I was reading a message the other
day, and the preacher was talking
about the rewards that people were going to get
when they got to heaven. And so I asked the question,
are there degrees in glory? Will people have Some folks have
more stars in their crowns than other ones will. Some people
have a bigger mansion than somebody else will. Somebody received more from Christ
than somebody else did. Look what is said here. Start
back up at verse 27 of chapter 19. Then answered Peter and said
unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee. This is
what people ask, what shall we have therefore? How are you going
to reward us? How are you going to pay us?
What are we going to get for all we've done for you? We've
left everything. Surely we're going to get something
special. And our Lord said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, that you which have followed me in the regeneration, When
the Son of Man shall set in the throne of His glory, ye also
shall set upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands
for my name's sake shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life. But many that are first, shall
be last, and the last shall be first. And he goes on to say,
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire labors in the vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the labors for a penny a day, he
went about the third hour, saw others standing in the market. Go, I'll give you whatever you
want. He'd done this till five o'clock in the afternoon. And
they got down to payday, going to pay them all that afternoon. And then it says that, you know,
in verse 10, they came about nine, were hired about the eleventh
hour, they received every man a penny. So they worked one hour. But when the first came, they
supposed that they should have received more. The first one
that went to work, six o'clock in the morning. That fellow went in at five o'clock
in the afternoon, lined up to get paid. Started giving them
all a penny. That first one, they paid that
last fellow first. Paid the eleventh-hour worker
first. That first one, they said, we should have received more.
And when they received it, got their penny, they murmured against
the good man of the house. You know what it says, the good
man of the house. Said, this last has brought but one hour.
And you've made them equal unto us. That's not fair. We've labored
and labored and labored, and we've borne the burden of He
the day. And you've made them equal unto us. But he answered
one of them and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong. Did you not
agree with me for a penny? Ain't that what they agreed to
when they went out? Take that I and I is and go my
way. I'll give unto this last even
as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with mine own? Is your I evil? You're going
to find fault with me because I'm good, because I give the
last the same that I give the first, that I make no distinctions.
That this other thing belongs to me to start with. You agreed
the way I wanted to do it. So what are you upset with me
about? You're going to find fault with me? Because I'm good, are
you going to be evil? And that's why it says, so the
first shall be last, the last shall be first, and the first
last, for many are called, but few are chosen. Well, was there degrees here? You know, preachers have devised
a scheme, devised a way to motivate people. To be faithful. Found out ways
to make them motivate them. To be faithful to the church.
Faithful to the Lord. Faithful to give. Faithful to
win souls. Way faithful to be so-called
holy. I know that church we got excluded
from. Oh, they were strong on this
rewards business. Oh, they were strong on it. The
preacher said, you know, that God's going to put him over ten
cities and one of them's going to be Jamestown. He's going to
make everybody kowtow to him. What is it? What is this that
they've used to motivate people to be faithful, to give, to win
souls, to be so-called holy, live holy lives? What is it?
Well, I'll tell you what it is. It's a system of rewards that
the Lord is going to give to His people. And they say this,
the more you do for God, the more stars you'll get in your
crown. The better you are here on this earth, the better you'll
be rewarded in glory. And you know, name all the crowns
that you get to receive. And they say that some of them
say you can win five, some say seven. And there's some folks
that want to win all of them. And the last crown to be won
is the martyr's crown. And you know how many books have
been written on this subject? How many sermons have been preached
about how those who've lived careless and didn't serve God
very well here will cry at the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus
Christ with tears? And in the millennium, When Christ
comes to set up this thousand-year reign and start giving everybody
their rewards, there'll be ghettos and there'll be slums for those
who weren't faithful. You won't get to live with the
faithful. You won't get to be in the same place they are. I
remember Brother Henry saying one time that a preacher friend of his told him
one time about a wealthy lady. She told us he was telling this
story, was a Christian. And he already preached one time,
in my father's house are many mansions, but also there are
shacks up there and small houses. But the mansions are just for
the best, those who've done the most. Well, she died and she
went to heaven. The first mansion she came to,
she said, oh, boy, this is nice. Oh, this is nice. And she said,
that's mine. The Lord said to her, no, no,
that's not yours. Well, whose is it? She said,
that's your cleaning ladies. That's your cleaning ladies.
Show her a little old white house over here with a picket fence.
He said, whose is it? She said, this is yours. She
said, I don't understand. He said, well, this is all the
material you sent up here to deal with. And we've all heard
that stuff. We've all heard that stuff. And
I'll tell you something, beloved, that's an abomination. That's
abominable. to God Almighty. It's a disgrace
to the grace of God. It's of the flesh and it's sinful
preaching. It's sinful preaching. And I'm
going to give you five reasons why I don't believe there are
degrees in glory. I'm going to give you five reasons
why I don't believe that one person will get any more stars
in their crown than anybody else will. I believe that we'll all
get exactly what Christ promised to give us, and we'll all get the same. I
believe that. All of God's children, now listen
to me, all of God's children were given to Christ. Were we
not given to Christ? All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Father, you gave them to me,
and I've kept them, and I've lost not a one of them. Those
that you gave me, they've received your Word. All thy children shall
be taught of the Lord. And then they were redeemed by
the Lord Jesus Christ. Did one man cost more than another
man? Did Christ's blood cost more
for some than it did for others? So we were all redeemed by the
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of us were loved by Him.
He said, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Nothing
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ. So in glory, they're going to all be the same. They'll
all love the same. There'll be no distinctions in
heaven. There'll be no rich. There'll be no poor. There'll
be no distinctions in glory. You may have a big house here,
but when you get there, every one of us will have just exactly
what we're supposed to have. There are no distinctions in
glory. We'll leave every bit of that stuff here, and by the
grace of God, we leave it now. We don't make any distinctions
now but in the grace of God and the gospel in our Lord Jesus
Christ. And I'm going to give you the first reason why I don't
believe there's any degrees in glory. First is this, Christ
is my reward. Christ is my reward. What in
the world can you compare to Him? Huh? Look over in Genesis
15. Look in Genesis 15. With me for just a moment. You
know, everything becomes dim in light of Him. Huh? I remember years ago that a preacher
was preaching, and he was preaching along these lines, and he was
preaching in a church where the preacher believed in this reward
system. And he got to dealing with this
stuff, you know, that Christ is, you know, I don't want it
anymore. He's all in all. that you know in Christ there's
either Jew or Greek, bond or free, male or female. We're all
one in Christ and Christ is all. And when the preacher got through
preaching, that pastor stood up and said, you mean to tell
me that all my preaching, that all my praying and all my sacrifice
ain't going to amount to no more than anybody else's? He said,
that's exactly what I'm telling you. And that preacher never
got to preach there ever again. He didn't like that. But look
what he said here in Genesis chapter 15 and verse 1. After
these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
Great reward. You know what Abraham died looking
for? That place where God filled the city, where Christ is the
light of that place. Everything you start talking
about reward, and you start talking about the light of Him, everything
becomes dim. To see Him. To go and be with
Him. To see Him. to be made like Him,
to enjoy Him throughout eternity. What? This all won't. John said,
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the children of God, the sons of
God, and doeth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know
this, we know this, that when He doth appear, we shall see
Him as He is. And you know what else it said?
And we'll be just like Him. Huh? What's a crown compared
to Him who is the crown of glory Himself? What can you have better
than the Lord Jesus Christ? Davis said, I'll be satisfied. I'm a king. I sit on a throne. I've got a crown. I'm beloved. They make songs about me. They
talk about Davis, ladies, ten thousands. They dance in the
street when I come through town. The women dance and make news
and make music and have a wonderful time. I said, I'll tell you,
I'm the king. And I've got anything my heart
desires, but He said, you know what, when I'll be satisfied,
not with the throne, not with the crown, not with a lot of
wives, not with a lot of money, not with people singing songs
about me, I'll be satisfied with our wife in your likeness. Oh, beloved. Anything that takes
your desires, your love for Him, cannot be of God that take your
eyes off of Him. You know these fellas that preach,
say sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost, tell you to live
good, holy lives and dedicate yourself to God. Anything that
makes you look to anything other than Christ is not of God, and
rewards cannot possibly be of God. Secondly, while there are
no degrees in glory, our service to the Lord Jesus Christ And
our commitment to Him is both motivated, not by law, but by
love. Not for us to gain something
personally. What can you have more than Him?
