{"id":19156,"date":"2018-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-believers-reward\/"},"modified":"2022-02-01T17:14:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T23:14:49","slug":"the-believers-reward","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-believers-reward\/","title":{"rendered":"The Believer’s Reward"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[91],"series_event":[518],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[482],"class_list":["post-19156","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-corinthians","series_event-guest-speaker","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-alex-garcia","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Believer's Reward","sermon_date":"20180204","sermon_month":"02","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":"","sermon_slides":5388,"sermon_mp3":4017,"sermon_id":"24181017121","series_or_event":518,"service_type":[472],"speaker":482,"books_of_the_bible":91,"chapter_and_verse":"3:8-15","sermon_transcript":"Alex Garcia\r\n\r\nSugar Land Bible Church\r\n\r\nThe Believer\u2019s Reward, 1 Corinthians 3:8-15\r\n\r\nFebruary 2018\r\n\r\nI\u2019d like to welcome everybody who\u2019s here today and also on the internet.\u00a0 Tonight there is a game of games\u2014the Super bowl.\u00a0 And in five days there\u2019ll be a much bigger set of games, the Olympics.\u00a0 And athletes from all around the world will gather at the Olympics to compete and they have trained for years, sweat, blood and tears.\u00a0 And they will compete in these games in five days.\u00a0 And this is a tradition that dates back thousands of years to the time when the Greeks would gather in the Valley of Olympia and have their Olympic games.\u00a0 Now those games, of course, were different than the games that we will see in five days; they didn\u2019t have downhill skiing and they didn\u2019t have ice skating and they didn\u2019t have one of the most intriguing games that I think we have in the winter sports, the winter Olympics, curling, where the guy\u2019s there with their brooms and they\u2019re trying to make that rock move as quickly as possible.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have those games at the time of the Greeks; they had games like we have in the summer games, boxing and wrestling and running.\u00a0 They would run races and the winner of the particular competition at the time of the Greeks, he would receive a crown, a wreath.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t a second place prize, there wasn\u2019t a third place prize.\r\n\r\nThere were no medals, there was a crown.\u00a0 And with that crown, that wreath, came benefits because the winner when he returned to his home city of Corinth or Athens or wherever it was, he would be showered with rewards, with benefits.\u00a0 He\u2019d get a lump sum of money; he\u2019d get free meals at the city dining hall for life.\u00a0 And there was one city where he would even get tax exemption.\u00a0 Can you imagine that, the local IRS agent shows up and he says no, no, here\u2019s my crown, adios, you\u2019re not welcome here, here is my crown.\u00a0 The point is they got benefits and rewards associated with their crown.\r\n\r\nAnd the Apostle Paul, as we\u2019re going to see today, uses that imagery of the athletic games, the competitions, to encourage you and to encourage me to run\u2026 to RUN, if you\u2019re 90 years old RUN.\u00a0 If you\u2019re 16 years old RUN the Apostle Paul says.\u00a0 He\u2019s like a coach standing next to the track saying Run, Run, and he does this because he\u2019s telling us there\u2019s an evaluation.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to be evaluated believer, the Apostle Paul says, by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to evaluate how you run.\u00a0 And so Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, \u201cDo you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win.\u00a0\u00a0 [25] Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.\u00a0 [26] So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air.\u00a0 [27] Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.\u201d\u00a0 [NET Bible]\r\n\r\nYou see, we\u2019re all running a race; every human being is running a race. We\u2019re either running it on the world\u2019s track or we\u2019re running it on God\u2019s track.\u00a0 We know the world\u2019s track, right?\u00a0 It\u2019s about what the person can see and touch and feel. \u00a0It\u2019s about the lusts of the eyes and the flesh.\u00a0 It\u2019s about pleasures, how do I satisfy\u2026 and people are running, I mean running, searching, searching, searching, and when they get some they want some more.\u00a0 And when they get some pleasure they want more and more and more because they\u2019re never satisfied and that\u2019s the way God designed pleasure.\u00a0 It\u2019s not to satisfy us; God has designed pleasure to be enjoyed within a fence because it\u2019s not to be our god.\u00a0 Pleasure is designed by God but it has its limits and it\u2019s to be designed, it\u2019s to be enjoyed within His parameters. So that\u2019s the world track that the unbeliever runs on and they run fast.\r\n\r\nThen there\u2019s God\u2019s track and God\u2019s track is seeking God\u2019s ways, seeking God\u2019s Word, seeking God\u2019s glory, living in the power of His Holy Spirit versus living in the power of the flesh.\u00a0 The believer is supposed to be running and the Apostle Paul, like a coach, is saying RUN on God\u2019s track.\u00a0 Now when the believer gets involved in sin he walks over here to the world\u2019s track and he starts running on the world\u2019s track.\u00a0 But Paul says run on God\u2019s track, not on the world\u2019s track and run to win because remember that there is an evaluation.\u00a0 God is going to evaluate how you ran.\r\n\r\nAnd so our topic today is rewards and there are three major things that we\u2019re going to see today.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to see that Christ will evaluate our lives, our works, our deeds.