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Bible Dictionaries
Reward
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or The Bible speaks of rewards in both good and bad senses; that is, rewards may result from either the good or the evil that a person does. This article is concerned only with rewards in the good sense, namely, the gifts God gives to his people for their faithfulness and service. (Concerning rewards for wrongdoing see PUNISHMENT.)
Rewards are not the same as salvation or eternal life. God saves sinners solely by his grace and gives eternal life as a free gift, not as a reward for personal effort (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; see FAITH). Nevertheless, Christians are answerable to God for the way they live. One day they will stand before God to give an account of themselves and receive what they deserve, whether good or bad, according to the way they have lived (2 Corinthians 5:10; James 2:12; see JUDGMENT).
It is possible for Christians to be saved eternally but to receive no reward when God makes an assessment of their lives at the final judgment. This can happen if they live for themselves instead of for God. They build their lives according to the world’s values instead of according to God’s. When God tests what they have built, the test will show it to be worthless. They will lose all, though they themselves will be saved (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
If Christians look for their reward in the form of praise from fellow believers, they will miss out on the eternal reward from God (Matthew 6:1; Matthew 6:5; 1 Corinthians 4:5). God rewards those who are diligent in their Christian service, who persevere amid trials, who endure sufferings patiently and who make sacrifices for the sake of others (Matthew 5:12; Matthew 6:4; Matthew 10:40-42; Galatians 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 2 John 1:8). Yet when they have faithfully done all this, they still do not deserve God’s rewards. They have merely done their duty (Luke 17:10).
God’s rewards are therefore evidences of his immeasurable grace. They are out of all proportion to the good that people do (Matthew 24:45-47; Matthew 25:21). They should not be likened to material prizes such as people receive after a competition. Rather they represent the greater capacity that people have to enjoy those lasting realities of the kingdom of God around which true Christians have built their lives (Matthew 5:3; Matthew 25:21; 2 Timothy 4:8).
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Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Reward'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/r/reward.html. 2004.
