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Rewards for Our Works

Updated: Dec 4, 2022


Text Copyright © 2022 Ronald Ray Lambert

All Rights Reserved


The gospel is the good news that Christ is our righteousness. We are saved by His righteous life, and by His death on the Cross in our place, both of which are imputed or accredited to us. We know that we cannot be saved by our own works, not by anything we do or say.


But now let me ask a question. How are our works rewarded? Scripture does tell us that our works will be rewarded.


We read in Proverbs 11:18 (NKJV): “The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.


We read in Jeremiah 31:16 (NKJV): “Thus says the Lord: "Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord….”


And let us hear the words of Jesus: “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.” (Matthew 16:27; NKJV)


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


“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Rev. 22:12; NKJV)


It is worth pointing out that in order for Jesus to have rewards with Him to give out when He returns, there must have been a judgment beforehand to determine what rewards shall be awarded to each person. But notice also that these rewards for each person are “according to his work.”


That rewards for everyone—including the righteous—is determined in the Judgment is stated in Psalms 58:11: “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth.” (NKJV)


Some people may say that God’s people do not enter the Judgment, only the wicked do. But we have just read that determining rewards for the righteous is part of the Judgment. And the Apostle Peter said: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17; NKJV) So clearly we are brought into judgment too. And that has to be where our rewards are determined, according to our works.


Now how can it be that we are judged by our works, so our rewards can be determined, and yet we are saved by faith in the righteousness of Christ imputed or judicially accredited to us?


Someone may say they do not care how many rewards they receive, just so long as they are allowed into the Kingdom to live with Jesus eternally. But it turns out that the inheritance of the saints—eternal life with Christ in His kingdom—is part of the reward. As the Apostle Paul said: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:24; NKJV)


Of course, we know that the gospel of salvation by the imputed righteousness of Christ is what the Bible clearly teaches. But how do we explain these Bible statements about being rewarded according to our works, and that those rewards are determined in the Judgment?


As you live your everyday lives, have you ever wondered how it is that what you do can have any value? Is anything really worth doing? Have you ever wondered how you can be saved by faith, and yet be rewarded for your works?


We all want God to look at our works in the Judgment, and say, “Yes, this person showed true faith in Jesus. So let him receive the reward of the saints, and be numbered as a member of Christ’s Kingdom.” The problem is, we all know deep in our hearts that none of our works are perfectly pure, done in perfect, whole-hearted faith and love. There is always at some point some element of selfishness contaminating everything. Maybe we did something because it is right—but how long did we delay deciding to do it, hoping we could find some easy way around it, or hoping someone else would step in and do it?


The prophet Isaiah told the honest truth when he admitted: “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;” (Isaiah 84:6; NKJV)


Now think about it. How can our works—even our works of faith, our most righteous works—be presented before God in the Judgment? How can we dare to do this? Since “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags,” how then can we dare to open up the garbage can and display our stinking, messy, filthy works in the face of God before all the angels of Heaven in the solemn assembly of the Judgment? And how can we ask for a reward for it?


We have studied many times the depiction of the Judgment given in Daniel chapter seven. We are told that judgment is rendered in favor of the saints. How? The account tells us that “books were opened.” But it does not tell us how the records of our works that show our “filthy rags righteousness” can somehow lead to judgment being rendered in our favor!


We need another look at the Judgment scene that will answer the questions we have. The confusion we have about this may be holding us back. How can we have “boldness to enter the Holiest” as we are encouraged to have in Hebrews 10:19? And as long as we are holding back, how can we become ready to play the role God needs us to play as His faithful witnesses during the final conflict in the time of the end, while all the world will be tested and tried?


I am glad to say that there is such a depiction of the Judgment in the Bible, one that does show us the answer, how the gospel of salvation by faith can be reconciled to our rewards being determined by our works. Let me tell you plainly now. That depiction of the Judgment is given in Revelation chapters four and five, especially chapter five.


Now, if you are familiar with the traditional way this prophecy has been taught by many people in the past, you will be aware of a problem. What I am saying is different from the traditional interpretation that has been held by the majority of the Christian Church for generations. Unfortunately that wrong, traditional view has been preventing us from receiving a vitally important message the Lord wants us to have—a message about the very question we have been considering today, about how our works can be rewarded.


Many Christians have long regarded the vision of Revelation four and five as being connected with the Inauguration of Christ as our "great high priest, that is passed into the heavens" (Hebrews 4:14). Many assume that this occurred on the day of Pentecost on earth, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Christ's disciples, soon after His Ascension (Acts 2:1-4).


