The other day I received an e-mail from a reader who had some questions about rewards for believers who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord. He was asking if the crowns in the Bible are “universal rewards or the possession of the fruitful fews?” With his permission I have reproduced his questions below, with my answers following. In the email the reader asks:
“Here’s the question that came from my line of reasoning:
(1) It is said in Scriptures:
Nahum 1:7: ‘The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.’
1 Cor 8:3: ‘but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.’
Here, we can see that one of the defining characteristics of a believer is a love for God. Those who trust in God will definitely love God, and vice versa. Those who God does not know, God will tell them to ‘depart from me’, as we see in Matt 7:21-23.
(2) Now, here’s the interesting part:
2 Ti 4:8: ‘Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.’
Jas 1:12: ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.’
1 Cor 9:27: ‘But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.’
Putting aside the nature of the crown(s), it is clear from Scriptures that those who receive the crown(s) are those who ‘love Him’ and ‘endure temptation’. However, as we can see in (1), believers are supposed to be those who love Him. Does this mean that all true believers must and will persevere in the faith and endure against temptations?
If yes, that means all believers will receive the crown(s). Perseverance now also becomes a defining characteristic of a true believer, and those who are without it will already be burning in sulfur. However, this poses a threat to the doctrine of Sola Fide. Works are now required for salvation. In order to inherit eternal life and the crown(s), one must endure to the end and bring his body into subjection (i.e. crucifying the flesh, put to death the deeds of body, repenting of sins). With such view, one can conclude that Roman Catholicism is right, for it preaches that final salvation is by faith and works, not just faith alone.
If no, may you elaborate your position? I just don’t see how a believer (which by definition must already loved God, as we read in Scriptures) can be able to not receive the crown(s), which are promised to those who love God. It doesn’t make sense.”
Will All Believers Definitely Love God?
You’ve asked some good questions and I’ll do my best to give you some helpful answers. Let me first address one of your initial statements in which you said:
“Here [from Nah. 1:7 and 1 Cor. 8:3], we can see that one of the defining characteristics of a believer is a love for God. Those who trust in God will definitely love God, and vice versa.”
I think it’s very important that you said, “one of the defining characteristics of a believer is a love for God” (emphasis mine). I would agree with that if you mean that love is one possible defining characteristic of a believer. Remember, Nahum 1:7, the verse you quoted first, says that God “knoweth them that trust in Him.” I would say that is the key issue, the foundational issue. Trust is the root, love is the fruit.
You also quoted 1 Corinthians 8:3, the part in which Paul says, “but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” What this verse could be saying is that “if” someone loves God, then that person is definitely a believer. In other words, only a believer can love God (because love is a fruit of the Spirit and unbelievers don’t have the Holy Spirit). So verse 3 is not saying that all Christians will love God, but rather, “if” someone loves God, that shows that the person is definitely a believer. I would say that verse 3 could also be interpreted in the sense of fellowship. I will elaborate more on this below.
Keep in mind that a Christian can quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19), so spiritual fruit (love) in one’s life here on earth is not guaranteed. Bearing spiritual fruit in our lives depends upon whether or not the Christian is walking by means of the Spirit or not (see Gal. 5:16), or in the words of Jesus, if we are abiding in Him.
In John chapter 15, Jesus says that “if” we love Him, we will obey His commandments. In context, Jesus is talking about abiding in Him – that is, remaining in close connection and fellowship with Him. If a believer is out of fellowship with Christ, then he or she won’t necessarily love Jesus, at least not the way he or she ought to be loving Jesus.
Getting back to 1 Corinthians 8:3, when Paul says that “if anyone loves God, he is known by Him” – I take it to mean “known” in the sense of fellowship (cf. Jn. 14:9; Phil. 3:10). For example, the apostle Paul says, “that I may know Him” (Phil. 3:10). Is the apostle Paul going to hell because he doesn’t know Christ? Is he not saved? Obviously Paul is talking about knowing Christ in the sense of “fellowship” (v. 10). The context here has to do with fellowship. You might ask about 1 John 4:8 which says, “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” I understand this verse in the sense of fellowship (cf. 1 Jn. 1:3, 6, 7), as I mentioned above. To illustrate, notice that this is what Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:19-20 when He says to the church in Laodicea, “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent [change your minds]. Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and knock, if anyone [in the church] hears My voice and opens the door [of the church], I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” So notice here that Jesus does not have fellowship with these Christians because they were not loving Him. They loved the world rather than Christ. They were saved, but they were not in fellowship with their Savior. Writing to believers, the apostle John says: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father” (1 Jn. 2:15, Weymouth NT).
