Casting Crowns

September 1, 2013

Casting Crowns:  What the Bible Says About Rewards in Heaven

Revelation 4:10-11, et. al.                                                                    NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—Bible crowns show us what is important to God and what we as His children should be focusing on in this life.

Every one of us expects to be rewarded for a “Job Well Done.”  Without the expectation of “rewards,” we would not perform as well.  Even Lucy Ricardo wanted what she felt she deserved.

VIDEO:  Lucy Asking for a Raise

There are a few things that trouble me in the Bible.  One question relates to “rewards in heaven.”  This is also referred to as “crowns.”  If everyone is equal in heaven, then how can some have rewards that others don’t have?  And, since covetousness or envy will not be in heaven, then those without rewards will be perfectly happy—so, what good are rewards in heaven?   Good questions you might say.  Let’s read the answer together:

Revelation 4:10-11

This shows clearly that “rewards do NOT matter to us in heaven.”  We cast them at the Lord’s feet.  But—and this is a very important “but”—rewards, or crowns, matter greatly to God in heaven!  The Lord Jesus Christ will receive great glory by the casting down of our crowns.  So, rewards should matter to us, now, because they will matter to Our Lord in heaven.

Also, crowns or rewards demonstrate for us what is important to Our Heavenly Father, and what is important to Our Heavenly Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ should be important to us.  That’s why “rewards or crowns” matter greatly. 

Let me say a little bit about crowns.  In the O.T. there are five words translated “crown.”  There is the “crown” of the head, or scalp.  There is a word referring to decorative molding (crown molding); a word mean “to set apart;” the usual word for a headpiece; and a word referring to “circle about as with an enemy.”  The idea running through all the words is the idea of a “circlet” of some kind. 

The Greek word for crown, diadema, carries that meaning.  It comes from two words which literally mean “to bind (deo) through (dia),” as twisting the ends of an olive branch through each other to make a circle.  Diadema is one of two words for “crown” in the N.T.

The word diadema refers to the crown of a king.  It is a crown given to honor one’s position in life.  It is given to someone who possessed the right to be a king, usually by lineage. You could not in the usual case win a diadem as a reward.  The other word for crown,  stephanos, refers to a twisted branch, usually of the olive tree, that was awarded to the winner of a contest—as in the ancient Olympics.  It was something one “earned” through performance.

In all five references to crowns we will examine the word used is stephanos, referring to a reward for meritorious service—a “Pay Day, Someday,” as one preacher called it.  This “pay day” or Judgment Day will be both positive and negative.  In a negative sense sinners will receive their pay in accordance with their service to the Devil.  The Bible makes this clear:

“The wages of sin is death.”(Romans 6:23a).

This happens at the Great White Throne Judgment.  Every person alive or who has ever lived will be there:  saints and sinners. 

^{Rev. 20   11} Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.  ¹² I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life,  and the dead were judged according to their works  by what was written in the books.

Now, there will not be any judgment handed out for saints at the Great White Throne.  For the wages of serving Jesus in this body is not “death,” but “life”—eternal life.  Saints will go before the bema seat to receive eternal rewards for good done in the body.

1Cor. 5    ⁹Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing  to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the tribunal  of Christ,  so that each may be repaid  for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.

Both Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:9 speak of the “judgment seat.” This is a translation of one Greek word, the word bema.  Bema is used in the gospels and Acts of the raised platform where a Roman magistrate or ruler sat to make decisions and pass sentence (Matt. 27:19; John 19:13).  The more instructive use of bema is by Paul.  Paul’s use highlights the bema in regard to the award ceremony of its Greek athletic contests.  Atheletes would compete for a prize under the careful scrutiny of judges who would make sure that every rule of the contest was obeyed (cf. 2 Tim. 2:5). The victor of a given event who participated according to the rules was led by the judge to the platform called the Bema. There the laurel wreath was placed on his head as a symbol of victory (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-25).  The Bible pictures the believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest.  The Christian will appear before Christ’s Bema to receive his imperishable award. The judge at the Bema bestowed rewards to the victors (from Bible.org).

