My beloved and dear brothers in Christ Jesus the Peace of the Lord!
Today I will share a superimportant theme that is the reward of the faithful, because there are different degrees of reward in heaven, depending on our fidelity to Christ on earth. Jesus said: "And behold, I come quickly, and with me is the reward that I have to repay each one according to his works" (Rev. 22:12).
Paul said that the work of each believer is going to be tested by fire and "if the work of someone who builds on the foundation remains, it will receive reward" (1 Cor 3:14).
In 2 Corinthians 5 it is written that all of us will appear before the judgment seat of Christ "so that each one may receive the good or evil that they have done" (v. 10)
The distinction between the gift and the reward or reward in the Scriptures is very clear.
Grace is undeserved; It is a free gift from God, received by faith, without money and without price.
In Grace the best service is without value, the obligation is not recognized and the value is not considered.
But the award is deserved; it is the salary for the service rendered, received by the works through labor and sacrifice. In the Award the least service is remembered, the obligation is recognized and the value is considered.
The reward depends entirely on the believer; Grace depends totally on Christ. The Award looks to the fidelity of the believer; Grace looks to the faithfulness of God. The award recognizes the simplest service; Grace ignores the best service.
The language of grace is: "it does not come from you." The message of the Award is: "Serve the Lord." The language of grace is: "Your work of love.
The message of grace is: "One who does not work" the voice of the award is "You have been faithful in that" the voice of grace is "This is love"
Jesus said that He is coming soon, and when He comes, He will bring rewards to give to men according to what they did. This teaches us that there will be a time of reward for Christians.
In 2 Timothy 4, we read the words of Paul at the end of his ministry: "I combated the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith, from now on, the crown of justice is kept for me, which the Lord, just judge, He will give in that day, and not only to me, but also to all who love his coming. "
The distribution of the rewards will be immediately after the coming of Christ to snatch his church. Let us leave that world, we will meet Jesus Christ in the air, we will go to the house of the Father and then there will be a moment for the awards.
Only the works that survive the fire of purification of God will have eternal value and will be worthy of reward. Those precious works are known as "gold, silver, precious stones" (1 Cor 3:12) and are those works that were built on the foundation of faith in Christ.
The works that will not be rewarded are called "wood, hay, straw" in the same passage in Corinthians and represent not bad works, but superficial activities, without any eternal value.
The awards will be distributed in the "Tribunal de Cristo", a place where the lives of the believers will be evaluated only for the purpose of distributing the rewards. The judgment of the believers never refers to the punishment of sin.
Jesus Christ was punished for our sin when He died on the cross, and God said, "Well, with their iniquities, I will use mercy and their sins I will never remember" (Heb 8:12). What a glorious thought!
The Christian never needs to fear punishment, but he can anticipate crowns of reward that we can put at the feet of our Savior.
The Greek word that we find in the New Testament in Greek, transliterated for reward is misthós, which means salary or reward.
Reward, therefore, can be understood as rewards that the saved will receive in the glory to come, according to their works.
We must remember that the reward is like a two-edged sword: "You servants, obey ... knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, served Christ, the Lord" because "whoever does injustice will receive the wages of injustice what he did, and there is no partiality "(Col 3: 22-25).
Some of the things the Lord has to give back on that day:
a) God's kindness and God-like behavior: "You love your enemies, do good, lend, expecting nothing from them, and your reward will be great and I will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind even to the ungrateful and the bad. "
Here the reward revolves around the conduct and character to the likeness of our heavenly Father. We must love everyone indistinctly as our Father does. Acting like this is that we will be "children" of the Most High.
b) Secret devotion: "But you, when you pray, enter your room, and close the door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you." Such a prayer will be answered and rewarded.
c) Our Attitude of Heart: "Judge not and you shall not be judged ... forgive and you will be forgiven" (Lk 6:37).
A servant of the Lord said that "our life is putting, word for word, the judgment upon us on the lips of Christ.
Goodness and glory are only part of a whole: goodness is the side of the suffering of glory and glory is the shining side of goodness.
d) Solution: "And whoever gives even one glass of fresh water to one of these little ones, the disciple of quality, of course, I tell you true that he will not lose his reward". Every service we render to the Lord will be rewarded.
The measures of reward will be duly weighed by the Lord: "He who receives a prophet as a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet, and whoever receives a just as righteous will receive the just reward" (Matthew 10:41)
These statements clearly reveal the tremendous and blessed truth known as the "law of sowing": "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap: for he that soweth in his flesh shall reap corruption in the flesh: but he that soweth in him Spirit, of the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Unfortunately, when we read these words our minds turn to the problem of sin. However, the meaning here is broader, for Paul continues to say ... "let us do good to all, especially to the domestics of the faith", and in verse 6 he said: "And what is being instructed in the Share all the good things with which he instructs you. "
It is evident that the context here is to sow good through good works. The expression "bears the burdens of one another" is intimately tied to the question of our possessions.
