I strongly debated not handing out the handouts until the very end, because I think no one will listen to me and will just stare at the chart the whole time.
The reason I gave that out is that we are talking about gift and reward, but a few things will be touched on that I am not going to get into. So actually, that great big chart that was handed out—we are not covering all of that in this message. Some things are referenced, and I just wanted to hand that out to show the connection.
On the other side, there are some Scriptures and texts. I wanted you to see that you have it in your hand, so when I am going through the PowerPoint, you do not have to take copious notes. I wanted to free us a little bit. I am not saying do not take notes; I think that is a good thing. But you do not have to write everything down that I am going to be using on the slides, because it is all on the paper.
So I have a special request during the time: lay down the papers for a little bit. It is not a sin if you do not do that, so do not feel guilty, okay? But I will put some slides up here to try to distract you from the sheep during the message.
We are talking about gift and reward. I have some pictures here to show, and actually, I want to read a Scripture to start with. It is in 1 Corinthians 3.
Now, I want to read this whole illustration. It is a few verses, but especially look for the words reward, suffer loss, or saved while we are reading this. Look toward the end at what actually happens. Even though there are a few verses, try to be attentive and catch what happens at the end here. This is verse 8 of chapter 3.
But the planter and the waterer are one; but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
For we are God’s fellow workmen: ye are God’s husbandry, God’s building.
According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble;
each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is.
If any man’s work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.—1 Corinthians 3:8-15
Let us pray to God.
Lord, we rejoice this morning in Your presence, thanking You for meeting us and being with us. We worship You and praise You. We praise You that You are the victorious One. You have risen from the dead, You have ascended on high, and You are alive today. Even now, You are praying for us, keeping us, and having mercy on us.
Lord, we pray in this time that Your word would sink deep into our hearts; that we will not be touched in our minds only, but that something would convict us. May this word of Yours be real in our lives, as we commit ourselves to You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Amen.
Well, actually, even though it looks like we are talking about a lot of wild and controversial stuff today, we are not. We are just talking about a really simple thought: gift and reward.
If you do not remember anything else, we do not have to agree on anything else. I am only going to mention a few things, but that is not the point. Whether somebody thinks Hades and hell are the same thing—that is not the point today. The point is just the principle of gift and reward.
Probably the principle is best illustrated with some pictures of Gabriel. If you have ever given a gift to a kid, you know that the box is half of the gift, right? But a gift is a free present. It is free; it is given; it is not earned; it is not deserved. It is completely free.
However, the reward is different. This is Gabriel, who is after Sophie’s shoe. He has pursued it quite a bit, and he is about to reach it. A reward is earned. You have to actually gain it.
For him, his prize is a shoe. When he got his gums around it, that was his reward, right? But the point is, with a reward, it is not given to you. There is some effort on your part. When there is a reward, we have to do something. We are actually involved. It is not just receiving, but there is some part of yours to play with the reward.
This is what we are looking at through everything we are covering. We just want to apply this principle. You do not have to remember a lot or understand a lot; I just have one simple thought. I have a lot of pictures to tell that thought, but it is mainly just this principle.
Most of us already get this. When you give someone a gift, it is free. But if you work at a job, you get paid for your work; you get your reward. Or if you win a race, you get the trophy. We already understand this in our culture and in the way that we live.
Now look at the verses that we were reading. A couple of weeks ago with the youth, somebody was asking, “Is there a section of Scripture that just says this about gift and reward?” We were on this topic, and it had come up.
Actually, we looked at this set of Scriptures because in this illustration it is a perfect picture that simplifies it. It lets you know that if your work passes through the fire, you receive a reward. It also talks about suffering loss if the work is consumed, but it lets you know that he is saved.
So this thing about judgment, fire, and something being lost is not salvation. Right in those Scriptures it says, “He shall be saved; yet so as through fire.”
Catherine helped me with my slides; she does much better than me. But the picture there is that somebody built with straw and somebody built with gold. When the fire of judgment comes, straw does not make it through fire. Fire consumes straw.
The person who built on the good foundation of Christ with wood, hay, and stubble—with materials of man’s effort, materials that are not of God, non-eternal materials—if you are living your life in that way, or even trying to serve God that way by your own strength and your own flesh, these things will all be burned up.
Even though you could say, “Lord, Lord, did I not do these many things? Did I not do this? Did I not do this?” it is all burned up. Now, he himself is saved, but it is as through the fire. It is like he is escaping from the fire.
The foundation is solid. You cannot take away the foundation. The foundation is Christ. The foundation is the rock. It is good material. It is eternal. The question is: How are you building on top of the salvation that you have received, on top of the solid rock of Christ?
In the Scripture, it is talking about the church, but it is applicable to individuals as well. It is kind of a combination. The Scripture does not always separate the two that well, on purpose.
This is the scenario. Probably after this, everybody gets it. But this principle is not just something to understand in our minds. It is actually something that Christians live by. It is something that helps in our Christian walk. It is really like a key to unlock many difficulties.
