Our Holy Redeemer exhorted: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (REV 22:12)

I hope you realize this: Grace is free. Salvation is free. It costs Yeshua the Messiah an awful lot, even His very physical life, but the grace of salvation is free for those who receive it through faith.

EPH 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

ROM 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

However …

REWARDS ARE EARNED

A reward is something given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.

MATT 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A great reward is awaiting those persecuted saints! That same similar passage, in the Gospel of Luke 6:23, says to “leap for joy!”

Would you “leap for joy” if you were being persecuted? Maybe on the inside possibly …

Another Scripture:

MATT 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

These are rewards. However, this is the first “work” of God in a human heart:

JOHN 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

First one must believe, and then other works follow. True faith motivates one to good works.

“Our good works do not generate righteousness, rather our righteousness in Christ generates good works.” – Martin Luther

The gospel is the same throughout time. We happen to be on the other side of the cross, looking backwards to the Savior who died. We are justified, made righteous, through the Messiah. Yet, the OT saints were looking ahead to the Messiah, for it says of Abraham:

GEN 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

It was to the OT Prophet Jeremiah that God revealed His covenant name:

JER 23:6b … Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

But I digress. The subject is eternal rewards. David, who would be King, said this in 1 Samuel 26:23: “The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness …”

SOWING & REAPING

There is a key principle of sowing and reaping that is critical to the believers:

GAL 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

It is ultimately best for us to sow in the Spirit!

2COR 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Where your money goes is sometimes indicative of your spiritual state. Be careful not to judge someone on this – they may be overreached or going through some financial crisis or other unbeknown circumstances. But this is the NT commandment for giving:

2COR 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

We have so many blessings, spiritual and material, from the LORD, but as Yeshua taught, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Christ gave Himself for us. Is it your goal to be more Christ-like? Then we should give! How we give on earth has eternal rewards! It is a source of blessing forever!

PROV 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.

MATT 6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

However, we should be giving, not just money, but time, as true Christians are sons of the Kingdom.

Yeshua taught: “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

Ideally, believers have the opportunity to be the Bride of Christ. This is to be married to the Lamb of God. What could be better?

SOS 7:10 I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is toward me.

If you want to know how much the LORD loves you, read and meditate on the Song of Solomon. Another verse:

SOS 4:7 You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

Does it not say in the Scriptures:

1JOHN 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

This is one of my favorite Scriptures! Wow! I don’t know how we could ever be like Yeshua, but it is written!

PSA 45:11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him.

This marriage takes place after Christ returns.

REV 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

What about saints who have no righteous deeds? Say, they give their life to Christ on their deathbed? That is for God to decide.

REIGNING WITH CHRIST

True Christians have the opportunity to rule and reign with Christ. It could be said that this begins NOW for mature believers, but we are still learning. We haven’t quite arrived! However, technically, this begins during the Millennium.

REV 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

The first resurrection is nowadays more commonly called the rapture. But I prefer to call it by the name Yeshua prescribed to it: “the resurrection of the just”. (Luke 14:14)

This is when this Scripture will happen:

1THES 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

And when He comes, we will ride with Him when He comes to judge the earth.

REV 19:14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

Does this suggest the Bride, for she was clothed with fine linen?

CROWNS

Believers also will receive crowns. (A more detailed account of these crowns is given here.) These are based on living a holy life before we die. We are called to be holy! This life is school for eternity. How well you obey the Lord here determines the post that you will have for eternity.

Now who would want to miss out on these blessings?

The LORD’s JEWELS

As true Christians, we will have eternal rewards but we will be jewels for the LORD!

MAL 3:17a “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts,
“On the day that I make them My jewels.“

These are quotes from my book Joy is a Jewel:

“Joy is a jewel. Be adorned with His joy as with priceless jewels! Smile and be happy in the midst of a dreary world.”

So what are you doing with your life?

Myself, I prayed many years ago that I would do everything possible to win people for the LORD and His Kingdom. Sometimes I am not always successful. Yet this is God’s purpose!

2PET 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

This promise is about the return of Christ and His wondrous kingdom! May we all join to His purpose. Thy will be done, LORD!

PRAYER

There are eternal rewards for prayer! Pastor Dale, my pastor, commonly says that prayer is the most important action of the faithful. It is. Everything begins with prayer, communicating with God Himself!

MATT 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

That doesn’t mean you can’t pray corporately, but if that’s all you do, well, I feel sorry for you! We have access to our heavenly Father all the time! “Pray without ceasing” (1THES 5:17)

HEB 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Seeking Him includes communicating with Him! Seek after Him!

Seek after your ETERNAL REWARDS!