Here’s five crowns that can be gained by believers:

1.  The Crown of Righteousness (1Tim. 4:7-8)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.

God highly values humility.  The first and most important act of humility is to recognize that we cannot do anything to establish a right relationship with God.  All we can do to become “righteous” is to accept what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.  The Bible says,

^{2Cor. 5   21} He made the One who did not know sin  to be sin  for us, 
so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Theologians call this “imputed righteousness,” as opposed to “applied righteousness” we will examine in a minute. There must never be any confusion that our “right standing” with God comes as a “free gift” based upon what Jesus has done, not what we do.  That is “imputed” or assigned righteousness.

“Imputed righteousness” requires humility.  Pride says, “Give me what I deserve.”  Humility declares, “Thank you for NOT giving me what I deserve but for giving me what I could never gain on my own.  When we wear this crown in life, it demonstrates to all the world that one’s only hope for eternity lies in a right relationship with Almighty God based upon what Jesus Christ did on the cross.  This humility is a life-long pattern for the believer.  Notice that our text says this crown is given, “to all those who have loved His appearing.”  That refers to those who patiently and humbly wait for the Lord’s Second Coming.

Those wearing the crown of righteousness are not placing our hope in ourselves, our government,  social activism, or any other worldly thing.  The hope of the true believer lies in Jesus Christ, and Him alone.

God highly values humility.

2.  The Incorruptible Crown—1Cor. 9:25-27

²⁴ Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race,  but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.  ²⁵ Now everyone who competes exercises self-control  in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown  that will fade away,  but we a crown that will never fade away. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. ²⁷ Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

God values obedience.  I call this, “righteousness in action.”  We have seen already that our righteous standing with God has absolutely nothing at all to do with our performance in regard to the Law.  That righteousness is “imputed righteousness,” or righteousness established by God, Himself.

There is another aspect to this righteousness which is “applied righteousness,” or the “working out of the righteousness God put in us.”  Paul said,

^{Phil 2   12} So then, my dear friends,  just as you have always obeyed,  not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

God values obedience.  God values a disciplined life that attempts to conform to God’s standard, the Law, as much as is humanly possible with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  This is “practical righteousness,” as it complements “imputed righteousness.” 

It is hard to tie down a simple definition for righteousness, but in a simple sense it means, “right behavior.”  It is not an abstract idea but an idea, securely founded in Hebrew thought:  a right relationship with God in regard to the Law.  It is not about “winning a relationship with God” by keeping the Law, but winning favor with God once God has established a relationship with you through His Son. 

There can never be any confusion that our “right standing” with God comes as a “free gift” based upon what Jesus has done, not what we do.  That is “imputed” or assigned righteousness.  But, we must also understand that God’s Law (torah, instruction) is still, “perfect refreshing the soul” (Ps. 19:7).  Jesus did not “abandon” the Law but “filled it up to its fullest meaning.” (Mat. 5:17): The Law, as fulfilled by Jesus, is the goal or standard for the Christian’s life.  You cannot know what sin is without the Law (Rom. 7:7).

Once God establishes a relationship with us—that is fulfills the requirements of the Law through Christ—and we have accepted that free gift, then we have “right standing” with God, or imputed righteousness.  Then our love and devotion to God requires that we monitor and adjust our behavior, as much as possible with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to conform to God’s Law.  Thus, we fulfill the command, “Be holy as I am holy” (Lev. 11:44; 1Peter 1:16).  This is “applied righteousness.”  We avoid bad things, like lying, stealing, lust, etc., and we pursue good things like praying, loving, worshipping, meditating on the Word, and serving.  God highly values “good behavior” or obedience from his children.

3.  The Crown of Life—James 1:12; Rev. 2:10

¹² A man who endures trials  is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown  of life that God  has promised to those who love Him.

^{Rev 2   10} Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil  is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have affliction for 10 days.  Be faithful until death,  and I will give you the crown  of life.

God values sacrifice.  There is something very wrong with a person that likes suffering and sacrifice.  In fact, something is not much of a sacrifice if it doesn’t create some measure of hardship or even pain.  But, as unpleasant and difficult as sacrifice is, it is a mark of every true believer. 

