The Gift And the Prize
The other reason people get confused is that there are two types of benefits in Eternity.
The first is the free Gift called Salvation that’s given to all who ask in faith irrespective of
merit, and guarantees our admission into the Kingdom.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the model, saying that salvation is a Gift from God.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
The second consists of Heavenly rewards we can earn for the things we do as believers here on Earth.
Philippians 3:13-14 are good verses for explaining this: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus
So, in addition to the Gift, there’s a Prize.
A gift is something given out of love, irrespective of merit, and is never taken back.
A prize, on the other hand, is something we qualify for and earn. And if we’re not careful
we can lose it. (Rev. 3:11)
Paul had already received the Gift of salvation, it was behind him.
Now he was focused on winning the Prize as well.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he explained the difference in greater detail:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
No Olympic athlete was satisfied just to have qualified to participate in the games.
Everyone wanted to win the victor’s crown.
Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied just to have received the Gift of salvation.
We must now live our lives as believers in such a
way as to win the Prize as well.
The Bible calls some of these prizes crowns, and while the athlete’s crown soon wilted away (it was a wreath of ivy) the crowns believers can win last forever.
They’re worth making some sacrifices for.
That’s why Paul said:
I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:27)
The crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25,
Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19,
Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8,
Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10,
and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.
The difference between the Gift and the Prize is also seen in 1 Cor. 3:12-15:
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.
It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames
At the judgment of believers, the quality of our work on earth will be tested by fire.
Only work that survives the test will bring us a reward.
But notice that even if all our work is destroyed in the fire, we’ll still have our salvation.
Why?
Because it’s a free Gift, given out of love, irrespective of merit.
The Lord mentioned other rewards as well.
In Matt. 6:19-21 He advised us:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in
and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
There are things we can do as believers while here on Earth that will cause deposits to be made to our heavenly account.
Some believe that this passage refers to the way we use the money we’re given.
Do we use it to enrich ourselves, stacking up possessions that far exceed our needs?
Or do we use it to further the work of the Kingdom?
Both Jesus (Luke 6:38) and Paul (2 Cor. 9:6) encouraged generous giving, saying our
generosity toward others would determine how generous the Lord will be toward us.
To summarize, in the New Testament there are verses like Ephesians 1:13-14 that talk
about Union.
There are verses like 1 John 1: 8-9 that talk about Fellowship. There are verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 that talk about the Gift and there are verses like 1 Cor 9:24-27 that talk about the Prize.
Those that stress belief, explain the permanent nature of our bond with God, and are directed toward eternity are Union verses.
Those that involve grace and faith are Gift
verses.
Those that require work and are directed at the quality of our lives on Earth are Fellowship verses, and those that require work and involve eternal rewards are Prize verses.
When you view Scripture from this perspective, all of the apparent contradictions disappear and you no longer have to wonder why God seems to be saying one thing here and something different there.
The issue becomes one of correctly identifying the focal point of the particular passage you’re looking at.
Determine the context by reading verses around it, and assign it to one of the four categories.
No comments:
Post a Comment