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to see that Scripture teaches us what good works are.\u00a0 And that\u2019s real important because the third item that we\u2019re going to see is Christ rewards our good works. Well, if we\u2019re interested in rewards, and the Bible tells us to be, then we need to know what good works are and what they\u2019re not.\u00a0 So we\u2019re going to spend some time on that this morning.\u00a0 But the point that I would like you all to take away from this message is pretty straightforward: it\u2019s do good works and be rewarded, live for God, obey God, and be rewarded.\r\n\r\nNow before we get into our passage let me mention a couple of things by way of background.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to see an evaluation, OUR evaluation, which will happen in heaven where Christ is going to evaluate us, but believers at that evaluation, which is the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers are being evaluated as to whether they get rewards or not.\u00a0 They\u2019re not being evaluated as to salvation because that matter has already been secured, that matter has already been resolved because when we trusted Christ for the forgiveness of our sins then God\u2019s righteousness is imputed to us and so that matter is resolved.\r\n\r\nThis evaluation that we\u2019re going to see today, the Judgment Seat of Christ, has nothing to do with our salvation because that\u2019s already resolved.\u00a0 This has to do with rewards\u2014do we receive them or not?\u00a0 The second thing, by way of background, that I\u2019d like to mention is that the Bible lays out a number of different reasons to be motivated to obey God, to be motivated to serve Him or another way of saying that, to be motivated to do good works.\u00a0 The Bible identifies fear of God as a legitimate basis to obey God, a legitimate basis to do good works.\u00a0 So fear of God is a legitimate basis that the Bible lays out as to why we should obey God and we\u2019re concerned that our Father is going to take out the belt and we\u2019re going to get spanked.\u00a0 That is a legitimate basis that the Bible lays out to obey God, to do good works in other words.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s another basis that the Bible lays out and that\u2019s rewards; that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to look at today.\u00a0 The Bible says be motivated by rewards to obey Him, to do good works.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a third motivation and that\u2019s really the primary motivation the Bible lays out and that\u2019s love for God.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 We\u2019re told to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind.\u00a0 Our whole package, our whole person, we\u2019re to love the Lord.\u00a0 What did Jesus say?\u00a0 He said if you love Me you\u2019ll obey me.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 If you love Me you\u2019ll obey Me!\u00a0 [John 14:15, \u201cIf you love Me, you will keep My commandments.\u201d]\u00a0 And so that\u2019s the primary motivation that we are to have when it comes to obeying God, serving God or doing good works.\u00a0 It\u2019s all the same thing, but we are going to look at rewards today but the focus or what we have to remember is that love of God should be our primary motivation, although rewards is perfect legitimate to be motivated by and the Bible tells us to.\r\n\r\nYou know, there\u2019s this old story about this teacher of a kid\u2019s class and she was teaching the kids about the Judgment Seat of Christ, about how every believer is going to have to stand before the Lord and give an account of his life or her life and the Lord is going to reward them or not reward them.\u00a0 And those who serve the Lord, the teacher explains to the kids, are going to receive a crown of glory.\u00a0 So she asks the kids well, who do you think is going to receive the biggest crown of glory.\u00a0 And there\u2019s this silence, and then one the kids, little Johnny raises his hand kind of slowly and she says yes.\u00a0 And he says well, in classic kid-like logic, the ones with the biggest heads.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Well God\u2019s criteria for rewards is a little bit different than Johnny\u2019s criteria and we\u2019re going to see that criteria today in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.\r\n\r\nSo please turn in your Bible, or on you I-pad or I-phone or Samsung phone, please turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 3:12, that\u2019s going to be our main passage today although we are going to take a detour into the topic of good works, what they are and what they\u2019re not and then we\u2019ll circle back to our main passage in 1 Corinthians 3.\r\n\r\n1 Corinthians 3:12 is going to teach us that we, as church age believers, will be evaluated; what we did in the body will be evaluated.\u00a0 What we did in our lives will be evaluated.\u00a0 And we know it\u2019s church age believer\u2019s from 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 14:10.\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 5:10, \u201cFor 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.\u201d\u00a0 Romans 14:10, \u201cBut you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.\u201d]\r\n\r\nAnd this evaluation will\u00a0 happen of us during the seven year tribulation. We\u2019re not going to be on earth during the tribulation.\u00a0 This evaluation of our lives at the Judgment Seat of Christ happens after the rapture of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when we are brought up in heaven but before the return of Christ in Revelation 20 when He returns with His saints to rule, our evaluation happens during that seven year window when there is total tribulation and disaster on the earth.\u00a0 We\u2019re not on the earth. [1 Thessalonians 4:17, \u201cThen we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.\u201d \u00a0We\u2019re in heaven at that time being evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ.\r\n\r\nSo let\u2019s look at our passage, 1 Corinthians 3:12, \u201cNow if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,\u201d the foundation here, what Paul is referring to we know from verse 11, the fire verse, He\u2019s referring to Christ.\u00a0 Christ is the foundation; Christ is the foundation of our relationship with God, of our access to God.\u00a0 It\u2019s not Mohammed, it\u2019s not Buddha, they were sinners just like every other man.\u00a0 It\u2019s Christ, the God-Man, without spot, without blemish, He is the foundation of our relationship with God.\u00a0 And Paul, who loves word pictures, we started out with this word picture of athletic games, now he\u2019s going to give us a word picture of building a building.\r\n\r\nSo Paul says Christ is the foundation, and then he gives us two options here.\u00a0 Option number 1, you can build on that foundation, you can build your building with junk material, trash material, straw, hay and wood, all of which is combustible, all of which is the option of building here in Paul\u2019s word picture of building with materials that are crummy.\u00a0 Option number 2, Paul says if you can build on materials that are valuable, that last, they\u2019re durable, gold, silver and precious stones.\u00a0 Can you imagine a building made out of gold, made out of silver, decorated with precious stones? \u00a0That\u2019s what Paul wants us to build our building out of on the foundation of Christ.\r\n\r\nThen we\u2019ve got the next verse, verse 13, where we read: \u201cEach man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work.\u201d\r\n\r\nNow notice it starts and ends with the same phrase, \u201ceach man\u2019s work.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cEach man\u2019s work will become evident\u201d and then at the end of the verse, \u201ctest the quality of each man\u2019s work.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s Paul\u2019s point.\u00a0 The point is we stand alone at the Judgment Seat of Christ.\u00a0 We stand alone before our evaluator, Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Now we run the race alone.\u00a0 Now we can help each other and we should and I could come up next to you and give you the water and you grab the water and you keep running and you drink it while you\u2019re running and vice versa, and we should do that, we should encourage each other absolutely, but at the end of the day I can\u2019t rely on your good works and you can\u2019t rely on my good works.\u00a0 I can\u2019t rely on your obedience to God and you can\u2019t rely on my obedience to God.\u00a0 When we stand before Christ I don\u2019t get to say well my mamma, boy she really\u2026 she loves You Lord, and she lived a life\u00a0 for You are my daddy.\u00a0 No, I have to give an account of my life before Christ as do you.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why Paul emphasizes here \u201ceach man\u2019s work.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo that\u2019s verse 13 and the other thing that I should mention here is that in verse 13 we\u2019re told that our works are made evident, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s there at the beginning of the verse, \u201cEach man\u2019s work will become evident,\u201d it\u2019ll become clear.\u00a0 Today we don\u2019t know exactly people\u2019s motivations so today when someone does something we may be saying to our self, wow, they really had a\u2026 they\u2019re seeking to honor God.\u00a0 Well, maybe they are and maybe they aren\u2019t because you don\u2019t know their motivations.\u00a0\u00a0 But in that day each man\u2019s work and each woman\u2019s work \u201cwill become evident.\u201d\u00a0 And it\u2019ll become evident as to whether the work was junk material (wood, hay and stubble) or valuable material, (gold, silver and precious stones.\r\n\r\nNow what\u2019s important to remember is the good works and rewards to hand in hand; they\u2019re linked.\u00a0 Forgive me here but I\u2019m going to use a phrase from that great theologian, Forrest Gump, [laughter] remember when he\u2019s telling the story about he and Jenny when they were kids and they always played together, they were always together, and he says me and Jenny we was like peas and carrots.\u00a0 Well, good works and rewards are like peas and carrots.\u00a0 You never have one without the other.\u00a0 And at the Judgment Seat of Christ if we get rewards it\u2019s because we did good works.\u00a0 And if you have good works you produce rewards.\r\n\r\nAnd so if there is this link between the two well then we need to know what are good works; what are they and what are they not?\u00a0 And we see that in John 15, and this is kind of a detour that we\u2019re going to take here on the topic of good works.\u00a0 What does the Bible tell us that they are?\u00a0\u00a0 So please turn in your Bibles to John 15:5.\u00a0 And this is a description where Jesus is talking and Jesus is talking about the vine and the branches, how the Father is the vinedresser, He is the vine and believers are the branches.\u00a0 And so Jesus says\u2026 let me just pull it up here on the old school version, \u201cI am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apparat from me you can do nothing.\u201d\u00a0 So fruit, when Jesus uses fruit He\u2019s referring to good works; that\u2019s what happens when we abide in Jesus.\u00a0 And He is the vine, we are the branches, and we produce fruit, or good works, naturally.\u00a0 It\u2019s not forced, it\u2019s not fruit production in a forced way but we produce that fruit, those good works naturally if we\u2019re connected to the vine, if we\u2019re connected to the life source, Jesus.\u00a0 We\u2019re not connected to the vine when we\u2019re sinning and living our lives in the power of the sin nature, in the power of the flesh.\u00a0 We know the power of the flesh well, don\u2019t we?\u00a0 It\u2019s about this guy, it\u2019s about me, A-number 1, what\u2019s in it for ME, what are MY appetites, My desires.\u00a0 That\u2019s the power of the flesh.\u00a0 Right.