David Jeremiah - Five Crowns
Lately, it seems there’s an award show on TV just about every week. Have you noticed that? There’s the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Country Music Awards, and the Grammys. And those are just the big ones. Word is out that they’re coming up with a new award for the best presenters in award ceremonies. Now, I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but if you turn on the TV, the chances are that you’re gonna see somebody walking a red carpet or giving a thank you speech, and somehow the world keeps coming up with more ways to hand out trophies.
Well, today I wanna talk to you about the most important trophy ceremony you will ever be a part of. And it’s a subject that is spoken about very little because there just are a lot of people who think that trophies and rewards are incompatible with a biblical lifestyle and truth. One such viewpoint was expressed in this quote that I found: «In our day we encounter those who deplore the idea of heaven as a place of rewards. They regard the promise of reward as a low and carnal incentive to righteousness, entirely unworthy of a mature person. They liken it to offering candy to a child if he will just be good, and they view this as inferior strategy. Such people say we should not be lured into goodness by promises of a bonus, for goodness is its own reward».
And that sounds pretty good, pretty logical, but the problem is, it’s out of tune with the Bible. The Bible doesn’t give you any opportunity to believe that. Not only is the idea of rewards accepted, it’s at the core of the growth of the early church. If you study history, you discover that the thing that made the early church prosper, well, there were four or five things: the zeal of the early Christians; number 2, the belief in future rewards and punishment; number 3, the power of miracles; number 4, the pure morals of Christians; and the compact church organization.
As you read through the Bible, what you discover is that rewards are never defended. They’re just accepted. It’s a part of the culture. For instance, Psalm 58:11 says, «Surely there is a reward for the righteous». Psalm 62:12 says, «You, O Lord, render to each one according to his work». The New Testament opens with the Lord’s promise of rewards. Listen to this: «Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven».
And when you get to the end of the New Testament, in Revelation 22:12, one of the last verses in the Bible, here’s what the Bible says. Jesus is speaking: «Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give everyone according to his work». And throughout the New Testament, rewards are assumed to be a part of the Christian’s future experience. So let me just talk with you for a moment about the day of heaven’s rewards. The Bible is very clear about how this happens even though there’s so much misunderstanding about it. The Bible tells us that after the church is taken to heaven by the Rapture and the Resurrection, individual believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
This is a time when the Lord will evaluate the lives of his people and reward them for their faithfulness, their service, and their obedience. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament, especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Romans 14:12 says: «So then each of us shall give account of himself to God». 2 Corinthians 5:10 says: «For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad».
Now, the Bible teaches that at the judgment seat, Jesus Christ will see through all of our posturing and our spinning, and he will see into our hearts' motives for all that we have done. There will be no second guessing of any of these rewards. They will all be given out with the absolute assurance of integrity. And the distinction of heaven’s rewards is like this. This important truth is that the judgment seat of Christ is not the final exam for heaven. Because believers have placed their faith in Christ and what he did on the cross, we will never be condemned for our sins. Once you accept Jesus Christ, you get eternal life. When does that start? The moment you believe. And eternal can’t be interrupted. In other words, eternal life begins when you accept Jesus Christ and it is never interrupted. You’ll spend eternity with God from that moment. Christ took our place, bore the judgment we deserve, so we can stand before God, forgiven and secure forever.
Galatians 1:4 says: «Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of God our Father». «He who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree,» «how shall He not also freely give us,» says the scripture, «all things»? Listen to me. When you became a Christian, you entered into a contract for heaven. When you said, «I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior,» what does the Bible say? The Bible says you get the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And that gift can never be rescinded, it can never be taken away. I know some people believe you can lose your salvation. I don’t think the Bible teaches that. I think you can lose your fellowship with Jesus, but you can’t lose your salvation.
So I just want to assure you, the judgment seat of Christ is not about whether or not you go to heaven. The judgment seat of Christ is for Christians who are already in heaven. One of the questions people often ask then is, «If our sins are forgiven, why do we have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ»? And the answer is found in the fact that forgiveness is about justification. It’s about being made right with God. But rewards are based on the works a believer does after he has been saved. These are not works done to gain salvation. These are works that flow from a life that has already been saved.
Paul explains this in a couple of key passages I want you to never forget. Ephesians 2:8-10 says: «For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast». Now listen, «For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them». Notice, we are not saved by good works. We are saved for good works. We are not saved by the works that we do, but once we’re saved, God expects us to live a certain kind of life. The works that we have as Christians are what comes before the judgment seat of Christ.
