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Lesson 07 – Seventh Imputation: Rewards in Eternity to Believers

Lesson 07 – Seventh Imputation: Rewards in Eternity to Believers

Lesson for July 21, 2019

The Integrity of God – Lesson 7

Seventh Imputation: Rewards in Eternity to Believers

The Judgment Seat of Christ

“So, then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) There is coming a time when every believer will stand before Jesus Christ to be evaluated. This evaluation is not based on our sins. It is based, instead, on our response to God’s plan for us to learn and apply His Word and to grow spiritually. The Judgment Seat of Christ is for believers only and takes place sometime shortly after the Rapture of the Church. At the Rapture, all living and dead believers from the Church Age will meet Jesus Christ in the air and will be led in a processional to Heaven, having received a glorified body like Christ’s, fully conscious, fully recognizable and with increased knowledge. God’s Word indicates that there will then be a time of celebration, when we worship and praise our Savior. (I Corinthians 4:5; 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:21)

Scripture tells us that our Savior has already departed to prepare a dwelling place for us, the Bride of Christ (as we will be called in Heaven). But before the Lord can reveal all that will be ours for the eternal state, we must all be evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is during our evaluation that we will suffer shame for those failed opportunities to fulfill our spiritual lives, but we will also be rewarded for executing the Christian Way of Life. (John 14:1-3; II Corinthians 5:8-10; Romans 14:11-12)

Most of us, as believers in Christ, will never receive recognition in this life for our accomplishments, but I assure you that this will not be the case in eternity. There is going to be great inequality in the eternal state for believers. It is only our fulfillment of God’s plan under the control of the Holy Spirit that will be rewardable in eternity, not our human good works. Only divine production is rewardable. All divine production is a matter of God’s grace and is never based on human works. The questions are going to be something like this: “Did you tap into God’s system?” or “Did you go it alone?” (I Corinthians 9:24-27)

God’s plan for your life is simple; fulfilling it is also simple. It becomes difficult only when we fail to utilize all that God has given us and begin to manufacture our own problems by rejecting truth. The days in which we live are uncertain and the national scene is unstable at best. Yet for those believers who choose to execute the Christian Way of Life, you can remain stabilized, confident and faithful in time of pressure or even national disaster. Why? Because you know the One Who controls history and you have learned that you have a place in it. You have a personal sense of destiny that has been secured by your faith in Christ and realized by your consistent intake and application of God’s Word (Bible doctrine). Only with Bible doctrine in your soul that has been converted into wisdom through application, will you be able to put everything in life into its proper perspective. (Matthew 11:28-30; James 1:1-12; II Timothy 1:12)

So, how are you going to meet your Savior? Will you have fulfilled the mandates of Scripture to advance to spiritual maturity, which has led you into a life of purpose? Or will you make it into Heaven “by the skin of your teeth,” having failed to advance in your Christian life, which has led you to a life of misery and failure? At the Judgment Seat of Christ, it will be too late to do anything about your failure; the time is now, today! You must take the initiative and begin to study and apply God’s Word, immediately, if you want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Upon hearing this from our Lord Jesus Christ, rewards beyond anything you can imagine will be yours for all eternity. (Matthew 25:21; James 1:25)

For every believer there are only two choices after salvation: 1) execute God’s plan, purpose and will 2) execute your own plan and play into Satan’s hand. The first will result in what the Bible calls gold, silver and precious stones, analogous to divine production on earth. The second will result in what the Bible calls wood, hay and straw, analogous to human production on earth. Both will be judged (represented by fire) at the Judgment Seat. When gold, silver and precious stones are subjected to fire, it only purifies them more and enhances their value. When wood, hay and straw are subjected to fire they are burned up. It is, therefore, only divine production that survives the Judgment Seat of Christ and that is rewardable.(I Corinthians 3:13-15)

Divine production is good of intrinsic (lasting) value done by a believer when he is filled with (controlled by) God the Holy Spirit. Divine production is a result of spiritual growth and a grace function of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Therefore, all the honor and glory belong to God, not to the believer. As a matter of fact, God’s Word seems to indicate that these rewards will be placed at the feet of Christ, as a testimony to the fact that He deserves all of the honor. (Revelation 4:10-11)

