Rewards: Part 1

This is the first installment of a series of articles I want to write on eternal rewards. I’m not going to make a big case for why this is important. If you want to read it, read it. If not, don’t. But I do want to let you know where I’m coming from. The debate over rewards was sparked again in my mind by reading Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle. I always find this little book a provocative read on Christian finances. However, some of his arguments, and particularly those on eternal rewards, seem at first glance a little off. As one individual noted, it’s rather economical. Do good things now for a big pay off down the road. I personally have a friend who doesn’t believe in an afterlife because he is put off by the apparent self-focused attitude of earning eternal rewards. That’s interesting to me. I’ve read some of Alcorn’s other work on rewards, and he likes to pin the problem on faulty Christian teaching. That no doubt is a problem. But I’ve come across plenty of unchurched, non-Christians who find the thought of eternal rewards distasteful. Perhaps it’s just a cultural thing, but something about the idea of a supernal stock market is a bit off-putting.

At this point, you might be thinking I disagree with Alcorn. You’d be incorrect. While I find some of his interpretations a bit off, overall I think he is right. But I didn’t come to that position easily. Basically what follows from this point on are my thoughts on eternal rewards.

Degrees of Reward
This point is essential to establish. Just to observe that there is a “reward” for Christians isn’t sufficient to argue for “eternal rewards” in the sense that I am speaking. All Christ followers will receive the reward of eternal life. The question is are there degrees of reward. I believe the Bible gives a big nod to that one. But before I delve into the evidence, let me preface by saying that I realize this raises some objections which will be dealt with in due time.

There are several lines of texts that I want to look at, but the first are those found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In first part of Matthew 6, Jesus warns against performing righteous acts like giving, praying, and fasting in order to confirm the suspicions of your adoring fans that you are indeed a spiritual giant. Rather Jesus commends righteousness done in secrecy, for “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The problem isn’t reward hunting. It’s just hunting in the wrong spot. The faux spiritual gurus hunt for it in human applause. We are instead to seek for in God. Jesus concludes: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay for yourselves treasures in heaven”(Matthew 6:19-20). So here Jesus could have said something like, “Guys, stop being so economical. Doing good to get a payoff! It’s just disgusting.” But he doesn’t condemn economics; he encourages them. He just says we need to stay in the right marketplace.

The second line of texts are what I call performance evaluation passages. Texts like Revelation 22:14: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.” Jesus doesn’t say we have to give an account (though other passages suggest that); he says he is going to distribute payments for what we have done. Or read this text:

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
(1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

Some scholars argue that the reward is eternal life and the loss is eternal punishment (i.e. hell). But the one who “suffers loss” will be “saved.” So the “loss” is apparently not incompatible with salvation.

The third line of texts are Jesus’ parables of the talents or minas (found in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27). Biblical scholars uncomfortable with eternal rewards often point out that there is a lot of unquestioned faulty interpretation of texts discussing rewards. Generally, I agree with that assessment, and these parables are a case in point. We tend to notice that the guys who double their money for the master are rewarded, and the guy who buries his money in the ground gets no reward. But Jesus goes a bit further than that. Jesus says the coward is a “worthless servant . . . cast into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” To be a worthless servant for Jesus doesn’t just mean the loss of a reward. It means eternal death. Jesus’ point is that his true servants (i.e. those called by God, filled with his Spirit, and destined for resurrected life with Jesus) do something with what they are given for Jesus. Implication: If you are not doing anything for Jesus, then you’re not a true servant. So what does this text have to do with rewards. A lot. Because at the end of the day, there are two faithful servants and there are two different rewards. In the Luke parable, one servant is put over ten cities and the other is put over five cities. Sounds like degrees to me.

Why Read Fiction?

Mary DeMuth offers a great little article on why Christians should read fiction. Here is one paragraph I found very insightful:

Some might argue fiction should always tout an obviously-redemptive message in order to impact the world for Christ. Barbara Nicolosi, the executive director of Act One, adds nuance to that notion, expanding the purpose of art to posing and allowing for questions that spark a spiritual journey. She writes, “Too many Christians think we are supposed to use the arts to give people the answers. We’re not. We’re supposed to use the arts to lead them into a question. And that is just one stage in their personal journey of divine revelation. Once they have a new question, they will be on a search—consciously or subconsciously. . . The arts can definitely send people delving.”

Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Re:Sound

Here is some free music from Re:Sound. It's the music coming out of Mars HIll Church in Seattle. When Re:Sound launches fully on June 11th, all their music will be free.

Living Gospel Centeredly

J.D. Greear offers some helpful thoughts on staying centered on the gospel.

