Audio Transcript

Are my eternal rewards and my eternal inheritance the same thing? One seems to imply that we can get more (our rewards). The other seems more static and more out of our hands (our inheritance). So, are these rewards and our inheritance different things, or are they the same thing? This is a perceptive question from our APJ listeners, and particularly from a listener named Nathan who lives in Schenectady, New York. “Pastor John, I have read and really enjoyed your book Reading the Bible Supernaturally. I believe my question is the beginning fruit of a deeper grace to look long and linger over passages of Scripture. My question is on 1 Peter 1:4, where the apostle refers to an ‘inheritance’ which is ‘reserved’ for us in heaven. This got me thinking about Matthew 6:20, where Jesus commands us to ‘lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’ My question is about the relationship between the inheritance Peter refers to as being reserved for us right now and the treasure Jesus tells us to lay up for ourselves over time. One seems static, the other dynamic. Are they the same? Are they different? If they are different, how do they relate?”

This is a great question. I love this kind of question because it makes me try to relate different parts of Scripture to each other to see how they might illuminate one another. And I’ve never in my life — that I can remember — tried to connect these two verses. And so, it was a very, very challenging and encouraging question for me.

Two Angles on Eternity

So, Nathan is asking about the possible relationship between 1 Peter 1:3–4, which says, “[God] has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance [that’s the key phrase] that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” And then Matthew 6:19–20 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Fixed Inheritance

The difference between these two texts that stands out is that the inheritance in 1 Peter seems to be fixed, settled, glorious, firm, already in existence without any laying up on our part. It says, “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Now that’s a settled, glorious reality.

Peter says that the way we come into that inheritance is that God causes us to be born again for it, born again to it, born again into it. “[God] has caused us to be born again . . . to an inheritance [for an inheritance] . . . kept in heaven.” So, there’s no emphasis in this text at all on something we do in order to bring about the inheritance. The idea of living so as to lay it up is not in this text in 1 Peter. We are born again by virtue of the new birth; we believe on Christ; believing on Christ, we are united to the Son of God. We are sons of the living God. We are heirs of God because he’s our Father. That’s a closed, done, complete, glorious thing.

Increasing Reward

Now, on the other hand, the words of Jesus in Matthew 6 tell us to be about the business of doing the things that lay up treasures in heaven for us. In other words, there’s a correspondence between what we do here in this life and the treasures that we will enjoy in heaven. So, what sorts of things does Jesus have in mind when he says that we should be doing things that bring about treasures in heaven?

“There’s a correspondence between what we do here in this life and the treasures that we will enjoy in heaven.”

And one answer comes from Matthew 19:21, where Jesus says to the rich young ruler, who’s very reluctant to give up his riches, “Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” In other words, “Open the hand that is clasping your wealth so tightly — open your hand — and let your wealth drop on the poor, and take my treasure. Take me. Take me as your treasure. You can’t serve two masters. I’m here — the greatest treasure in the world. Let go and take me.” That’s what they have to do, and the poor are served in the process.

And then Luke 12:33 makes the same point that selling your possessions and giving to the needy is the way you provide treasures in heaven. It says, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. [And thus] provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”

The Tension

So, if we just compare 1 Peter 1:4 to Matthew 6:20, we see that in one of them our future as Christians is a fixed, settled treasure — an inheritance that exists in heaven for us simply by virtue of our being born again into God’s family. We are children of God by new birth, and therefore, we’re heirs of God. And that doesn’t come into being because we are generous. In fact, it works just the other way around: we are able to be radically generous and risk-taking because we have such a treasure in heaven by faith. And we can see that, for example, in Hebrews 10:34: “You had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, [because] you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

But Matthew 6:20 and 19:21 and Luke 12:32–33 teach that the generosity we show does in fact lay up treasures in heaven.

Three Resolutions

Now, at first, these two emphases — the one in Peter and the one in Jesus’s teachings — seem to be at odds, and I can think of three possible ways to resolve this apparent tension. The first one is to say that the treasures of Matthew 6 and the inheritance of 1 Peter are totally different things. So, the inheritance is not conditional upon any particular generous way of life, but the treasures are conditional upon a generous way of life. There is no conflict because they’re totally different realities.

Another possible resolution would be to say that the treasures laid up in heaven and the inheritance kept in heaven are the same reality. Both are conditional, and that does not hinder the fact that the inheritance is settled and firm and sure, because God will see to it that all his children do in fact live generous lives because they are born again. So, the treasures and the inheritance are conditional, but they are not uncertain because of that. That’s the second possible way to resolve them.

“There will be a variation in the way different Christians experience the fullness of their inheritance.”

The third would be to say that the treasures laid up in heaven and the inheritance refer to the same reality, but that Jesus is calling attention to the fact that there will be a variation in the way different Christians experience the fullness of their inheritance. In other words, every Christian will receive the inheritance of eternal life, but there will be different rewards within that inheritance for the way we have lived our lives.

Safe and Striving

Now I think if we take all of Scripture into account, both the second and the third of these solutions — these resolutions of the tension — are true. Both of them are true and biblical. We don’t have to choose between them. Indeed, I don’t think we should. We’ve talked in this podcast at least four times in the past (APJ 417, 549, 996, 1188) about how there will be different rewards in heaven among God’s children — different capacities to enjoy our eternal inheritance. The parable where one gets to rule ten cities and one gets to rule five cities (Luke 19:16–20), and different teachings like that, point to varieties of rewards.

So, what I would say here is this: let us seek to multiply those rewards as much as possible with lives of love and generosity, and let that very lifestyle confirm that we are truly born again with God’s very generous nature within us. And above all, let us make the certainty of our inheritance as God’s children through faith the foundation of both of those pursuits — the multiplying of rewards and the confirming of our new birth. Both of those pursuits are built on the by-faith-alone confidence that we are the children of God with an eternal inheritance from our Father.