There are a few keys in the Scriptures. There is the key of keys, which is Christ, who sort of unlocks every problem. This is more like a part of that key. You know, some keys have lots of buttons on them: one pops open the trunk, and one does the door. It is kind of like that. This is just a button on the key of Christ.
There are some difficulties that you run into in the Bible, and a lot of times we are looking at them without considering gift and reward. Sometimes, maybe as Christians, we think of everything as heaven and hell. We do not consider the kingdom age—the next age to come, the thousand years, the millennium.
Sometimes we are only thinking that everything has to do with somebody being saved. So we read in the Bible at one point that this is eternal and that no one can snatch you out of the Lord’s hands. Then at another point there is a strong warning. There are confusing passages that are unlocked once we see the principle of gift and reward.
Is this talking about the gift of God, the free gift? Or is this talking about the reward that the Lord has set before you to run after and gain?
The gift is eternal life. The gift of eternal life is free. We already mentioned the picture of the package. Ephesians 2:8 says that you are saved by grace through faith. It is not from yourself. This free gift is the gift of God.
Whatever you do does not apply to the free gift. So when you meet God, when you meet your Maker, no one can boast. You cannot say, “I lived such a life. I have made it to heaven. I have gained the reward of heaven.” It is not true.
There are lots of Scriptures, and on the sheet I put more Scriptures. But just to make a point: the gift of eternal life is free, but the reward of the kingdom is earned.
In Revelation, at the end, He says:
Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each man according as his work is.
—Revelation 22:12
This is the Lord Jesus talking to us Christians. He is coming quickly, and He says that He has His reward with Him. The reward is according to what your work shall be. What have you done? That has to do with your reward.
The reward of the kingdom is earned. The gift is secure; you cannot lose it.
Here is a verse of the Lord Jesus, and He is saying that of all the saints the Father has given Him, He will lose nothing. If the Father has given you to Christ, Christ will not lose you. It is secure—absolutely secure.
There are many places all around in the Scriptures that illustrate this, but the reward is uncertain. All of us in this room may not all earn the reward. Even though after today maybe we will all understand it, that does not mean you will gain it. This is not just informational. This is not just a doctrine.
Notice in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul talks about running, and he says, “Run for the prize.” He talks about fighting, and he says, “Box with a purpose. Hit your target.” At the very end, he says that he beats his body and makes it his slave—basically, he puts his body under submission to do what he wants it to do—otherwise, after having preached to others, he himself should be rejected.
Now, this is Paul the apostle. He has already written 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and nine chapters of 1 Corinthians that are actually Scripture. He is definitely saved. He is not going to be rejected as far as salvation goes.
But he is uncertain, even after having preached to others. Even after many churches were raised up through this apostle, without a doubt he is a saved man. He has eternal life. But he says, “I myself might be rejected.” He is striving for this prize. He is running after it. He is contending for it. It is something that he is not certain he will earn.
So the reward is uncertain, but the gift is very certain. The gift is according to grace. The reward is according to works.
This is all in the sheets. It says there, “On the principle of faith, that it might be according to grace.” Then the reward is according to works. Revelation 2:23 says, “I will give unto each one of you according to your works.”
Grace is received, just like we talked about with the free gift. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are not earning salvation. We are just receiving salvation. Faith is not a work. Faith is acceptance; it is receiving. Even repentance is not really a work. Repentance is turning from all your old ways and coming to Christ to receive.
There is a change going on, but it is not you drumming it up. God’s grace comes to help you do this.
Now, the reward—people call it grace upon grace. This Scripture was mentioned this morning. Paul talks about how he has been laboring for the Lord. He labored more than all the others, but then he says, “It is not me. It is the grace of God that was with me.”
This is the way it works. When we are saved, we are receiving grace. That is it. You basically do not have a lot of involvement, and once you have got it, you have got it. But what are you going to do with the grace that you have received?
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed on me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
—1 Corinthians 15:10
So all of us—let us say everyone in this room has been born again—we have all received grace. That might not be true, but I am just assuming. If all of us have received grace, what do we do with it?
We receive eternal life. We receive the Holy Spirit inside. We receive a new life. We are born again. We are in this new creation of Christ. Now, what do you do every day?
Do you wake up and live as if you are not saved? Do you live as if you do not have any grace inside? Do you live as if it is just you by yourself, without the help of God and without a new life? Do you live like it was your old life?
Or do you use the grace of God that He has given you? Do you live by the new life of Christ? Do you let grace be in vain, or do you allow God’s grace to work through you?
That is the difference. It is all grace. When it comes down to the reward, it is not you getting there and boasting, “I have done these many works. I have done all of this.” It is not like that. Actually, at that time, you can say, “By God’s grace.”
But the difference is that you can neglect His grace, or you can allow His grace to work through you to serve Him.
The goal of an unbeliever is salvation. An unbeliever is the one asking, “What do I need to do to be saved? How do I get saved?” It took me a long time to find out how to be saved. It was my goal for at least two years.