And let me show you what I mean. Look over here in Galatians chapter
5. And let's look at this together.
You know us, we've looked at this so many times. But in Galatians
chapter 5, look what the Apostle said here. Our service to the
Lord Jesus Christ is motivated, not by law, but by love to Him. And not in order to gain something
personal. That's what Satan accused Job
of. He said, you know, when the Lord Jesus Christ, or when the
sons of God met together to pray, and they met together to worship
God, Satan appeared up there. And God said to Satan, you know,
he's accuser of the brethren. He's the great deceiver, he's
the great archangel, he's the angel of life, the roaring lion,
and the accuser of the brethren. And he came up there and he said,
God said, you considered my servant Job? Oh yeah, yeah. Said, you
know, he fears me, he loves me, and he'll choose all evil. He
said, I'll tell you why he does that. Because you have blessed
him so much. You gave him so much money. You
gave him all these children. You gave him all this property.
And you're not only that, but you put a hedge around him. He's
only serving you because of what you give him. And if you take
it away from him, he'll cuss you to your face. That's why
Satan accuses the Lord's people that we're doing it for mercenary
purposes. Are you serving God for mercenary
purposes? Are you serving Him? Are you
serving the Lord Jesus Christ and loving Him and calling on
Him because you think you're going to get some great big reward
out of it? Going to get some great big blessings because you
do something more than somebody else does? Well, God smoked everything that
Job had to let that take everything he's got. What happened? Job shaved his head. Got down
in the dust and said, the Lord gave, the Lord take away. Blessed
be the name of the Lord, and he worshiped. Oh my, look what it said here
in Galatians 5, 6. For in Jesus Christ circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith, but faith that works
by love. You see, beloved, the servant,
he works in the house. And He works in it for a reward.
But the Son of Love, that Son who is a Son of Love, a Son,
He inherits. He doesn't work for what He gets,
He inherits. And we're sons of God and we
inherit what we get. We're not going to work for it.
We don't have to work for a reward. Everything's ours by inheritance. And look again over here, just
go back to your left, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14. Look at this. You know that? Oh my. Lord, I don't do what I do out
of fear of not getting something from the Lord or to get a great
blessing. I used to do that. I used to
do that. I used to be worried about, you
know, and preachers would tell you, if you don't do this, if
you don't do that, God will do this to you and God will do that
other thing to you. Preacher told me one time, he said, if
you know if I didn't change my message, didn't change the way
I was doing, told me I'd be in a heretic cause I'd start believing
in salvation by grace and election and redemption by the blood of
Christ for his people. He said, God's gonna kill your
children if you don't straighten up and quit preaching that heresy.
I said, good. He'll go be with the Lord. He
said, Oh God, I'll kill your wife. I said, Good, she'll go
be with the Lord. He said, God will kill you. Then
all of us will go be with the Lord. He got so mad he couldn't
understand himself. But he was trying to motivate
me by fear. Trying to motivate me to think
that God was going to do something against me because I wasn't in
his little basket. Because I wasn't in his little
legalistic system. Because I wasn't in his little
reward system. And all the money sent here to
St. Corinthians 5.14. For the love of Christ constrains
us. Oh, the love of Christ constrains
us. What constrains us? a reward,
a blessing, a fear of being punished for something we said or done
or some way we acted. And because this is why the love
of Christ constrains us, because this is the judgment we've come
to, that if one died for all, if Christ died for all His people,
then all were dead with Him. They all died with Him. We're
dead to this reward system. We're dead to it. And I tell
you, beloved servant, He works. But the Son, He's the heir. Everything He gets, He inherits.
