The Lord will give us a reward according to righteousness. It will not be given to us in the same way as salvation is given, according to grace. Since God’s salvation is according to grace, we receive it freely. However, since the Lord’s reward is according to righteousness, we must pay a considerable price to obtain it. The Scriptures contain many conditions for obtaining the reward, but in this lesson we will mention only the more important ones.
First, we will receive a reward according to our own labor (1 Cor. 3:8). Since the Lord’s giving us a reward will be according to His righteousness, our obtaining the reward must be according to our own labor. After we are saved, if what we produce before the Lord is gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12), the Lord will give us a reward. In the Bible, gold refers to the divine nature (Exo. 25:11, 17-18, 24, 31), silver, to redemption (Exo. 30:16), and precious stones, to the expression of God’s glorious image (Rev. 4:3; 21:11). Therefore, a work which is of gold, silver, and precious stones is a work which is of God and which corresponds to God’s nature, a work which is according to the principle of God’s redemption, and a work which is able to express God, manifesting the glory of God. If what we produce is wood, grass, and stubble, which is of man, of the flesh, and full of the earthly element and condition, we will not receive a reward from the Lord; rather, we will suffer loss.
Second, we will receive a reward according to our work (Rev. 22:12). This shows us that although receiving salvation does not require work, receiving a reward does. Whether we will receive a reward from the Lord depends on whether we have the work that is pleasing to Him. Such a work is the surpassing righteousness that we live out by His life (Matt. 5:20). How great a reward we will receive from the Lord also depends on how much of our work is pleasing to Him.
Third, we will receive a prize because we are faithful to the Lord unto death, not caring for our lives (Rev. 2:10-11). The believers’ ability to be faithful unto death, overcoming Satan’s infliction of death, is an issue of their living by Christ’s resurrection life. Because of this, they will receive the crown of life to enjoy the glory of life and not be hurt by the second death.
Fourth, we will receive a reward because we overcome (Rev. 2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-27; 3:5, 11-12, 21). The overcoming that the Lord requires is the victory that we achieve in fighting against anything that opposes His testimony and damages His kingdom. The Lord’s testimony rests with the church that He loves. His intention is to bring in the kingdom He treasures through the church He loves. Satan knows this and has been trying his best to frustrate the Lord’s intention. Therefore, the Lord wants us to fight for this and to overcome. Since this overcoming is necessary to the bringing in of the Lord’s kingdom, overcoming becomes indispensable to our receiving a prize and entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. Our overcoming includes the following items: recovering the first love toward the Lord; enduring persecution or tribulations to be faithful unto death; not mingling with the world, rejecting hierarchy, and leaving the worldly organization of Christianity; removing the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church and not being contaminated by the defilement of idols and spiritual fornication; overcoming coldness, deadness, and decline; striving to keep the word of the Lord’s endurance and not denying His name; and not being self-satisfied, but humbly pursuing, opening our heart to let the Lord in to gain the ground in us and have fellowship with us. All these are conditions for receiving the reward. Only the overcomers can enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to be enthroned. The defeated believers in the present dark and evil world will not be allowed to reign in the coming kingdom, which is of light and of righteousness. Those who are not able to be the overcomers in this age of desolation will not be able to be the rulers in the coming age of restoration. God’s ordination is that we must first fight and overcome, then we will reign.
Fifth, we will receive a reward because we love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). To love the Lord’s appearing and to love the Lord Himself are inseparable. If we truly love the Lord, we will love His appearing. All those who love the Lord and forsake everything for Him love also His appearing, that they may receive His reward; those who do not love the Lord, but love the world or love sin, are afraid of the Lord’s coming. Therefore, loving the Lord’s appearing is a proof that we love the Lord and live for Him today; hence, it also becomes a condition for us to receive His reward.