All people suffer, but not all suffering will lead to a reward or crown.  It is suffering and sacrifice for the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom that will gain the Crown of Life.

It’s not the fact that one suffers, but how, and why, and for Whom one suffers.  Only suffering for Christ leads to a Crown of Life.

This crown is sometimes called, The Martyr’s Crown, because a Christian martyr is one who pays the ultimate price for his or her Christian faith.  We often think of martyrs as those who lived in Bible times and faced the great persecution from the Roman Emperors like Nero, Domitian, and Diocletion.  But, the fact is that more people have died for the Christian faith in the last 100 years than in the previous 1900 years combined!  One such martyr is a young lady by the name of Rachel Scott.  Rachel was the first person murdered at Columbine High School April 20, 1999.  Rachel was asked by the gunmen if she believed in Christ, and when she answered in the affirmative, she was shot. Minutes later, they returned to her, as she was lying on the ground wounded, asking her a second time if she still believed. On answering yes again, she was shot in the head.  She had gone to school for 12 years (since kindergarten) with Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters.  Her Christian faith was well-known by her classmates—including the shooters.  She left several diaries behind, and in one she wrote this: “I am not going to apologize for speaking the Name of Jesus,” she wrote in a letter to her friend one year to the day before her death. “I am not going to justify my faith to them, and I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything…I will.”

The Crown of Life will oftentimes be secured by your death.  God highly values sacrifice, whether it is sacrificial living or sacrificial dying. 

4.  The Crown of Glory—1Peter 5:2-4

² Shepherd God’s flock among you,  not overseeing  out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will;  not for the money but eagerly; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd  appears, you will receive the unfading crown  of glory.

God highly values leadership.  As we said above, God highly values obedience from all of His children.  But, God even more highly values those who step up the game a notch and accept a place of responsibility in His Kingdom.

God’s Army requires faithful followers, but faithful followers require effective leaders.  When I first climbed down the hatch of the USS Ethan Allen, I was amazingly astonished by the technology of the inside of a nuclear submarine.  My eyes were probably as big as saucers.  This mighty war machine carried more fire power than all the bombs dropped in WWII combined.  The ship was impressive.

But, I want to tell you what was even more impressive to me--the officers and senior petty officers that commanded that ship.  Their leadership, I would come to experience, during very stressful and dangerous situations caused me as a junior sailor to want to do my very best and pay any price to accomplish the mission.

That’s what great leaders do.  They encourage, motivate and support others to become all that they can be.  God highly values leadership.

5.  The Crown of Boasting—1Thess. 2:19; Dan. 12:3

^{1Thess. 2    19} For who is our hope or joy or crown  of boasting  in the presence of our Lord  Jesus at His coming?  Is it not you?  ²⁰ For you are our glory  and joy!

^{Dan. 12   3} Those who are wise will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness,

like the stars forever and ever.

This is normally taught to be the Crown of Rejoicing.  Rejoicing and boasting are synonyms, but boasting often has a negative connotation.  But, there is nothing negative about boasting about how God has used you to bring others into the kingdom of God.

God highly values soul-winning.  Notice in the Thessalonian text that Paul is boasting about people—those he has won to the Lord in this world.  Then notice how the Apostle John refers to those who have been led to the Lord as “shining stars in the bright expanse of the heavens.”  No work is more important than the work of evangelism—sharing the good news with a lost person, and seeing that person turn away from a life of sin and turn toward a loving Savior.  Many things we do can make a difference in our world—feeding the poor, finding shelter for the homeless, ministering to widows and orphans, or a multitude of other activities—but one activity will not only change our world today, but also change eternity.  That activity is soul-winning.

The Word of God tells us:  Pvr 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

The Crown of Boasting, or Rejoicing shows us that God highly values soul-winning, and so of course it would be wise to be a soul-winner. 

This is also called the Crown of Rejoicing because nothing brings greater joy in heaven or earth than a sinner coming home to the Savior.  The Bible shows how much God values soul-winning,

Lk 15:7   ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Nothing thrills God’s heart more than one of His lost children being found and led back into the safety of the fold.  God values soul-winning.  We would be wise to value it also.

Here’s the conclusion of the matter:  God outlines what is important and pleasing to Him by giving us Crowns.  Humility is important to God;  Obedience is important to God; Sacrifice is important to God; Leadership is important to God; and most of all, soul-winning is important to God.  God has promised to reward us for doing those things that bring Him pleasure and glory.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming soon and He will be bringing “rewards,” or “crowns,” for His faithful followers:

Rev 22:12 tells us,  “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

Heaven is a perfect place—but not a place of absolute equality.  I cannot fully explain how in a perfect place where people are perfectly happy that some people have rewards, or crowns, that other people do not have.  But, I cannot explain a lot of things, but that does not mean they are not true.

Reward, or crowns, matter enough to the Lord Jesus Christ that He is going to bring them with Him when He comes again.  All I can really know is this:  what matters to God should matter to you and I.  The Five Crowns show us what matters to God:  humility, obedience, sacrifice, leadership, and soul-winning.

I cannot think of anything more foolish than to know what matters to God, and yet, fail to make these a priority in your life.  I may not understand how God’s rewards work, but I know without a doubt what God has said in His Word will bring a reward.

Let’s honor God by valuing those things that He values.

<<end>>

Not Peace But a Sword

August 25, 2013

Not Peace, But a Sword

Matthew 10:32-39                    NOTES NOT EDITED. . . AT LEAST NOT YET!

SIS—The future is going to get harder for Christians and we must be prepared for the battle.

I read the news headlines and wonder if it is possible for things to get much worse in America—especially in regard to morality.  Homosexuality is not only tolerated, but promoted.  Violent crime is so common as to barely raise an eyebrow by the public.  The people of California voted in a law, the governor refused to enforce it, and the Supreme Court refused to make them.  The governor just signed legislation that allows boys or girls in public schools to use whatever bathroom they wish.

Many of my FaceBook friends that do not live in California think we are crazy.  But here’s what is crazy:  what is law in California will become the law in the rest of the nation eventually.  Take the California law that prevents parents of a child who is struggling with sexual identity issues from taking them to a psychologist who might try to change their perspective.  In other words, it is against the law for a psychologist to suggest that homosexuality might be wrong for a child.  Now, New Jersey. Governor, Chris Christie—a Republican—has signed a similar bill into law.

We have gone nuts in California—and America in general.  In America Muslims can build a mosque near Ground Zero of 9-11, but when a Christian coach prays with his, or her, team before a football game they will be fired.

Dr. Jeff Iorg, the President of GGBTS, recently warned that "Ground we lose here will soon be lost everywhere."   California’s moral foundations have crumbled and are sinking into the sea of godlessness. The nation’s foundations are seriously in disrepair and will soon follow California into the sea.

The moral ground given up in California has been almost unfathomable, defying explanation.  Consider that a Porn Expert from San Francisco is teaming up with a porn star and the China Sexology Association to “liberate” China from the chains of traditional views of sex, marriage and pornography.  The man from San Francisco is considered by the courts to be an “expert in pornography.”  Ted McIlvenna is 80 years old and owns one of the largest collections of vintage pornography from the 1970’s and 1980’s.  His collection fills his headquarters in San Francisco, as well as 28 storage facilities across California.  He often testifies in California courts on behalf of the porn industry.  Oh, and he’s also a United Methodist church minister!

I point these situations out not to bemoan the state of the affairs or to harken back to some perceived better times morally.  I say this to give context for the message of our text.  In our text where Jesus declares “I bring not peace but a sword” Jesus lays out for the disciples the challenge they/we will face as we serve the Lord—and increasingly so as the Second Coming draws near.  The context of the Lord’s statement is “persecution.”  Jesus warned, “Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (10:16).

The church has had it relatively easy in America for the last two centuries, since the Christian Founders secured a “more perfect Union.”  Those days are gone—even the memory of which continues to fade like an old pair of well-worn Levi’s.

No, the word from the Lord for us today is:  “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (10:34).  This is a sobering word which we need to hear clearly, today.  Let’s read that text, together:

READ MATTHEW 10:32-41

There are four components to the idea of “the sword.”  These four components encompass the whole of what the Bible calls, the gospel—the True gospel.