\r\n\r\nAnd so we\u2019re not connected to the vine when we\u2019re looking out for A-number 1 and being energized and motivated by self versus glory to God.\u00a0 We are connected to the vine when we\u2019re seeking God\u2019s ways and operating under God\u2019s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, operating under the power of the Spirit.\u00a0 So good works are a natural expression of learning about God and loving Him.\u00a0 And you can\u2019t love someone that you don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I mean, that\u2019s pretty basic.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why learning God\u2019s Word is so important because that\u2019s how He\u2019s revealed Himself to us.\u00a0 That\u2019s how we know Him is first we study His Word and that allows us to learn about Him and the response to knowledge should be loving Him.\r\n\r\nAnd so we inhale God\u2019s Word and we exhale good works.\u00a0 It\u2019s a natural result and what I mean by that is if we flood our thoughts, renew our mind with God\u2019s Word, with God\u2019s thoughts, then our actions just follow our thoughts.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Proverbs says in the Book of Proverbs as a man thinks so he is.\u00a0 Your actions just follow your thoughts, they\u2019re a product of your thoughts.\u00a0 So good works are not a rigid to do list that we wake up Monday morning and say okay, what am I going to do for God today, boom, boom, boom, boom.\u00a0 No, good works are a result of an attitude, they flow naturally from an attitude of I love You Lord, I\u2019m Your creature, and You\u2019ve given me resources, You\u2019ve given me oxygen to breathe (something we take for granted), You\u2019ve given me\u2026 the sun rose today, praise God for that, You\u2019ve given me money, either a little bit or a lot to pay expenses, You\u2019ve given me resources and I love You Lord and I\u2019m Your creature and how can I use those resources for Your glory and Your honor?\u00a0 It\u2019s an attitude and that attitude produces good works naturally.\r\n\r\nNow works can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the context.\u00a0 Works are a bad thing in the context of salvation.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 The Protestant Reformation had that rallying cry of sola fide<\/em>, Latin for faith alone, faith alone in Christ alone.\u00a0 Not faith plus works, faith alone in Christ alone is the only method of salvation and that\u2019s why Ephesians 2:8-9 say, \u201cFor by grace\u00a0 you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, \u00a0[9] not as a result of works lest any man should boast.\u201d\u00a0 So works in the context of salvation are OUT! They\u2019re OUT!!!\r\n\r\nNow works after you\u2019re saved, now that\u2019s a good thing\u2026 that\u2019s a good thing because once you\u2019re saved works come into play in a big, BIG way.\u00a0 If you\u2019ll turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:10, and that\u2019s the very next verse from what I just read in Ephesians 2:8-9 about how we\u2019re saved by grace and it\u2019s a free gift [can't understand word], but Ephesians 2:10, tells us that \u201cwe are His workman\u00adship, created in Christ Jesus for<\/u> good works,\u201d we\u2019re created for good works, we\u2019ve been saved for good works, \u201cwhich God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.\u201d\r\n\r\nNow good works are not automatic.\u00a0 It\u2019s a choice; it\u2019s a choice that we make, should we build our structure out of junk material or do we build our structure out of valuable material.\u00a0 Do we run want to run on the world\u2019s track or do we want to run on God\u2019s track.\u00a0 It\u2019s a choice; good works are not automatic but God tells us to do them.\u00a0 There used to be a sign in the registrar\u2019s office of Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas.\u00a0 And it said: \u201cSalvation is by grace, graduation is by works.\u201d\u00a0 Salvation is a free gift is what that sign was saying but sport, if you want a degree you\u2019d better get after it, you\u2019d better start studying, you\u2019d better start reading, you\u2019d better start writing, you\u2019d better get ready for that exam.\u00a0 And so there\u2019s a distinction there between salvation and post-salvation Christian life.\u00a0 We\u2019re hardwired, Ephesians 2:10, we\u2019re designed, we\u2019re created in Christ Jesus for good works.\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:10, \u201cFor we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.\u201d]\r\n\r\nOf course Christ died for our salvation, I mean, the product of Christ having died for us, He died so that we might be saved, so that we might be plucked out of eternal damnation into eternal life.\u00a0 But we also see from Ephesians 10 that another reason why He died for us is so that we might do good works, which He designed \u201cbeforehand.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s in the last part of Ephesians 2:10, \u201cbeforehand\u201d is the phrase and I take that to mean not a second before we believe but beforehand, before the creation of the world, in eternity past.\u00a0 And the reason I say that is because of Ephesians 1.\u00a0 In Ephesians 1, the very prior chapter, Paul tells us that, \u201cBefore the foundation of the world\u201d God designed us to be holy before Him.\u00a0 [Ephesians 1:4, \u201cjust as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love.\u201d]\r\n\r\nIsn\u2019t that interesting, in eternity past God designed an eternal purpose for us, that we\u00a0 might live in heaven with Him.\u00a0 In eternity past God designed a purpose for us in time, that we would do works that He\u2019s already designed for us, because He formed\u00a0 your personality when you were in the womb.\u00a0 And so He formed\u00a0 you and when you were in\u00a0 your mother\u2019s womb and He designed good works for us in eternity past that we might walk in them. \u00a0[Ephesians 2:10, \u201cFor we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.\u201d]\r\n\r\nSo good works, in the proper context, not in the context of salvation but in the context of after you\u2019ve been saved, what do I do now?\u00a0 The answer is \u201cgood works.\u201d\u00a0 Now we\u2019re going to unpack what good works means here in a moment, but that\u2019s not a bad word.\u00a0 Good works is not a bad word when it\u2019s understood in the proper context.\r\n\r\nFor the second time let me mention just a few good works that the Bible lays out.\u00a0 There are many, many, many, many types of good works but let me just mention a few.\u00a0 And in all of these we\u2019re going to see peas and carrots, we\u2019re going to see that good works is accompanied by rewards.\r\n\r\nColossians 3:23 lays out good works in working at your job.\u00a0 Working at your job is a good work that God rewards; in addition to the pay check that you get there are rewards.\u00a0 Colossians 3:23, whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, [24] knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.\u201d\u00a0 The context here was slaves serving their master.\u00a0 Now praise God that, at least in the western world, we don\u2019t have slavery any more.\u00a0 But the principle applies, the point applies here; what we have today is employers and employees and so Paul is saying work hard at your job with the right attitude.\r\n\r\nThis word \u201cheartily\u201d is the Greek phrase ek <\/em>psuch\u0113<\/em> which mean from soul, from the soul or with soul.\u00a0 Work \u201cwith soul\u201d Paul is saying.\u00a0 And that\u2019s translated here in the English \u201cheartily.\u201d\u00a0 Don\u2019t work with a grudging attitude but an attitude of eagerness and enthusiasm remembering that you\u2019re working for the Lord even if your human boss is unfair and unreasonable.\u00a0 If we do that then verses 24 is telling us that we\u2019re receiving and accumulating rewards in heaven.\u00a0 So be motivated, not just by your paycheck, that you\u2019re going to get a paycheck, but also be motivated that if you\u2019re working as for the Lord, with the right attitude, you\u2019re also accumulating rewards in heaven. Now work, of course, happens not just outside the home but inside the home.\u00a0 So this principle applies not just to the person who goes off and works at an office but also to the stay at home mom who\u2019s caring for the kinds and training the kids, she\u2019s also, I believe, under this verse accumulating rewards in heaven\u00a0 as she is working heartily for the Lord.\u00a0 I think it applies to students who are studying their brains out for their degree; they\u2019re also working.\u00a0 If they have the right attitude then they\u2019re accumulating rewards in heaven.\r\n\r\nAnother example of peas and carrots, rewards and good works being linked, is sharing God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Sharing God\u2019s Word we see in 1 Corinthians 3:8, \u201cNow he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.\u201d\u00a0 Labor is work, right, and here Paul is talking about sharing God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Paul is saying preachers, non-preachers, all believers should share God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 And some plant the seed, some give the gospel; and others come along and give deeper doctrines and deeper truths and God will reward both laborers this verse says.\r\n\r\nI have another set of peas and carrots; during ridicule and persecution on behalf of Christ is a \u201cgood work\u201d that Christ rewards and will reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ.\u00a0 Matthew 5:11-12, \u201cBlessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.\u201d\u00a0 Now that phrase \u201cbecause of Me\u201d is real important; if we\u2019re being insulted and persecuted because we\u2019re criminals and we\u2019re just violating the law all the time or we\u2019re jerks and we\u2019re just running around intending to offend everybody that we see, well, that\u2019s a different context.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what Jesus is talking about.\u00a0 Jesus is talking about if we\u2019re being persecuted or insulted because we follow Him.\r\n\r\nThen He gets into the second verse, verse 12, \u201cRejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.\u201d\u00a0 If you\u2019re a committed follower of Christ then it\u2019s just a matter of time, it\u2019s just a matter of time before someone says what?\u00a0 Jesus, God, God\u2019s invisible, you worship someone who\u2019s invisible?\u00a0 Someone is going to ridicule you, insult you, it\u2019s just a matter of time if you\u2019re a committed follower of Christ.\u00a0 And you might even be persecuted, and I say that with a heavy heart in this country because as our culture becomes more and more opposed to Christianity that risk of persecution increases.\r\n\r\nWe see that in Jack Phillips, the baker from Colorado who said hey\u2026 this gay couple came in to the bakery and they wanted him to make a cake for their wedding and he said guys, I\u2019m a Christian and I can\u2019t do that, I\u2019ll make you another kind of cake, I\u2019ll make you a birthday cake or some other cake but I can\u2019t make that cake, I don\u2019t want to make that cake, I\u2019m a Christian and I don\u2019t want to support that.\u00a0 So he was harassed and threatened and the State of Colorado sued him.\u00a0 The State of Colorado said if you want to be a baker in our state you will get in line and support homosexuality like we, the State of Colorado, have declared\u2026 you will!\u00a0 If you want to bake cakes here then you will make that cake to celebrate that activity, or get out!\u00a0 So the State of Colorado has sued Mr. Philips and Mr. Phillips case is pending currently at the United States Supreme Court and we will see that the justices on the court do with this case.\r\n\r\nBut my point is this: believers will be ridiculed and persecuted when they openly seek God\u2019s ways.\u00a0 And that\u2019s because the world, which is ruled by the devil, is opposed to God and opposed to God\u2019s followers.