Bema Seat on Athens Hill
Our last study was about the Bema Seat judgment that will be for Christians. It will occur at the end of life when every believer stands before Christ to receive their rewards. In the Greek culture, the Bema Seat referred to a platform on which the athletes would stand if they had won an Olympic event. God’s Bema Seat will occur after the second coming of Christ (Revelation 22:12).
That is the picture that Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 5. When we read verses 9 and 10, Paul says that after a believer dies and goes to heaven, Christ will be the one who gives us our rewards.
Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NASB)
This study is the second part of the study about the Bema Seat judgment. I want to talk about the different kinds of rewards that God will give Christians. At the very end of the study, we want to discuss the kinds of rewards that Christ will give believers when they stand before Him at the Bema Seat judgment when God evaluates our works. The question is, what kind of rewards might you receive as a result of having lived this life here for Christ?
No One Is Good Except God
The initial passage that we will begin with is in Mark 10. That will be our launching passage before examining other places in Scripture. Mark 10 gives an account about a man who is referred to as the rich young ruler. Mark 10:17 says,
As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him . . . Mark 10:17 (NASB)
That is, to Christ.
. . . and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 (NASB)
Here we are only told that a man ran up to Christ. Matthew, Mark, and Luke reveal that he was a rich young ruler.
Now it is very obvious that man wanted eternal life. He also called Jesus “good.” Then in verse 18 we are told,
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mark 10:18 (NASB)
The word for “good” that is used in this passage is agathos. In the Greek language there are two different words for “good.” One is kalos, which simply means good in the “beautiful” sense. The other word is agathos, which refers to ethical goodness or moral goodness. So the man was essentially saying to Jesus, “You are ethically good, you are morally good.”
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So, when a person competes in an Olympic swimming event, the winner is given a reward. The reason the person won is that they had been working and preparing for a very long time. The winner is the best! It is very applicable to our study about the Bema Seat judgment, an award ceremony. But first in this passage, we are told that Jesus reminded the man that there is only one who is the best—He is God.
In verse 19, we are told that Jesus listed some commandments from the Ten Commandments because the man asked in verse 17, “…what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus answered with,
“You know the commandments, ‘ DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” Mark 10:19 (NASB)
It is interesting to note what commandments Jesus did not include in the list. Read Exodus 20 sometime and discover what commandments He did not include. In verse 20 the man speaks.
And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Mark 10:20 (NASB)
It is interesting that the man is so brazenly bold that he claims he kept them all. Then verses 21-22 state,
Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. Mark 10:21-22 (NASB)
The young man’s response was very revealing. He did not want to sell everything that he had. What is always amazing to me when I read this account of the rich young ruler is that some people claim, “The reason the man did not want to sell everything that he possessed is that he was very wealthy and owned much property.” But that is not completely true. Did you notice what else Jesus told him to do? Jesus told him to give it up and then do what? Jesus said, “Follow Me!”
The message was he had to give it up and follow Christ. That is the point! It is easy for us to get focused on the money. “Oh yes, he did not want to give up his money.” But it was more than giving up the money. He did not want to give up all his wealth and follow Christ. That is the point.
Now, I have an important question. Why was it necessary for him to give up the money before following Christ? It is a question every one of us should be asking. Why did he have to give up the money in order to follow Christ? The answer is that he had a heart problem—a spiritual problem!
A Heart to Give Up Everything for God
I want you to see what Jesus said in another passage about our hearts. Matthew 13 is part of the Kingdom Parables. In Matthew 13, Jesus gave a parable about several different soils. He gave a parable about tares. He had talked about a mustard seed. He had talked about leaven. When we read verses 44 and 45, we learn that Jesus was talking about the kingdom of heaven and about eternal life. In verse 44 He said,
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44 (NASB)
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that you find in the field. Then because he had a great desire to own it, he sold everything in order to buy it. Now, did you notice how much he sold to get the treasure? Everything! He sold everything. What did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to do? Sell everything!