Titus 3:5 says it another way: «Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit». Now, watch this. «This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. For these things are good and profitable to men». So the Bible tells us that works are in the whole process. Works are not in the process to be saved, «not by works, lest any man should boast». But once we’re saved, God expects us to live in a certain way, and the judgment seat of Christ will determine whether or not we’ve wasted our Christian life or we have been faithful.
So the judgment seat of Christ is not the final exam for heaven. Number two, the judgment seat of Christ is not found to be judging one believer by another. Because all believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, each of us is giving an account of himself to God. Did you hear that? We give account of ourselves to God. We have no right to judge the work of another believer. We do not even know what rewards we will receive for ourselves. How will we ever know how another person will be rewarded? This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote these words to the Corinthians. Listen carefully. «Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will bring both to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God». The day of heaven’s rewards and the distinctions.
Now, let’s describe heaven’s rewards. We often wonder, what will be the nature of these rewards? What will they look like? I want to talk to you about five crowns that are mentioned specifically in the Bible. These are five things that will be awarded at the judgment seat of Christ. First of all, the victor’s crown. 1 Corinthians 9 says: «Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run not with uncertainty. I fight not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified».
Now, this is based upon the culture that Paul wrote to at that time. There were two kind of games that took place during Paul’s day. There was the Olympic Games themselves, and there was another set of games called the Isthmian Games. And the Isthmian Games were held at Corinth. So when Paul writes this letter to Corinth, they already know all of this. They see the background. The contestants in the games had to prove rigorous training for ten months. The last month was spent at Corinth, and it was supervised every day in the gym and on the athletic fields. They didn’t just get judged at the event. They were judged as they prepared for the event, getting ready for the race. And the race was always a major attraction at the games.
And that is the figure Paul uses to illustrate the faithful Christian life. He says, those who run in a race run all, but only one receives the prize. No one would train so hard for so long without at least having a thought that you might win. You run, you train to win. Yet out of the large number of runners, only one wins. The prize indicates that the apostle had in mind service and rewards, not salvation in life. A great difference between those races and the Christian race is that every Christian who will pay the price of careful training can be a winner. You can be a winner. I can be a winner, if I’m willing to discipline myself to do that. In a sense, every Christian runs his own race, enabling each one of us to be a winner in winning souls to Christ.
Paul, therefore, challenges all believers to run in such a way that you may win by setting aside anything that might hinder the reception of the gospel. The one who disciplines his body, like Paul said, was a candidate for the victor’s crown. Most people, including many Christians, are instead slaves to their bodies. Their bodies tell their minds what to do. Their bodies decide when to eat, and what to eat, how much to eat, when to sleep, when to get up, and so on. An athlete cannot allow that. If you’re training for the Olympics, you’re getting ready for an event, you follow the training rules, not your body.
One thing I’ve learned, don’t let your body tell you what to do, because you will do the wrong thing most of the time. The Bible says that there are some people who live the Christian life with such great discipline that nothing else matters. They set their eyes on the goal of pleasing Christ, and nothing else gets in their way. I’ve known a few people like that, and so have you. Many of them find their way to the mission field. Many of them are in churches. Some of them are pastors. Some are workers in the church. But the good news is that all of us can be candidates for the victor’s crown if we’re willing to live a disciplined life and walk with Christ.
Then there’s the crown of rejoicing. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 2:19: «For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming»? Paul’s love for these Thessalonians is very emotional. «Not even you, our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing»? This is an allusion to the wreath or the garland of victory awarded to winners in the games. And Paul’s hope and his only grounds for boasting was the thought of the souls he would present to Christ.
This crown is sometimes called the soul-winner’s crown. So if God has given you the ability to talk to people about your faith, win them to Christ, when you get to heaven, there’s gonna be a special crown for soul-winners. I know people who are so focused and motivated by winning people to Jesus Christ, that’s all they live for. Every day they get up with that thought in their mind, how can I find someone and tell them about Jesus? Well, the Bible says for a person like that, they can win the crown of rejoicing.
The third crown is the crown of righteousness. You will find that in 2 Timothy 4:8: «Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing». Paul said there’s a special award that will be given at the judgment seat of Christ for people who look forward to the coming of Jesus Christ. Some people live with their hearts set on heaven. It’s what motivates them every day when they get up. That’s what they think about throughout the day. They’re looking forward to seeing Christ, and those are the ones who will receive this crown because they love and they long for his appearing. So there’s the victor’s crown, there’s the crown of rejoicing, and there’s the crown of righteousness.
