Question:  Dear Greg,

            I am curious about the idea of storing up “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20) doing good works while living on earth.  2 Corinthians 5:10 also mentions that each one will receive the things he deserves for the works he has done.  Do these verses (as well as any others I may have missed) support the idea that not everyone will be treated the same during eternal life in heaven?  I know that getting into heaven is a free gift from God through Jesus, but can you earn special privileges in heaven by doing good deeds on earth?  What are the “treasures” and “things” mentioned in the verses I mentioned above?

            Don

Answer:  Dear Don,

            There are two issues here, as you indicate in your question.  The first is salvation.  The Bible is clear—what we do is not linked to our salvation.  Salvation is by grace.  Period.  Of course, having been saved, and because Christ is living his life within us, we both behave and don’t behave in certain ways—but that behavior comes because we are saved, it is produced by Christ who lives in us.  Those deeds do not earn us salvation, nor do they maintain our salvation.

            But there is also the issue of “rewards”.  There are passages in the Bible that indicate degrees of rewards in heaven.  Once again, we should set the context.  We will be in God’s kingdom of heaven because of his grace.  So any rewards we receive are based upon and founded upon God’s grace, not upon our inherent goodness.

            The rewards that we will be given are based upon how we use gifts that are given to us.  In the passage in Matthew the topic is our earthly treasures—as it is in the parables of the pounds and talents.  The servants of the Master are each given a different amount or level of gifts—and then they are judged based upon what they do with the gifts.  Once again, the emphasis is on gifts.  All the glory goes back to God.

            Rewards, and mentions of them, re always counterbalanced in the Bible by other passages—such as Matthew 20:1—the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, where each one works a different number of hours, but each receives the same pay.

            Some believe that our rewards—spoken of in the passages you mention, as well as places like 1 Cor. 3:11-15 and Rev. 22:12, are actually based upon our work in proclaiming the gospel, rather than our works in carefully obeying a specific point of doctrine or law of God.  For if rewards were based upon careful devotion to our obedience, then there would be a possible contradiction to the biblical principle of grace.  How much and how well we are actively involved in the work of the gospel—sharing our time, talents, and treasures for the kingdom?  How are we supporting the work that Christ preached about when he started his ministry in Luke 4:18-19—preaching good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, and releasing the oppressed—(both physical and spiritual applications of the passage) may well be the kind of work that the Bible is talking about.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht