The Bema - Part 2 (Five Crowns)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

The Millennium and the Judgment Seat of Christ

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. So turn now to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. From years of study with acknowledging that there are some things that we simply don't know about rewards, it certainly does seem to me that it is the millennium or the 1 ,000 year kingdom upon the earth, that is when rewards will be handed out.

That is when rewards will be exercised. Whether or not they continue on through eternity, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But I am convinced they are primarily for the millennium. Here in Matthew chapter 19, to demonstrate this point, Jesus has just encountered the rich young ruler.

Look at verse 21. Jesus said to him, most of us know the story. He says to the rich young ruler, if you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven.

And come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. So at this point, the apostle Peter, the gears in his head start to turn. He hears this and he thinks to himself, well, we've done this.

We've given up everything. Look at verse 27. Then Peter answered and said to him, see, we have left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have? So Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you that in the regeneration, that's found in Revelation chapter 20, the first resurrection, establishment of the millennial kingdom.

Jesus says in the regeneration, when the son of man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. This isn't heaven.

All right.

This is not heaven. This is the kingdom age, the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. And when this happens, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew, Nathaniel, Thomas, all of these men, they will stand.

They'll be resurrected and they will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and they will be given their reward. Now, what's helpful about the passage we just read is we get some specifics. There's a lot of things.

Again, we don't know about rewards, but here is a passage where we get specifics. The apostles, they will be the judges or the governors, if you will, of the 12 tribes. So you think of it. Perhaps the apostle Peter will be the governor of the tribe of Judah.

Maybe, maybe not.

He will be a governor of one of the tribes. We know that the apostle Paul might be the governor of the tribe of Benjamin, perhaps. And they will hear the words spoken by Jesus in Matthew 25, 21. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Listen to this. You were faithful over a few things. Therefore, I will make you ruler over many things. And that's exactly what will happen to them in the kingdom. So it stands to reason that would be the same for us.

Now, some of you will remember this. Our former pastor, Larry Riddle. Some of you know the story I'm going to tell, right? He used to say that in the kingdom, when rewards were handed out, he wanted to be the mayor of Morris Corner.

Not the mayor of Morris Corner Church. The mayor of the village of Morris Corner. And you say, yeah, but Morris Corner doesn't have a mayor. Well, it might in the kingdom. And just like now, when he would say that, people would laugh.

But if he was kidding, he was only half kidding. Because really, it's not an unreasonable thought. That's going to be essentially what the rewards look like. Now, if he was faithful, I suspect he might have a larger region.

Morris Corner is pretty small. But he might get a larger territory. But that's the kind of thing that's going to happen. That's what the rewards, I believe, are going to look like. So the rewards are tied in with a person's position, authority, and or responsibility.

The Five Crowns of Reward

And just think of how rewards are described in the New Testament. What are they described as? Crowns, right? So what does the scripture tell us? There is the incorruptible crown, the crown of life, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, and the crown of glory.

So there are five crowns mentioned in the New Testament. And I'd like to briefly look at those. So let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. This might be one of your rewards, one of these crowns. So we want to know about them.

As you're turning there, the word in Greek, translated crown, the Greek term is Stephanos. And it means a crown or a mark of royal rank or a mark of exalted rank and authority. It also can refer to a wreath.

Now, it's Christmastime coming up. We hang wreaths on our door. But back then, a wreath was considered a crown. It was basically a crown of greenery, a garland that people would wear on their heads. And that was given out to people who won a victory in public games.

Now, we think of the Olympic Games, right? How long have the Olympics been going on? A few thousand years, right? So that's also tied in with the Bema seat. Because in the Olympic Games to this very day, when the winners stand on the platform, what is it?

It's a raised platform with steps. So those who get gold, silver, and bronze medal, they all stand on essentially a Bema, on a Bema seat. And they are given medals. Well, in antiquity, they were given crowns or crowns or wreaths of greenery.

All right, let's look at the first crown that you may receive at the judgment seat of Christ. The incorruptible or the imperishable crown. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 25. Paul says, and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.

So you need to be disciplined. You want this crown, you need to be disciplined. You need to be able to exercise self-control. Paul says, now they do it, that is those who compete for a prize in games.