\u00a0 God has rewards in store for the one who endures persecution on His behalf.\u00a0 But let me say this: we should not go looking for a fight.\u00a0 We shouldn\u2019t go looking to stir up trouble.\u00a0 We shouldn\u2019t go looking for a fight, we should, as Paul says, seek to live a quiet life.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 4:11, \u201cand to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you.\u201d]\u00a0 But when someone says I insist that you take this action in support of this then I agree with Mr. Phillips, I think we should stand our ground in the power of the Spirit and God\u2019s truth, but stand the ground nonetheless.\r\n\r\nOne final example of peas and carrots and that is in the area of helping Christians who are in need.\u00a0 When we help fellow believers that\u2019s a good work that God rewards.\u00a0 Mark 9 :41, \u201cFor whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.\u201d\u00a0 Many believers suffer and struggle to meet the day to day expenses of life and the Christian who helps that struggling believer is doing a good work.\u00a0 And if those struggles are especially acute and severe in Muslim countries where Christians are persecuted or in India where Christians are persecuted, and so the believer who helps another believer is doing a good work and is accumulating rewards in heaven.\r\n\r\nWell, that was a very short list of good works, potential good works that believers can do.\u00a0 But no work is a good work if the motivation is wrong.\u00a0 Motivation affects everything about the believer\u2019s actions.\u00a0 If we\u2019re doing a good work it\u2019s only a good work if it\u2019s done in the power of the Spirit because if it\u2019s done in the energy of the flesh then it\u2019s meaningless\u2026 it\u2019s meaningless!\u00a0 And as I said earlier, we know the energy of the flesh, right?\u00a0 We know the energy of the sin, it\u2019s about how do I promote myself, how do I glorify myself instead of glorifying the boss (now I don\u2019t mean Springsteen) I mean God,\u00a0 THE BOSS\u00a0 in all caps, right?\u00a0 Our motivation should be glorifying the Creator of the universe who allows our heartbeat to be just by a word, who allows this universe to exist just by a word.\u00a0 That\u2019s whose glory we should be seeking.\r\n\r\nIf our works are motivated by self-promotion then they\u2019re dead works.\u00a0 Remember how Jesus warned about doing things to be recognized by others, in Matthew 6:1?\u00a0 There He said, \u201cBeware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 There Jesus was talking about people who were giving to the poor and praying publicly and they were doing it to bring accolades to themselves.\u00a0 Wow, look at me!\u00a0 Look at me, I did this great thing to give to the poor!\u00a0 Look at me, I\u2019m praying so that everyone\u00a0 will give me recognition to say wow, what a great guy he is.\u00a0 And Jesus says look, if that\u2019s your motivation then you got what you wanted.\u00a0 If your motivation was so that people would promote you then great, you got it.\u00a0 On the other hand, if your motivation is to serve God and to bring honor to His name, glory to His name, then God rewards that.\u00a0 But if your motivation is to glorify self God doesn\u2019t reward that.\u00a0 Instead the only reward you get is you duped people into glorifying you and that\u2019s the reward\u00a0 you get, versus glorifying God; that does gender rewards from God.\r\n\r\nSo if our actions are done with a right attitude then the good works; if our actions are done with the wrong attitude, regardless of how visibly spiritual they look, how noble they look, if it\u2019s with the wrong attitude then it\u2019s junk material built on a foundation; it\u2019s wood, hay and stubble.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s our detour.\u00a0 That\u2019s the end of our detour into what are good works and what are not good works.\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s get back to our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:13, \u201cEach man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work.\u201d\u00a0 Paul said \u201cthe day will show it\u201d I believe Paul\u2019s referring to the day of the Lord and that\u2019s a phrase that the Bible uses to describe a day of reckoning, a day where the Lord settles accounts, a day where the Lord exhibits His sovereignty and demands accountability from humanity.\u00a0 God is sovereign, we know that, right?\u00a0 God is omnipotent, all powerful but He hasn\u2019t shown it.\u00a0 There\u2019s all kinds of evil that happens in the world all the time.\u00a0 One day God will exhibit His sovereignty and it will be utterly undeniable, even for the most intense unbeliever.\u00a0 And in that day God will demand accountability from\u00a0 humanity.\u00a0 That is the day where the Lord settles accounts.\u00a0 For the unbeliever the day of the Lord is a horrific\u2026 horrific day, it\u2019s Great White Throne Judgment where unbelievers who have rejected the only name by which we may be saved, Jesus Christ, are cast in the Lake of Fire which is prepared for the devil and the fallen angels.\r\n\r\nBelievers are not at the great white throne judgment; believers are at the judgment seat of Christ \u00a0and so for us that\u2019s \u201cthe day of the Lord,\u201d where the Lord has a settling of accounts for us.\u00a0 There\u2019s no punishment for believers at the judgment seat of Christ.\u00a0 Let me say that again: theirs is no punishment for any believer at the judgment seat of Christ because we have been saved and we are righteous by the imputation of God\u2019s righteousness.\u00a0 At the judgment seat of Christ there\u2019s either rewards or no rewards.\u00a0 And that is what happens\u2026 what some people refer to as the Bema Seat, that\u2019s another phrase for the judgment seat of Christ.\u00a0 And the reason it\u2019s called the Bema is that\u2019s the Greek word for judgment seat.