The British rock band “The Who” issued a single record in 1969 titled, “Pinball Wizard.” It was about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who was a master at playing the pinball machine. The goal was to rack up the highest score and nobody could beat him at it. I’m giving away my age here because I remember playing pinball. There are no more pinball machines that I’m aware of except possibly in museums. Pinball has been replaced today by video games. But they are both still games with the same goal, which is to score the most points. Usually these video games will list the top scorers on each machine so you know the score you have to beat. The Christian life is much like a video game or a pinball game. It’s all about keeping score. When it comes to leading an exemplary Christian life the Apostle Paul is our top scorer. The Apostle Paul was the ancient world’s equivalent of the, “Pinball Wizard” of my youth. The Apostle Paul is without question the greatest Christian who ever lived because he has racked up the most points in heaven based on his record of good works.
Matthew 5:16 – (Jesus speaking) – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
We know a lot about the life of the Apostle Paul. We know God chose Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. We know Jesus appeared to Paul in person on three different occasions. We know Paul visited heaven at least once during his ministry. In the Bible we learned that God brought Paul back to life after he’d been stoned to death during one of his missionary trips. These are all great and wonderful things to know but they’re not what separated Paul from other Christians. The Apostle Paul was great because he figured out how to keep score in the game of Christian life and he was good at it.
Luke 6:45 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles but there were better preachers than Paul. Paul wrote many of the New Testament epistles but there were other good gospel writers as well. While there were a number of early church leaders, what made the Apostle Paul the greatest church leader who ever lived was his many good works for the kingdom of God. Paul worked tirelessly to start many of the early churches and he nurtured their growth. Paul was a master of doing the little things that pleased God. Paul, more than any other person, was responsible for the rapid growth of Christianity. One of the keys to Paul’s success was his great fear of displeasing God. Paul’s goal of pleasing God was always before his eyes.
Psalm 37:3 – Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
The Bible repeatedly exhorts the believer to witness for Christ and do good works. We know when believers die the Holy Spirit will immediately take their spirit to heaven to be in the presence of Christ. We know at some point all believers will stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus to receive their reward for deeds done in the flesh on earth. Other than a brief mention of five rewards, or crowns, the Bible doesn’t give a lot of details on how these rewards are tabulated or distributed. Let’s look at this logically to see if we can learn more. We know there is a spiritual law that says, “you reap what you sow,” and that it applies to both our rewards and our punishments because God is just and fair to saint and sinner alike. While the Bible is unclear on the reward for believers there is clarity on the punishments to be received by unbelievers.
Proverbs 13:21 – Evil pursues sinners, but to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
We know when the unsaved die their spirits immediately go to hell within the earth where they’ll be in constant pain and agony. Think of hell as a temporary holding cell for the damned until judgment day. At the end of the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ on the earth the unsaved will be resurrected bodily from hell to stand in judgement before Christ at the Great White Throne judgement. All unbelievers will be judged on every evil thought, every evil word, and every evil deed. Unbelievers will then be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
God is all about reciprocity. This is an important thing to remember. If God is going to judge and condemn men on every every single little thing they’ve ever done wrong in their lives you can rest assured God will use that same criteria in reverse to reward Christians for every single one of their good works no matter how small. In the Bible God doesn’t come out and say explicitly what our reward will be for our good works done here on earth. But the Bible does clearly say believers will be rewarded for their good works and we know God is generous. God will be generous to his children just as we would be to our children.
Psalm 37:27-28 – Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
At the bema seat we know that all Christian works will be judged by fire. God refers to the three categories of Christian works as straw, wood and precious metal or stones. Those with works of straw and wood are burned up but those with works of precious metal or stones will survive the fire and be rewarded handsomely. I don’t believe our rewards will be as black and white as that. I believe there will be a wide range of rewards in heaven. There has to be because of the variety of every good work to be judged. We can’t all be great Christians like the Apostle Paul. Most believers will not do great things for the kingdom of God. Most in heaven will not be giants of the faith but all believers are in heaven for a reason. All believers have done some good works or they wouldn’t be in heaven. All believers are children of God and all will receive some reward in heaven because God is good, kind, generous and gracious. How could believers not be rewarded?
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 – For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
The Bible tells us our rewards will be based on our witness for Christ and our good works. We don’t often get a chance to witness but we can do good works for the kingdom of God every day. If we persist in doing good works our rewards in heaven keep adding up all the days of our life. Our treasure trove in heaven is not something God gives us. It’s something we accumulate ourselves over a lifetime of Christian service and living for God which Jesus presents to us on the last Day. The more good works we do on earth the more treasure we have stored up in heaven for us. This treasure equals a future reward from Jesus. It’s not rocket science. It’s simple really, once you know the rules of the game. We must guard against being prideful. We must serve the Lord with all love and humility.
Proverbs 11:17 – The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
Every single good thing goes to your account after you become a believer. When you give kind words of encouragement to someone who needs it or you perform a small kindness for someone who cannot repay you it adds up. When you drop $5 in the Salvation Army kettle or send $20 to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital it adds up. When you help a little old lady cross the street or go pick up medications for an elderly person who can’t travel it adds up. We’re all thinking we need to do great things for the kingdom of God for it to be counted as treasure in heaven. I posit that in heaven believers will be rewarded for every single good deed no matter how small or insignificant we think it might be. In heaven we’re going to find that most believers whose works are precious metal or stones are those who have accumulated many small good works over a lifetime of godly service until it becomes a mountain of precious metal or stones. The quantity of good works will matter as much as the quality.
John 5:28-29 – (Jesus speaking) – Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear believers are to continue doing good works all their lives. There are no qualifiers. We are simply to obey this command of God. Believers do good works because they love God and because they love their fellow man. If a believer realizes their good works are also building up treasure in heaven at the same time then so much the better. There is no shame in doing good, even if part of the reason is self-serving. The Bible says we should knowingly build up treasure in heaven by our works. The believer would still do good works without any possible reward in heaven because they love God and their fellow man.
Matthew 17:20 – (Jesus speaking) – Therefore by their fruits you will know them (believers).
Any heavenly treasure earned by a believer is only a secondary consideration. Satan is always going to try to put it in your mind that you shouldn’t do good works for God. Satan wants you to believe you’re sinning against God if you think about building up treasure in heaven by your good works. Get those thoughts out of your mind. Give Satan the boot. Every good work you do, no matter how minor, adds to your heavenly bank account. The Apostle Paul wasn’t ashamed of pursuing treasures in heaven while at the same time serving God and neither should we. As a Christian, live every day to do something good for the kingdom of God and the Lord will smile on you. Consciously make an effort to do at least one good work a day to honor our Father in heaven.
John 4:36- (Jesus speaking) – And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
1 Corinthians 9:24 – Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
Hebrews 12:1 – Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 – Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Luke 12:33-34 – (Jesus speaking) – Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.