This is what an unbeliever is running after, in a sense. Some are running away, but this is the goal. It is not the goal of a believer.
The goal of the believer is different. The goal of the believer is the prize, the crown. The believer is not after salvation, because the Scripture says that we are saved.
In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul the apostle says that he is after something. He wants to know the Lord. He wants to know Him more. He wants to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. He wants to attain to the resurrection from among the dead.
He says, “Not that I have already obtained the prize. I am not already perfected, but I pursue that I may get possession of it.” He does not count himself to have gotten possession of it.
This is another illustration. Paul the apostle is a Christian writing in the Philippian letter. Does he already have eternal life as a possession? He has already got it. In the same letter, in chapter 1, he says, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If he dies, he will go to be with the Lord. He is certain.
He is certain that he is going to be with the Lord if he dies. He does not have a question in his heart. I do not know how many in this room may still have a question: “Do I have salvation?” How many of us are still running for the prize of salvation? That is not the prize. Salvation is the gift.
If this is where you are at, we need the light of the Scriptures to enlighten us. Paul himself, a saved man, is pursuing something. He is pressing toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Eternal life is obtained now. It is a past-tense thing. We can say, “I have eternal life.” Not someday, when I die, I am going to get eternal life. According to the Scriptures, “He that believeth on Him that sent Me hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.”
Or, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath eternal life.” This is Jesus talking. Or think of the famous John 3:16. First John 5 says that John wrote those things in that letter so that you would know that you have eternal life.
You have eternal life. You already have it. This is a happy thing. This is a gift.
The kingdom is obtained later, though. We do not have the kingdom. It has to do with your faithfulness.
In Matthew 25, there is the picture of judgment with the Lord’s bondservants. Each of them is given something. One has five talents, one has two, and one has one. They are judged not according to, “Did you believe on Jesus?” Their judgment is: “What did you do with the grace that you were given?” That is the judgment there.
That judgment has to do with entering into the kingdom. To some of them He says, “Well done, good and faithful bondservants. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” They enter into the kingdom.
Others did not do well, and they are cast out. They suffer loss, but as we read earlier, they shall be saved, yet so as through fire. There is something that can be lost if we are careless with the salvation that we have received.
Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?” What are you escaping? It is not talking about hell. We have already escaped hell. Remember, it says they will not come into judgment. You have passed out of death into life. You have passed out of the judgment of hell.
But how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It is this judgment right here. We will look at it even later.
Matthew 11:28-30 is a very famous passage, but it is another illustration of gift and reward. The Lord Jesus says:
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.—Matthew 11:28-30
“Come unto Me, all of you who are laboring and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is the simple experience of the gift. You just come to Christ, and He gives it to you. You get rest in your spirit immediately. He has given it to you. There is nothing you are doing. Just come to Christ.
If anyone does not have the gift of eternal life, the simplest thing is to come to Christ. With all your burden, all your laboring, all your trying that you have been doing, just come to Christ and receive the simple gift.
My relative right now is on her deathbed. She does not know the good news. She is deep in the mountains of Kentucky, where the gospel there is, “Go to church and be good, and you might make it to heaven.”
I talked with another relative of mine after praying. I may not get to her while her mind is still clear. We were praying and felt that she just needs to hear, “Come to Christ and receive this gift.” She has never heard that this is a free thing.
Many people—and she is scared to death right now. She is very scared. This is my aunt. To know that she can just receive this gift—when she is on her deathbed looking back at her life, if she is asking, “Will I make it to heaven for my good works?”—none of us can stand. Who can make it?
But this dying world needs to hear that there is a free gift of eternal life. This is good news. This is wonderful.
All of us who have received this free gift have something to rejoice about. We have much to be joyful people about. We have got it. We have eternal life already. We can rest in that.
But this passage also says, “Take My yoke upon you. Learn from Me. And you will find rest unto your souls.” This is different. When you yoke with the Lord, connect with Him, serve together with Him, let Him be Master, leading your life, and do not go your own way—when you do this, that is the way to get rest in your soul.
As you live the Christian life, if you live it away from the Lord, you are not going to have that rest in your heart. You are not going to have that peace through and through. Deep down there is a peace, but you are disturbed in your soul. Your spirit has rest, but your soul needs to find it.
Even in Hebrews, it talks about a Sabbath or a rest. Many people did not get this rest. Yet in Matthew 11:28, you just come and get the rest. Right after that, He says, “Yoke with Me, and you will find the rest.” In Hebrews, the rest is the rest for your soul. It is not the rest of salvation.
The Israelites kept the Sabbath, but they did not enter into the rest. He is using them as a picture. Many of them escaped Egypt; they were redeemed. The picture is that they were saved. They passed through the water, and 1 Corinthians uses that as a picture of baptism. They went through the Red Sea. They were all baptized.