\u00a0 In the Greco-Roman world an official with authority would sit on a platform, on a seat, and they would bring cases before him and he would hear the facts and he would issue a judgment, issue a ruling, issue a conviction, and issue a penalty. \u00a0And that was called the Bema, he sat on the Bema.\r\n\r\nFor example, Pilate sat on his Bema, he\u2019s standing up in front of his Bema but he sat on his Bema when he heard Jesus\u2019 case and commanded crucifixion. Festus, the Roman governor, sat on his Bema when he heard the Apostle Paul\u2019s case and sent him to Rome to be tried before Caesar.\u00a0 The Scripture tells us that Jesus will sit on His Bema, His judgment seat, to evaluate us.\u00a0 But again there\u2019s no punishment at the Judgment Seat of Christ.\u00a0 There\u2019s either rewards or not rewards.\r\n\r\nAnd notice that in 1 Corinthians 3:13 there\u2019s a fire in heaven that tests the quality of each man\u2019s work. \u00a0[I Corinthians 3:13, \u201c\u201cEach man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work.\u201d] That\u2019s our evaluation, that\u2019s what\u2019s testing our work; was it junk material we were building on the foundation of Christ or was sit valuable material.\u00a0 Were we functioning in the power of the flesh (junk material, or in the power of the Spirit (valuable material)?\u00a0 How were we motivated.\u00a0 Were we motivated for self-promotion (junk material), or for God\u2019s promotion for he elevation of His name and the glory of His name (valuable) material).\r\n\r\nVerse 14, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.\u201d\u00a0 So only good works remain; only what\u2019s done for Christ remains, everything else is burned up.\u00a0 In other words, the junk material, the combustible material, the wood, hay and straw.\u00a0 And at the end of verse 14 we see that word that we\u2019ve been talking about so much this morning, \u201creward.\u201d\u00a0 God knows how to reward His people.\r\n\r\nGod\u2019s not like some human bosses who don\u2019t know how to do that, right?\u00a0 The boss calls you into the office and he says look, you\u2019ve been working really hard and our company is making a bunch of money so here\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to double your hours and cut your pay in half.\u00a0 You might not say it out loud but you\u2019re thinking you\u2019re crazy, that\u2019s ridiculous, that\u2019s wrong!\u00a0 And that\u2019d be wrong, right?\u00a0 I mean, a good human boss rewards his people or her people for their labor.\u00a0 Well, if a good human boss knows how to do that then doesn\u2019t the Lord know how to do it a thousand times more?\u00a0 He does! \u00a0He DOES!\r\n\r\nThe rewards that God gives to believers for their good works involves crowns.\u00a0 There are five crowns listed in Scripture.\u00a0 For the sake of time I\u2019m going to quickly go through these, but there is the imperishable crown, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, the crown of glory and the crown of life. And these are given for different works, different good works, done in the power of the Spirit not in the power of the flesh.\u00a0 And these crowns represent victory, victory over the flesh, victory over Satan\u2019s fallen world.\u00a0 And I believe, like in a Greco-Roman world these crowns are accompanied by benefits, just like that competitor who won at the Olympic Games and went back home to Corinth and he was given a pot of money, and free meals, and tax exemption.\u00a0 These crows are accompanied by benefits, by rewards.\u00a0 And I say that because Jesus talked about storing up treasure for yourselves in heaven where thieves cannot steal them.\u00a0 [Matthew 6:19-20, \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.\u00a0 [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;\u201d]\r\n\r\nNow I don\u2019t think Jesus is talking about a currency, dollars or yen or pounds.\u00a0 I think He\u2019s talking about rewards; rewards that accompany these crowns.\u00a0 Also, in terms of rewards that go along with those crowns the Apostle John talked about believers returning with Christ and ruling with Him at the Second Advent, for the thousand year reign of Christ.\u00a0 The rewards that God has planned for us are beyond what you can even imagine; they\u2019re beyond what you could \u201cask or think\u201d and we see that in Ephesians 3:20 where we read, \u201cNow to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, [21] to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.\u00a0 Beyond what we can ask or think\u2026 we worship a God who loves us and who rewards us if we live for Him, if we love Him, if we take in His Word, and if we live in His power, in the power of the Spirit, not in the power of the flesh.\r\n\r\nFinally we get to verse 15, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d\u00a0 Loss of reward is a source of shame at the judgment seat of Christ because the believer, who should have been spending his life or her life living for Christ instead of for self is ashamed at that moment where the believer loses the rewards.\u00a0 And notice this passage, it says, \u201closs,\u201d right? \u201che will suffer loss,\u201d those rewards are already designed by God, just like God designed our works, good works in eternity past He designed the rewards for us in eternity past.\r\n\r\nSo that\u2019s the source of shame at the judgment seat of Christ for the believer who ignored God.\u00a0 God, look, I\u2019m busy.\u00a0 If the believer who didn\u2019t love Him, who didn\u2019t seek His Word and who didn\u2019t live a life in the power of the Spirit, then that believer is standing at the judgment seat of Christ, all those rewards that he could have gotten and the other believers who are rewarded, he says I should have lived for Christ.\u00a0 And there\u2019s disappointment associated with that.\r\n\r\nAgain, there\u2019s no punishment at the judgment seat of Christ but there is shame and disappointment.\u00a0 Now if that believer who didn\u2019t receive rewards, is he going to be excited that he\u2019s in heaven?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to be pumped that he\u2019s in heaven.