FIRST QUARTER 2023
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #12
MARCH 25, 2023
“RESULTS OF FAITHFULNESS”

 

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb [is] its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life” (Revelation 21:22-27, NKJV).

This week’s lesson author states that “the Bible uses the hope of reward as a motivation for faithful living” while making clear that rewards are all of grace and not of merit.

How do you relate to work? Do you work for a reward? What rewards motivate you?

When I was young, my parents had a certain philosophy of work. Of course, we had work to do around the house, for which we were not paid, although my needs (and some wants) were taken care of. I don’t remember getting paid for working thoroughly, efficiently, nor perseveringly. The idea was this: Work well done is its own reward - there is enjoyment in work itself, done well.

Our lesson this week’s rightly points out many inducements and rewards to remaining faithful. But I can’t help but think of what Ellen White communicates about rewards in the context of following Christ.

“It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him." —Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 480.

In addition, there will come a time in the context of the worship of God where rewards will be used as a test for God’s faithful people.

“They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith.” —Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 607.

Notice that neither everlasting rewards nor earthly inducements are to determine our faith in following Christ.

Two texts to consider - one from the Old Testament, and one from the New:

“Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong [hand], And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward [is] with Him, And His work before Him” (Isaiah 40:10).

 

"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward [is] with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12).

 

The expression “before Him” in Isaiah literally means “in His presence, before His face.”

I believe we should contemplate these texts in light of the Desire of Ages quotation above. The Lamb and the Father are in reality the reward of faith because they are the source of faith. In their presence is fulness of joy, pure delight, and only good works — that is, the blessing of others, the expression of agape. The extent to which our motivation and work are aligned with theirs is the extent to which we will receive an everlasting reward.

What was the reward that they were working toward?

“He shall see the labor of His soul, [and] be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:11,12).

And since we are drawn by that great love to follow the Master, what are we called to do today? How are we to “manage for the Master?”

“Brethren, you who have received the truth at a later period, and have large possessions, God has called you into the field, not merely that you may enjoy the truth, but that you may aid with your substance in carrying forward this great work. And if you have an interest in this work, you will venture out, and invest something in it, that others may be saved by your efforts, and you reap with them the final reward. Great sacrifices have been made, and privations endured to place the truth in a clear light before you. Now God calls upon you, in your turn, to make great efforts, and to sacrifice in order to place the truth before those who are in darkness. God requires this. You profess to believe the truth; let your works testify to the fact. Unless your faith works, it is dead. Nothing but a living faith will save you in the fearful scenes which are just before you.” —Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 2, p. 231.

As we enter into fellowship with Christ, we desire His reward — that is, as His reward increases, so does ours. The salvation of souls is the desire that love awakens in our hearts. This impacts our investments and distributions of talents, whether they be of money, time, speech, influence, etc.

“For each one of us there is a live, disordered self to master, or it will master us. Christians who live for self-dishonor their Redeemer. They may apparently be very active in the service of the Lord, but they weave self into all that they do. Sowing the seed of selfishness, they must at last reap a harvest of corruption. It cannot but be thus. Eternal life cannot possibly be the result of their life-work, unless they see their mistake, and surrender all to God.

"Service for self takes a variety of forms. Some of these forms seem harmless. Apparent goodness is regarded as genuine goodness. But they bring no glory to God. Christ says, ‘He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.’

“The Lord does not accept the service of those who live an inefficient, do-nothing-life. They exert an influence that leads away from Christ. Self-denial and nobility of purpose marked his life. From the beginning to the close of his earthly ministry he went about doing good. In his life no sin appeared. No selfishness marred word or act. ‘Which of you convinceth me of sin?’ he asked the Pharisees, knowing that they could find nothing of which to accuse him. And at his trial, Pilate declared emphatically, ‘I find in him no fault at all.’

“Christ declares that as he lived, so we are to live. ‘Whosoever will come after me,’ he says, ‘let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ His footsteps lead along the pathway of sacrifice.

“As we pass through life, there come to us many opportunities for service. All around us there are open doors for ministry. By the right use of the talent of speech, we may do much for the Master. Words are a power for good when they are weighted with the tenderness and sympathy of Christ. Money, influence, tact, time, and strength, -- all these are gifts entrusted to us to make us more helpful to those around us, and more of an honor to our Creator.”  — Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, February 29, 1912.

 “When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’ ‘Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, ‘Follow Me.’"  — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 523.

“Here is a work for every one of us to do. Never did I see and sense the value of souls as I do at the present time. How can we realize the importance of the work of salvation? In comparison with the value of the soul, everything else sinks into insignificance. This world and its treasures, this life and its happiness, are of little consequence, when we compare them with the joy of even one soul eternally saved. Until we have clear and distinct ideas of what that soul will enjoy when saved in the kingdom of glory; until we can fully comprehend the value of that life which measures with the life of God; until we can fully realize the riches of that reward which is laid up for those who overcome and gain the victory, -- we cannot know the inestimable value of the soul.”  —Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, March 25, 1880.

In the Review and Herald reporting of the last day of the Minneapolis General Conference (November 4, 1888) we find this excerpt under an article titled “Motivation.” The author appears to be L. A. Smith, one of the editors responsible for reporting on the Conference, who certainly must have been listening carefully to the presentations. One might conclude that the issue of motivation in the gospel was an important aspect, if not an important theme, of those presentations.

“The hope of reward. This also is held out to us in the word of God as a stimulus to faithful service, but like the two preceding [which were the fear of punishment and a sense of duty], it cannot invest an act with that which gives it the highest degree of acceptance. It does not appeal to the highest and noblest attribute of our nature, and its purpose is essentially the same as that of the two previously noticed.

“To fulfill the highest purpose of the gospel, to be fitted to dwell harmoniously in the society which man lost by the fall, it is evident that he must become actuated by the same motive which prompts the worship and service of heavenly beings. As to what this acceptable motive is, and the vital importance of its possession, the word of God does not leave us in doubt. The subject is presented before us in the well-known words of the apostle Paul. ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal and though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.’

“The import of this language can be nothing else than that without charity (better translated here by the word ‘love'), nothing which we can do in the service of God can be of that nature which will find acceptance with him. The fear of punishment, the sense of duty, the hope of reward, or any other motive to religious work which may exist in the heart, without love, will profit no one anything. It says to us, in unmistakable language, that if it be not love which prompts our efforts in the service of God, whatever other praiseworthy motives we may have, our service is not such as God can accept, nor our standing in the sight of God such as would meet his acceptance in the day of judgment.

How important, then, that we should examine carefully and test by the standard of God's word the motives of our own hearts, lest we should be unconsciously acting from a motive which will profit us nothing. Our work, to be acceptable, must be done not alone from a fear of punishment, a hope of reward, or a sense of duty, but because ‘the love of Christ constraineth us.’” — L.A. Smith, editor. Review and Herald, Nov. 13, 1888, p. 417, 1988 Ellen G. White Estate, Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis, p. 410.

May our hope of reward be aligned with that of Christ and His reward!

~Todd Guthrie