Eternal Diversity and Eternal Rewards

Tony Reinke Diversity, Eternal rewards

diversity

By God’s design, the Church is richly diverse. Ethnical diversity is celebrated as the cross brings together people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9; Eph 2:11—22). We know from Revelation that the ethnic distinctions will continue into eternity. Although I’m willing to guess we will share a common language, since linguistic diversity was a result of the fall (Gen 11:9), nevertheless, ethnic diversity is eternal.

The Church celebrates diversity in a second way. God distributes an assortment of gifts to the members of the Body (1 Cor 12:12—31). And it appears this diversity is carried over into eternity, too. But to understand how requires a little explaining about eternal rewards.

From Scripture we know that eternal rewards are distributed to individual Christians. Scripture is also clear that our eternal rewards are not the basis of our salvation, but built from a foundation of personal faith in Christ (1 Cor 3:15). Rewards in heaven are distributed according to personal achievements made possible by grace alone. However, justification before God (i.e. being saved) is never merited by personal achievement or self-righteousness.

For each Christian in heaven there will be various degrees of rewards, various degrees of glory. My question is why? Why the variance of reward, especially in a place where there will be no tears and no regret or sorrow over past failure? And why the variance of reward in light of a variance of gifting?

Our tendency is to erect a monolithic ladder of rewards that will measure the worthiness of individuals. We see this in distorted versions of Christianity. Saints and martyrs reach the top of the reward spectrum. Missionaries are near the top. The upper-middle rungs are covered with faithful pastors. Toward the bottom are folks who really did very little for the church. The lower you are on the ladder, the more you need the help of those above you. There is a minimal reward threshold all must meet to enter heaven. This is 2-dimentional image distorts the truth of salvation, distorts the truth about rewards, and it distorts the beauty of diversity.

“His purpose in doing this,” Herman Bavinck writes of God’s distribution of eternal rewards, “is that, on earth as it is in heaven, there would be profuse diversity in the believing community, and that in such diversity the glory of his attributes would be manifest. Indeed, as a result of this diversity, the life of fellowship with God and with the angels, and of the blessed among themselves, gains in depth and intimacy. In that fellowship everyone has a place and task of one’s own, based on personality and character, just as this is the case in the believing community on earth.” [RD, 4:729]

There are many problems with the ladder image. First, rewards are not means to heaven. Secondly, it does not account for God’s diverse gifting. We cannot equally achieve the same level of reward because we are not gifted equally. Bavinck was getting at this. Here is the point: To the degree God has gifted you, this is the degree that you serve in this life, which translates into a unique distribution of eternal rewards you receive in heaven, which translates into a unique position you will fulfill in the life to come.

If Bavinck is right, the level of reward we individually receive is not so much a means to compare ourselves with others (to determine our height on the ladder). Rather, it is a set-up for God to eternally display the multiplicity of His glory as it is reflected in the “profuse diversity” of His people.

photo: estherase

Preach Christ or go home—and 5 similar Spurgeon quotes I cherish

Tony Reinke C.H. Spurgeon, Cross of Christ, Cross-centered life, Preaching

spurgeonI imagine pressurized steam shooting out of Charles Spurgeon’s ears at the mention of a preacher who neglects the topic of Calvary. Christless preaching was Spurgeon’s hot button. And on this topic he produced some choice quotes. Here are 6 of my favorites:

The motto of all true servants of God must be, “We preach Christ; and him crucified.” A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching. [Exposition of Acts 13:13-49 published in 1904]

Leave Christ out? O my brethren, better leave the pulpit out altogether. If a man can preach one sermon without mentioning Christ’s name in it, it ought to be his last, certainly the last that any Christian ought to go to hear him preach. [sermon: “A Prayer for the Church” (1867)]

Leave Christ out of the preaching and you shall do nothing. Only advertize it all over London, Mr. Baker, that you are making bread without flour; put it in every paper, “Bread without flour” and you may soon shut up your shop, for your customers will hurry off to other tradesmen. … A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution. However grand the language it will be merely much-ado-about-nothing if Christ be not there. And I mean by Christ not merely his example and the ethical precepts of his teaching, but his atoning blood, his wondrous satisfaction made for human sin, and the grand doctrine of “believe and live.” [sermon: “Christ the Glory of His People” (3/22/1868)]