Just like us who are saved, they did not enter into the rest. The rest there is the rest of the promised land. Many of them did not enter into the promised land of the Lord. It is a warning for us Christians.
Though we have the rest, we need to find the rest for our souls. You can find that rest and experience it today. A believer who is yoked with Christ, walking with Him, and has nothing wrong between him and the Lord, has an extra rest. There is a rest in your soul. There is a rest in knowing, “I am with the Lord. I am not out of His presence. I am doing this along with Him.”
Even my serving is not by myself. I am not trying to do my good works on the side. I am yoked with Him. We are going together. This is on the reward side.
Heaven is for eternity. It is called the ages of ages at the end of Revelation. The description in Revelation 21-22 is the picture and description of the New Jerusalem.
Recently, Brother Kong gave a whole message on the New Jerusalem that was really helpful, a message on the kingdom, and a message on the Lord’s return. His messages explain the chart better than I am explaining it. I am not going to cover it today.
But as far as going to heaven, that is eternal. As far as the kingdom age, the Bible only talks about it as being one thousand years. At the end of Revelation, in chapter 20, when it talks about this reward period, it says that it is for one thousand years.
During this thousand years, Satan is locked up. He is not going around tempting you. The Lord Jesus is openly ruling and reigning over the physical earth. There is no worldliness going on because the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.
During the kingdom, we will not say, “The world is tempting me.” He is openly ruling and reigning. We will not have problems with government. The government will actually be the government of the Lord Jesus. There will not be any voting. There will not be any democracy, but that is not bad if the Lord Jesus is King, you know?
It is a different age. We are not in that age right now. This is the age of democracy—no, I mean, this is the age of grace. This is a different age. On that chart, I put a timeline just to show that we are not in that age, but it is coming.
As I was saying before, as far as it comes to the gift, we should be encouraged. We should rejoice.
Personal story: when I was saved, I was taught that I could lose my salvation, and I shared that with others. But I never felt like it was right. I always felt like I was saved.
One time, I can remember exactly where I was and exactly how I was sitting. This was a long time ago to me. I was sitting and reading a book. The chapter was “Assurance of Salvation,” and the book is Full of Grace and Truth.
As I read this book, so many Scriptures were laid out in front of me, proving from the Bible that salvation is absolutely certain. It is secure.
I remember exactly what I said too. I was by myself, but I was just like, “No way.” I had to say it out loud a few times: “No way. No way.”
I got up full of tears and thanking the Lord: “I am really saved. I absolutely cannot lose it. I am saved. I am certainly saved.” That radically changed my Christian life.
All the things I had been doing were to prove that I was saved, or to show it, or to make sure I did not lose it. But I just wallowed in that for a long time, and still do. Just think about it: You are saved. It is secure. You cannot actually lose it.
According to the Scriptures—and I already put some up, and there are some on the sheet if you do not have enough Scriptures—it is without a doubt according to the word of God. The only way you could say it is not true is to throw out some Bible verses.
It is absolutely sure. We have a lot to rejoice about. Every Sunday when we come together and break bread, in a sense, all of us are rejoicing in this free gift that we have received. We all have something to be thankful for. We are full of joy when we remember the Lord.
This is not a past-tense thing. It is not like at one point in my life I was so happy that I had the gift, but now I do not really think about it. It is not true. This is something for us to do right now. Throughout today, rejoice in the Lord. We are thankful people. We have got Christ, and we have His presence with us.
On the other side, the Scriptures have warnings for us, encouragement for us, and exhortations to press on. Do not neglect the gift that you have.
These two things have to happen at the same time. On the one hand, we are solid on that foundation, able to stand strong and praise the Lord. On the other hand, in the presence of the Lord, in much excitement, joy, and thankfulness, we rise up by His grace to serve Him, follow Him, and do good works.
We do not use that term much, but the Scripture uses it. Basically, we do works of faith. We serve the Lord by His grace.
The reward concept can sound selfish to some people. Some have brought that up to me: “I do not care about the reward. I have got heaven, and the reward sounds like it is something for selfish Christians who want more. I am content just to make it into heaven.”
But it is not like that.
It is true that the Bible talks about ruling and reigning with Christ. Revelation 2 and 3 talk about aspects of the reward given to those who overcome. God sees those things. But as far as the individual Christian, what do we see?
We just see, “I want to hear Him say, ‘Well done.’ I want to see Jesus smile when He sees me. I want to be in His presence.”
I do not want to be walking away from Him and suddenly be in His presence. That is a fearful thing. But to be with Him right now, and then to see Him, and for Him to have joy and say, “Enter into the joy of the Lord”—that is different.
It is a fearful thing to imagine seeing the Lord, from whom we have received so much love and whom we love, but for Him to have to leave us aside, even though temporarily, and say, “Depart from Me.”
It is not a fearful thing like a slave with a mean master. It is not like that. Even when the Lord sends them into outer darkness, they are regretting. They are weeping. Their jaw is clenched in much regret.
