"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Lesson 23: Building the Temple of God Part 6:
Eternal Judgement:
The Judgement of Rewards:
Review
We are studying the elementary principles of Christ, which Hebrews 5:12 (RSV) also calls the first principles of God's Word, because these are the foundations of the active life of the Christian believer.
In the first series of lesson we considered the Father's relationship with the believer who is born again. We saw how God, by means His grace through the blood of Jesus, has adopted us into His family. The current series of studies is dealing with the call God has made on our lives to be fruitful disciples.
We have seen...
1. That as disciples we are taught to turn from works that do not have God's life in them, to those that He prepare beforehand "that we should walk in them". (See Ephesians 2:10)
2. That disciples will discover those works by turning their faith toward God;
3. That they are made ready for service through the baptism of water, Spirit and fire;
4. That they receive commissioning for service through the laying on of hands;
5. That having passed from death to life (see 1 John 3:14), the life they live now in the body will determine how they spend the millennium;
6. That, as disciples living in the fear of God, they can expect to stand before the judgement seat of Christ.
In this lesson we will see...
1. That believers will stand before Christ to receive rewards for the way they have lived whilst being born again but still in the body;
2. That the judgement of rewards has nothing to with condemnation but of future service in the Kingdom of Jesus;
3. The parables about the judgement of rewards that illustrate the Lord's intentions.
Our objective is...
to understand the difference between the fear of the Lord and to live in terror of Him, so that we are able to use the talents that God has given us effectively with the future in mind.
Introduction
Hebrews 6:1-3 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement. And this we will do if God permits."
A. Believers before the judgement seat of God
1 Corinthians 3:9-15 "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."
Judgement on the Day of the Lord will include believers, but will only be concerned with the assessment of their works.
1 Peter 1:17 "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;"
Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
B. Not judgement to condemn - but the judgement of rewards
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Judgement that is concerned with salvation has been executed upon believers in that their Messiah was crucified on their behalf.
John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life."
Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
1 Corinthians 3:15 "If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."
Every believer is responsible for finding and doing the works he is called to do.
C. Going through the fire unscathed!
Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
The main issue in this parable is the two sided responsibility of the believer "to Hear" and "to Do" what His Lord commands.
D. Patterns for understanding the judgement of rewards
Matthew 25:14-30 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Luke 19:11-27 "Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.' Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' ("But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.') 'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"
These two versions of the same parable reveal that the judgement of God's people is over their works and the reward is responsibility conferred upon them for faithfully accomplishing their tasks. The outer darkness, often considered as "hell" by some commentators, is more understandable in the Jewish context of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew wrote for the Jews who expect to be in the closest presence of God, the Most Holy Place where the Shekinah shines. He underlines that such a place of intimacy is for the Bride alone. Those who haven't gone on with the Lord and haven't accomplished what He desired for them will find themselves in the outer court, which is darkness compared with the intimacy of the bridal chamber, and a place of extreme disappointment.
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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