Curling up on the couch to read aloud to my boys used to be a nightly ritual. As they grew older, we became captivated by a book series, called Christian Heroes: Then & Now. The biographies tell the stories of “ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary exploits for His kingdom and glory.” We were inspired and challenged reading about Deitrich Bonhoeffer defying the Nazis in Germany, Jim Elliot risking his life to share the gospel with the Auca Indians in Ecuador, and George Muller saving thousands of orphans from the mean streets of Bristol, England. The books we read about modern heroes of faith were set in all different parts of the world at a variety of times in history. The one thing they had in common was that the heroes and heroines were passionate about sharing faith in Jesus and usually suffered in some way as a result.
What is it that drives people like them to trade earthly comforts and glory for the sake of the gospel? I think we get an explanation in 2 Corinthians when Paul urges us to not to lose heart when we face troubles, but to focus on what is unseen and eternal instead. He describes how earthly trials produce lasting glory. Just a few paragraphs later, he explains, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV)
We know that being “good or bad” is not what determines where we end up for eternity. It is only through accepting Christ’s payment for our sins that we can be saved. Paul clearly explains that we could never be good enough to attain the perfection God requires. Instead, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)
So, we can rule out the idea that Christians who appear before the judgement seat of Christ are being sent to heaven or hell based on their behavior on earth. Second Corinthians 5:10 is not about our salvation, but about our eternal rewards. Paul is echoing the sentiments of Jesus, “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew 16:2, NIV)
Once we’ve accepted Christ, our eternal destiny is secure. So, what Jesus will look at on judgement day is how we handled our gifts, opportunities, and abilities to determine the heavenly rewards we’ll receive.
Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:14-30 gives one of the clearest explanations of heavenly rewards. You might remember in the story that a man who was leaving on a journey called his servants and “to one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.” (Matt 25:15, NIV) After a long time he returned and settled accounts with his servants. “The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matt 25:20-21, NIV)
The second servant also returned double the amount of money that he’d been entrusted after investing wisely. These two servants illustrate Christ followers who diligently invest their time and talent for the sake of God’s kingdom. They know the way to show their love for God is by obeying His Word.
The third, servant, however, buried the bag of gold instead of investing it. His master chastised him for not even putting it in the bank where it would earn a little interest. This servant represents people who don’t have a heart for God’s kingdom and don’t use what God has given them.
Our good works don’t save us on judgement day, but they do reveal our hearts. This is especially comforting when I think about the many people who serve the Lord but go unnoticed. Life deals hard knocks to everyone– even those who continually serve God and bless others. It’s good to know that even if life on earth seems unfair and harsh to some of the most generous and kind souls, God sees everything they do. Jesus explained: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven…But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1,3,4, NIV).
God sees when we give of ourselves and He will reward us accordingly. Those heroes of the faith we read about must have known this because they saw beyond their present realities to future glory. They loved God and poured out their lives sacrificially knowing that they were obeying His call. They trusted that the Lord saw them, whether others noticed didn’t matter.
Pray and ask the God to show you the good works He’s prepared in advance for you to do. Examine your gifts, your skills, your time, and your finances and offer them for His use here on earth. And one day, you can look forward to standing before Jesus and hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Use Matt Redman’s song “Gracefully Broken” as inspiration for your prayer.
Kelly Minter, All Things New, Lifeway Press 2016
Janet & Geoff Benge, Christian Heroes: Then and Now, YWAM Publishing (For more information on their books, click here. )
*Ideas from the Zondervan NIV Life Application Study Bible footnotes were incorporated into this post.