Pursuing God's Reward (2 Timothy 4:6-8; LD 24)
Introduction
If salvation is by grace and our good works do not earn our redemption, what motivates us to live faithfully for Christ? Scripture speaks openly about rewards, crowns, and even Christ repaying his people for what they have done. At first glance, this can seem to conflict with the Protestant conviction that we are saved by grace alone.
The answer is not to deny the biblical language of rewards, but to understand how those rewards are given. We do not merit God’s favor, but we receive these rewards by grace (LD 24). If it is by grace, then what can these rewards be? Why would we work for Christ if these rewards are freely given to us?
Our Blessings Are Established, Not Earned
The standard for earning God's blessing through our own works would be nothing less than perfection. There is no acceptable margin of error before a perfectly holy God. If we were to stand before him on the basis of our works, even our best efforts would fall short. The problem is that even our best works are stained by sin.
This helps us understand Paul's confidence at the end of his life. When he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) he is not boasting that he has accumulated enough merit to purchase his crown. His confidence rests in the faithfulness of God and the finished work of Christ. He has kept the faith, not the works.
Paul knows that his departure is near, yet he can face death with peace because his salvation does not rest upon his own performance. His hope is established in Christ. This is why Paul is confident that God will rescue him from every evil deed. (2 Timothy 4:18).
Our Rewards Are Given by Grace
It is true that Scripture does speak about God rewarding his people. We have to deal with that language. Christ speaks of treasures in heaven, Paul looks forward to a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) , and Scripture repeatedly teaches that God sees and remembers the works of his people.
But these rewards are not wages that sinners independently earn. They are rewards of grace.
When God calls attention to our good works, he is ultimately displaying what his grace has accomplished in them. These are not works that sinful people can or will produce by their own will. These works will only come by the Holy Spirit’s power.
Paul's description of himself as being “poured out as a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6) illustrates this beautifully. His suffering does not add to Christ's atoning sacrifice. Christ's work is complete. Paul's life and suffering simply demonstrate the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ's finished work.
Therefore, when God crowns his people, he is not rewarding autonomous human achievement. He is crowning the work of his grace that produces the visible fruit.
We Are Called to Fight the Good Fight of Faith
Many people assume that if the rewards are given by grace, then we are not motivated to work. However, grace does not make Christians careless or passive. The opposite is true. Because we have been united to Christ, we now desire to live for him. People who do not have grace will not desire to live for Christ even a little bit.
Paul tells Timothy to preach the Word, endure suffering, remain sober-minded, evangelize, and fulfill his ministry. Timothy is not told to earn a greater reward. He is exhorted to be faithful to Christ. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
Likewise, when Paul says that he has fought the good fight, he is describing the persevering Christian life. The fight is not an attempt to finish Christ's work. Paul is a drink offering. His life is spent, poured out as he nears death. Paul sees his life lived in Christ’s power as a garnish alongside the true offering, not the offering itself. The drink offering does not add to or improve the sacrifice; it accompanies it, showing its sweetness. Christ's offering alone is what makes him right before God. His works are merely the sweet fruits that show the power of God's grace. (Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:1-10)
Paul is using the metaphor of the Olympic games. The Christian life is a marathon, or an Olympic boxing match (I Corinthians 9:26-27). Paul’s point is that he is living a deliberate life before the Lord’s face. It is our continual turning to the Lord. We do not persevere in our own strength, nor do we persevere in order to earn God's love. We persevere because God is preserving us, and his grace produces a new desire within us to turn toward Christ and away from sin. The threat of God’s judgment is frightening. However, if one is left in sin, then one will not care. Only those informed by the Lord’s grace will care about truly pleasing the Lord. One truly informed by grace will see that they cannot please God in their works.
Conclusion
We do not deny that God calls us to do good works. We do not deny that God rewards the good works we do as a fruit of our faith.
The problem is we can fall into a trap that we do good works to finish Christ’s work. Paul was poured out as a drink offering. His works are not the basis of his righteousness. We do not obey Christ so that He will finally decide that we are worthy of heaven. Christ has already secured our redemption. We do not serve Him so that we can have a better mansion than someone else. We serve him because he is our Redeemer.
The servants in Luke 17:10 understood this. When their master commended them, they did not boast about what they had earned. They simply recognized that they had done what their master had commanded. They merely did their duty!
We should have the servant’s perspective: Lord, we are just doing our duty to serve you. Christ has given us everything we need for salvation. He has given us His Spirit, united us to himself, and secured our eternal inheritance. Therefore, we joyfully serve him because we belong to him.
Whatever reward he chooses to give is an expression of his grace. Whatever good work he produces in us is ultimately a testimony to his grace. And whatever perseverance we display is evidence that he is faithfully preserving his people.
So let us fight the good fight of faith, finish the race set before us, and keep the faith. This is not for our praise, but for his glory alone!