And let me tell you something else, back over in our text here.
Salvation is all of grace. Not only is Christ our reward,
not only is our service to the Lord Jesus Christ motivated by
love, not by law, not for us to gain something personal. Salvation
is all of grace. Ain't that what our Lord Jesus
Christ said here in Matthew 20 and verse 16? So the last shall
be first, and the first shall be last. For many, many be called,
but just a few chosen. Let me ask you something. From election all the way to
glory, what saves you? What elected ye? For by grace
God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
What for? To the praise of the glory of His grace when He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved. And, O Beloved, from election
all the way to glory, salvation is by the grace of God. Look
in Romans with me, chapter 4. This is a perfect picture of
this right here. Election. This is why people hate elections
so very much. They despise it because it takes
salvation out of their hands. Takes salvation out of their
will. Takes salvation away from their
worth. Takes salvation away from their merit. Election's God's
election. It ain't this idea, you know,
that God cast a vote, the devil cast a vote. Now, you got to
cast a deciding vote. The devil ain't got no vote.
You and I ain't got no vote. Chosen in Christ, elect according
to the foreknowledge of God. For whom he loved, he foreknew. Whom he foreknew, he although
did not predestinate. Whom he did predestinate, what
did he do? He called them. Justified them. Oh, look at what
he said here in Romans chapter 4, verse 4. Now, to him that
works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of death. Now if
a fellow's working, then the reward that he'd get, don't reckon
it of grace, don't count it of grace, but it's a debt. But,
now listen to what he said there in verse 5. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes
the blessedness of the man. unto whom God imputed righteousness,
without what? Without words, saying, Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
come. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." There's two different people
there, one who believes and one who works. One, the Lord don't
impute ten sin to him, the one who has it then. And oh, beloved,
listen. And I tell you, from election
to the conviction of our sin, to that new birth that the Holy
Spirit regenerates us and gives us a new heart, a new soul, a
new will, a new affection, makes us new creatures in Christ, that
same grace that chose us, convicted us, converted us, and regenerated
us, sustains us, and it'll take us all the way to glory. As old
Mr. Spurgeon said, the first step
you take will be by the grace of God, and the last step you
take into the portal of glory will be by the grace of God. Why would anyone want a reward
for something he had nothing to do with? You surely don't
want to get paid for something you didn't do, something you
had anything to do with. Did Jacob receive a reward when
God said, Jacob, have a love, and he saw him have a hatred? Oh my, Romans 11, 6 says this,
if it's of grace, then it's not of words. If it's of words, it's
not of grace. It can't be both. It can't be
both. For by grace are you saved through
faith. That's not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For
we are His workmanship. We are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus. And Paul said, When did it please
God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace? I'll tell you another reason
why I don't believe Him. I've lost something here. I know I have it somewhere. I'll
find it. If I don't, I'll remember. And I'll tell you the reason
why. Because we're all members of one body. Look in 1 Corinthians 12. We're all members of one body. And how could you bless one member
of the body and not bless all members of the body. Huh? How could you do that? How could you possibly do that?
Huh? Look what he says in verse twelve.
For by one Spirit we all are baptized into one body. Whether
we're Jews or Gentiles, whether we bond or free, and have been
all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member,
but many. Huh? For as the body is one,
verse 12, and hath many members, and all members of that one body
being members, so also is Christ. Now let me tell you, since we're
all members of one body, all been put into one, how can you
bless one member of the body and not bless the whole body?
How can you do that? How could you not say something
about my body and my whole body not enjoy that? How could the Lord Jesus reward
you without rewarding me? We're all in the same body. We're
not in competition. My right hand is not in competition
with my left. Nothing in my body is in competition
against any other part of it. It's all one. And we're not in
competition against one another. He's our head. We're the body. He's the vine. We're the branches.