1.  There is first and foremost a “Call to Duty” (32-34)

³² “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.  ³³ But whoever denies Me before men,  I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. ³⁴ Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

As I mentioned above, this pericope (section of Scripture) completes a larger section teaching in regard to the persecution those “commissioned by Christ” (10:1ff) will inevitably face.  Then we come to verse 32 with the typical bridge word, “therefore,” that signals an application of truth is coming.  What does it really mean to be “commissioned by Christ” as an ambassador of heaven on earth?  Verse 32: says,

³² “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.  ³³ But whoever denies Me before men,  I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

The word translated in the HCSB, “acknowledge,” has the range of meaning of “to assure, to promise, to admit, to concede”; and in a  judicial sense it means, “to make a statement as a witness in a trial.” (TDNT).  Confessing Christ is a solemn oath at the deepest level.  It is like “giving God your life as a blank check,” and God can write whatever amount in He wants, even to the point of “everything.” Confessing, or acknowledging Christ, in this life is to answer to the “call of duty.”

Last March, Shari and I watched as our son, Jonathan, raised his right hand and took a solemn oath to serve his country as a sailor for the next six years.  I cannot tell you  the amount of pride that erupted in my heart as I watched him recite the military oath.  I was also a little anxious because I knew that Jonathan did not really know the depth and breath of this oath.  I did know because I took that same oath 38 years ago.  It is literally giving the United States a blank check of your life.  Whatever they ask you to do, or where ever they ask you to go—your life is not your own.  You have answered the “call to duty” and that call is “all-inclusive.”  It’s all about the “fine print” and the military changes the “fine print” anytime it suits their needs.

So few people have answered the “call to duty” in regard to military service, but those of us who have understand the depth and breadth of that call.  Nothing can be held back—even to the point of giving one’s life for “the mission.”  The Navy creed states:  ship first, shipmate second, you last.”  It is all about the Commander in Chief and “the mission.”

These verses shatter the allusion that Christianity is a “walk in the park.”  You won’t hear prosperity preachers like Joel Olsteen preaching on this text.  This is too hard.  This saying will drive people away from church—and rightly so—for some sit on pews each Sunday as if it is a comfortable ride in the country. No, a seat in the pew is more akin to a ride in a troop carrier like the ones carrying the soldiers who would storm the beach at Normandy.  Almost 1500 Americans would lie dead by the end of the day of the invasion (June 6, 1944).  Many would be killed as they stepped off the troop carrier and float on the beach’s edge.  No, the pew is not a comfortable seat for a cruise in the country.  The pew is a spot on a troop carrier for those who have answered the “call to duty.”  A call that often cost the ultimate price.

The “sword” is often used as a metaphor for “war, or military action.”  The call to duty is a “call to war”—a spiritual war of a magnitude much greater than any conflict the world has ever seen or ever will see.  I’m afraid that too many who call themselves, “Christian,” practice a “soft, comfortable, prosperity-seeking” Christianity.  Jesus never ever alluded to such a “call to ease,” but a “call to duty.”

It is indeed a great paradox, that the Prince of Peace comes bringing a “sword.” But, peace is always wrested from the hands of conflict.

Another component to the Christian life is:

2.  A CHOICE  to Make (35-37)

³⁵ For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  ³⁷ The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Does it sound odd to hear Jesus, God the Son, say “I’ve come to divide families?”  One commentator underscores the essence of this passage in regard to relationships:

“Though the point is made only indirectly, it now becomes clear how Jesus can say that he is responsible for the coming of the sword and of division in families: he insists on such a fierceness of loyalty to himself that the significance of normal bonds and commitments, and specifically family ones, is undercut. The ties that bind are relativized in favour [sic] of a newly found, more fundamental tie”(NIGTC).

This sounds hard to us because we do not understand the “holiness” of God.  We do not fully comprehend exactly all that is encased in the little title, “God.”  We as humans do often “make God in our image.”  We make him a “Super Man,”—an exalted version of ourselves.  We err greatly when we “make God in man’s image,” even if we do so to the highest degree intellectually possible.  God infinitely exceeds even our best imagination in regard to His Being, and especially His holiness.