The next parable is about a costly pearl. Verses 45-46 state,
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46 (NASB)
The pearl was one that not just had value; it had great value. So,
… he went and sold all that he had and he bought it. Matthew 13:46 (NASB)
Now, how much did he sell? He sold all. He sold everything. So what did Jesus ask the rich young ruler to do? To sell everything and to follow him. Notice that in verses 44, 45, and 46, Jesus made the point that a person who really wants salvation and eternal life, a person who really wants the kingdom of heaven is going to have to be willing to give up everything in order to get it. Anything short of that will cause you and me to not get it. That is the point.
One Wednesday night we had a class about salvation at the church. We were talking about what is true salvation. We made the point that even the demons know that Jesus died on a cross. They believe that fact. The demons know that He came back to life. They believe that fact. The demons know that He is in heaven now. They know that Jesus is God. They know that fact. They know that He did miracles. They know that He did wonders. They know that He . . . and the list of the things the demons know continues, but they are not going to be in heaven. Do you know what the difference is? They are not willing to give up everything that they have for Jesus. They are not willing to surrender themselves to Jesus, trust Him and Him alone to forgive their sin. They are not willing to accept Him as their Savior and Lord and follow Him.
Apparently, the rich young ruler had good morals. You can have good morals and not be a Christian. You can behave like a good person—at least think you are acting like a good person—and not be a Christian. What Jesus told the man is, “You have to want salvation more than anything else in life. You have to be willing to give it all up for Me.”
Some people ask, “Is that not a work? Is that something in addition to faith?” No! The willingness to give up everything for Christ is the response of true faith. That is the way true faith responds. A person who truly believes who Jesus is, believes that He is God, that He is the Savior who died for our sins, as a result, is willing to give up everything to be forgiven and have heaven. That is the work of God in one’s life. That is the response of true belief. That is what Jesus told this rich young ruler.
First Criteria for Rewards
How did the disciples respond after Jesus said that to the man? Go back to Mark 10:23 and see how the rich young ruler responded. Verse 23 says,
And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, . . . Mark 10:23a (NASB)
So the disciples were present and heard this. Jesus said,
“How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” They were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” Mark 10:23b-26 (NASB)
At first you might say, “Why were they so shocked?” The reason they were so shocked is that the Jews believed the rich people had an advantage over everybody else. They were confident the rich would be able to get into the kingdom of heaven because they could give money, and give alms for the needy. That supposedly gave them favor with God. That is why the disciples were absolutely stunned.
Verse 27 adds,
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27 (NASB)
Now watch what Peter said in verse 28.
Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” Mark 10:28 (NASB)
Now that was true. Luke 5:1-11 tells us explicitly that the disciples left everything and followed Jesus. So Peter stated the truth. The sign that someone is a real believer is that they will be willing to leave everything for Christ.
Second Criteria for Rewards
It is important to also notice that Peter said, “We” have left everything and followed you. Then Jesus responded,
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 (NASB)
Jesus affirmed what was going to happen to Peter. Peter said, “Lord, we left everything and we are following you.” Then the message of the Lord was that if you left everything, if you left a house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, farms, you are going to get a hundredfold.
Some years ago a man told me that he was not very happy with his Christian life. He was very critical of God because he had given away a large amount of money. He was waiting for his hundredfold return. He was referring to Jesus’ promise in Mark 10:29-30. The man had been listening to a preacher on television who promised a hundredfold return. The idea was that if a believer gave a dollar to God, then God would reward that believer with a hundredfold return. He wanted money; so he gave money, and was waiting for his hundredfold return-in money.
The man cited this passage of Scripture and said, “Notice, what God promised.” I said, “There is a problem with your verse. Did you notice that you also get one hundred mothers?” Because in verse 30 Jesus told him that he would receive a hundred times as many now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers. Do you want a hundred mothers? I do not think it is possible to have a hundred mothers. So that reveals Jesus was not being literal, He was being figurative. What Jesus was saying is that God will give many different types of rewards.
