The Reward of Grace

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Rev. 22:12).

Question: "A person saved, say, only a year ago can be far more advanced in the Christian life than someone saved sixty years ago. Does heavenly reward depend on stage reached or accumulated total service over many years?"

I have given to this article the title "The Reward of Grace" because the question has to do with what Reformed and Presbyterian theologians have consistently given to the reward which believers receive for their works. It has been called the reward of grace because, while, indeed, a believer is rewarded for his works, this reward is of grace alone.

The situation described in the question—a man converted for only a year being far more advanced in the Christian life than one converted sixty years—is an exception rather than a rule. It may be that there are people of that sort, but the usual way in which God works His salvation in the hearts of His people is through progress and growth in sanctification. However, whatever the case may be, the answer to the question is not affected.

Let it be established that our good works are indeed rewarded. Scripture teaches this in more than one place (e.g., Matt. 5:12; 6:4, 6, 18; 10:41; 16:27; Luke 6:23, 35; I Cor. 3:8; II Cor. 5:10; Heb. 11:6). An incentive to do good works while we are here on earth is the reward we shall receive when we are in glory.

It is also the teaching of God’s Word that the reward will be in proportion to the works. This is clearly the meaning of the Lord’s words in Revelation 22:12 that every man will be rewarded "according as his work shall be." The Lord will dispense the rewards in an altogether just way. (This implies as well the punishment of the wicked in hell according to their works.) We may deduce from this that there is no disappointment in heaven and that each of us shall be satisfied with the reward we receive.

Further, the good works rewarded in heaven are not necessarily the earth-shaking works which some perform. In his work of reformation, Luther turned Europe upside down. That was indeed a great work. But there are works pleasing to God that go unnoticed by man, works of great value and worth. The broken heart of a penitent sinner weeping in his inner sanctum is of more worth than many mighty deeds. The faithful care of a godly mother for her family is of far greater value than a powerful sermon by a minister enamoured with his own abilities. God weighs works on different scales than the ones we use.

But what I have said up to now is not by any means the whole story. I think the rest of the story can best be told by quoting the Belgic Confession 24: "Therefore we do good works, but not to merit by them (for what can we merit?), nay, we are beholden to God for the good works we do, and not He to us, since it is He that worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Let us therefore attend to what is written: When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do. In the meantime we do not deny that God rewards our good works, but it is through His grace that He crowns His gifts." Through God’s grace, He crowns His gifts! This is the reward of grace! Several ideas are taught here.

(1) The good works which we perform and which God rewards are graciously given us as a gift. God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). We owe God for our good works, not He us.

(2) We can never under any circumstances earn anything with God. Not even Adam, before he fell could earn anything with God. The whole idea of human merit is contrary to the Scriptures.

(3) The reward which we receive is also given us of grace. This is why it is called "the reward of grace." It is, in the words of our confession, "through His grace that He crowns His gifts."

(4) Each receives a reward entirely just, fitting and appropriate for him or her.

To explain this further, the catechism teacher of my youth said that God creates many glass tumblers of many different sizes. They are His creation; the size is not arbitrarily determined. In glory, He fills each glass tumbler to the very top. Each glass is filled and can hold no more, but each is of a different size.

The metaphor is as follows. In His work of salvation, God shapes and forms each of His people according to His own purpose. He does this by the work of salvation, by which work each performs good works, works which reveal the glory of God in salvation. In heaven, each saint is rewarded for his works by God so that the work begun in this life is completed in heaven, where the glory of God shines through each saint to the praise of God’s name.

In God’s perfect plan, the work of salvation in this life is perfectly performed to prepare each saint for his own place in glory. Each stone—to use another metaphor—is shaped and formed by God through all the experiences of life to fit perfectly in the temple of God built in all its glory in heaven (Eph. 2:20-23). Thus, each in his own place, according to the reward of grace, shows forth in his own way and in connection with all the elect the glory of the God who saves the whole church and builds His own temple. All is always for God’s glory and the praise of His grace!