So, we give God a place in our lives as we do any other relationships—and we even give Him the very highest place of all.  But, here’s where we err:  God will not be satisfied with simply the top place in a list of other priorities.  God will not be satisfied with “most of our love, or most of our devotion, or most of our attention, or most of our service.”  God is holy and He wants ALL of our love, all of our devotion, all of our attention and all of our service.”

So, in regard to all other relationships, our relationship with God should so overshadow them so as those other relationships almost seem to be non-existent.  A relationship with Jesus will not survive on “left-over love.”

When the choice is between God and our father—God wins!  When the choice is between God and our mother—God wins!  When the choice is between God and anyone else—God wins!  When the choice involves, “God,” there really is no choice whatsoever.

Thirty-seven years ago, I made a phone call from Hawaii to West Virginia to give my Mom and Dad the news—I was going to devote my life to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The sound of the silence on the other end of the line was “ear-splitting.”  That was the last thing my Mom and Dad wanted to hear—especially my Mom.  My Mom and Dad had packaged their hopes in the suitcase of my life.  Of all their children, they had hoped I’d be the one to become, “a professional,” as in “doctor, lawyer, or scientist,” as in, lots of fame and fortune.  Not a preacher.

I have to tell you I was a bit deflated at the initial response by my family.  Thank the Lord, by the end of the phone call, I had my Mom and Dad’s blessing, however reluctantly they might have given it.

This was a choice I had to make, and not the toughest choice in the world to be sure.  Christians in other countries have to make much tougher choices.  In many Muslim countries a person is “kicked out of the family” for becoming a Christian.  The father might even carry out an “honor killing” by cutting off the head of a son or daughter that converts to Christianity.  Or, the government pronounces a death sentence.  I know I feel totally “rejected” when someone does not accept my evangelistic efforts—but that is a far cry from them wanting to stone me for being a Christian.

A major component of the Christian life is “a choice to make,” and sometimes that choice even divides families.

A third component of Christian discipleship is:

3.  a Cross to Carry (38-39)

Jesus continues to set forth the “cost of following Him” in vv. 38-39:

³⁸ And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow  Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ Anyone finding  his life will lose it,  and anyone losing  his life because of Me will find it.

This certainly is not the first time you have heard me preach on “carrying the cross of Christ,” and it won’t be the last.  Jesus spoke much about “the cross.”  If He spoke much about it, I as a preacher of His gospel should certainly speak much about it.  The “cross” really stands for the whole of the ministry of Jesus, not just the wooden instrument of His death.  The cross represents the absolute, all-encompassing, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.  The cross is not what happens at the end of His ministry, but the “cross” WAS the ministry of Jesus from His birth in manger—indeed from “the foundations of the world!”  Self-giving sacrifice is not an activity in the life of Jesus, but the “sum total of His being.”

Luke, chapter 12, describes what it means to “carry the cross” in a passage parallel to this one in Matthew:

⁴⁹ “I came  to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! ⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how it consumes Me until it is finished!  ⁵¹ Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division!

Here is the “heavenly standard for cross bearing.”  Jesus said He was “fully immersed (baptized)” in His mission.  He did not have his feet dangling in the water from the comfort of poolside.  No! He plunged all in!  He refers to being “set ablaze by the fire of full-hearted devotion to God’s plan.”  Oh, that we would be set ablaze with such passion for God’s work!  Jesus said that the “fire of obedience burned so hot in His heart that it was consuming Him.”  That’s what fire does—it consumes until that which is ablaze is no more.

Peace.  The Bible talks much about peace with God, and the peace of God—but here in this text the topic is service and devotion as we go out into the world as fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  We have peace with God in our hearts to be sure, and the peace of God amid the many storms, but may God deliver us from seeking “peace IN the world!”  Following Christ promises no such peace—but a sword—a life of continuing conflict against the rulers, against the authorities,  against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil  in the heavens (Eph 6:12).

I think this passage is so troubling to us because it runs counter to what we have come to expect Christian living to be—“a Polyannish, naïve notion that Christ came to make our lives comfortable, not to make our lives effective.”

