Grace, the Forbidden Gospel - Online Christian Library

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31
NKJV)
We don’t store up treasures for ourselves to build our own empire or kingdom, but rather the Kingdom of
God.
The next obvious question is this: What is the “treasure” that the Bible talks about? If even the streets of
heaven will be paved with gold, of what use will an abundance of possessions be in heaven? The key lies in
the parable of the faithful servant. When the master came back and he found the servant had doubled the
five talents into ten talents, he was very pleased with him:
And so he who had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, you
delivered five talents to me. Behold, I have gained five talents above them. His lord said to him, Well
done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over
many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. (Matt 25:20-21 NKJV)
Our reward in heaven for being faithful with what was appointed to us on earth is not possessions: it is
responsibility. We will be entrusted with more responsibility (also called “heavenly treasures” or “true riches”)
in heaven if we proved ourselves faithful here on the earth:
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with
very little will also be dishonest with much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? (Luk 16:10-11 NKJV, emphasis added)
After the second coming of our Lord, the saints will rule the earth with Him and those who were faithful during
their time on earth will be appointed in positions of higher authority:
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? (1 Cor 6:2a NKJV)
And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth. (Rev 5:10 NKJV)
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be
given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey him. (Dan 7:27 NKJV)
And he who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations. And
he will rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter they will be broken to pieces, even as I
received from My Father. And I will give him the Morning Star. (Rev 2:26-28 NKJV)
Is eternity to be a time when those still living out physical lives on the earth will be kept in subjection by a
divine dictatorship? The verb translated “rule” in Revelation 2:27 is poimanei, derived from the word for a
shepherd (poimen). It is the same word used by the apostle Paul in Acts 20:28 to describe the care that
overseers are to show toward the Church of God. The rod or club carried by a shepherd was primarily for the
protection of his sheep, not to frighten or punish them.
To summarize, we’ve seen that what we believe will determine where we spend eternity; however this
doesn’t rid us of our responsibility to advance the Kingdom of God in the earth. The works we do and more
so our motive for doing these works, will determine how we will spend eternity in heaven. Works that have
been done out of a motive of trying to earn God’s approval will be burnt up, but works done with the correct
motive will cause us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, the treasure being the privilege of being
given more responsibility.
Very importantly, in closing, let’s look at what John Piper said about being judged according to our works:
“It is by grace we are saved through faith; not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. But the heart that is full of
faith will overflow in attitudes and actions very different from those which flow from unbelief. Therefore, our
deeds will testify truly to the genuineness or absence of faith, and it is not inconsistent for God to judge us
according to our works. But we must understand that this judgment according to works does not mean we
earn our salvation. Our deeds do not earn, they exhibit our salvation. Our deeds are not the merit of our
righteousness; they are the mark (proof) of our new life in Christ. Our deeds are not sufficient to deserve
God’s favor, but they do demonstrate our faith.
Please keep that distinction clear in your mind regarding our attitudes and actions: they do not earn, they
exhibit; they do not merit, they mark; they do not deserve, they demonstrate. And therefore, “God will render
to every man according to his deeds,” including Christians.”
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