Sooner by far would I go to a bare table, and eat from a wooden porringer something that would appease my appetite, than I would go to a well-spread table on which there was nothing to eat. Yes, it is Christ, Christ, Christ whom we have to preach; and if we leave him out, we leave out the very soul of the gospel. Christless sermons make merriment for hell. Christless preachers, Christless Sunday school teachers, Christless class leaders, Christless tract distributors—what are all these doing? They are simply setting the mill to grind without putting any grist into the hopper, all their labor is in vain. If you leave Jesus Christ out, you are simply beating the air, or going to war without any weapon with which you can smite the foe. [sermon: “Why the Gospel is Hidden” (2/11/1866)]

I know one who said I was always on the old string, and he would come and hear me no more; but if I preached a sermon without Christ in it, he would come. Ah, he will never come while this tongue moves, for a sermon without Christ in it—a Christless sermon! A brook without water; a cloud without rain; a well which mocks the traveler; a tree twice dead, plucked up by the root; a sky without a sun; a night without a star. It were a realm of death—a place of mourning for angels and laughter for devils. O Christian, we must have Christ! Do see to it that every day when you wake you give a fresh savor of Christ upon you by contemplating his person. Live all the day, trying as much as lieth in you, to season your hearts with him, and then at night, lie down with him upon your tongue. [sermon: “A Bundle of Myrrh” (3/6/1864)]

What was the subject? What was Peter preaching upon? He was preaching Christ and him crucified. No other subject ever does produce such effects as this. The Spirit of God bears no witness to Christless sermons. Leave Jesus out of your preaching, and the Holy Spirit will never come upon you. Why should he? Has he not come on purpose that he may testify of Christ? Did not Jesus say, “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”? Yes, the subject was Christ, and nothing but Christ, and such is the teaching which the Spirit of God will own. Be it ours never to wander from this central point: may we determine to know nothing among men but Christ and his cross. [sermon: “The Mediator, Judge, and Savior” (5/30/1880)]

What makes you happy?

Tony Reinke spurgeon

This question is revealing, and it was the question one filmmaker recently posed to random sampling of people. The many answers were woven together into a diverse cross-section of common responses that include family, sunshine, beer, sex, and weed. You can watch the video on YouTube here [not for children].

I love the mix of personalities in this short. And I appreciate the honesty of the responses.

This video reminds me of the more intentional and thoughtful reflection of one author, a Harvard PhD, who wrote the book Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness (Douglas & McIntyre 2009). Those seven pleasures include reading, walking, looking, dancing, listening, swimming, and writing. All good things, and all common joys we all experience to some degree. But like the majority of video responses, the book’s starting assumption is that happiness exists pretty much within the confines of physical experience.

See happiness, as understood by sinners, is virtually confined to the sensory; what can be watched, touched, tasted, heard, smelled, and so on. Even with fully functioning sensory experience, sin leaves something of blindness over the eyes of the heart, a veil to cover the spiritual eyes to eternal reality. Sadly for many, God’s divine source of joy is invisible and talk of it is considered nothing more than a fantasy of unreality. To reverse the spiritual blindness for them—for each of us—requires the activity of God upon the soul.

Sensory Joy

I’m not trashing sensory joy at all. Sensory joy was God’s idea. And it’s one way God distinguished man from beast in his creation. But sensory pleasure is meant by God to point toward something greater. Take wine for example. Wine is a beverage that, when consumed in moderation, has the power to cheer the heart (Ps 104:15, Pro 31:6). Of course, too much wine leads to drunkenness and evil (Pro 20:1). Wine, like all of the sensory joy God created, is a loaded gun, useful when handled righteously but open to misuse because of the evil in the human heart. Nevertheless, God thinks it good to have wine cellars be filled floor to ceiling (Pro 3:9—10). But wine points us upward, to something greater, to a joy that transcends the vineyard and the bottle. The heart-gladdening wine that we can see with our eyes and taste with our tongues is nothing compared to the abundant joy that God offers sinners to taste by faith (Ps 4:7). For some, wine is the highest happiness. For others, the wine points to something greater. (This is, in the words of C.S. Lewis, transposition.)

