WHAT FULL REWARD?

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” ~1 Corinthians 3:10-11 (NASB)

 

We’re in that time of year where folks, all of a sudden, remember its time to do some good deeds. With the Thanksgiving table cleared and the leftovers probably were gone by now, many of us feel that “Spirit” of it is better to give than to receive. I work with a Navy veteran who, all year long, spends a great deal of his time doing as much as possible for those veterans who have been forgotten or for the community he lives in, and I never hear him boast about it either. It makes what some of my fellow Christians attempt to do fall by the wayside (that’s not meant to be a judgment, only an observation). I think when this dude has his moment at the Bema seat, and his works are tried by fire, the gold, silver and precious stones will be evident.

 

In the 3rd chapter of 1st Corinthians, the apostle Paul stress’ the need to, be careful and to build on a good foundation so that the quality of work will result in a good reward. The apostle John understood this as well, “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.” (2John 1:8) For both of these of Biblical Titans, the foundation to build on was clear, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, John would go on and say this, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9) So where does this come into play? Turn to 2nd Corinthians 5:10…

 

“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.” I, for one, only wanna hear, “Well done, enter in”. I kinda feel that if I don’t hear that its gonna be a really bad day for me but even in that I won’t escape having my deeds set to fire and neither will you. Some of us have such a comfortable situation here on earth that we rarely think about going to heaven and meeting Jesus that we kinda forget who we were doing what for and who we’re living for in the first place. You really don’t wanna be caught just squeaking through the gates of heaven, do you?

 

We also have to take into consideration who watches what we do after the proclamation of being a Christian is made. You could have spent your life being successful in business, been active in some sort of civic duty and been “that guy” who has the crowd at his Bible studies in your church. Some ugly event happens to you where you lose your ever-lovin’ mind in front of people and all those who looked to you as an example of what a Christian is supposed to look like now do a complete 180 and want nothing to do with Christ’s church let alone Christ.

 

Someone who could be an example of “that guy” would be is Peter. While they were in The Upper Room, Peter gives Jesus a hard time over the foot washing by basically rebuking His theology, gets nosey about who His betrayer is gonna be and then says this, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” (John 13:37) Yeah…that’ll do it. Jesus tells Peter what he is gonna end up doing and when it happens Jesus will turn to Peter at that moment, and with truth in His gaze, Peter will now understand what it looks like to really lose what really coulda been. (see Luke 22:61-62)

When it’s our time to meet up with Jesus will we also see that same gaze? Will you receive the “full reward” for your years of service to the Kingdom? Or will you suffer the loss of a few things when heavens fire burns up your deeds? If your answer to this last question bothers you, be encouraged by this from James, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) And remember, it’s not what you do it for…but Who. Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1-4 | You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “Let no man flatter himself on the ground that, in the opinion of men, he is reckoned among the most eminent master builders, for as soon as the day breaks in, his whole work must go utterly for nothing if it is not approved of by the Lord.” — John Calvin

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4