But this is God’s mercy. If you are not ready for heaven right now, if you are not with the Lord now, He has to make you ready sometime. Otherwise, heaven will be like hell for you. If you love the world so much now, then to go where it is not about you anymore, where it is all about Christ, will not be pleasant.
So even this time period, if you miss the kingdom, is God’s mercy. But the feeling of a Christian is the feeling of a child who wants to please a parent who loves them.
Some kids, when there is a good relationship with their parents—it is not all of our cases—but if you really love your parents, you love to have them boast in you. Not just because it puffs you up, but you love for them to be happy about how you are doing. It makes you sad when a parent is disappointed.
If they are sad because of how you are acting, even if their spanking is not hard, or even if you are beyond the time of spanking, you are still let down if the parent is let down—if they are disappointed.
Sometimes that can be the worst thing a parent can say. I am not saying it is bad to say it appropriately, but for a child to hear, rather than, “I am going to get forty stripes on my back,” or thirty-nine—if I hear, “I am very disappointed. You have let me down”—that is the feeling of the Christian.
The Christian is afraid to own that day when he is judged before the Lord, to hear something like that. It is the feeling of a child who wants to please the Father. That is the fear of the Lord. That is the warning.
Another thing: this principle, as we were saying, is a key that unlocks a lot of confusing things. Even in this room, a lot of us may have been brought up differently or taught differently, and we all may have different ideas on things.
Remember, today I am only making the point that there is a difference between gift and reward. That is my only point. So anything else you see, or you look on the sheet and say, “I do not agree with this,” do not throw out the main point. Use the main point when you are searching the Scriptures.
I have limited understanding, so there may be something wrong. But this point, I feel, is something obvious in the Scriptures.
When it comes to talking about us being saved, there are a lot of different ideas. Some say, “Are we saved eternally, and what we do does not matter?” This is actually taught and practiced.
Another question is, “Are we trying to earn our salvation?” Many whole groups of Christians believe this.
Another question is, “Are we saved, but can lose our salvation?” This is what I had been taught early on.
Another view is, “Are we saved, and is it impossible for us to fall away?” This is the idea that real Christians will not fail. Real Christians will not be carnal. If you are carnal, fall down, or fall into sin, you were just never saved to begin with.
These are some different ideas.
Among Christians, I do not want it to feel like a debate. With the youth, we had some times set up because this topic had come up. We set it up like a debate.
Actually, at our last meeting, they all debated me. I had the wrong ideas, they all had the right ideas, and they all won. But actually, we were not debating. We talked about it, and believe it or not, they were not feisty or mean to me.
We recognized that my view has some truth; it is just missing some truth. That is the approach we took. We are not apologists for the sake of winning an argument. We are not trying to share the Scriptures or clear up salvation to prove somebody wrong. We are not in a fight against any Christians.
Whoever the Lord has received, that is who we receive. The Lord receives some funny people with some funny ideas. There is a big mess among us Christians in understanding because the Lord has received us freely. Whoever receives the free gift, He takes them.
So that is why we have a big confusion. Recognize that there are truths in these views, but there are also missing truths. I want to use this gift-and-reward principle to unlock some of this confusion.
Sometimes salvation is like a big box full of Scriptures that seem to contradict each other, or they seem not to make sense together.
The key to understanding salvation is that we are saved eternally and we are running for the prize. There are two truths to remember in this view of salvation: first, salvation is eternal; it is a gift. Second, there is a reward.
Now apply these things to the other views. One view says that we are saved eternally and what we do does not matter. When we did this in youth time, the group studying this topic was upset. “This is wrong.”
But actually, what is right? It is true that you are saved eternally, and what you do does not matter as far as going to heaven. That is true. Recognize that the Lord has shown this truth. But the missing truth is that what you do does matter as far as the reward.
When you see a Christian saying, “I know I am saved, so I will just go on sinning so that grace can get bigger,” like Romans 6:1, it bothers you. But the problem is that believer is missing the truth of the kingdom. They are missing the concept of reward.
They have actually got salvation down better than most, but what they are missing is the reward. Many Christians feel that there is something to run after, but sometimes we do not understand why we feel that way. The feeling is from the Holy Spirit.
Even if you have a different view, you will notice that most Christians, whatever they think in their minds, feel like, “I am saved, and I should follow the Lord.” You may not know why. You may not know how it all works. That is okay. But that is the feeling most Christians have.
Another view says, “Hopefully you are going to be saved if you earn it.” The truth is that you have to earn something. That is true. But the missing truth is that what you have to earn is not salvation; it is the kingdom.
Another view says, “You are saved, but you need to keep it.” The truth is that there is something you need to keep. Just as He says to the believers in Philadelphia, “Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.”
Do not let anyone take your prize. These believers were walking in the way of the reward or the kingdom, but you need to keep it. You can lose it. You can lose the reward.
The missing truth is that it is the reward that you lose and not salvation. You cannot lose salvation, but you can lose the reward.