We can understand that there are several categories of awards. The Bible mentions them in Matthew 10.41 through the expressions "reward of prophet" and "reward of just" that division into categories. However, it does not specify which awards belong to which category.
We also find the explanation of CORONAS that indicate "awards" received for performing certain tasks.
In the ancient world, the crown had more meaning than today, of course because there were more kings. But in competitions, for example, the winner received a crown of laurels or after a victory in a war there were several types of crowns to identify the degree of involvement and the intensity of the victory achieved.
Thus, it is easier to understand why this form of explanation is used for "rewards" that human beings will receive for having performed a task or not, since the biblical text shows that people will receive awards according to their attitude, positive or no, awards considered good or not.
There is even a way to classify the "positive rewards" and how they are achieved, according to the following:
Joy to win souls (1 Thessalonians 2:19; Philippians 4: 1)
Support life trials, afflictions and temptations, and yet remain faithful (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10)
Incorruptibility To deny oneself (1 Cor 9:25)
Gloria Caring for the flock (1 Peter 5.4)
Longing for Justice for the return of Christ (2 Tim 4,8)
The Greek word for the reward is misthos, that is, the salary or reward. Reward, therefore, are the rewards that the saved will receive in the glory to come, according to their works.
Another Greek word occurs in the New Testament that supports this doctrine. It is the Greek word antapódosis whose meaning is that of retribution. This word is used both in the positive sense of reward (Col. 3:24, Lk 14:12) and in the negative sense of punishment (Rm11: 9).
There are several categories of awards. The Bible mentions them in Matthew 10:41, through the expressions "reward of prophet" and "reward of righteous". However, it does not specify which are the awards that belong to each category.
THE CROWNS
Other passages of the New Testament mention the awards, referring only to their names and the way in which they are obtained. They are the crowns that constitute a number of five: Corona de la Alegría, Corona de la Vida, Corona de la Incorruptibilidad, Corona de la Gloria and Corona de la Justicia.
Corona de la Alegría: This crown will be awarded to the soul winners. Paul refers to the brothers he brought to Christ as his joy and crown. Therefore, those who win many souls will receive the Corona de la Alegría. Sometimes the crown is a symbol of joy, and the Bible declares that there is joy in heaven when a soul is won for Christ (Lk 15: 7).
Crown of Life: This Crown is not eternal life as many Christians think. The award is given on the basis of the works; Salvation is given exclusively on the basis of God's grace. In no way may eternal life be granted or obtained by the faithfulness of Christians in times of trouble, even if such fidelity is required as proof of genuine salvation.
The fact is that many Christians are reproved in their trials, but in spite of this they remain saved by the grace of God. This crown, then, is linked to fidelity in tribulations. Those who endure trials and sufferings in this life, because of the name of Christ, and remain faithful in their love for God, will receive as a reward the Crown of Life.
Crown of Incorruptibility: This Crown will be granted to those who seek to live an incorruptible life, of self-denial, denying to sin, the works of the flesh, and living an integral life before God and of men.
Crown of Glory: This crown will be granted to pastors who perform their ministries well and also to those who lead faithfully over the people of God, always seeking the good of the sheep of Christ, always with the intention of making them grow, feeding them in faith and in the love of God.
Crown of justice: This crown will receive those whose lives were entirely given in favor of the kingdom of God, and those who show a burning expectation for the return of Christ and ardently desire it.
These are those who pray intensely in the spirit.
WHAT ARE YOU CROWDING FOR?
Some people think that Crowns should be despised because salvation is not a competitive event, whose winners will be able to display their prizes in the heavens.
Such reasoning, however, is erroneous, since to be satisfied only with salvation in itself unrelated to rewards is not a Christian attitude, although it seems that such people act moved only by love for the work of Christ, not aiming for prizes or personal interest except salvation itself.
The prizes will be offered to Christ, because the works that Christians perform in the Spirit, are also fruits of the grace of God.
Every word, thought or act of ours is like a seed that we throw on the ground. One day the harvest will arise: will it be beautiful or alarming? That is why we must sow in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
We must seriously consider these four points: when we sow, what we sow, how much we sow and why they sowed.
"LOOK FOR YOURSELVES, SO THAT YOU DO NOT PERFORM THE FRUIT OF YOUR WORK, BEFORE IT RECEIVES THE FULL REWARD" (2 Jn 8).
Each one of us must do the work of God in the best possible way because God will not reward us for the quantity of works done, but for his quality.
He will consider the works whose motivations were sincere and true; but those who, when they do something for the Lord, blow the trumpet and have received their reward here on earth, and there is nothing left to receive in the heavens.