Number four, the fourth crown in the five crowns, is the crown of life. «Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him». Revelation 2 says: «Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life». So the crown of life is for people who pay a price for their faith. We haven’t had too much of that in our culture. We’ve had some of it, and every month it seems like it’s a little bit more.
The Bible says when you suffer for your faith, when you speak about the Lord and you get shunned or maybe you lose a promotion or maybe you even lose your job, the Bible says when you endure temptation and testing, you become a candidate for the crown of life. The people who don’t like Christianity are vicious people, and they don’t care how much they hurt the Christians if they can just shut them up. The Bible says: «All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution». If you’re a Christian, just get ready for the fact you’re not gonna be loved by everybody. Satan will batter you with temptations of all kinds, but what a wonderful opportunity to lay claim to the crown of life. The crown of life is for those who suffer on behalf of Christ.
And then the last one, kind of special to me: the crown of glory. «And when the Chief Shepherd appears, he will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away». This crown is for faithful shepherds of the people of God. Some have called this the pastor’s crown. I might be in the running for this if I behave myself. And guess what? You don’t have to be a pastor to make a difference. Maybe you lead a Small Group and you pastor a Small Group. You would be a shepherd in that regard. Maybe you teach a class and you shepherd the people in your class. You pray for them, you help them. That’s a big deal. And the Bible says that people like that can receive a special reward in heaven. I hope you see that these crowns are for us today. And before we close our Bibles, just a couple of thoughts to leave in your head.
Number one, with all of this stuff about crowns, just remember that the Lord himself is your chief reward. He is the one that you are rewarded by. Genesis 15:1 says: «After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'» God is our great reward.
Number two, resist doing works outwardly just for the purpose of receiving a reward. «Take heed,» says Matthew, «that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly». One writer said, «It might be possible to pursue eternal rewards with fleshly motives». But he said, «I’ve never met anyone who was guilty of doing that. I’ve never heard someone say, 'I’m a missionary in the dark, deep jungle because when I get to heaven, I want a mansion that’s bigger than the Jones’s.' Or I can’t remember ever thinking, 'If I witness to that guy, God will owe me big time.'» That’s not the way it works.
Number three, reflect upon the ultimate goal of any rewards you may receive. One last thought from the rewards section of the Bible: When we get all these crowns, what in the world are we gonna do with them? Are we gonna go through heaven wearing our crowns and, you know, «I got this one. Which one did you get»? No, the Bible says that something very special is going to happen. Listen to this: «The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 'You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.'»
The Bible says that when we get our crowns in heaven, we’re gonna go to Jesus and cast them down before him as an act of worship. And you say, «Well, I guess it won’t make that much difference if I don’t have one then, if that’s all we’re gonna do with them». No, it’ll make a big difference. Frankly, I don’t wanna be in the line of people with no crowns. I want to be in the line waiting to cast my crowns to the feet of Jesus. The Bible says that’s what we’re gonna do with our crowns when we’re given them. We’re gonna give them to Jesus as an act of worship.
There’s an old story about a missionary couple that had been working in Africa for years, and they were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension, their health was broken, they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big game hunting expeditions. No one paid attention to these missionaries. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the president’s entourage with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man.
As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, «Something is wrong here. Why should we have given our lives in faithful service to God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here’s this man coming back from a hunting trip and everybody makes so much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us». «Dear, you shouldn’t feel that way,» his wife said. «I can’t help it. It just doesn’t seem right».
When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the president. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the president’s arrival, but no one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the east side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living for the city. That night, the man’s spirit broke and he said to his wife, «I can’t take this. God is not treating us fairly». «Why don’t you go to the bedroom and tell that to the Lord,» said his wife, a smart woman. A short time later, he came out of the bedroom.
Now his face was completely different. His wife said to him, «Dear, what happened in there»? «Well, the Lord settled it with me,» he said. «I told him how bitter I was that the president should receive this tremendous homecoming when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder, and he simply said, 'But you’re not home yet.'» And that’s the real secret, isn’t it? We’re not home yet. Some of you may feel like you’re serving the Lord and nobody notices, but you’re not home yet. When you get home, there will be one who will say to you, «Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your reward,» amen?