Another view says, “You are saved eternally, but if you fall away, you were never saved to begin with.” It is true that many people think that they were saved, but they were not actually saved. That happens among Christianity a lot. We need to be discerning people.
It is especially difficult sometimes with children. There can be a faith in the mind, but it has not touched down deep enough for someone to be born again. That is true.
Another thing that is true is that it is normal for Christians to follow the Lord. You have a new life; you should walk and follow the Lord. But the missing truth is that it is possible for a Christian to be carnal, like the Corinthian church.
In the first three chapters, Paul calls them carnal. They had divisions. He said, “That is carnal. That is fleshly. That is not by the Spirit.”
In that church, one of the believers had to be cast out for a time because of a gross sin he was doing. So the missing truth is that a believer can fail, and if they fail, they lose the reward.
But I think it is good to recognize that you are saved eternally, and also to be cautious. Do not assume everybody is saved. I said at the beginning that I was assuming everyone in here is saved, but I do not always assume that.
Any time I talk with somebody, I try to find out first: “Are you really saved?” Even if you have been a Christian for however many years. Because I was a Christian before I was a Christian.
If you asked me, “Are you a Christian?” I would say, “I am a Christian, yeah.” “How long have you been a Christian?” “I have been a Christian since I was born.” You hear that, right? But then you have to pry a little bit: “Was there ever a time when you met the Lord? Have you ever had your sins forgiven?” Find out whether there has been an experience. If they have not, help them into an experience.
Do Scriptures contradict each other? This key of gift and reward unlocks a lot.
There is a debate: Are you justified by faith alone, or are you justified by works? James and Paul were against each other—not really, but it can seem like that. Even Martin Luther, during the Reformation, did not really like the book of James because James talks about being justified by works.
But they are on different sides of the spectrum. Paul is emphasizing that this free gift has nothing to do with your works. On the other hand, as far as how you live as a Christian on this earth, people need to see fruit produced. We need to see something that shows that you have faith.
At the same time, when you stand before the Lord, there should have been some works by faith. As a Christian, the normal way is that you are justified by faith and justified by works. These are two things on two sides. They are not a contradiction to each other with this principle.
Another thing is that some Scriptures say you are saved instantly; it happens right away. Ephesians 2:8 says, “We are saved.” But other Scriptures talk about gaining salvation of the soul.
There is the salvation of the spirit: as soon as you believe, you are saved. But when the Bible talks about the salvation of the soul, it is future; it is something earned. When it talks about salvation of the spirit, it is free, instant, and past tense if you are a Christian. These are two different things.
Sometimes people look at the two types of verses, and it confuses them about salvation. James 1:21 talks about the word that is able to save your souls. First Peter 1 speaks of “receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” Not the beginning, but the end.
In Matthew 16:25, Jesus uses this language when He says that if you try to save your soul now, you are going to lose it then. But if you lose your soul now—deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Him—you will gain it then. You will save it then.
Jesus says that to save your soul in the next age, in the kingdom age, you have to lose it now. It does not mean you lose your individuality or personality. It means that to gratify your soul now is to do whatever you want to do.
If you live that way, when it comes to that age, you will not be doing whatever you want to do, and you will not be enjoying the presence of the Lord in the kingdom. But if we deny ourselves now, follow the Lord, and walk as His disciples, then we will save our souls for then.
The salvation of the soul is a future thing. This is a big topic, so I am not trying to explain all of this. I am just trying to say: Look into these things using this key. Please go search the Scriptures. I put some Scriptures on the sheet, and there are a lot more. Use this key of gift and reward when you run into conflicts, and let it unlock some of these problems.
The same is true with judgment. There are Bible verses that say we have passed out of judgment. Some say, “I am not going to be judged. The judgment of the cross took away judgment for me. I will not be condemned to hell. I am past the judgment.”
But there are other Bible verses—and it is not a contradiction—that say we will all be placed before the judgment seat of Christ.
In Romans and 2 Corinthians, Paul is talking to Christians and saying that all of us will be at this judgment seat of Christ. We will be judged according to our works, according to what we have done.
Just like the illustration we looked at in 1 Corinthians 3, that is a Christian being judged by fire. What has been done? These things do not contradict each other.
But if we have a limited view and try to cram everything together—if, when you read the Bible, you only see one judgment—you might squint your eyes. Usually this happens if we do not read the Bible much. Maybe we have seen some cartoons, know there is a judgment, and think everybody is going to be there or something. So any time we read about judgment, we combine it all together.
Actually, we have to be more careful when we read the Bible. There is the judgment seat of Christ, which is for believers and has to do with reward. But the judgment of hell for believers has already passed. You will not be judged to hell. Praise the Lord.
Another point is that unbelief alone is enough for the punishment of hell. Jesus said that in John 3. He said that He came not to bring judgment, but to bring salvation. Yet He said, “You are already in judgment because you have not believed on the Son of God.”
