14. Service And Rewards
CHAPTER XIV Service and Rewards
Through the convicting, regenerating, baptizing, sealing and indwelling ministries of the Holy Spirit a believing sinner becomes a child of God, a member of the body of Christ, the true church, which is now the New Creation in Christ Jesus. When the sinner is saved he becomes a pilgrim and a stranger on the earth. The Apostle Peter says, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). From the moment he is born again the saved one is a citizen of heaven. Paul says, "For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Php 3:20). The Christian, then, does not belong down here on earth. Yet God leaves him here, and that for a very definite purpose.
If believers would be taken home to be with the Lord when they are saved they would escape many trials, testings, failures and disappointments. Why then does He leave us here on earth? Is it as some say, that we shall through our wilderness journey be fitted for heaven? No! A Christian is no more fitted for heaven after years of devoted service than he was the day he was saved. There is but one thing that can make a lost and guilty sinner fit for heaven, and that is the precious blood of Christ.
Concerning our acceptance with God we read that we are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6); "And ye are complete in him" (Colossians 2:10); "For by one offering hath he perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). His true motive in leaving His own here on earth is that they might be His witnesses. We are saved for service. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10); "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men" (Titus 3:8).
It is through the members of the body of Christ, the true church, that the Lord works rather than through man-made organizations. This service the Apostle Paul calls a "labor of love." Our lives as Christians should tell for the Lord, and they will if we as members of His body are rightly adjusted to Him. We are His witnesses in the midst of sin and the evil in the world" (John 15:27). "A faithful witness delivereth souls" (Proverbs 14:25).
We are also representatives of His. As ambassadors, we represent the Court of Heaven. A greater honor could be bestowed upon no one. In His high priestly prayer our Lord said, "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world" (John 17:17).
Concerning His own mission He said, "For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13); "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45); "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). The Apostle Paul writes at length regarding our service. He says, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, 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; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet as by fire" (1 Corinthians 3:6-15). In these verses are revealed several important truths in connection with our "labour of love." They speak about service, two classes of building material, judgment and rewards.
Salvation is the gift of God’s grace; rewards will be given according to what we have done after we are saved. "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). The judgment Seat of Christ will not be to determine if those who appear there are saved, for only believers will be there. The Scriptures definitely and positively teach that the child of God is past judgment with reference to sin. Our Lord says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18); "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24); "All that the Father hath given me shall come to me; and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). Paul writes, "For if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:31-32).
We must distinguish between the guilt and the defilement of sin. When Paul writes, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Romans 4:8), he is referring to the guilt of sin. The context clearly reveals in a most unmistakable way that he is speaking about the one that God has justified, declared righteous in Christ. To the justified one sin is not imputed as guilt. In another place he says, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth." No, for then the justified one would have to be brought into court again and convicted anew, which is a thing that God will not do with a child of His. He will chasten him, and that even unto physical death.
However, the result of sin in the life of the believer is most serious. The Holy Spirit is grieved, and so His indwelling ministry is hindered. Fellowship is broken; the contact for power and service destroyed; prayer is hindered, and the joy of salvation is lost. The sinning one is restored when he confesses his sin. This is self-judgment. If he refuses to judge himself God will judge him, but never condemn him with the world. Until the sinning one has judged himself, he is as a dislocated limb in the body.
It is before the Judgment Seat of Christ that "every man’s work shall be made manifest," and "the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is." Fire is a symbol of judgment, and is so used in the Scriptures. When John the Baptist said about Christ, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire," he referred to two different classes. The chaff, which represents the unbelievers, will be burned with unquenchable fire. The purpose of this judgment will be to determine the rewards of the Lord’s servants. At the Great White Throne there will be degrees of punishment for the wicked, because they will be judged according to their works. This principle will also apply to the judgment of the believer’s works at the Judgment Seat of Christ; there will be degrees of rewards. The Apostle John says, "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward" (2 John 1:8).
Some one asks, "How may I know if I am building with the kind of material that will bring me a reward?" The answer is to be found in the Word of God. Turn again to First Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul says, "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward" (1 Corinthians 9:17).
These words reveal that it is the motive in our service that determines whether we will receive a reward or not. What we do willingly is a "labour of love" and such our service for the Lord should always be.
All true Christian service is committed to a divinely appointed and qualified people. In the Old Testament the service was committed to the priesthood. Israel had a priesthood. The Church is a priesthood. The priests were appointed to render service toward man. Not until we have first rendered our service toward God are we qualified to render any service toward man. Our service toward God is threefold. The first is the service of sacrifice, which itself is threefold: (1) the sacrifice of self,--"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (logical) service" (Romans 12:1); (2) the sacrifice of praise,--"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15); (3) the sacrifice of substance,--"But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:16). The second Christian service is that of worship which is again of self, of praise and of substance. It is true devotion to Christ, and is in and through Him alone. The third is the service of intercession (1 Timothy 2:1). This is one of the believer’s greatest privileges, and a most important and effectual service toward God.
