Hey everyone I’m Gary Hoban and welcome to Refinery Life Church.
January is a time of new beginnings, and an appropriate response is one of celebration and praise for life with all of its opportunities.
The theme for January messages is exactly that, “Celebrating the Life That Christ Makes Possible.”
Today we are talking about Christian Rewards.
Living the supernatural life is a blessing not only now but also in the future.
There is a great difference in the doctrine of rewards for the saved.
Salvation is by grace, not by works, but rewards are according to the works of the believer.
Salvation is a gift, rewards are earned.
First Corinthians 3:8-15 reveals several truths about rewards,
1, Every believer will be rewarded according to his or her own labour.
2, We are labourers with God, not for salvation but for His service.
3, We are to build on Christ as our foundation.
4, We have a choice of two kinds of building materials, gold, silver and costly stones, or wood, hay, and straw.
The first kind represents eternal materials, the second represents temporal materials.
Building with eternal materials results in rewards.
Building with temporal materials results in loss at the judgement seat of Christ.
A minister once sat at the bedside of a dying friend.
As the friend talked of going home, tears filled his eyes.
Knowing the man was your in the Lord, the minister thought he was afraid to die and tried to speak words of encouragement to him.
The friend said, “I am not afraid, I’m just ashamed to die.”
Christ was his Saviour, but he had to meet Him empty handed.
His life was like wood, hay, and straw.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Christians can live and die crowned with victory.
Sometimes the Christian’s reward is called a prize, but sometimes it is called a crown.
Five crowns are mentioned in the New Testament.