For the Christian, the highest happiness is rooted in God’s unseen work and His promises—promises already fulfilled, and promises yet unfulfilled. We no longer live merely by sight and sound and smell and biological impulse. We live by faith. Joy can freely pulse throughout our lives because God has taken his judgments away from us in the cross. We have been forgiven. Our transgressions have been covered. And we see an approaching day coming when God will judge the earth and separate all evil and sin from his eternal kingdom. As we anticipate that day, we rejoice. We rejoice to follow God’s Word. We rejoice when His Truth leads us into the temple and into the presence of God where we find joy now and the offer of true pleasures forever (Ps 16:11). Despite the cares of life, God continues to offer His joy.

My point should be obvious. The Christian’s experience of joy is not restricted to the limits of sensory experience. Experiences of sensory joy remain; they are refined, purified, and shaped into God-glorifying enjoyment. A greater joy, the joy alluded to in sensory delights, is added to the sinners whose sins have been covered. We can stock the cellar, pop the cork, and lift the cup of gladness. We rejoice in the greater joy.

I am not preaching to the choir. I’m preaching to myself. I need to be reminded that all my greatest joys are found in the presence of God, the promises of God, and the forgiveness and hope of eternal life. In other words, I need a continual reminder to find my happiness at the place where all the streams of eternal joy converge—in the cross of Jesus Christ.

One day, of course, we shall see Jesus as He is. Faith will be unnecessary. And on that day the unseen delights we experience by faith, and the delights we experience through our senses, will fully merge into a marriage feast. But until that day we have God’s Word, and within it a full spectrum of extra-sensory sources of happiness.

So many Psalms are relevant. I’ll close this post with a handful of favorite excerpts. These words can clear away the fog of our sense-driven world for a few moments, and allow us to enjoy looking upon Him who is invisible (Heb 11:27).

Ps 16:7—11

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Ps 28:6—9

6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Ps 32:1—2, 11

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Ps 34:1—5, 8

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Ps 43:3—4

3 Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.

Ps 65:3—4

3 When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!

Ps 67:1—5

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

Ps 68:1—3

1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

Ps 86:4—5

4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Ps 92:4

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Ps 94:19

When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Ps 119:162

I rejoice at your word
like one who finds great spoil.

A Habitual Sight of Christ

Tony Reinke Cross of Christ, Cross-centered life, Thomas Goodwin

“The Indwelling of Christ by faith…is to have Jesus Christ continually in one’s eye, a habitual sight of Him. I call it so because a man actually does not always think of Christ; but as a man does not look up to the sun continually, yet he sees the light of it…. So you should carry along and bear along in your eye the sight and knowledge of Christ, so that at least a presence of Him accompanies you, which faith makes.”

—Thomas Goodwin (1600—1679), The Works of Thomas Goodwin (RHB), 2:411.

This quote inspired the title of the forthcoming book, “A Habitual Sight of Him”: The Christ-centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones (RHB 2009).

Hating Sin

Tony Reinke Cross of Christ, Thomas Goodwin

“Work in your hearts a hatred of sin… If a man had killed your friend, or father, or mother, how would you hate him! You would not endure the sight of him, but follow the law upon him. Send out the avenger of blood with a hue and cry after thy sin; bring it afore God’s judgment seat, arraign it, accuse it, spit on it, condemn it and thyself for it, have it to the cross, nail it there, if it cry I thirst, give it vinegar, stretch the body of sins upon his cross, stretch every vein of it, make the heart strings crack; and then when it hangs there, triumph over the dying of it, show it no pity, laugh at its destruction, say, Thou hast been a bloody sin to me and my husband, hang there and rot. And when thou art tempted to it [sin], and art very thirsty after the pleasure of it, say of that opportunity to enjoy it, It is the price of Christ’s blood, and pour it upon the ground. … Shall I live upon that which was Christ’s death? Shall I please myself in that which was his pain? Shall I be so dishonest, so unkind, as to enjoy the pleasure for which he endured the smart?”

—Thomas Goodwin (1600—1679), Christ the Mediator in The Works of Thomas Goodwin (RHB), 5:294.