So, we have discovered so far that true believers will leave everything and will receive various kinds of rewards in this life.
Third Criteria for Rewards.
Now notice what Jesus said at the end of verse 29. There is something more important yet than leaving everything. Jesus gave a reason for leaving everything. True believers will leave everything for “My sake and for the gospel’s sake.” The reason is so that people will be born again and have eternal life.
There are people who are involved in the ministry for themselves. Jesus spoke about purpose and motivation. Many church elders, deacons, deaconesses, ministry leaders, all kinds of people involved in various ministries are involved for their own glory, rather than for the glory of God. Do you think they are going to get a reward? Remember that Jesus said if you leave everything for “My sake” and for the “gospel’s sake,” then you will receive a reward. That is the criteria. The criteria is your motivation.
Overview of Rewards
Now we must notice three rewards that individual believers can receive according to verse 30. First, Jesus said that those individuals who leave everything are going to be rewarded in this present age. So, those individuals who leave everything for Christ, God will reward them in this life. They will not be left with nothing.
Then Jesus said those individuals who leave everything for Christ and for the gospel’s sake will be given eternal life. That statement reveals these individuals who willingly give up everything for Christ are actually the true believers. That is, the mark of a true Christian is one who willfully sacrifices themselves for the gospel and for Christ. So, the rewards include things given in this life, as well as eternal life.
Specific Rewards in This Present Age
As we have already discovered in the overview about rewards, believers are given rewards in this present life. Now we are going to discover some of the specific rewards that Christ gives true believers in this life.
Our first passage is Matthew 6:19 to 21. Jesus is speaking in this passage and said,
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (NASB)
One of the major problems Christians have today when they read these verses is that many believers think are already storing up treasure in heaven. So, Jesus’ words do not affect our hearts. Most believers do not share Christ with other people. Someone has said that only ten percent of believers are involved in ministry. About two to three percent tithe their money. Even fewer share Christ with anyone. If those statistics are correct, that implies believers are not storing up treasure in heaven. As I read those statistics, I thought, “Wow, what is wrong?” Their treasure is here in this life. Jesus commanded us to store up treasure in heaven—that is His point; but too many of us are more concerned about treasure in this life.
In Luke 16:8-10, Jesus tells believers to make friends in heaven by using our money shrewdly in order to share the gospel in order to have friends in the kingdom. Now that is one way to store up treasure in heaven, and notice that the treasure is friends and not money.
So, Matthew 6:19-21 tells us that there is something extremely important and incredibly interesting about treasure in heaven. We are going to want that treasure in heaven, whatever that includes.
In Matthew 6:30-33 Jesus said,
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:30-33 (NASB)
Do you know what Jesus said? Jesus said that God takes care of the lilies of the field. He takes care of everything. He will take care of you, but God asks one simple thing if you want Him to take care of you. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Many believers read “seek the kingdom,” and miss the part where He says, “and His righteousness.” Do you understand what Jesus said? He repeated the message to the rich young ruler that we must give up everything for His sake and follow Him. He repeated the same message to Peter. Now He repeated the message in Matthew 6:19-21. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness; and then all these things will be added to you. What things? He will take care of your basic needs.
Proverbs 3:1-11 is similar to Matthew 6:30-33. It gives us insight into some of the things that a believer will do if he or she is putting God first. Then it describes the blessings that God will give to us. For example, a believer who keeps God’s commandments will live a long life (v. 1-20). Verses 3-4 state that if a believer shows kindness and is truthful, then God will grant that believer favor and a good reputation. If we trust in God with all our heart, then God will make our paths straight. If we look to God for wisdom, then God will give us good health. If we willingly give money to our God, then our barns will overflow. Then in the remaining verses more blessings are described. This is a wonderful passage that gives us some insight to what it means to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.