The good news of the gospel is not that we love God, but rather that God loves us! Notice that in 1 John chapter 4, the apostle John says in verses 10-11, “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another” (1 Jn. 4:10-11, NET Bible). In other words, us loving God is not guaranteed. But more importantly, us loving God is not the gospel. The gospel is that “God so loved the world”! The gospel is that “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
I think you said it best in your follow-up statement when you said, “believers are supposed to be those who love Him.” Yes, we are supposed to be those who love God, but not necessarily that we will or that we always will. In the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10, “we should” walk in love and good works (cf. Eph. 5:1-2), but it is not a guarantee that we will.
Will All Believers Persevere in the Faith?
In regards to rewards for Christians who persevere in the faith and endure temptations, you said the following:
“Putting aside the nature of the crown(s), it is clear from Scriptures that those who receive the crown(s) are those who ‘love Him’ and ‘endure temptation’. However, as we can see in (1), believers are supposed to be those who love Him. Does this mean that all true believers must and will persevere in the faith and endure against temptations?”
I don’t believe that the Scriptures you quoted are teaching that, no. The Bible indicates that it is possible that not all believers will receive a reward (see 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Jn. 8; Rev. 3:11). Some Christians will be saved “yet so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). In colloquial English, we would say that some Christians will be saved “by the skin of their teeth.”[1] That is, “barely saved” (1 Pet. 4:18, NET Bible). There are examples in the Bible of believers who did not persevere in the faith. For example, King Solomon started out well but in his later years he strayed very far from the Lord. Another example is King Saul. King Asa is yet another example (see 2 Chron. 16). King Uzziah was also one who started out well, but unfortunately he did not persevere in faithfulness to God (see 2 Chron. 26). In the New Testament, we have the example of Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5:1-11). Someone might say that these two people were not even saved. But it seems very plausible from the context to conclude that Ananias and Sapphira were indeed believers![2] For example, if Ananias and Sapphira were unsaved why does the apostle Peter, the great evangelist, not try to convert these sinners? And similarly, why does Peter not even question their salvation? Could it be because Peter knew full well from his own experience that believers can indeed be used by Satan (cf. Matt. 16:23) and can give in to temptation? Furthermore, the NT writers warn about the possibility of a believer committing a “sin unto death” (see 1 John 5:16; cf. 1 Cor. 11:27-32).
Let me also just briefly say that the Bible talks about different reward crowns that can be earned by Christians. Not all Christians will get these different crowns; the crowns are rewards for service.[3] Some of the crowns specifically mentioned in the New Testament are:
1. The Crown of Life: The Martyr’s Crown (Ja. 1:12; Rev. 2:10)
2. The Crown of Rejoicing: The Soul-Winner’s Crown (Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19-20)
3. The Crown of Glory: The Elder’s Crown (1 Pet. 5:2-4)
4. The Crown of Righteousness: for those who love Christ’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8)
5. The Incorruptible Crown: The Victor’s Crown (1 Cor. 9:25-27; 1 Jn. 2:28)
I know you said “Putting aside the nature of the crown(s),” but I think it’s helpful to recognize and keep in mind that there are different crowns and that not all Christians will receive the same rewards. The rewards are for faithful service to Christ, and different Christians have different degrees of faithfulness and different degrees of rewards (see 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-10). In Revelation 22:12, the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
ENDNOTES:
[1] The idiom “by the skin of their teeth” is apparently taken from Job 19:20. Wikipedia says, “In modern times, ‘by the skin of my teeth’ is used to describe a situation from which one has barely managed to escape or achieve something; a close call.”
[2] In his Notes on Acts, Dr. Thomas Constable affirms: “Some interpreters have wondered if Ananias and Sapphira were genuine believers. Luke certainly implied that they were.” (Constable, Notes on Acts [2022 Edition], p. 136, comment on Acts 5:11.)