\u00a0 I mean, he\u2019s going to be so excited that he\u2019s in heaven but at the same time he\u2019s going to wish that he had lived for Christ and gotten the rewards that last, not for a thousand years, not for a million years, but for eternity, forever he will be disappointed.\r\n\r\nFinally, verse 15 makes clear that we can\u2019t lose our salvation, because notice at the end of the verse that \u201che himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d\u00a0 And so, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d\u00a0 So what\u2019s burned up?\u00a0 His dead works, not him, he\u2019s saved from the fire, just his dead works are burned up.\u00a0 And so the believer who lives for Christ, who took in God\u2019s Word, who lived a life of faith (that\u2019s the only way to please God) in the power of the Spirit,\u00a0 he\u2019s going to be pumped too that he\u2019s in heaven.\u00a0 So the believer that didn\u2019t get rewards, he\u2019s going to be excited that he\u2019s in heaven but he\u2019s not going to get rewards.\u00a0 The believer who did live for Christ and get rewards he\u2019s going to be excited that he\u2019s in heaven and then he\u2019s going to have super abundance of joy because he\u2019s going to have these rewards.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to say, like King David said, \u201cmy cup spilleth over.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the believer who will receive rewards in heaven.\r\n\r\nWe know that we can\u2019t lose our salvation as this verse makes clear that it\u2019s the dead works that are burned up, not the believer and we know we can\u2019t lose our salvation because Christ said, the very last thing on the cross, when they put the bitter wine to His mouth so He could lick His lips and just say one last word, tetelestai<\/em>, \u201cit is finished\u201d in the perfect tense.\u00a0 The Greek language there is the perfect tense which means this has happened in the past and the result of it lasts forever; \u201cit is finished!\u201d\u00a0 He finished it 2,000 years ago and we enjoy the benefits of it today and all of humanity who will accept His work enjoy the benefits of that salvation and there\u2019s NOTHING that we can do to undo the work of Christ.\r\n\r\nSo in conclusion what\u2019s Paul\u2019s point in telling us about the evaluation that we\u2019re going to have?\u00a0 Why does he tell us?\u00a0 He tells us because he wants us to run, to run<\/u> if you\u2019re 90 years old, run if you\u2019re 16 years old, he says RUN, like a coach standing next to the track, God\u2019s track that we\u2019re to be running on and He says RUN, RUN, RUN\u00a0 because you\u2019re going to be evaluated and you\u2019re going to be rewarded for running to win\u2026 for running to win!\r\n\r\nAnd how do we get rewards?\u00a0 It\u2019s actually pretty simple, we make it complicated but it\u2019s actually pretty simple.\u00a0 Love God, number 1.\u00a0 Number 2, take in God\u2019s Word; you have to take in God\u2019s Word because\u00a0 you can\u2019t love Him if you don\u2019t know anything about Him.\u00a0 So love God number 1, number 2, take in His Word, and number 3, live a life that is pleasing to Him in the power of the Spirit.\u00a0 Well, how do we please God?\u00a0 Only by faith, because \u201cwithout faith it is impossible to please God\u201d we\u2019re told. \u00a0[Hebrews 11:6, \u201cAnd without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.\u201d]\r\n\r\nSo love God, take in God\u2019s Word, and live a life of faith in the power of His Spirit.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you get rewards.\u00a0 Rewards should motivate us\u2026 they should motivate us!\u00a0 The Bible tells us to be motivated by rewards, but remember, our primary motivation is love for God.\r\n\r\nNow if there\u2019s anyone here or on the internet without Christ, without hope, and without eternal life we want you to know that Jesus Christ died for you, YOU, individually, personally for YOU, for all of humanity but for you individually.\u00a0 And without Him, without His work, you are condemned eternally.\u00a0 And so we would urge you go accept Christ, the work that He did on the cross when He paid for your sins which are an utter offense to God, and my sins are too, and we\u2019d urge you to accept Christ, to believe that He paid for your sins.\u00a0 The Philippian jailor in the Book of Acts said, \u201cWhat must I do to be saved\u201d to the Apostle Paul and Paul said \u201cBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved\u2026\u201d [Acts 16:30-31, \u201cand after he brought them out, he said, \u2018Sirs, what must I do to be saved?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [31] They said, \u2018Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.\u201d]\r\n\r\nSo we\u2019d urge you to do that and go from being the enemy of God, dead in your trespasses and sins to be the daughter or the son of God with eternal life.\u00a0 From eternal death to eternal life, and that can happen just like that [he snaps his finger] in the privacy of your own thoughts just by you saying I believe Father, I believe that Jesus paid for my sins.\u00a0 And in that moment you become the child of God.\u00a0 So we\u00a0 urge you to do that.\r\n\r\nClosing in prayer today, Father, we thank You for this time; we thank\u00a0 You for the opportunity to study Your Word.\u00a0 We thank\u00a0 You for You having revealed these things in Scripture about how You intend to reward us for our labor if it\u2019s done in the power of Your Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, not done in the power of the flesh.\u00a0 And so we ask you to challenge us by these things and also Father, for our fellowship luncheon we thank You for that food, we thank You for the hands that made it.\u00a0 We ask that You make it nourishing for us so that we can serve You and not ourselves.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll be careful to give You all of the praise and the glory, and all of God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t