An unbeliever already has judgment upon him because of unbelief. At the great white throne judgment, this is not the judgment for Christians. The test there is that whoever was not found in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Even though books were opened and works were exposed, just as Romans 3 says, none of our works can justify us. It will be a fair judgment, but unbelief alone is enough.
Unfaithfulness is what has to do with outer darkness. Sometimes, when we read Matthew 25, we hear about people being judged according to what they have done, not according to whether they believed on Jesus or not.
Notice the difference and use this key to unlock that. In Matthew 25, it can become confusing because you say, “I thought if I believed in Christ, I would not be condemned to hell.” But be careful: in Matthew 25 they are sent to outer darkness. They are not sent to the lake of fire. They are not sent to hell. They are sent to outer darkness. It is something else.
It is a temporary place for those who miss the kingdom, to prepare them. It is actually God’s mercy, as we said, to prepare you for heaven for eternity.
All the saints will be raised to eternal life. The Scriptures say this. But there is also something talked about in the Bible called the first resurrection. In Revelation it says, “Blessed are those who attain to the first resurrection.”
In Philippians 3, Paul says that he is pursuing the Lord: “I want to know Him. I want to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.” But then he says, “If by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.”
This is Paul, the believer, who knows he is going to be raised from the dead. But he says, “I am trying to obtain the resurrection.” In at least one of the original Greek texts, there is a word out in there right before resurrection. It says “out-resurrection.”
Some people say it is the out-resurrection, almost like there is a big resurrection, but then from among the saints, the overcomers will be pulled out ahead of time and automatically gain the reward.
Another confusing thing sometimes is the rapture. I am not getting into this. Everything I am talking about has been touched on here in the messages over the last five years. Everything has been covered pretty well. I am just foolish enough to put it all in one spot, on one piece of paper, right?
I do not want to talk about rapture today, and it is okay if we see differently. But if you put all the verses together, you are going to be confused without this key.
Some Bible verses say there is a rapture for all the saints. It is absolutely free. It talks about it at the last trumpet, and people will see it happening. It will be a known event. It is loud.
But another rapture is talked about where the Lord comes as a thief in the night. He takes the goods. It is in the twinkling of an eye. It is unexpected.
If it is the last trumpet, and in Revelation there are seven trumpets, then if you are a Christian during that time period, you know what is going on. You know you are in the trumpets. There is the antichrist. He has openly made himself known. Christians are being persecuted.
The last trumpet is the last thing before the seven bowls of the wrath of God. After that, the Lord physically returns and brings final judgment to the earth as far as mankind goes.
Before the full-blown wrath of God comes in Revelation—the seven bowls of the wrath of God, which are almost impossible to survive—He raptures the rest of the church, those who missed the first rapture.
The first rapture, such as in Luke 21, involves the Lord telling you to be watchful and ready so that you will be worthy to escape all these tribulation things that are about to come to pass. That rapture has to do with: Are you ready?
But the other rapture is all of the saints. These are two different things. Rapture can be confusing when you put it all together, as though it contradicts itself, but it does not. One is certain because you are saved, but the other one is dependent on whether you are following the Lord right now.
Now, just to remind you, we are talking about gift and reward. I want to bring us back to this because I think after talking about rapture, judgments, and everything, everybody is probably like, “Whoa, slow down.” But that is not my point.
My point is: Gift is free. Reward is earned.
This is not just something informational to look at Scriptures with. This has to do with the Christian life. This dealing of gift and reward is very important.
In our lives as Christians, most of us have a confusing time. If you look back, probably most of your Christian life has been quite confusing. At one point, you are full of joy in the Lord, thankful for salvation, enjoying things, and everything is fun.
Maybe during that time, you are giving your life to the Lord, consecrating things, and discovering that the Lord would have you do this and would not have you do that. You discover some rules, in a sense. You discover the way the Lord would have you walk.
But then as you are walking that way, things might start to get dry. You might begin to feel like you have a big weight on top of you.
For example, Bible reading plans seem to be hard for most people. In your enjoyment of Christ, you want to read the Word. You say, “I want to read the Bible at least once a year.” So you commit yourself: “I am going to read three or four chapters a day to make sure I cover the Bible once a year, just to give myself a view.”
But then, as time goes on, you have that as a rule. Maybe you have twenty other things you are trying to do as you follow the Lord. Suddenly, you are trying to keep these things up, but it feels so hard.
Now you are like, “I know it should not be like this. I am going to read the Bible, but I feel like it is a job to do. I feel like I have to do it. It just does not feel like it used to feel.”
So you react against that. You throw it away, burn up the Bible plan, and say, “I am just going to read whenever I feel like it.” Then maybe you just read randomly, and perhaps you even begin to enjoy things again.
But then suddenly even that loses the joy. If you reject all pursuit of the Lord and are trying just to enjoy His mercy, it does not actually work.
If you try to be away from following the Lord and serving the Lord, and just try to think about His love and mercy without thinking about any rules, regulations, warnings, or anything like that—if you reject all of that—you lose your first love.
