Rewards in the Christian life

Matthew 6:1-4

When we study the opening verses of Matthew 6 we are confronted with the reward in the Christian life? Three times in this passage Jesus speaks about reward. The right kind of almsgiving, the right kind of prayer, and the right kind of fasting will all have their reward.

What is the Christ's Idea of Reward

There are some things which must be made clear.

1. When Jesus spoke of reward, he was not thinking in terms of material reward. It is quite true that in the Old Testament the idea of goodness and prosperity are closely connected. If a man prospered, if his fields were fertile and his harvest great, if his children were many and his fortune large, it was taken as a proof that he was a good man.

That is the problem of the Book of Job. Job is in misfortune; his friends come to him to argue that his misfortune must be the result of his own sin; and Job denies that. God calls him "blameless and upright". Material possessions mean nothing to God, why?, because he doesn't need anything

(Acts 17:24-27)

God wants a relationship!!! That's what He showed Job, when every"thing" is taken away God remains!! (Job 1:21).

It was not material prosperity which Jesus promised his disciples. He in fact promised them trial and tribulation, suffering, persecution and death. Jesus did not think in terms of material rewards.

2. The second thing to remember is that the highest reward never comes to him who is seeking it. If a man is always seeking reward then he will miss the reward for which he is seeking (Matthew 10:39). A man who is always calculating his reward is thinking of God in terms of an accountant. He is thinking of doing so much and earning so much. He is thinking of life in terms of a credit and debit. He is thinking of presenting an account to God and saying, "I have done so much, now I claim my reward."

(Matthew 19:16-22). The mistake of this point of view is that it thinks of life in terms of law, instead of love. If a man has a legal view of life, he thinks constantly in terms of reward; if a man has a loving view of life, the idea of reward will never enter his mind. The great paradox of Christian reward is this, the person who looks for reward does not receive it; the person whose only motive is love does receive it.

(Matthew 25:34-40)

The "reward" is not the motivation; it is our love for Jesus that is our motivation; the "reward" is a by-product of our obedience to Christ! We should not even be conscious of it!!

What are the rewards of the Christian life?

The rewards of the Christian life are rewards only to a spiritually minded person. To the materially minded person they would not be rewards at all. The Christian rewards are rewards only to a Christian.

1. The first of the Christian rewards is satisfaction. Doing the right thing, obedience to Jesus Christ whatever else it may be always brings satisfaction. If a man does the right thing, and obeys Jesus Christ, he may lose his fortune, his position, he may be unpopular, lonely, but he will still possess that inner satisfaction, which is greater than all the rest put together. No price-tag can be placed on this; It brings contentment which is the crown of life.

(I Timothy 6:6)

2. The second reward of the Christian life is there is still more work to do. It is another paradox of the Christian idea of reward that a job well done does not bring rest, comfort and ease; it brings even greater demands and more work to be done.

In the parable of the talents the reward of the faithful servants was still greater responsibility

(Matthew 25:14-30). When a teacher discovers a brilliant student, that teacher does not excuse the student from work; the teacher gives he or she even harder work than is given to anyone else. The brilliant musician is given, not easier, but harder music to master. The Christian reward is the reverse of the world's reward. The world's reward would be an easier time; the reward of the Christian is that God lays more and more upon a man or woman to serve Him and his fellow-men. The harder the work we are given to do, the greater the reward.

3. The third Christian reward is the vision of God.

If a man goes his own way, he drifts farther and farther away from God until in the end God becomes a stranger. But, if a man has walk with God, if he has sought to obey his Lord, then he has been growing closer and closer to God, until in the end he passes into God's presence, without fear and with joy and that is the greatest reward of all. (Genesis 5:24 & Job 19:25-27 & Psalms 11:5-7 & Matthew 5:8 & Revelation 22:1-4)

Conclusion: Our greatest reward lies in our future to know God fully as we are fully known

(I Corinthians 13:12).

by Bob Ray III, pastor of Hillside Baptist Church, Alvarado, TX