Romans 6:1-11

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Grace Doesn’t Abound So That Sin Can. The greater the sin the greater the grace required to overcome that sin. But the point of grace is not to increase sin but to destroy it. That in a nutshell is Paul’s main point here. In chapter 5, Paul declared that sin is a massive, universal epidemic killing all those infected with it. So profound are its effects and so tyrannical is its power that it disables all persons from resisting its destruction and death. Thus, a new man is needed. A true man, but a man unlike any other man, who is capable of absorbing in himself the destruction of sin for all humanity. This man becomes the ancestor of a new race of persons free from the dominion and death of evil. Thus, it is God’s grace delivered through this man, and through him alone, that sin is overcome. And the grace delivered through him brings total forgiveness and redemption for a lost race. So what do screwed up minds do with such grace. They either find a fault or a loop hole. Those wanting the opportunity to deliver themselves from sin’s power say, “But if the grace comes to us so independently of how good we are, then why not just disobey so that grace may abound?” Meanwhile, those wanting the opportunity to live the ways they always have think, “Ah, sin abounds, grace abounds. So my job is to sin and God’s job is to forgive. Sounds like a good arrangement.” So “are we to continue in sin that grace may abound”? There is almost no way to translate from Greek to English the force of Paul’s negative response to these thoughts, but it would something “#@LL NO!”

How Can We? That’s he what says: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” He doesn’t say, “How could we” or “How dare we” or even “How would we.” This isn’t a lecture on how guilty we are or an argument for perfectionism. This is how God’s grace overcomes sin. The power of his grace unleashed on the cross doesn’t guilt or scare us into obedience. It loves us their. God grace brings us to the point where we cannot help but see our rebellion and say, “How can I do this? How can I stay here? Why would I?”

Sin Is Death. Sin isn’t just bad; it’s deadly. Forging that connection is key to understanding Jesus’ saving grace. Jesus didn’t just die to forgive the badness of our sin. He died to crush the destructive power of our sin as well. He rose not only to restore a relationship with God, but also to make us like him. You can’t have sin without death, and you can’t have life without righteousness.

A Guy's Guide To Marrying Well

This looks like a helpful little book for single guys. You can read it online or download a copy.

Clayton's Story

Romans 5:12-21: Part 3

Tired. I can genuinely say that at the age of 30 I am tired of this world. I didn’t say that I am tired of life. That is something different altogether, but I have grown weary of this world. I’m tired of broken things, broken marriages, broken friendships, broken spirits, broken hearts, broken bones, broken cars. I’m tired of seeing life sucked out this world through old age, decay and rot, thorns and weeds, disease and death. I’m tired of reading the newspaper, tired of watching the nightly news report, tired of hearing local, national, and international problems with no solution on the horizon. I’m tired of war, tired of poverty, tired of genocide, tired of racism, tired of baby killing. I’m tired of lies, spin, manipulation, hatred, spite, and rudeness. I’m tired of autism, cancer, Aids, malaria, and heart failure. I’m tired of blowing my temper, being self-absorbed, battling lust, failing again and again to love my family sacrificially. Honestly, I’m tired of me. That is, to us the biblical term, my “flesh.” And the more I live, the more tired of all of this I become. There is so much of this world that I loathe with pure, irrepressible hatred, which is why I find Romans 5:12-21 so comforting.

Much More. I say I’m tired of sin and evil, and Paul says “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” I say I hate death; Paul says, “much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” He doesn’t say that Christ’s death and resurrection neutralizes sin and death, or that it creates a level playing field of opportunity for us. He doesn’t even say that it merely obliterates evil and death. He says that through Christ the free gift of righteousness and life abounds much more. Jesus didn’t just pulverize our sin and condemnation; He turns it on its head. I picture the world on a numerical lines slowly drifting further and further into the negative. Negative 6, negative 7, slowly picking up the pace and moving ever further from zero. Through the massive work of Jesus, however, God takes the world and not only pulls it out of the negative, but places it around a thousand and sets it on an infinite progression in the positive.

Floods and Faucets. I find this so practical. Paul is saying that the degree to which I loathe the private and public, local, national, and international horrors of this world, is massively less than the degree to which I will rejoice in the new and coming state of affairs. I can hardly imagine an intensity of feeling comparable to the revulsion we feel towards say ethnic cleansing or child sex-trafficking, but one day we will feel something far more intense--joy. The good that is coming will make all the evil, suffering, loss, and pain of this present world seem like a very small thing. I don’t mean it will be less hated, or that it will be even less significant. In fact, I think that the horrors of today will be more revolting in the new heaven and new earth. But the torrential downpour of life, righteousness, and joy that will saturate us an all things will make this present darkness seem like a dripping faucet.

Piper on Abortion

With the abortion issue again gaining attention as the President is set to give a speech at Notre Dame, I think it is a good time to reflect again upon issue. I mean no ill will towards President Obama, and I don't think Piper does either, but how can anyone escape the clear moral logic presented in this video?

Romans 5:12-21: Part 2

As I stated in my last post, the thought of inheriting Adam’s sin and condemnation is a difficult pill to swallow. As such, when most modern individuals read this passage that is what they focus upon. But do notice that that is not what the apostle Paul focuses on. The only reason why Paul brings up inherited sin is to show that Christ trumps it.

