struck me the most was the fact that during the ceremony they recited every accomplishment Dave had done and every medal he had received. The list was long, but they read them off—one by one.
As I watched and listened, I thought to myself, “Is that what it’s going to be like at the Judgment Seat of Christ?” God is not going to forget the things we have done. The writer to the Hebrews says, “For God is not
unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end” (Heb. 6:10-11). Is it possible that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Lord will rehearse all those things we did for Him and reward us accordingly? Every idle word will be evaluated. Will not every encouraging word be rewarded as well?
If I’m right about this, I can imagine the Lord saying something like, “I remember the time that you took the time to visit the fatherless and widows. Well done, my faithful servant.”
© G. Michael Cocoris, January 26, 2013.
Paul explains, “Each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). That idea strikes sheer terror in the heart of some believers. Perhaps it should. Jesus said, “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment” (Mt. 12:36). I do not look forward to that!
Perhaps we should look forward to it. Paul also says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Cor. 4:5). Everything will be revealed, including the counsels of the heart. Then every believer will be
praised by God! God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Mt. 25:21). We should look forward to this because “each one” will be praised by God and it only takes faithfulness over “a few things” to hear Him say, “Well done.”
Dave Mumby served his country in the Navy and later in the Navy Reserves for decades. As an enlisted man, he rose to the highest rank possible, that of Master Chief. After a long and illustrious career, the time came for Dave to retire. The Navy has a ceremony for that. Being his pastor, I was invited to pray and even speak at the ceremony (for my
brief speech, see “A Piece of My Mind” article # 161, “How to Finish Well.”) As only the military can do it, the service was impressive and moving. One of the things that struck me the most was the fact that during the ceremony they recited every accomplishment Dave had done and every medal he had received. The list was long, but they read them off—one by one.
As I watched and listened, I thought to myself, “Is that what it’s going to be like at the Judgment Seat of Christ?” God is not going to forget the things we have done. The writer to the Hebrews says, “For God is not
unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end” (Heb. 6:10-11). Is it possible that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Lord will rehearse all those things we did for Him and reward us accordingly? Every idle word will be evaluated. Will not every encouraging word be rewarded as well?
If I’m right about this, I can imagine the Lord saying something like, “I remember the time that you took the time to visit the fatherless and widows. Well done, my faithful servant.”
© G. Michael Cocoris, January 26, 2013.