But we must be careful for it is an error to give up everything and follow Jesus in order to get blessings. We must be willing to give up everything to follow Jesus and to do it for the sake of the gospel because it is the right thing to do. Because that is what we desire to do, and we must not care what happens to us. That is the right attitude.
Present Age Persecutions
Notice that Mark 10:30 records that Jesus said that believers will receive “hundred times as much now in the present age,” as well as persecutions. That is, persecutions are included with our rewards in this life. You might ask, “Why is that part of the rewards?!”
Matthew 5:10-12 will help answer the question. It says,
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:10-12 (NASB)
The reason we suffer persecution is that we receive even greater rewards in heaven for suffering. Jesus is promising that if we leave everything for Him and for the gospel, that when you suffer persecution for Christ, your rewards will be even greater. This is a magnificent promise because the greatest rewards are given to those believers who are persecuted for Christ. So, blessings and persecutions go together.
Unfortunately, some today want their rewards right now. Consider Matthew 6:1 which says,
Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1 (NASB)
Jesus warns us to not seek recognition from believers for performing a ministry or for being righteous. The Pharisees did that by praying on a street corner. So, Jesus said they received their reward now from the praises of men. They lost their future reward.
Verse 2 adds,
So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues . . . Matthew 6:2a (NASB)
Can you believe that? They would have a trumpet sound in the synagogue so everyone knew that they were giving.
. . .and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Matthew 6:2b (NASB)
Do you understand the message? They received their reward in full, nothing more will be given. They lost their treasure in heaven from God. They already received their honor from men. Is that not interesting? Notice that the Pharisees did not get a monetary reward. They received man’s recognition. So, we should remember that believers will receive some rewards in this present life and rewards or treasure in heaven.
Blessings For All Believers
Then in Mark 10:29-30, Jesus talked about rewards or blessings “in the present age” first. Then He added, “along with persecutions.” Finally He talked about rewards “in the age to come.” Let us discover what happens in the age to come—heaven!
Blessing of Eternal Life
One reward every believer will receive is described in Romans 6:23. It is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NASB)
This is almost the greatest gift of gifts. You could say it is a reward if you want to do so.. But it is a gift. We do not earn it, so I do not like the word “reward.” I prefer the idea of it being a gift. Here we are told, “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The message is you did not and you cannot earn eternal life. We have already seen in our study in the book of Ephesians that by grace God gives us the gift of saving faith which is the gift of salvation or the gift of eternal life (John 3:16; 2 Peter 1:1).
Blessing to See God
A blessing that we will receive is found in Matthew 5:8 and Psalms 17:15. This is an inspiring one; I love this one. Matthew 5:8 is part of the Beatitudes. Verse 8 says,
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 (NASB)
Seeing God will be the greatest blessing believers will experience in heaven. In the age to come, believers will see God’s face. Right now we cannot see God’s face because if we did, we would die. So the only time believers can see God’s face and live is when we get to heaven. So the greatest of blessings is to see God’s face.
Blessing of God for Our Glory
Isaiah 60:19 reveals another blessing,
“No longer will you have the sun for light by day,
Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;
But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light,
And your God for your glory. Isaiah 60:19 (NASB)
In Revelation 21:22-23 we are told that God the Father and the Son are the temple. They will give light to the new earth. Now notice the last part of Isaiah 60:19.
And your God for your glory. Isaiah 60:19 (NASB)
When is the last time you thought about God being your glory? One of the blessings we are going to be given is that God will be our glory. We are going to give glory to our God and He will be our glory. That is just an unbelievable reality. When is the last time you thought about God being your glory? God will be our glory because we belong to Him. We are part of His family.
Blessing to Reign with Christ
Next, Hebrews 12:28 states that we will inherit a kingdom.
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Hebrews 12: 28a (NASB)
Believers will receive a kingdom. 2 Timothy 2:12 says we will reign with Christ in that kingdom. 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 adds that believers will judge the nations and angels along with Christ. If we read Revelation 20:6, we find that we will also be priests.