He writes, “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”(Romans 5:16)

Again, “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

And, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

And, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20)

So here is what I'm thinking. I realize that it is entirely natural to resist the idea that I receive the consequences, and in this case eternally severe consequences, for another persons actions. But perhaps we should be careful what we wish for. Track with me. If it is unjust for one to receive the consequences of another’s actions, then that means I will only ever receive the consequences of my own actions. That to me is a problem. It’s a problem, for one, because I’m not all that great of a person. I’ve done plenty to screw up my marriage, my family, and my entire life. If any of that is going to be fixed it, I have go fix it. I have to identify the problems, many of which I don’t see, and find the solution. Furthermore, this position leaves me with no hope over insurmountable problems. I simply cannot overcome my son’s autism. I want to, and I do all that I can to help him, but there is only so much I can do. I couldn’t overcome my grandpa’s bad heart that killed him. I can’t overcome the disease and death that will take me, my wife, and my children. Wars, genocide, world hunger, sex trafficking, slavery, child abuse, etc. are all beyond me to solve. The only avenue for hope is if I can receive the good earned by another. So here is my point. If we say that inheriting Adam’s sin is unjust, then logically we have to say that inheriting Christ’s righteousness is unjust as well. If we can’t be damned in Adam, then we can’t be saved in Jesus. And that doesn’t seem like the best option to me.

Romans 5:12-21: Part 1

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12-21)

So I’m guessing that most of the readership of this blog are not real big Jane Austen fans. And there is probably little chance that you’ve seen say, Pride and Prejudice, and even less that you have read it. Well, I have, seen it that is. Two versions. And for the record I’m a Jane Austen fan. Live with it. So here is a little lesson on 18th century romances. Family shame is a big thing. In Pride and Prejudice, for example, the youngest daughter, Lydia, runs off with the philandering Mr. Wickham, which threatens the ruin of her four older sisters. Mr. Darcy would never be able to marry Elizabeth (the eldest sister and heroine) while she has a sister living in disgrace. This all seems very absurd to us. Why should one daughter’s indiscretion bring ruin upon any of the other daughters? I would suggest that the reason this logic makes no sense to us is the same reason many Western minded people find Romans 5:12-21 very difficult to swallow.

I’m not saying that all of 18th century pride and prejudice was good and right. But I do believe that we need to rethink our view of communal responsibility. Our culture is so extremely individualistic that the suggestion that a group of people should receive the consequences of one person’s failure is utterly foreign. Statements like “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,” or “many died through the one’s man trespass,” or “one trespass led to condemnation for all men,” seem harsh and unbelievable. But is our view the right view? Personally, I think Americans live in the midst of contradiction. We are a culture of individuals, but we are also a culture of victims. A culture in which it is okay, even right and proper, to blame my past, parents, peers, puberty, and many other things that don’t start with “p” for my mistakes. What’s that about? Does an individual’s actions lead to consequences for others or not? Is there communal responsibility or not? If the Bible says, “You inherit the consequences of Adam’s sin,” we’re appalled. But if Oprah does a show on depressed mothers who are victims of childhood sexual abuse, we grab the tissues. Maybe we need to be a little more open-minded on the issue and observe that American individualism is not the historical norm. In fact, in most of history and in most cultures, they have had a much more balanced approach to community vs. individual responsibility. If we can’t come to terms with our extremist individualism, we’ll never comprehend this passage.

Tips for Missional Living

Jonathan Dodson offers some great tips for daily missional living.

A Changing World

Two thoughts: 1) I am so thankful we serve a sovereign God, and 2) we have quite a mission

4.5 Hours A Day!

That's the amount of time the average American spends watching TV these days according to this recent USA today article. 31.5 hours a week. That means Americans spend over an entire day every week watching TV and over two months per year. I just keep thinking Neil Postman's phrase "entertaining ourselves to death." The article also states that although there are only an average of 2.55 persons per household, there are 2.73 TV sets. The reasons are obvious. First, you can watch TV anywhere, living room, kitchen, bedroom, basement, etc. After all, it is a shame to have to make supper or exercise or rest in bed without the constant, soothing stream of mind numbing entertainment (I'm getting sarcastice, I know. I can't help it.). Secondly, what if you want to watch the game, and your wife wants to watch American Idol. What a quandary! But with 2.73 TV sets the solution is simple. Divide and conquer.

I'm really trying hard not to go overboard on this, but the statistics are staggering. According to the research done in Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, one hour vegging before the tube reduces your social interaction for the day by 10%. So for the average adult there is 45% less social interaction per day. We complain about our hectic lifestyles, but maybe our problem isn't so much in the amount of stuff we have to do but the amount of stuff we think we have to watch. In any case, the next time we're tempted to say, "I just don't have the time," perhaps the reality is we just watch too much TV.