There are serious objections to this interpretation, however. The biggest one is the way the vision of chapters four and five is introduced in Revelation 4:1 (NKJV):


"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."

This states that the heavenly event portrayed in chapters four and five must be understood to be future from John's time. This really seems pretty plain and straightforward doesn’t it? But some will not accept that. In order to defend the traditional view of Revelation 4-5, they suggest that the expression "After this" is only meant to signal a break between the previous vision and the next vision, with no chronological sequence intended. This, however, ignores the final clause in Rev. 4:1, which explicitly states: "I will show you things which must take place after this " This can leave no doubt that what follows is future from what has just been presented. What immediately went before, of course, was the prophecy of the seven letters to the seven churches.


We also must note the very first verse of the book of Revelation: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place...." (NKJV) This tells us that the whole book of Revelation is primarily concerned with things future from the time when it was given to John.


But with these plain declarations of Scripture, we must also admit the fact attested to by Biblical historians that the book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John during his exile to the Island of Patmos, which was somewhere between 90 to 100 A.D.—some 60 years after the Ascension of Christ


So it cannot be maintained that the vision of chapters four and five portrays the Inauguration event that took place on Pentecost after Christ's Ascension. There is no way that an event over 60 years in the past can be construed to be "hereafter."


The only argument remaining to those who wish to maintain the traditional view, is that "the prophecies of Revelation are not necessarily chronological in order" or something to that effect.


This is certainly true when we compare one whole and distinct vision with another. Often a successive vision will go back over the same ground as a previous vision, in such a way as to answer a question that has just been raised by logical implication, or shed light from a different perspective. But what about within a vision? Does not the second seal follow the first seal? Does not the third seal follow the second seal? There must be some sort of chronological order, at least within a vision, or else we have to regard all of Revelation as hopelessly chaotic!


When the first verse of the book tells us the purpose of the book is to disclose things that are future, and when a particular scene—as in Revelation 4 and 5—is introduced by a verse that says twice that it pertains to the future, what excuse can we have for refusing to accept this?


Since the text says what it says, and should be expected to make basic sense in its plainest declarations, and since the book of Revelation was written some 60 years after the Ascension of Christ, therefore the events depicted in Revelation 4-5 absolutely cannot be the Inauguration of Christ after His Ascension.


What else then could these chapters portray? Is there some other significant event that must take place in heaven before Jesus returns? To what does Jesus point us as the very heart and key of His final revelation to His church?


The Bible tells us that God's practice is to judge mankind in an investigative sense by trial and testing, before He acts to execute judgment. The Hebrew word used for this investigative judgment is bachan, which signifies: examine, try, prove, test. It is used 19 times in the Old Testament. For example: "The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try [bachan], the children of men." (Psalms 11:4. See also Psalms 11:5; 66:10; 139:23; Prov. 17:3; Jer. 17:10.


There is such a judgment event before Jesus returns, explicitly predicted in Daniel's prophetic outline of world history given in chapter seven of his book. We see this in verses 9, 10, 22, 26.


We note that this judgment takes place prior to the return of Christ. It is what leads to the defeat of the persecuting power that opposes God and His people, ending its dominion and empowering them to "consume and to destroy it unto the end." (KJV) We also note that books are involved, books which are "opened" and presumably consulted. Thus we have the concept of an investigative judgment.


This is a key event in salvation history. It was prefigured by the Day of Atonement in the enacted prophecies or types in ancient Israel's sanctuary services that demonstrated the Divine Plan of Salvation. It is this Pre-Advent, Investigative Judgment that is the crucial event which must take place before Christ can return. Could this be what Revelation 4-5 portrays?


There are textual evidences that establish parallels between the heavenly scene in Revelation 4-5 and the Judgment scene in Daniel seven. Here are some examples:


In both prophecies we encounter this distinctive formulation: "...and the number of them [angels] was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." (Revelation 5:11.) Compare Daniel 7:10: "thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Modern translations render this "myriads upon myriads," or "myriads of myriads," instead of "ten thousand times ten thousand." But still, these similar formulations are only found in Revelation 5:11 and in Daniel 7:10.

Other thrones are mentioned besides God's throne. Compare Revelation 4:4 with Daniel 7:9.


The Son of Man (the Lamb) receives dominion and a kingdom: Revelation 5:9-13; compare Daniel 7:13, 14.


The people of God are said to be saved in His kingdom as a result: Revelation 5:9, 10; compare Daniel 7:27.


Now, some object that the word "judgment" is not present in Revelation 4-5. But neither is the word "inauguration" present.