Every true believer is constituted a priest. The ministry of the Old Testament priest was threefold. It was to offer sacrifices for the people, to go within the veil and make intercession, and to come forth and bless the people.
Before he could enter upon his ministry as priest he had to be consecrated. Regarding this we are told, "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood that was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him" (Leviticus 8:6; Leviticus 8:22-24; Leviticus 8:30).
Note that the anointing oil was poured upon Aaron (Leviticus 8:12) before the blood was applied. Aaron was a type of Christ as the Sinless One who required no preparation for receiving the anointing oil, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The initial washing was once for all. But after that, it was necessary for the priests to wash their hands and their feet before they entered the tabernacle to minister. Defilement disqualified the priests for service. Cleansing was absolutely necessary. So today, defilement disqualifies the believer-priest for service. The blood of Christ is the means of perpetual cleansing. The need is clearly set forth by our Lord when He washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-11). When we as priests have been consecrated (consecration is a work of God and not of man); when we have offered our sacrifices, and have been within the veil and made intercession, we are qualified to go forth and be a blessing to others. Our service toward our fellow man is primarily the exercise of a gift. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). A gift is the manifestation of the Spirit. He may recognize the native ability of the individual, but he is most certainly not dependent upon it. It is when the child of God is rightly adjusted to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit will manifest Himself in some gift. The exercise of that gift is true Christian service toward man. And it is when such a gift is willingly exercised that we have a reward. The Apostle Paul also discloses the method of his ministry. Summing it up, he says, "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.... To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.... And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible" (1 Corinthians 9:19; 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Corinthians 9:25).
Here Paul likens the believer’s service to a race. He likewise reminds us of the need of being temperate in all things. He seems to have been fond of agonistic metaphors borrowed from the stadium and the arena. He tells how one may be qualified to run in the race, adding "SO run, that ye may obtain."
Then the Apostle goes on to tell us how he was running in the race, and how he was endeavoring to keep fit. He says, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27). When Paul says, "I myself should be a castaway," he is not concerned with salvation but rewards. No, Paul could say, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed (my deposit) unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). Happy are they who can share this assurance with the great apostle to the Gentiles!
Paul says, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?" In another verse he asks, "What is my reward then?" Whatever it will be, the New Testament writers use the word "crown" when speaking about the reward of the believer. They disclose five crowns, and for what they are given. The Crown of Life is given to those who endure temptations and trials, and that love Him. We read, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him" (James 1:12); "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil shall cast some of you in prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). The Incorruptible Crown will be given to those who win in the race. "So run, that ye may obtain." "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Unfading Crown of Glory. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Peter 5:4). These words Peter addresses to the elders admonishing them to so work that they will receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. This crown will be given to all who have helped shepherd the flock of God. The Crown of Righteousness will be given to "all those who have loved his appearing." We quote the whole paragraph in order that we may get the true meaning of the apostle’s words concerning this crown. The advocates of a partial rapture theory have made use of this part of the Word to prove their position. Paul says, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:5-8).
Paul could look back upon a very strenuous career. His firm belief in the imminent return of the Lord had encouraged him all along the way. Now he was ready for his home going; he therefore looked to the future and to what he as a servant of the Lord was going to receive. But note that he says, "at that day"--the day that all believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Not until then will the Apostle Paul nor any other servant of the Lord receive his reward; not until then will all the returns of his labor be in. The Crown of Rejoicing is the crown that will be the portion of the soul-winner. To the Thessalonians Paul writes, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy" (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20), and to the Philippians, "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved" (Php 4:1).
Paul had spent but very little time in Philippi and in Thessalonica. But in those places as well as in the other places he labored, souls had been won for the Lord. Whatsoever was accomplished through the labors of this faithful servant of the Lord, he gave all the glory to God. He says, "So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:7).
We should strive for a full reward, because the glory will be our Lord’s. "And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:9-11).
He alone is worthy of this glory, honor and praise. He it was that brought us up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set our feet upon a rock, and established our goings. It is the Lord who originates, inaugurates, advances and consummates the whole of our salvation.
He saves us, provides us with a working capital and gives us a reward if we have built with the right kind of material. The New Creation is heavenly in its calling; its rule of life is Grace, the heavenly standard. Its conflict is in the heavenlies, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). The New Creation in Christ Jesus is destined for heaven, the abode of "God the judge of all," "Jesus Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant," "an innumerable company of angels," "the spirits of just men made perfect," "and the general assembly and the church of the first born." And now, my dear reader, which one of the two creations do you belong to? Unless you have put your trust in Christ and accepted Him as your personal Saviour, yea, as the sacrifice that God provided for your sin and your sins, you are still a part of the old creation, absolutely lost and bound for the eternal abode of the lost.
If you have ceased from your own works and with the heart believed unto righteousness you are a member of the New Creation, perfectly saved and safe in Christ for time and eternity. Which is it? There is no intermediate ground.
"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."