It actually does not work. You think, “I can reject all these things, and then I am just going to enjoy the Christian life,” but you actually stop enjoying it pretty quickly. Then maybe somebody speaks something and you get revived. You say, “Give your life to the Lord,” and then you go back and forth.
Are you guys confused? Okay. All right. Well, it is confusing. Probably the way I am saying it is confusing.
But in a lot of our history, our Christian life has been a mess. One problem is that we are imbalanced. We have to do both of these things at the same time.
We have to enjoy the mercy of God all the time. You cannot leave it. You cannot stop being happy that you are saved. You cannot leave enjoying His presence, enjoying His grace, taking a break and thinking about the Lord. You cannot leave that. It has to go on throughout the day.
You cannot leave it while you try to serve the Lord, because when you try to do works without the presence of the Lord, they become dead. Then you feel dry, and it becomes a law on top of you.
The only way they actually work together is this: Enjoy the Lord and pursue Him to enjoy more of Him. That is how it works.
You are resting and you are running. In Philippians 3, Paul says joy, rejoice, and have joy many times. He is in prison, and he is so happy. But he also says in chapter 3, “I am running. I am pursuing. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
These happen at the same time.
While you are rejoicing and saying, “It is better for me to die because I am going to be with the Lord; it is certain,” at the same time you are saying, “I am after more of Christ.”
You enjoy knowing Christ because you do know Him. But Paul says, “I want to know Him.” You want to know Him more. That is the difference.
It is not like you are outside the relationship with Christ, standing over here trying to do side works to gain a reward in the future. Instead, you are with Christ. You are yoked with Christ. You are resting in Christ. Together, you are going on.
You experience receiving something from the Lord, but you also experience the Lord doing something through you. That is the feeling of reward. That is the joy of pursuing Christ.
It is not just, “I am in Christ. I have all the abundance of riches in Christ.” Christ is in me, and it is an experience to allow Christ to overcome through you. It is a wonderful experience.
Sometimes when you overcome something, you just say, “What just happened? That must have been the Lord,” because you always fail at that thing. Maybe you have a temper and you always react, but one time you are peaceful during it. You say, “That was actually Christ in me.” It is a wonderful experience.
We are rejoicing, we are pursuing, we are abiding in His love, and we are responding to His love. This is the non-confusing Christian life. It has to go together. We have to use this key to unlock it. We have to experience this.
I have some homework. It is not the sheet that I gave you. This sheet is actually for if we have desire or hunger: you can search the Scriptures using this key and try to unlock some things. I tried to put a lot of Scriptures with it.
But the homework—if you do not do it, do not feel guilty, okay?—is something I have been praying about.
One way to experience this in a specific way is to try it for one day. Imagine you do it tomorrow. Imagine tomorrow is a picture of your whole Christian life. You have a beginning and you have an end.
At the end of tomorrow, when you are praying to the Lord before you fall asleep, you are either going to hear His “Well done, good and faithful bondservant,” or maybe He is showing you a lot of failures. You are confessing and getting right with the Lord, and you yourself are saved, yet so as through fire.
What I mean is: Do not go to bed away from the Lord. A lot of times, when we go to sleep, before we go to sleep, we feel, “I did not do well today.” Even though you end in the Lord’s mercy, confess your sins, and are right with the Lord, you know that if you had walked by His grace, it would have been a different day. You would have finished certain things, or you would not have done something.
Try to begin the day enjoying the gift of the Lord—worshiping Him, praising Him, thanking Him, and actually considering that you are in Christ.
Then throughout the day, the Lord might show you some things He would have you do before the end of the day. As a faithful bondservant, by God’s grace, try to follow Him.
During the day, notice this thing. Just try it for a day, because I know it is a lot to think about throughout the whole day. Notice whether, as you are doing things, you are enjoying the Lord’s presence or not.
Throughout the day, it helps to take a pause. Take ten seconds and look up to the Lord. Sometimes in the busyness of things, you may lose the fresh sight of Christ. It is very helpful just to come back and remember that you are with the Lord, that you are the Lord’s, and then just walk with Him.
To use a day as a picture of a life is kind of a neat experience. But of course, what I am talking about today, I hope will touch our whole life—that we can all be joyful people in this room, joyful in the Lord, and that we can all be pursuing after more of Christ.
Let us pray together.
Lord, we really appreciate all of the grace that You have given to us. We do not take this lightly. Your salvation is so great. You cover everything. It is all fair, righteous, and right.
Even our Christian lives are not purposeless, but You have set us on a course. You have something in front of us. Lord, we worship You together and praise You. We really want to commit ourselves to You and trust ourselves to You.
We want to be able to testify in that day, by Your grace, that we have won the prize.
Even now, I pray that if there are any among us who are distant from You, whom You love, touch us and draw us back to You. If there are things we have left off, pursuits that we have given up because of failure or depression, Lord, I pray that Your grace would so touch our hearts.
Enlighten us that with God all things are possible. We come to You in Jesus’ name. Amen.