There are clear indications in the text of Revelation five that an investigative judgment is taking place. Here are some clearly judicial statements: "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? " (v. 2); and then that "no man was FOUND worthy" (vs. 3-4). Then the Lamb is FOUND to be worthy: "behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof....Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof" (vs. 5, 9). And as a result of the Lamb being found worthy to open the book, the four beasts and 24 elders sing a song of praise to the Lamb for saving mankind: "thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (vs. 9-10). Also as a result of the Lamb being found worthy, It is declared: "Thou art worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (v. 12). Compare this to Daniel 7:14: "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom...." This came as a result of the judgment, when "the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days" (Dan. 7:13).


Surely these statements throughout chapter five of Revelation describe the very operation of an investigative judgment! Is it not reasonable to conclude that this must be the Investigative Judgment (the final bachan) of all the world?


A book or books are mentioned, which need to be opened and consulted: Revelation 5:1-5, 7-9; compare Daniel 7:10. Some might object that in Revelation five, only one book is mentioned, while in Daniel seven, "books" (plural) are mentioned. But the book mentioned in Revelation five is one particular book that has been sealed, and cannot be opened unless one worthy to open it is found. This does not mean there are not other books. They simply were not the focus of attention here, because there is no issue concerning whether they can be consulted.


Now we come to the heart of the matter. This will require of us some deductive reasoning. What is this book that was sealed? It could not be a record of the history of this world, because all the universe has been witness to human history. As the Apostle Paul said: "...for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men." (1 Cor. 4:9) The Greek word here translated as "world," is kosmos. The NIV translates it as "universe." How could something that is already known to everyone be sealed?


Some have suggested that the book is the record of God’s interactions in human history. However, the same objection applies; and furthermore, this is what the Bible is. There is no reason for the Bible to be sealed!


So what does that leave? What is the only thing that would have any reason why it should be sealed? The only book that necessarily had to be sealed, is the book that records the faith and works and very thoughts of God's people. Those are the things that need to be consulted so it can be determined who is to be numbered as a part of Christ's kingdom, and what their rewards in the Kingdom should be. But they cannot be consulted unless mankind has a Savior, who in Himself can give their faith and works validity and value. Otherwise, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), and cannot be presented for consideration in the divine courtroom.

But why was Jesus found to be worthy to open the book? The Bible tells us that Jesus is “the Lord our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16). What this means to us is expanded in 1 Cor. 1:30, 31: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”


This is an astounding passage. Are we justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ? Yes, but that is not all. He is also our sanctification. This is not just saying that Jesus works in us to sanctify us. It goes beyond that. It says Jesus IS our sanctification! He IS our wisdom, our redemption. And He IS our righteousness!


When Jesus unseals and opens that book in the Judgment that records our works of faith, He passes over the selfishness, the laziness, the reluctance to do what is right and loving to others; He passes over how long we delayed to do the right thing. He shows them as HIS works, HIS faith in action. He can do this because He IS our sanctification, He IS our righteousness.


Jesus took responsibility for us when He took upon Himself our human nature. Indeed, He took upon Himself more than a human body; He took RESPONSIBILITY for all of us by assuming Headship of our race, as the New Adam. All humanity is in Christ, just as all humanity was in Adam. So the Apostle Paul tells us: “…as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22) And: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21; NKJV)


It is because Jesus did this, became this, that God the Father has given all judgment to the Son. Let’s read that statement, in John 5:22: “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son….” (NKJV)


Now, there is a statement we read earlier that almost seems contradictory. Jesus said: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” (Mat. 6:3, 4; NKJV)


But is this a contradiction? No, it is Jesus who judges us. The Father records the very thoughts of our hearts along with our every word and deed, in that book that is sealed. But then He leaves it to Jesus to unseal the book and judge what we have done. The Father determines our rewards—based on what Jesus has judged.


Jesus promised us in Revelation 3:5, in the very chapter that comes just before the Judgment scene in Revelation 4-5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” When will Jesus confess our name before His Father and the faithful angels? Of course, it is in the Judgment. And where does He get our names, that He confesses before His Father? He reads our names from that book that was sealed, which He alone has been given the right to read and judge.


When we see the Judgment in Revelation 4-5, we see how the Bible doctrine of the Judgment is in perfect harmony with the Bible doctrine of righteousness by faith in Christ, for we see that it is Christ, the Lamb, who stands for us in Judgment—not merely with us, as an advocate by our side, but He stands in our place! And for His sake, our works are rewarded!



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