Rewards

When John Calvin was exiled from Geneva, he said, "Most assuredly if I had merely served man, this would have been a poor recompense; but it is my happiness that I have served Him who never fails to reward His servants to the full extent of His promise."

God promises great reward for all who have served Him faithfully.  He will reward every loyal servant for works done in this life --

So do not go on passing judgment before the appointed time, but wait until the Lord comes, for He will both bring to light the [secret] things that are hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God. - 1 Corinthians 4:5

God rewards generously, promising a return --

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [d]or children or farms for My name’s sake will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. - Matthew 19:29

God rewards us for doing good works, denying ourselves, showing compassion to the needy and treating our enemies kindly.  He also grants us rewards for generous giving --

Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” - Matthew 19:21

 Rewards are promised to those who endure difficult circumstances while trusting in God, and to those who persevere under persecution.  A life of godliness will be richly rewarded.

Paul reminds us there's a timetable for the harvest --

Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. - Galatians 6:9

The believer's compensation, just like the unbeliever's, is usually deferred.

We'll be in heaven and that's all that matters

Paul spoke of a loss of a reward as a great and terrible loss.  The fact that we're still saved is a clarification, not a consolation --

But if any person’s work is burned up [by the test], he will suffer the loss [of his reward]; yet he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has barely escaped] through fire. - 1 Corinthians 3:15

Receiving reward from Christ is unspeakable gain with eternal implications.

In 1888, Alfred's brother Ludvig died while in France. A French newspaper erroneously published Alfred's obituary instead of Ludvig's, and condemned Alfred for his invention of dynamite. Provoked by the event and disappointed with how he felt he might be remembered, Nobel set aside a bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes to honor men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature, and for working toward peace. Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, established the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1968 in honor of Alfred Nobel.

Believer's Judgment of Works

Two Perspectives

 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts].  But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness! - Matthew 6:22-23

Right now we're living in the dot.  But what are we living for? The short-sighted person lives for the dot.  The person with perspective lives for the line.  This earth, and our time here, is the dot.  Our beloved Bridegroom, the coming wedding, the Great Reunion, and our eternal home in the New Heavens and New Earth ... they're on the line.

The patriarchs lived as strangers and exiles on the earth, spending their days longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Peter encouraged Christians to find joy by focusing not on the trial that will go on only a little while, but on their heavenly inheritance that will never perish.   

 For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us! - Romans 8:18

 For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! - 2 Corinthians 4:17

Paul speaks not of a glory achieved for Christ but for us.  Jesus didn't say - "store up for God treasures in heaven" - He said, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."  Scripture teaches that we will not only behold His glory but also participate in it.  This gives the believer an incentive to do what the Philippian Christians did in giving to Paul's missionary work - withdrawing funds from their earthly accounts in order to have them credited to their heavenly account.

Soldiers, athletes, and farmers all know that short-term sacrifices are justifiable in light of their long-term benefits.  This same principle applies to those who adopt an eternal perspective.

Two treasuries

“Knowing the tendency of the human heart to become unduly attached to earthly goods, Christ warned against it. The "things" which the Father gives are to be understood as provisional merely and must never be considered our real treasure. The heart always returns to its real treasure, and if a man holds corn to be a real form of wealth his heart will be where his corn is. 

Many a man has his heart locked up in a bank vault, and many a woman has her heart in her jewel box or stored at the furrier's. It is a great moral tragedy when anything as wonderful as the human heart comes to rest on the earth and fails to rise to its own proper place in God and in heaven.

Treasure, incidentally, may be discovered by this fourfold test: (1) It is what we value most. (2) It is what we would hate most to lose. (3) It is what our thoughts turn to most frequently when we are free to think of what we will. (4) It is what affords us the greatest pleasure.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963), excerpt from “The Transmutation of Wealth” in Born After Midnight (Harrisburg: Christian Publications, 1959).

When money and possessions are spent on heavenly treasure, the equation changes radically. The investment takes on eternal value. This because God, His Word, and people are eternal, what will last is what is used wisely for God, His Word and His people.

Christ's primary argument against amassing material wealth isn't that it's morally wrong, but simply that it's a poor investment. Even if they escape moths and rust and thieves, they cannot escape the coming fire of God that will consume the material world.

"I value all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity."
John Wesley 

“I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.” - David Livingston

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

 Jesus vividly described what it's like when we discover true wealth --

“The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself]." Matthew 13:44

Note that the central focus is accumulation of heavenly treasures, not the renunciation of earthly treasures in Matthew 6:19-24.