When I thought about reigning with Christ, being a judge along with Christ, being a priest along with Christ, I realized that I do not know how to do those things. But immediately I realized that God will enable every believer to fulfill these responsibilities.
Blessing to Inherit Everything
The fifth blessing is very uplifting. Revelation 21:7 says,
He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Revelation 21:7 (NASB)
By the way, 1 John 5:4-5 teaches us that the one who overcomes is the one who believes in Jesus. So, believers will inherit all things. That is all you need to know. Believers are going to inherit everything. Now think for a minute. Who owns everything? The answer is God does. Yes, He does, but you own everything too. Everything will belong to believers because they are His family! We have been adopted and we are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5). You might be wondering what believers will inherit. Read Revelation 21:10 and Revelation 22:5.
Five Crowns For All Believers
The New Testament also describes five crowns that every believer will receive. The first one is the crown of exultation.
The Crown of Exultation
In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, Paul refers to people as being his joy or crown of exultation. He refers to them as being like a crown of joy. Philippians 4:1 also gives us the same idea. He refers to this crown as being his crown of joy.
The Imperishable Crown
There is another crown believers will receive. It is found in 1 Corinthians 9:25. It is the incorruptible or imperishable crown. You will not see that in some of your translations, but the actual Greek text refers to it as an incorruptible crown. This crown refers to the fact every believer will persevere in the faith. Once saved, a person is always saved.
The Crown of Righteousness
For those who have seriously suffered in this life, the third crown or reward is described in 2 Timothy 4:7-8. This is the crown of righteousness. It refers to the fact that when a believer finally arrives in heaven, he or she will be completely righteous – both positionally and practically.
The Crown of Life
In James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10 the crown of life is mentioned. This crown refers to the gift of salvation.
The Crown of Glory
The last crown is the crown of glory. It is mentioned in 1 Peter 5:4. This crown indicates that every believer will have some sense of glory in heaven. Why not! We will have been saved by God’s gift of grace through faith in Christ and have the righteousness of Jesus Christ our God.
Rewards for Individual Believers
The previous two sections describe blessings for every believer. But this section is about rewards for individual believers. We will begin with Hebrews 6:10 which gives us a general promise.
For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 6:10 (NASB)
The promise that we are given is that God will not forget what each individual believer has done for others. The promise is guaranteed since God would be unjust if He failed to reward us according to what we have done. The implication of the promise is that God will reward faithful believers. So, every faithful believer will be rewarded.
Daniel 12:3 is an often-overlooked description of what believers will look like in heaven. I have heard people say, “Christians are going to get golden crowns and then we are going to cast them on the ground before Christ.” I want you to notice that it would be very difficult to do that with the reward described in Daniel 12:3 which says,
Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 (NASB)
The verse is describing every believer, every righteous person, as shining in heaven. We will glow like the expanse of heaven. Then we are told that only those believers, not every believer, who has led many to become righteous will shine like the stars. What does “lead the many to righteousness” mean? It refers to those believers who shared the gospel about Jesus and tried to help people become believers in Jesus Christ. We cannot make anyone become a believer, but we can certainly plant the seed and water the seed. It is these believers who will shine like the stars—like the sun. This reveals that there will be degrees of rewards in heaven. Some believers will shine brighter than others. Now try casting that reward to the ground! This is not something on your head—you are going to be like the stars!
Conclusion
So, there is treasure in heaven. I pray that you will store up treasure in heaven by sharing the gospel with unbelievers, and ministering to the saints. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. May that describe your heart’s desire. So, let us please our Lord Jesus.
In the next study, we will discover God’s criteria for giving believers rewards. Also, we will talk about why God gives us rewards. Let us pray.
Suggested Links:
Topical Bible Study SeriesBecoming A Father of the Faith
Treasuring Your Treasures