E_F_Grant said:
that we recieve treasures and rewards in Heaven beyond salvation?
In doing a word search on crowns and rewards, it looks to me as if you could argue that those things refer only to salvation. Can we infer it from verses like Matthew 6:19
Another passage I often hear when referring to this issue is 1 Cor. 3:10-15.
After all, we can't store up salvation, or accumulate it in the same way as we can accumulate rewards, right?
This is a topic I've thought a lot about. Even among "reformed" people, I've found the opinions are split pretty well. I used to attend a Bible study in which I considered almost everyone very refomred and this was one of the few issues that really brought out conflicting opinions.
For me, this is one issue I flip-flop on. It does seem that some passages in the Bible indicate that there will be some system of rewards in Heavan based on your "performance" on earth (I'm not talking about your salvation being based on perforamnce). The problem I've always had with this is the following. When I first begin to truly understand that my salvation was rooted only in God's grace and Christ's perfect life and sacrificial death only, that was really a defining moment in my life. I began to understand that I try to obey God's commands not because it has anything to do with my salvation, but instead, because God loved(s) me and, in his grace, sent his son to live a perfect life and die for my sins and because Jesus rose to life and is right now in Heaven interceding for me, I want to obey God's commands out of love for him, like a child wants to please his parents. I am free to obey God not out of fear that if I don't I might go to Hell, but out of love because my salvation is secure in Christ. Then, when I was confronted with the idea that their might be a system of rewards (not salvation) in Heaven based on performance, the idea of obeying God out of gratitude only for what Christ did for me began to be diminished (in my mind). For example, now because I might receive some additional award in Heaven, I have a reason to try to obey that might be selfish, i.e., not out of love for God only, but because I don't want to be at a lower status in Heaven then the other saints.
I really would like to hear some other opinions about what Scripture says on this subject (especially the two passages mentioned above). Some passages of Scripture do seem to indicate that there will be some type of award in Heaven based on performance, but part of me says that isn't correct (of course, if it is correct, that is my sinful nature talking).
John
