9.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• Heaven is a free gift from God to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.
• If you think that you have to work (do good things) to go to heaven, then you will live with:
• fear, or
• selfishness.
• On the judgement day, believers will be rewarded. To understand these rewards in the right way, we must remember:
  - God is our reward.
  - God gives us our good works.
  - God’s rewards are part of God’s grace.
• This should make us praise God for his grace.

9.2 – 2 Corinthians 5:9–10←⤒🔗

^5:9 So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.

^5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.

© NET Bible

9.3 Philippians 3:10–14←⤒🔗

^3:10 My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death,

^3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

^3:12 Not that I have already attained this¾that is, I have not already been perfected ¾but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

^3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,

^3:14 with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

© NET Bible

9.4 The Bible speaks of rewards←⤒🔗

We have already looked at 2 Corinthians 5 (in Lesson 6). But let us look again at verses 9 and 10. Here Paul says that we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. We will receive a reward for what we did while we were on earth.

Jesus says the same thing in his parable about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31–46). In this parable he says that people who do evil will receive punishment (in hell). People who do good will receive glory (in heaven).

This can bring questions to our minds. Didn’t Jesus say that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life? Then why does the Bible speak of rewards? And why does Paul say (in our second passage, Philippians 3:10–14) that he is working hard to win a prize from God?

To answer these questions, we must understand the rewards of heaven in the right way. In this lesson we will look at the Bible’s teaching about rewards.

9.5 A wrong understanding of rewards←⤒🔗

Normally we work for the things that we want. If you want money, you have to work for it. If a child wants good marks at school, he has to study. If you want your house to look nice, you have to clean it.

But heaven is different. Heaven is a gift from God. Jesus Christ bought this gift for us, with his own blood. We must only accept this gift by faith. Then it is ours!

If you think that you have to work (do good things) to go to heaven, then you are on a very dangerous road. Sadly, there are many preachers who preach this message. They will say things like: “The day of judgement is coming. You must live a good life, otherwise, God will punish you!” Or: “If you give money to God now, he will repay you in heaven!”

If we think in this way, then we do not understand the rewards of heaven. This can lead to two problems: fear and selfishness.

1. Fear←↰⤒🔗

We can become afraid that we are not doing enough. We can say to ourselves, “Look at the apostle Paul! He was always serving God. He shared the gospel with many people. I am not like that. How will I ever win the prize of heaven?”

2. Selfishness←↰⤒🔗

Or we can do good things out of selfishness. We can help other people, because we hope that God will reward us. We can give money to the church, because we hope that God will give us something back. Then we are not really doing these things out of love. Then we are only thinking about ourselves.

9.6 The right understanding of rewards←⤒🔗

When we think about the rewards of heaven, we must remember three things:

1. God is our reward.←↰⤒🔗

Look again at 2 Corinthians 5:9: “So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.” If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you belong to God forever. And if you belong to God, then you do not live for yourself anymore. Your ambition is not to get rewards. Your ambition is to please God.

God’s people want to please him, because they love him more than anything else! This is clear also from our second passage, Philippians 3:10–14. What was the “prize” that Paul wanted (verse 14)? It was not money. It was not a big house in heaven! It was to know Christ (verse 10).

As believers, we already know God and his Son Jesus Christ. But in heaven we will know God and his Son much better. We will see them! They will live with us. That is the great reward that God promises us.

Are you looking forward to that reward? Then make it your ambition to please God, while you are waiting to be with God.

2. God gives us our good works.←↰⤒🔗

We please God when we do the things that he loves. He loves it when we pray with faith. He loves it when we serve other people. He loves it when we trust him in difficult times.

Why does God love these things? Because these things are the works of his own hands! It is he who gives us the strength to do good things (Philippians 2:13). He even plans the good things that each of us must do (Ephesians 2:10).

Think about it: God has already planned the good works that you are going to do for him! He has given you his Spirit, to help you do these works.

3. God’s rewards are part of God’s grace.←↰⤒🔗

We have seen that our good works are given to us by God. This shows us that our good works are part of God’s grace in our lives.

God’s grace is truly wonderful. First of all, he has forgiven our sins. Now he is giving us good works to do. And one day, he will reward us for those good works! From beginning to end, our lives are built on God’s grace.

The prophet Isaiah says that even our best works are like dirty clothes (Isaiah 64:6). They are not good enough for the holy God, because they are full of sin. But God will still reward us for our good works! Why? Because our good works are washed clean in the blood of God’s own Son.

When we stand before the judgement seat of Christ, he will reward us for the good things that we did. But this reward will be out of grace. It will be a reward that he has bought with his own blood.

9.7 Praise God!←⤒🔗

On the day of judgement, God will show our works of faith and love to the world. He will reward us before the eyes of the world. In this way he will make it clear to everyone that we are his children (Matthew 5:16; Romans 8:19).

When you hear about the rewards of heaven, it should not make you afraid or selfish. It should lead you to praise God for all his grace! Trust in his strength and do the good works that he has given you to do. Look forward to his reward. And remember: he is your greatest reward (Genesis 15:1)!