All other production is human good and contributes nothing to your spiritual life. Human good can be a distraction, if not understood and if it is allowed to be a substitute for your spiritual life. Going to church, giving money, praying, witnessing, fellowshipping with other Christians can be either divine production or human good depending upon the motivation: filled with the spirit or not filled with the Spirit. Divine production adds nothing to your spiritual life. Why? Because it is the result of your spiritual life (your private relationship with God). You do not have a spiritual life apart from the knowledge and application of God’s Word. NO BIBLE DOCTRINE, NO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, NO TRUE LOVE FOR GOD! (John 4:24; Romans 12:1-2; II Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; II Peter 3:18)

The Judgment Seat of Christ is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly. As a believer you cannot lose your salvation and you will be happy for all eternity whether you live your spiritual life or not. But what a tragic waste of a life and what a tremendous loss of rewards. But most tragic of all is when you stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ and have to explain to Him why you failed to glorify Him while you were here on earth. It is time for each of us to get serious about Bible doctrine. (II Timothy 2:11-13)

Eternal Rewards

Eternal rewards for the believer are in many ways similar to the blessings of this life, but there are some differences. Our working definition for reward is “something given in return for something done.” Eternal rewards are represented in the Bible by crowns (actually wreaths, “Stephanos” in Greek). The addition to this is the reward of rulership over cities in eternity. Let me list them for you:

  1. Rulership over cities – Luke 19:17; II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10
  2. The Crown of Righteousness – II Timothy 4:7-8
  3. The Crown of Life – James 1:12; Revelation 2:10
  4. The Crown of Joy – Philippians 4:1; I Thessalonians 2:19-20
  5. The Crown of Glory – I Peter 5:4
  6. The Winner’s Crown – II Timothy 2:5; I Corinthians 9:24-27

Eternal rewards are themselves blessings and they are based on the grace of God. God in His grace gives the believer the tools he needs in order to attain these rewards. However, these rewards are given as a result of compliance with the terms of an agreement between the believer and God (something given as a result of something done).

The writers of Scripture were very familiar with the Roman system of rewards for both the military and for athletic competition. These are primarily the illustrations used throughout the New Testament to represent our eternal rewards as believers. For example, the crowns of the King James English are actually wreaths. Some wreaths were worn on the head like a crown. Some were battle medals or medals for winners in athletic competition worn on the uniform. Both were for accomplishments at the maximum level. Both carried with them immense honor and wealth. Some were given land, some were made rulers over cities or estates, some received cash, but all were exempt from paying income taxes for life. So, I believe it is easy to see why the writers used these wreaths to represent our eternal rewards.

Let’s take a look at each reward:

  1. Rulership of cities – This reward is given to all believers who faithfully fulfill their spiritual lives before God. It is given to those who advance in their Christian lives to spiritual maturity and to those who are consistently learning God’s Word from accurately taught Bible doctrine and making correct application of it to their lives.
  2. Crown of Righteousness – This reward is for all believers who attain spiritual maturity, thus fulfilling the potential established by the imputed righteousness of Christ in their souls. In other words, they are making their experience align with their position in Christ.
  3. Crown of Life – This reward is reserved for all believers who pass the test of undeserved suffering or divine testing. This crown is attained by applying Bible doctrine to your experience while in the midst of suffering. Remember that all suffering is not divine discipline. Some suffering is designed for our growth and blessing. Some suffering is designed for those are credible witnesses for God in the Angelic Conflict.
  4. Crown of Joy – This is a reward reserved for all believers who consistently share the Gospel with others.
  5. Crown of Glory – This reward is reserved for those with the gift of pastor-teacher. It is given for faithfully fulfilling the gift by using it to teach accurate Bible doctrine. The primary job of the pastor-teacher is to study and teach.
  6. The Winner’s Crown – This reward is given to all believers who advance according to the rules. In other words, doing a right thing in a right way. This reward is for those who exercise self-discipline, diligence and persistence over a long period of time to learn a system of doctrinal truth and accurately apply that truth.

“And everyone that strives for the mastery (to win) is temperate (self-disciplined) in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible (perishable) crown; but we an incorruptible (imperishable).” (I Corinthians 9:25)