They do it for a perishable crown, the crown of greenery. But we, for an imperishable crown. So if you are disciplined in the Christian walk, if you are faithful, this crown could be yours. All right, now turn to James chapter 1, verse 12.

And if it takes too long for you to turn to these passages, just write down the scripture reference, James 1, 12, and you can look these things up later on. Now there is no crown. I have to admit there is no crown offer to those who memorize the books of the Bible in order.

But it's a reward in and of itself. And I'm going to have a little sermon within a sermon here. If you've been a believer for any length of time, you should know the books of the Bible in order. If you can't memorize them and just do it off the top of your head, you ought to know at least about where these books are found.

I should be able to tell you, turn to the book of Habakkuk, and you can know about where it is. Or 3 John, and you know about where it is. But memorizing the books of the Bible, it's not that hard, right?

It's not that hard. So I encourage you to do that. You don't get a crown, but it is a reward in and of itself. James 1, verse 12, blessed is the man who endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.

So if you love the Lord and you can endure and overcome temptation, the crown of life can be yours. All right, now turn to 1 Thessalonians 2 .19. As you're turning there, just one more comment about this crown that we just mentioned.

What did Jesus say to his followers? I have come that they might have life, and life more abundant. So the abundant life, certainly eternal life is the abundant life. But to overcome temptation and to be able to live a life apart from sin, not completely, we understand that.

That's how you have joy in the Christian life, when you can overcome temptation. As opposed to someone, every time they're tempted, they give in. Christians like that are miserable. No believer can live in sin and be joyful.

So we want the crown of life. We need to overcome temptation. All right, 1 Thessalonians 2 .19, what does it say? For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

So Paul, in speaking to the Thessalonians, he looks at them and he says, you are my crown.

Why?

Because this is called the soul winner's crown, the crown for evangelism. Paul won all of these folks to the Lord. So when the Lord returns and they're standing there at the judgment seat, Paul, I won these people to Christ.

You are my crown of rejoicing. So if you've won three people to the Lord in your life, you say, well, that sounds like a small number. It's a crown of rejoicing when the Lord returns. If you've won 30, that's a bigger crown.

300, an even bigger crown. This is the crown of rejoicing. All right, now let's turn to 2 Timothy 4, verse 8. And as we're going through these, you can kind of think to yourself, okay, what crown can I expect?

What's the crown that I think that I will receive? Now, it's true. It's not up to us. It's up to Christ, who is the judge. He will evaluate our works. He determines what is wood, hay, or stubble, or gold, silver, or precious stone.

So he decides that. But even still, even right now, we should be evaluating ourselves. He has the final say, but we should evaluate ourselves. What are we doing? What are we accomplishing? Why are we doing the things that we're doing?

Are we building on the rock? Are we doing things for ourselves, for our own glory? Are we doing it for the Lord, for others? Look at 2 Timothy 4, verse 8. And we see the fourth crown. Paul writes, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

You know, and you may be one of them, you know there are Christians that they love the idea of the return of Christ. They are looking forward to the return of Christ. They're always watching, and they're ready.

But there are good Christian brothers and sisters. You know, you listen to them talk, or maybe because of their theology, they don't ever expect to see Jesus return. I don't think they're going to get this crown, okay, based on the way it looks.

But if you love the Lord and live in anticipation to his return, this crown can be yours, the crown of righteousness. And finally, turn to 1 Peter, chapter 5. You're getting an exercise for your fingers this morning, that's okay.

So, so far we've looked at what? The incorruptible crown, the crown of life, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, and finally, the crown of glory. 1 Peter, chapter 5, we'll start reading in verse 2 for some context.

Peter says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you. Serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly. Not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. Nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. So I have some bad news for you. Most Christians are excluded from this crown. This appears to be a crown specifically reserved for pastors and church leaders who are faithful in the ministry.

But what is the title of this message? The judgment seat of Christ. And just that word, judgment seat. A lot of people when they hear the word judge, they think of the word condemn, right? Judgment equals condemnation.

Not so. Sometimes it does. Not always. Certainly not here. So point number 1, who will participate? Believers only. Point number 2, what is the purpose? To give out rewards. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church.

If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com. And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.

Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.