"As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came; and he will take away nothing from all his labor that he can carry in his hand." - Ecclesiastes 5:15

Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never again see the light.
A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish. - Psalm 49:16-20

Paul spoke about the Philippian church's financial giving --

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I do seek the profit which increases to your [heavenly] account [the blessing which is accumulating for you]. Philippians 4:17

God keeps an account open for us in heaven and every gift given for His glory is a deposit in that account.





The Two Treasuries

Prosperity: Paul

When Paul bowed his knee to the carpenter from Galilee, he forever turned his back on prosperity theology.

"And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:16

In his letter to the Philippians - written from a prison, not a plush office or the Rome Marriott --

For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. - Philippians 1:29

He depicts Christ as the suffering servant, whose prosperity came after his life on this earth, not during it.  Had Jesus laid claim to prosperity in this life, there would have been no crucifixion, no atonement, no gospel, and no hope for any of us.

In Philippians 3, Paul discusses his credentials of success, his diplomas and awards.  These were once highly valued, but now he says --

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ - Philippians 3:7-8

 Actually, this translation is too delicate.

What little money and possessions might have passed through his hands he considered a loss.  He describes his daily adversity, persecution for Christ and nearness to death - refers to his troubles, hardships, distressed, beatings, imprisonments, riots, sleepless nights, and hunger, as well as the experience of nearly dying and being sorrowful and poor.

Perhaps the most graphic portrayal of Paul's life comes later  --

Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.  Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.  Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.  I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?                     2 Corinthians 11:23-29

The truth is, Paul heard some of these voices in his own day.  In fact, Paul had to defend himself against the 'super apostles', well off ministers who berated him because he couldn't claim their wealth and prestige.

You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honoured, but we are ridiculed. - 1 Corinthians 4:8,10

Paul faced off with these prosperity preachers, pointing out that they had jumped the gun on reigning with Christ by living now as kings rather than as servants.

After explaining that God had given him some special revelations, Paul adds this -

Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said,“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

We don't know what the disease was, but among other things it apparently caused his deteriorating eyesight.

If you have prayed for healing and not received it, take heart -- you're in good company.  Not only was Paul himself not healed, but he also had to leave Trophimus in Miletus because of sickness.  His beloved friend Epaphroditus was gravely ill.  His son in the faith, Timothy, had frequent stomach disorders for which Paul didn't tell him to 'claim healing' but to drink a little wine for medicinal purposes.  Those who claim 'anyone with enough faith can be healed' apparently have greater faith than Paul and his missionary associates.

Materialism: Distracts

Wesley noted that in the old days of Methodism, the people were poor. But, he observed, in the 20, 30, or 40 years since they joined the society, many Methodists had become 20, 30, or even 100 times richer than they were at first. With this increase in wealth had come a decrease in godliness. It seemed to him the more money the Methodists had, the less they loved the Lord.

Jesus described the various kinds of people who respond to the gospel --

"Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants."  -  Matthew 13:7

He later explained to the disciples --

"The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced."  -  Matthew 13:22

Notice the clear relationship between wealth and worry.

Paul told Timothy --

"Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them."  -  2 Timothy 2:4

Notice that Paul did not say civilian concerns are wrong, just that they are distracting.





Materialism in Slovakia - Moments that Impact with Dr. David Ireland
Materialism

Don't let materialism distract the Church, pope tells bishops

Materialism: Proud and thankless

The Bible is full of references proving that our tendency in prosperity is to believe we deserve the credit for what we have and to grow proud and thankless.  Paul asks the prideful Christians of Corinth --

For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? - 1 Corinthians 4:7

Paul tells Timothy --

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. - 1 Timothy 6:17

 After all, God is the one who has given us our intellect, our abilities and our capacity to earn money.

Paul reminded the proud Corinthians that the Church is made up of the dregs of this world.  Elitism boosts our egos by making us think we are somehow more worthy than others.  Few things are more repugnant to the Lord than the rich despising the poor.  Yet our clubs and social circles, sometimes even our churches, foster this very attitude.






Recognizing Materialism, and Understanding its Dangers

10 ways materialism brings us to ruin

The Thankless Persuasion

Pope Francis in South Korea: Anti-materialism message a tough sell for pope

Materialism: "If only"

"If only I had more money, I'd give more."  Unfortunately, those who give little when they have little almost never increase their percentage of giving when they become wealthy.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis builds a great story about this around Edmund sampling and getting carried away with the Turkish Delight.

An August 2013 article entitled, "The Poorest Rich Kids In The World," Rolling Stonemagazine's Sabrina Rubin Erdely exposed the horrific details behind two teenagers who are the heirs to one of the United States's largest family fortunes. Patterson and Georgia Inman, age fifteen, are the children of Walker Inman, the nephew of tobacco heiress Doris Duke. The Inman twins are set to inherit a trust fund worth one billion dollars when they turn twenty-one, yet both teens recently spent three months in a mental hospital to deal with the trauma of their horrific childhood.