And we're one body. Many members yet one body. And
I know that we give more honors to different parts of our body. We pay more attention to our
face, our hair, and our clothes to cover the body then. But still
yet, that you may give more honor to the head. More honor to the
hair and the things that you can see. But I'll tell you one
thing, the rest of the body, you take care of it too, don't
you? Huh? I'll tell you what, you take
care of your toes when you're home by yourself. Oh, my. But the hair, beloved,
you brag on it and you recognize it. No one asks you about your
feet. Nobody asks you about your knees.
But I tell you, they're one and the same body. And though some
members are more prominent than the others. And that's why our
Lord Jesus Christ says, the last, that last one, he's going to
get paid first. And that first one, he's going
to get paid last. Huh? The 6 a.m. man, you know who those fellas
was? That's John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and all them other
fellows, the apostles, the apostles. And I tell you, beloved, let
me tell you why we know that this is going to be this way.
Because of the goodness of God Christ's sovereignty. Look back
over in Matthew with me just a moment. Oh, the goodness of
Christ's sovereignty towards us. Didn't he say in verse 10, now
look what he says, so when he even was come, or verse 10, excuse
me, but when the first came, they supposed that they should
have received more. And how many people are going
to go, that's what they'll say to the Lord, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in your name, done many wonderful works in
your name, cast out devils in your name. Look at all the things
we've done for you. And the Lord say, depart from
me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. And then look
what he says. He went down there and said,
And when they had received it, they murmured against the good
men of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour,
and you have made them equal unto us, which have borne the
burden and the heat of the day. Now, that's the way the world
thinks. That's the way the world thinks. If I'm in line first, if I've
done more, I want more. But look what he said. But he
answered one of them and said, Friend, I did thee no wrong. I did thee no wrong. I've done
you no wrong. Do you reckon God's done anybody
wrong in this world? You know anybody, you ever met
anybody that God's done them wrong? I'm old they may say He
has. But have you ever met anybody
that God really did them wrong? I've met people that people's
done one another wrong. I've done wrong to people and
people's done wrong to me. But we're not talking about the
way we treat one another. We're talking about salvation.
We're talking about rewards in heaven. And they said, you have
nothing. Well, the Lord said, you didn't
have nothing until I gave you the penny. Huh? I came and got you. You didn't
come to me. I come and got you. I come and
put you in the vineyard. And you agreed to me. He said,
you're standing around idle. You wasn't doing nothing. And
you had nothing to offer. I was the one that come and got
you and brought you and put you in the vineyard. And then look
what he says, take my ears in verse 13, and I'll give unto
this last evenness unto thee. Is your eye evil because I'm
good? Are you upset with me because I'm going to give everybody the
same? Is this fella that just got started here, and I mean
just showed up, worked one hour, I'm going to give him the same
thing that you did when you worked eleven hours? Is it not lawful
for me to do what I will with more? Are you going to find fault
with me? Huh? Oh, beloved, listen, I'm telling
you. And I'll tell you, this is another reason why. I haven't done anything at all. He says, when you've done all
that you're supposed to do, you're still an unprofitable servant. We do just what we're supposed
to do. I should love God. I should honor God. I should
bless Him. Everything that I've got, I got
from Him. And I'll tell you another reason. It's that all of our
service in and of itself is unacceptable. Do you reckon you've done anything
today that God would accept apart from the Lord Jesus Christ? Have
you prayed a prayer that God would accept? My preaching, your praying under
God's eye is so imperfect, has no merit in it. That's why Paul
said, I count everything but done. I count my whole life but
done, that I may win Christ and know Him and be found in Him. And here's a fellow who said,
if anybody can boast it, I can boast more than anybody. Do you think I want Christ to
mention my service in judgment? Oh no, I don't want Him to mention
my service. And I've been, just listen to
me, this is why we've been going below degrees in glory. The ability
and gifts for you and I to serve God, to worship God, are all
of His grace. They're all of His gifts. What
have you got that you didn't receive? Who made you to differ? Huh? David said, or Paul said,
by the grace of God, I am what I am. And why in the world would
anyone want reward for what he gave you the ability to do? If
you have anything to give, he gave it to you. Do you have an ability to sing?
