Bill Fiess sent me some interesting quotes about eternal rewards from various authors. The ones he sent from C. I. Scofield I found to be very helpful. See what you think.
C. I. Scofield, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, 1921, p. 91.
God’s purpose in promising to reward with heavenly and eternal honors the faithful service of His saints is to win them from the pursuit of earthly riches and pleasures, to sustain them in the fires of persecution, and to encourage them in the exercise of Christian virtues.
The Scofield Reference Bible, 1909 (p. 1214)
1 Corinthians 3:14. God, in the N.T. Scriptures, offers to the lost, salvation, and, for the faithful service of the saved, rewards. The passages are easily distinguished by remembering that salvation is invariably spoken of as a free gift (e.g. John 4:10; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8, 9); while rewards are earned by works (Mt. 10:42; Lk. 19:17; 1 Cor. 9:24, 25; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8; Rev. 2:10; 22:12). A further distinction is that salvation is a present possession (Lk. 7:50; John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47), while rewards are a future attainment, to be given at the coming of the Lord (Mt. 16:27; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12).
I find these 110-year-old quotes by Scofield to be outstanding. You can see why Scofield has had a very powerful impact on many generations of Dispensationalists.
Many churches today focus on this life. While we certainly need to deal with all the challenges in this life, the best way to do so is by having our primary focus on the life to come. God wants us to practice delayed gratification. We are to seek to please God now in all we say and do so that we might receive His approval and rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Free Grace Theology is not just about the free gift of everlasting life to all who simply believe in Jesus. As Scofield says, it is also about earning eternal rewards by faithful service for Christ.
Many verses in the NT do not make sense unless we grasp the distinction between free salvation and costly rewards. I am so glad that the Lord opened my eyes to understand this distinction. Once I saw that, the Bible opened up beautifully.
Not only should we share the message of everlasting life with people, but we should also share the related yet distinct message of eternal rewards. People need to hear both messages.
