Will There Be Degrees of Rewards in Heaven?

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. - Revelation 21:4

    This is a question about which there has been much controversy throughout the history of the church. Many men, whose doctrine has been thoroughly biblical in other areas, have been in grave error concerning rewards. I know that I will not settle the controversy surrounding this question in this study. However, it is my responsibility to teach those things which become sound doctrine and build up the saints of God in the faith of Christ, so that those taught by me will not be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness.” My purpose in this study is threefold. I want to glorify and honor our great God, establish you who read these lines in the faith of Christ, and show sinners the way of salvation by grace alone.

    Salvation involves all that is required to bring a sinner from the ruins of the fall into the glory of heaven. This salvation, in its’ entirety, is the work of God’s free grace. That is the foundation upon which we build all our doctrine. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No part of salvation can be, in any measure, attributed to the will, worth, or works of man (2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 11:6). If it is possible to separate heavenly rewards from salvation, then you might talk about degrees of reward; but if heaven and the glorious inheritance of the saints in heaven is only the consummation of salvation, then to talk of degrees of reward in heaven is to teach salvation by works.

    The doctrine of degrees of reward

    What is the doctrine of those who teach degrees of reward in heaven? I realize that some men who teach this doctrine may have some slightly different opinions than others; but basically this is their doctrine. Lest I be accused of putting words in their mouths, let me quote directly from one of the leading proponents of this doctrine. The following are the words of Merrill F. Unger.

    “Rewards are offered by God to a believer on the basis of faithful service rendered after salvation. It is clear from Scripture that God offers to the lost salvation and for the faithful service of the saved, rewards. Often in theological thinking salvation and rewards are confused. However, these two terms must be carefully distinguished. Salvation is a free gift (John 4:10; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9), while rewards are earned by works (Malt. 10:42; Lk. 19:17; 1 Cor. 9:24-25; 2 Tim. 4:7-8). Rewards will be dispensed at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10). The doctrine of rewards is inseparably connected with God’s grace. A soul being saved on the basis of divine grace, there is no room for the building up of merit on the part of the believer. Yet, God recognizes an obligation on his part to reward his saved ones for their service to him. Nothing can be done to merit salvation, but what the believer has achieved for God’s glory God recognizes in his great faithfulness with rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

    Mr. Unger gives a fair representation of what those men teach who teach degrees of reward in heaven. They teach that... (1.) Salvation is limited to the initial experience of conversion. That is not the doctrine of the New Testament (2 Cor. 2:10; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 13:11; 1 Pet. 2:4; Matt. 10:22). We cannot separate one part of salvation from another. It is one package. Those who have election have redemption. Those who have justification have sanctification. Those who have been given grace shall be given glory, too (Rom. 8:28-30). All spiritual blessings belong to all God’s elect (Eph. 1:3-4). ..(2.) It is possible for a person to be saved and not be a faithful servant of Christ. Popular as the doctrine is among religionists, it is directly contrary to the Word of God. All believers are voluntary subjects and servants to Christ their Lord and King (Luke 14:25-33)...(3.) Men, by their service to God, put God under obligation to reward them! That is utter nonsense. Is it possible for a sinful man or woman to do anything to merit God’s favor, to earn God’s blessing Can a mere man oblige the Almighty?.. (4.) There will be two juagment days, one for believers and another for unbelievers. Those people must make the Bible fit their doctrine. So they teach that there are two second comings of Christ, one secret and one open and public, two second resurrections, one secret and one open and public, and two judgments, one for believers (The Judgment Seat of Christ) and one for unbelievers (The Great White Throne).. .(5.) Believers will yet have to suffer for their sins! This is one of the most horrendous aspects of the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven. It puts some of God’s saints through an everlasting state of purgatory in heaven, declaring that some must forever suffer punishment for their sins after conversion! The Word of God, however, emphatically declares that God will never charge his people with sin (Rom. 4:8; 8:32-34).

    The implications of this doctrine

    What are the inevitable implications of this doctrine? If the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is accepted, then it must be acknowledged that...

    1.Heaven’s glory is not the reward of grace, but the payment of a debt.

    2.Heaven is not a place of unmingled joy, but of mingled joy and grief.

    3.God does withhold some good things from them that walk uprightly, and some evil shall fall upon the just (Psa. 84:11; Prov. 12:21).

    4.The blood of Christ and the righteousness of Christ will not alone be sufficient for our acceptance with God. Some part of God’s favor, some of the blessings of God must be earned by us!

    We must oppose this doctrine

    Why must we be so dogmatically opposed to this doctrine? We oppose it because it is without foundation in the Word of God, Not one passage referred to in support of this doctrine even hints that some saints will have more and some have less in heaven. Not one of the crowns mentioned in the Bible are said to be given only to certain believers. (See Rev. 4:10). They are all given to all believers.