Christina Crawford was less than a year old when she was adopted by a glamorous movie star, actress Joan Crawford. One of four adopted children, Christina grew up in the lap of luxury, however she claims to have been a victim of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her mother for most of her life. Her tell-all memoir, Mommie Dearest, was published two years after her mother died. It was later made into a movie starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford and Diana Scarwid as Christina.

Anthony Marshall is the only son of renowned socialite and charitable philanthropist Brooke Astor. The Astor family is one of the richest and most respected blue blood families in the United States. Sadly, their family history of parental abuse and neglect is a long legacy that still sends shockwaves throughout New York City high society to this day.

Casey Johnson is the daughter of a socialite mother, Sale Johnson, and Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, and the great-grandson of a Johnson & Johnson founder. Casey grew up surrounded by wealth and opulence. She attended the best private schools, rubbed elbows with childhood friends Nikki and Paris Hilton, drove expensive cars, and got her first Chanel handbag at age ten. Yet underneath all of the wealth dwelled a sad child whose mother largely ignored her, and who started using hard drugs by the time she was barely in her teens.

Leigh Horowitz is the daughter of fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger's Chief Executive Officer, Joel Horowitz. Leigh grew up with staggering wealth, attended posh private schools, and took lavish vacations. Unfortunately, her father worked long hours and travelled extensively, so by the time she was just sixteen, Leigh was totally addicted to drugs.

Mackenzie Phillips is the daughter of John Phillips, a member of The Mamas & the Papas, and his first wife, Susan Adams. Mackenzie got her start when she was just twelve years old, when she earned a role in American Graffiti, which then lead to a role on the popular sitcom One Day At A Time. Though she achieved financial and professional success at a very young age, she was unable to appreciate her fame due to her additions to drug and alcohol. She claims to have tried drugs with her musician father when she was just eleven years old, and that her dad had actually helped inject her with cocaine when she tried it for the first time as a child.

Materialism is the mother of anxiety. No wonder Christ's discourse on earthly and heavenly treasures is immediately followed by His admonitions not to worry about material things.  People lay up treasures on earth rather than in heaven not only because of greed and selfishness, but also because of fear and insecurity.

The hopes of a person with primary investments in the stock market will rise and fall with the market.  In contrast, the one whose hope is in God will be devastated only if God fails - and He never does.

Paul said we should --

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.    1 Timothy 6:17

Solomon made a profound observation when he noted --

People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. - Ecclesiastes 5:12

The more we have the more we have to worry about.






MATERIALISM: BLOWING THE WHISTLE

Materialism and Its Discontents

Physical world is not bad

In the OT, they saw God as the Lord of the harvest.  As His grateful children, they celebrated national feasts to recognise and rejoice in His material provision.  These feasts were parties.  By God's command, a portion of the holy tithes was set aside to underwrite these celebrations.  The Israelities worshipped, fellowshipped and celebrated and in the process had a great deal of fun.

The Jews understood sex as a gift from God, to be shunned outside of marriage but thoroughly enjoyed within it.  In fact, much of the Song of Solomon - as inspired by God as the book of Romans - is a celebration of a married couple's sexual pleasure. The rabbi-turned-apostle Paul not only ordered the materialistic Corinthians to avoid immorality but also commanded the ascetics in the church to stop withholding themselves from sexual relations with their spouses.  Satan is the master of extremes.  

The Sabbath is a day of delight. It is a weekly reminder to take play seriously. Tim Hansel observes that there is a myth among Christians that we don’t deserve leisure. He writes, “At the school where I teach, this myth is humorously referred to as Bionic Christianity. It describes the super Christian who is, at least in appearance, above reproach … Heavily laden with guilt and tension about each of the minutes he might be wasting—stiff, fussy, meticulous, and incurably religious—the Bionic Christian simply does not have time to be happy. Irony of ironies, his commitment to Jesus Christ has become a prison rather than a blessing.”

Paul warned Timothy that there would be those who --

... turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. - 1 Timothy 4:1

Those responsible for these teachings are described as --

These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. - 1 Timothy 4:2

Paul issues a 'wanted poster' on these theological criminals.  Here is how he describes them --

They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. - 1 Timothy 4:3-5

Eden was Paradise, and the new heaven and new earth will be an even greater paradise with much for us to enjoy.  In our new bodies, without sin to twist and warp us, we will enjoy God's provisions and take full pleasure and delight in Him and His gifts.  The delights of heaven - including feasting together at banquets - are proof that the material world and physical pleasures are good, not evil.









The Use of Physical Pleasure