“…… I WILL REWARD...”

 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.”  Rev. 22:12  NKJV

While salvation is a gift, there are rewards given for faithfulness in the Christian life and loss of rewards for unfaithfulness.  Rewards become one of the great motives of the Christian’s life or should be. But we need to understand the nature of these rewards to understand the nature of the motivation. Some people are troubled by the doctrine of rewards because this seems to suggest “merit” instead of “grace,” and because, it is pointed out, we should only serve the Lord out of love and for God’s glory.

Of course we should serve the Lord out of love and for God’s glory, and understanding the nature of rewards will help us do that. But the fact still remains that the Bible promises us rewards.

God gives us salvation. It is a gift through faith, but He rewards us for good works. God graciously supplies the means by which we may serve Him. Indeed, He works in us both to will and to do as we volitionally appropriate His grace (Phil. 2:12-13), but the decision to serve, and the diligence employed in doing so, are our responsibility and our contribution and God sees this as reward able.

“…… I WILL REWARD...”(vs.12)

A reward represents future action.
We are called to remember the truth of the gospel and that we will be rewarded for our faith!!

Just as we read Genesis 15:6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”  So we too know that belief brings reward!

Jesus has promised throughout the book of Revelation that He will reward those that overcome, hear what He says to the “Church” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21).

A reward can, also represent a past action such as, what Jesus did on the cross, what we have done and what we will be judged for!

 “My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done (vv. 12).”

Is your past covered by the blood of Jesus?

You see past action do have consequences, good and bad!!

What are some of the rewards and how are they described in Scripture? They are described in terms of generalities. What we know about rewards is given in terms that are more general than specific. These are:

The Promise of Crowns. This seems to be used as a symbol of victory, authority, and responsibility.

 The Promise of Heavenly Treasure (Matt. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:4).  Eternal value and security.

The Promise of Accolades or Commendations. This is seen in those passages where a reward is administered in the form of something like “well done thou good and faithful servant …” (Matt. 25:21; Luke 19:17; 1 Cor. 4:5b).

The Promise to Over Comers. These could refer to special blessing of rewards to those believers who overcome special trials and tests rather than a general promise to all believers. See Rev. 2:7; 2:11, 17, 26.

The Promise of Special Responsibilities and Authority of the Lord’s Possessions (Matt. 19:28; 24:45-47; 25:21, 23; Luke 19:17-19; 22:29-30; Rev. 2:26).

[Key Verses on Rewards: Rom. 14:10-11; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; 1 John 2:28; Rev. 3:11-12]

Rewards will be determined by works that are tested by fire. (I Cor. 3:11-15)

You are either in or out!!

You chose!

REMEMBER------- JESUS IS COMING SOON!