Audio Transcript

Good Monday morning, and welcome to a new week on the podcast. Today we have a question from a listener, Scott, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Here’s what he wants to know: “Dear Pastor John, hello and thank you for the Ask Pastor John podcast. My question is personal. A very close friend of mine, who has historically been strong in his Christian faith, has recently embraced a pop-theology in which God has no wrath, and there’s no hell for anyone.

“My friend now argues that the vengeful God of the Old Testament was a Jewish myth, not the real God, who is only found in Jesus. To him Jesus died mainly to demonstrate God’s patience with sinners. He now denies penal substitutionary atonement. In all these things, I have shown him his error from Scripture, but he will have none of it. Because he continues to claim to be a Christian, I have begun to treat him in accordance with 2 Thessalonians 3:14–15, not hanging out like we used to. Have I done the right thing? And should I tell him why?”

I think the answer is yes, you have done the right thing. And I think the answer is yes, you should tell him why. But let’s step back first for just a moment and get the bigger picture of the way the New Testament deals with those who claim to be Christian and have abandoned things essential to the Christian faith.

Warn a Brother

First, let’s clarify the verses in 2 Thessalonians that Scott refers to. The situation in Thessalonica is that some in the church have departed from Paul’s teaching about the second coming, and are so sure that it’s happening in the next weeks or months that they’ve stopped doing any work and are walking in idleness, he says, and mooching off of other believers instead of doing their work, because they think the Lord’s going to be there any minute.

So Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.” And then eight verses later, this is what Scott refers to:

If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. (2 Thessalonians 3:14–15)

Now, the problem with using these verses to guide Scott in the situation he describes with his friend is that the situation in 2 Thessalonians is not so serious that Paul considers the delinquent idlers as unbelievers. He tells the church to assume — for now, anyway — that they are brothers and that they should be won back as brothers by this temporary ostracism. “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother,” he says.

Withdraw from a False Brother

Now, I don’t think that’s the case with Scott’s friend. He has reinvented another Jesus than the one in the Bible, and another Jesus can only offer another gospel. His errors go right to the heart of the gospel, so I don’t think Scott’s friend should be considered a Christian.

Paul has very harsh words for those who claim to be Christian and reject the biblical Christ and the biblical gospel. He says, for example, in Galatians 1:8–9,

Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

That’s the situation for Scott’s friend, as far as I can see, and that kind of false teaching in a person who claims to be a Christian cannot help but stir up serious divisions among professing believers. Claiming to be a Christian while rejecting Christ can only split Christ. So both the apostles’ Paul and John have strong words to tell us to withdraw our fellowship from such a person claiming to be a Christian and yet rejecting the biblical Christ:

2 John 1:9–10: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ [which is what Scott’s friend has done; he’s moved on to a new Christ that he’s inventing out of his own head] does not have God. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”
Titus 3:10: “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him.”
Romans 16:17: “I appeal to you, brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”
1 Corinthians 5:11: “Now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler — not even to eat with such a one.”

“Claiming to be a Christian while rejecting Christ can only split Christ.”

Now, that last list from 1 Corinthians 5 focuses mainly on blatant behavioral sins that we don’t repent of, but the reference to idolater in that list points to a much wider application than just a few behavioral sins — like creating a new Christ that is not the Christ of the Bible and claiming to worship that false Christ.

Make the Meaning Clear

So, from these seven passages that I just quoted, I would say that Scott has made the right choice in pulling back his fellowship from his friend who claims to be a Christian and has rejected the very heart of Christ’s saving work — namely, his taking our condemnation on himself on the cross, according to Romans 8:3. And I would say, Scott, that you most definitely should explain to your friend why you are pulling back. It won’t do any good otherwise; he won’t know what’s going on.

“It would not be loving to carry on as if his view of Christ were unimportant.”

Your hope is that your action will help him feel the seriousness of his walking away from biblical truth, and his reinventing his own Christ. You’ll tell him that you love him and that it would not be loving to carry on as if his view of Christ were unimportant, when in fact his soul hangs in the balance. You’ll promise to pray for him, and from time to time, you may communicate with him precious things about Christ that you pray will awaken a longing in him for the true biblical Christ.

Go to the Church

And I would say one more thing, Scott. Without going behind his back, you would say something to him about his church relationship, or you would ask him about his church relationship — I’m just assuming that if he claims to be Christian, he’s going to church somewhere, probably — and you would ask him if his pastor knows what he believes. And you might even offer to go with him to visit his pastor, and you would explain that it’s a matter of integrity.

If you belong to a church, it’s dishonest, it’s cowardly not to be upfront with the church leadership if you come to reject some of the central teachings of the church. And if he gets his back up maybe and says, “What? You want to get me kicked out of my church the way you’re kicking me out of my relationship with you?” — well, you might say to him, “You are the one who has changed — not me, not the church. You’re the one who has turned on Jesus and kicked him out of your life. You’re the one who has kicked out of your mind and heart what the church has believed about the Lord Jesus and the wrath of God and the atonement of Christ for two thousand years. I think you should own up to what you have done and stop pretending that you’re a Christian.”

Now, I don’t know, Scott, whether those words are appropriate for your friend or not. I know I’m putting words in your mouth, but it seemed to me that I ought at least make an effort to say the kinds of things that might be said. And I’ll pray for you that the Lord will give you love, give you wisdom, give you courage to speak the truth with your friend, and that he may receive it the way you mean it.

What is Look at the Book?

You look at a Bible text on the screen. You listen to John Piper. You watch his pen “draw out” meaning. You see for yourself whether the meaning is really there. And (we pray!) all that God is for you in Christ explodes with faith, and joy, and love.