He gave you the gift. Anybody has any ability to preach?
He gave them that ability. They said, David, where's your
God? God is here. And He blesses us
and rewards us. David said, our God did that.
Does whatever He pleases. And let me show you one other
thing. I don't mean to take all your time. I don't mean to bore
you. I don't mean to... But look over here at 1 Corinthians
3 with me just a moment. I'll be done. You know, to what do you want
a reward for? He gave us all the ability to
do it. Paul, he said here in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 5.
People are appalled of Apollos and all that. You know, I like
this. Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? But ministers
by whom you believed. Now listen to it. As the Lord
gave to every man. I have planted a polished water,
But God gave the increase. So then, neither is He that planted
anything, neither is He that watered. Do you mean Paul and
Apollos is nothing? He's what he says. He said, He
ain't nobody and I ain't nobody. He says, you know, the Lord gave
this to us. But it's God that gives the increase. And oh beloved, and when he talks
about those, Those, you know, in the first three hours, 6 o'clock
in the morning, 9 o'clock in the morning, 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock,
5 o'clock. That man at the 11th hour, those
who were saved young, saved at 6 o'clock, saved at 9 o'clock,
we've been rewarded. We've been blessed with his presence
all these years. Oh my, been blessed with His
people, been blessed with His fellowship, been blessed with
His gospel, and blessed with His grace for all these years.
All this good preaching we've heard as we've heard all these
men over the years. Oh my, oh we've been blessed. But that man at the 11th hour,
he missed so much. Go ahead, let him go first. Let
him be first. Let Him all go unto glory. Let
Him enjoy what we've been enjoying for years. I don't have much to fault with
that, do you? Oh my, that thief in glory, that thief that went
to Christ, went to glory with Christ on the day, that day on
the cross, what in the world kind of rewards he going to get? Oh, my, I'm glad he got to go! Showing how Christ can reach
out right at the last moment and save you. But that fella
that come in at the 11th hour, come on, he says, come on, you
last ones, you get to go first. You get to go first. And does that bother you that
that fellow that come in at the eleventh hour, the Lord takes
him home sooner than you? And you born the heathen day,
you started when you were twenty or twenty-five, and you've been
on the way now for thirty, thirty-five, or forty years? And you born
the heathen day and the labor for Christ, but he gets to go
home and he's only been, you know, converted five, six, seven
years, maybe two years, one year, and he's, oh, the landlord will
be first! Oh, bless the Lord! He's got
to go be with Christ! You're going to bother me one
hour. Is it you? You know, I don't care if I'm
at 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 12 o'clock, 5 o'clock. It don't
make any difference to me. Just as long as I'm one of God's
chosen, that's all that matters. I'm agreeing to what He gives
me, ain't you? I'm agreeing to what He gives
me. Yeah, I'm agreeing with it. Lord, here, in my hands, don't
cross our brain. Whatever you put there, I'll
be glad to take it. Amen. Our blessed, blessed Father,
oh, gracious God in heaven, Lord, we bless you with salvations
of grace. That you yourself are our reward.
That the people that are converted, the people that believe the gospel,
they're our joy, they're our crown, they're our rejoicing.
And you, in your blessed grace, you gave all the gifts. You gave
the gifts to the preacher. You gave the gifts to the water,
the gifts to the sewer. But Lord, it's all you that gives
the increase. God teach us this. Never let
us vary from this. Never let us turn to the left
or the right. No matter what anybody says, thinks, believes
or does. And Lord Jesus, we look forward
to being with that multitude that no man can number. We gather
around that soft throne and we sing praises unto you. Everyone
there will be washed in white in the blood of the Lamb. Everyone
there will be saved by the grace of God. Everyone there will be
one for whom Christ died. Everyone there will cease from
their labors, no matter whether they're born in the heat of the
day, or no matter whether they come in at the eleventh hour. We bless you for that. Oh, how
we bless you. In our Lord Jesus' name, Amen.