In previous posts on this topic, I’ve laid out the background on the interpretive difficulty that we wrestled with in the last Christian Essentials class. As I’ve mentioned, the discussion revealed to me that I hadn’t thought through this issue very rigorously. I saw it as Grudem did, but I couldn’t answer (from the Scriptures) the sort of questions that were raised (see the bottom of the last post). With that setup, I’ll finally get on with how I worked through this issue.
[Disclaimer: I’m not claiming to give the answer, but just where I ended up and how I got there. I invite any input where you think I missed something or got something wrong.]
Going into the discussion, the mental picture I had was that the treasure we lay up in heaven is the reward for the the things we do on Earth that have eternal value. In essence, our works done in faithfulness to Christ have a sort of cash-value that gets deposited into our heavenly account. That account is like the trust fund that we can only access after we pass through the judgement. What those rewards will be like, I didn’t know. I just trusted that if my Lord urged me store them up, they would be something I’ll really be happy to have.
In the discussion, Tom H. made the claim that the treasure we lay up in heaven not a reward, but is the work we do on Earth that has eternal significance. That seemed reasonable in itself, but didn’t seem to to account for passages that refer to rewards (See Matt. 25:14-30, Luke 14:13-14, John 5:25-29, Rom. 2:6-8, 2 Cor. 5:10, and Rev. 22:12).
After class I had a conversation with Jeff H. I don’t remember the exact details of the conversation, but I walked away with the seed of an idea. What if Tom was right and the treasure in heaven is the good work we do in our earthly lives and the reward is the joy we experience from those works while we’re in eternity?
I hate to leave you hanging there, but I’m going to resist making a single 2000 word post (that you won’t read) and leave it there until tomorrow. In Part 5, I’ll describe where I went with the seed that was planted in my thinking.
This is a very difficult issue in part because of the lack of biblical data explaining the nature of such a judgment. I think our systematic theology gives us the “boundaries” within which we must move while we think through these questions. Theology being done at the concept level and not at the word level, our systematic theology then fills in the gaps where we are not certain about a particular passage.
Without stepping on your next post, which I am eager to read , let me ask: Are we able to do good deeds in this life apart from the Holy Spirit? Assuming the answer is no, then are we being judged for deeds we did not ultimately do in and of ourselves? This seems to fit with Christ’s imputation. Am I reading that wrong?
Jason, I completely agree about the lack of specifics on judgment. I think this is why we have such a wide range of ideas about it. In addition, a sort of folk-theology (to borrow a term from the guys at TTP) seeps in to fill the void.
To your question about the Holy Spirit and good deeds…
On one level, yes, an unbeliever can do good deeds. It is good for a man to storm the beaches of Normandy knowing that he will likely sacrifice his life to secure the freedom of others.
But, when it come to ultimate good that will withstand God’s judgment, I think we would both agree that one cannot do good apart from faith that comes from the Spirit (Isa. 64:6, Rom. 14:23, etc.).
This very fact was brought up in the questioning in class. Having a Calvinistic view of good works only being enabled by the Spirit, wouldn’t heavenly rewards simply be rewarding the work of Christ? To which I think I responded with something profound like “Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.” 😮
In reflecting on that question now, isn’t that exactly what our salvation itself is? We are rewarded for Christ’s good work. So, I’m not sure that point is determinative either way.
Yeah, that is kinda where I am at. For me, it is sometimes frustrating to not know with a lot of clarity, but I guess that is part of sola scriptura, the scriptures are authoritative even in their silence. I tend to think (my opinion) that our good deeds will be recognized at the judgment (and our bad deeds), but it will be because of Christ and to his glory that these deeds have either already been punished or will be “credited” to us. Out of acknowledgement of this fact, we might be casting our golden crowns around the glassy sea.
Thanks for stretching me and making me think though.