I wonder if we are really up for a “call to duty that causes us to choose the hardship and sacrifice of bearing a cross for Christ?”  Or, have we grown too complacent, too comfortable with status quo?  Or, have we grown too accustomed to a life of ease, so much so that we are like a frog boiling in a kettle—as the heat of compromise slowly raises the temperature of judgment until one day we find we’ve been boiled in the kettle of worldliness?

We have no problem with a shiny cross on a silver chain, but we want nothing to do with a wooden cross on a lonely hill.

There is a story of an ancient monk.  It is said he prayed often that he might have the marks of the Lord upon his hands and feet.  He wanted more than anything to “bear in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus” as Paul, the Apostle had done so before him (Gal. 6:17).  One night a vision was given to him in which he was shown a mark on the Lord’s body that the world had forgotten.  It was the mark upon the shoulder, and the monk learned that he could only have the marks on the hands and feet as he first had the mark upon the shoulder.

How many of us bear a holy bruise upon our shoulder from carrying the cross of obedient devotion to Almighty God?

This is a hard saying.  I know it is.  It is hard for me.  I do not wish to lay upon you any burden or challenge I am not first willing to meet myself. 

Yet, I do not apologize for this hard message.  I cannot, for I did not write it, and the Lord, Himself, first preached it. Truth is truth.  The components for being a commissioned disciple on mission in a world that hates Christ are hard:  1. answering a call to duty, 2. making difficult choices, and 3.  carrying the cross.  That’s just how it is, folks—hard as it is.

But, thank God, that’s not all that it is.  There is a final component that makes all the previous components more than worth it:

4.  there is a CROWN to Throw Down. (41)

Anyone who welcomes a prophet  because he is a prophet  will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous  will receive a righteous person’s reward.

Now, originally I had written, a “crown to WEAR.”  But I realized that the Scripture says something very different about our crown.  In fact, the Scripture talks about at least five different types of crowns.  The word, “crown” refers to the reward that awaits those who love and serve Jesus in this life.  It never refers to salvation, which is a gift not a reward, but to those eternal blessings that follow upon our decision to love and serve Jesus—our rewards, our pay so to speak.

The Five Crowns that represent the rewards faithful followers will receive in heaven are:

1 - CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS—for those who have loved and looked forward to the Lord’s appearing (2 Tim 4:8).

2 - INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN— for those who have lived disciplined, holy lives (1Cor 9:25-27)

3 - CROWN OF LIFE—for those who have endured faithfully through trials (James 1:12, Rev 2:10)

4 - CROWN OF GLORY—for Godly leaders who were holy examples to the flock (1Pet 5:2-4)

5 - CROWN OF REJOICING—Soul winners crown for those who have boldly shared the gospel with others (1Thess 2:19, Dan 12:3)

Now, there is all kinds of debate about “crowns and rewards” for those who are faithful in this life.  What are they?  Who gets them?  What difference do they make in eternity?  The questions are seemingly endless.  But, I don’t really worry much about that because of what Revelation 4:10 says,

¹⁰ the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne,  worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne.

However wonderful these “crowns” or rewards are that we can earn through devoted, sacrificial service to God in this life, they hold absolutely no value for us when we get to heaven—“we cast them at the nail-scarred feet of Jesus!”

The “Twenty-four elders” represent all the saints of God, Old and New Testaments, Jew and Gentile—12 O.T. Patriarchs, 12 N.T. Apostles.  They represent the redeemed of God, and they could care less about anything but being in the very presence of God.  As shiny as gold is and with as great a hold on our lives in this world, nothing in heaven is shinier than Jesus Christ and nothing will hold us like His Presence.

This will be a time of “peace.”  This is the “peace” Isaiah speaks of:

^2:4 He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.

and,

11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb.

Yes, there is certainly coming a time of peace from struggles.  For now we have peace WITH God through salvation, and the peace OF in our struggles, but one day we will have perfect peace from all suffering.

But, not now.  The future is going to get harder for Christians and we must be prepared for the battle.  We must answer the call to duty, make the difficult choices necessary, bear the burden of the cross and one day we will receive crowns, or rewards, that will seem meaningless in the presence of God.

Today, the sword.  One day, peace.

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