    The doctrine that there will be degrees of reward in heaven is totally contrary to the plainest statements of Holy Scripture (Matthew 20:1-16 {Particularly observe verse twelve.); John 17:5, 22; Romans 8:17, 29; Ephesians 1:3; 5:25-27; Jude 24; 1 John 3:2). Can there be degrees of holiness, degrees of perfection, degrees of faultlessness, degrees of glorification? Of course not!

    The doctrine that there will be degrees of reward in heaven makes service to Christ a legal, mercenary thing. It promotes pride and threatens punishment. It is merit based, reward inspired, legal service. God’s people are not hired, but willing servants. The soldiers in Christ’s army are not mercenaries, but volunteers.

    The doctrine of rewards robs Christ of the glory of his grace and makes room for human flesh to boast before God. If we have done something that puts God almighty in obligation to reward us, then we have a right to boast in his presence. If we do something by which we merit a higher standing than others in glory, we have every right to boast. Yet, anyone who reads the Word of God knows better. Indeed, anyone who has experienced the grace of God shudders at the thought of boasting in his presence (1 Cor. 4:7).

    The doctrine of degrees of reward in glory has the obnoxious odor of works about it; and there is not room for works in the kingdom of grace. It is not possible to worship God on an altar of hewn stone (Ex. 20:25), There is no room for the baggage of works in the strait and narrow way.

    The doctrine destroyed

    There is one text of scripture which both destroys the doctrine of degrees of reward and assures every believer of an everlasting fulness of joy in glory. Read Revelation 21:4 - “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

    This text implies that there is much weeping in the way to heaven, and there is. Faith in Christ brings deliverance from all curse~ and condemnation, but not from pain and sorrow. There are many things which believers suffer in this world along with other men. (Physical Pain and Sickness, Domestic Troubles, Financial Losses, Bereavements etc.) Because this world is a world of sin, it is a world of sorrow. Indeed, there are many things that bring tears to our eyes which the world knows nothing about (Inward Sin, Unbelief, Anger, Rash Speech, Injured Pride, Coldness of Heart, Lack of Resignation to the Will of God, Depression, and Unbelief) There are even some precious tears which we shed here that will be dried on the other side of Jordan. Tears of repentance will be no more. Tears of sympathy will not be required. Tears of concern over lost souls will be ended when we see all things our Lord sees them. Tears of longing for Christ’s presence will all be dried when we are “forever with the Lord!”

    Even now, while we live in this world, our heavenly Father does much to dry our tears. The believer’s life is not a morbid, sorrow-filled existence. Not at all! We do have our sorrows. Yet, even in the midst of sorrow our Lord gives us great comfort (Isa. 43:1-6). He gives us a measure of resignation to his will. He teaches us to trust his providence. He reminds us of his gracious purpose. He causes us to remember his promise. He blesses us with the sense of his presence. He floods our hearts with the knowledge of his love (Eph. 3:19). He reminds us of the cause of our pain (Heb. 12:5-12). He causes our hearts to be fixed upon better things (Cal. 3:1-3; 2 Car. 4:15-18).

    Then, in heaven’s glory our God will wipe all tears from our eyes. Impossible as it is for us to imagine, there is a time coming when we shall weep no more, when we shall have no cause to weep! Heaven is a place of sure, eternal, ever-increasing bliss; and the cause of that bliss is our God. Heaven is a place of joy without sorrow, laughter without weeping, pleasantness without pain! In heaven there are no regrets, no remorseful tears, no second thoughts, no lost causes, no sorrows of any kind!

    Read this last paragraph very carefully. The thoughts expressed here are simply astounding. Though not quoted directly, they are essentially the thoughts expressed by C.H. Spurgeon on this subject. If God did not wipe away all tears from our eyes there would be much weeping in heaven. Our past sins, our unconverted family members forever lost, wasted opportunities, our unkindnesses and lack of love to our brethren here, and the terrible price of our redemption would all cause our hearts to break and our eyes to flow with rivers of tears forever; but it is written - “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Our great God shall, in heaven’s glory, remove us from all sin, remove all sin from us, and remove from us all the consequences of sin. He will remove us from every cause of grief. He will bring us at last into the perfection of complete salvation; and every desire of our hearts will be completely gratified. Then, we will be like Christ. We will be with Christ. We will see Christ. We will love Christ perfectly, serve him unceasingly, worship him without sin, rest in him completely, enjoy him fully, and have him entirely.

    Will you be among the blessed company of the redeemed? Will you be with Christ in glory? You will only enter into glory if you are worthy of heaven. You can only be made worthy by the merits of Christ. If you are worthy of everlasting glory you shall have all, without degrees, perfectly. Trust Christ and all the glory of Christ in heaven is yours. God help you to trust him.