The apostle John sees a door
opened in heaven and he hears a voice saying, come up hither.
And the Lord God showed him marvelous, wondrous things. He heard a voice
as a trumpet speaking to him. And as he opens his eyes in the
spirit, he said, I saw a throne. I'm going to tell you the first
thing anybody sees when they meet God is a throne. That's
the first thing. Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up. Same thing John saw. You see
a throne. You haven't seen God until you've
seen God sitting on his throne. So I saw the Lord, I didn't see
it that way. No, you didn't. You saw what you thought was
God. You saw what some preacher told you was God, but you haven't
seen God until you've seen God sitting on an absolute throne
of total dominion over everything and everybody. Bobby read that
Psalm, Psalm 148. Praise the Lord in the heavens.
And then he describes all the heavens established by his word.
Praise him in the earth. And then he describes the winds
and the snow and the hail and the rain doing his word. Everything. John said, I saw
a throne. Then round about the throne,
he said, I saw a boat. rainbow set in the sky, the bow
of God's covenant. He says, I saw a bow around the
throne. Everything that God sitting on
his throne does, he does in accordance with his covenant of grace between
him and his son before the world began for the saving of his people. Everything, everything. And then John describes this
scene beginning in verse four. And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats. And upon the seats I saw four
and twenty elders sitting. There are just as many seats
as there are people, no more and no less. You see, this glorious
habitation for God's saints in eternity is prepared for a specific
people, and those for whom it is prepared are seen at the last
day gathered around the throne, sitting. Sitting upon the seats,
clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns
of gold. Now look down in verse 10. And
the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the
throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and
cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for Thou hast
created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Now these four and 20 elders
represent the whole Church of God, all God's elect, all the
redeemed, all who have been, shall be, and are called to life
and faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit. They represent the gathered
remnant of God's elect out of the four corners of the earth.
A complete number. Both of the Old Testament saints
and the new. 12 out of the 12 tribes of Israel
in the Old Testament represented in those 12 tribes. And 12 out
of the 12 apostles represented in the names of those 12 apostles. So it represents the whole Church
of God. But notice these 24 elders are
all elders. Here upon the earth, God's saints
are some old and some young, some old men and some strong
young men, and some babes in Christ. But in heaven's glory,
there are no babes, there are no children, they are all elders
in the kingdom of God. Now this passage we read, Revelation
4, verses 4, 10, and 11, show us several things clearly about
all of God's elect in heaven. First, they are all clothed with
white raiment. Every one of them are robed with
the perfect, spotless garments of God's salvation, the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
my beauty are, my glorious dress. midst flaming worlds, and these
arrayed with joy, shall I lift up my head. When we stand before
God in heaven's glory, we will stand before him robed in the
righteousness of Christ, but not just a pasted-on righteousness,
oh no, we will stand before him in the perfection of the beauty
which he puts upon us and puts in us, the very righteousness
of Christ imputed to us and imparted to us. We've been made now completely
in his image. And then secondly, all of these
around the throne are doing one thing. They're worshiping the
lamb. Look in chapter five in verse
eight. When the lamb had taken the book, The four beasts and
the four and 20 elders fell down before the Lamb, having every
one of them hearts and golden vials full of odors, which are
the prayers of the saints. They cried, worthy is the Lamb. All of everybody in heaven worships
the Lamb of God. Everybody. Nobody shall ascend
to that place who does not learn to worship Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God upon the earth. All the saints in glory worship
God as he's revealed in the Lamb. And thirdly, they've all been
redeemed. redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ, the Lamb of God. Thou hast bought us with thy
blood out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. In that great
eternal day, it shall come to pass that we shall sing as we
have often sung, When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies
silent in the grave, then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing
Christ's power to save. There, Bobby, everybody sings
the song of Moses and of the Lamb. That's awful strange language,
isn't it? The song of Moses and the Lamb?
Oh, no, no, no. Because the song Moses sang in
Exodus 15 is the very same song we sing and the very same song
that these folks sing. It is salvation is God's. He saved us. He redeemed us.
He called us. We're his. And these 24 elders
are all around the throne, all around the throne of God. in
exact proximity, in exact symmetry, in perfection around the throne,
and they are all made to be kings and priests under God. Every
child of God, every believer is made to be a king and a priest
under God to reign forever with him. You see, we are right now
king Jesus Christ came and took us by the power of his spirit,
and he has taken us who were slaves to sin, to Satan, to the
lust of our flesh, and made us to be kings under God so that
now, by the power of his spirit reigning within, the believer
lives in dominion over the lust of his flesh. Does that mean
the believer doesn't sin? Oh, my soul, no. What does it mean? It means that
our lives are no longer dominated by that old man Adam, but our
lives are dominated by the spirit of God ruling within us. The
believer is a priest, a priest under God. We don't need any
earthly priest. My friend, Brother Art Young,
died several years ago After he died suddenly, unexpectedly,
he was in a... Roman Catholic Hospital, and
one of the nurses came by and asked his wife and son, said,
do y'all want us to call the priest? And he said, we've got
a priest. We don't need another one. We've
got a priest. Our priest is Christ himself. So that now in Christ,
you and I come to God without any intercessor except him. Who is God? The God-man, Christ
Jesus. I was telling Bobby yesterday,
brother, Charlie Payne, some of y'all know Charlie, remember
him? He's with the Lord now. One time he was flying somewhere,
I've forgotten where, and he was sat down, there was a Jewish
rabbi sat down beside him. And by the time they started
to take off, that fellow slipped one of those silly looking little night
caps on his head. And Charlie looked at him and
he said, why'd you do that? He said, oh, we believe that
we must have something between us and God. Charlie said, we
sure do. Let me tell you about him. He is our priest. He stands between
us and God, but we need no other, only Christ. And these all who
are kings and priests unto God around the throne, robed in white,
they reign with Christ on the earth. Reign with him now and
forever. Now then look at this one other
thing. And they all have on their heads
crowns of gold. Now this is my subject this evening.
Believers and their crowns. We're going to look at several
texts of scripture tonight as I try to answer some questions
about believers and their crowns. According to this text, all of
the people of God have crowns of gold on their heads as they
are welcomed into heaven's glory around the throne of God. Now,
there's a lot of discussion and a lot of theological religious
circles about these crowns. Most people have the idea that
somehow, if you are a good Christian, if you're a faithful person,
if you pay your tithes and then some, if you go to church until
you've got Sunday school buttons dragging the ground ten feet
behind you, if you're a real good, zealous person, then you're
going to have lots of crowns in heaven. But if you're just
what folks call a carnal Christian, you know, you got a little religion
but not enough to show. If you just sort of get into
heaven by the skin of your teeth and you haven't been real good,
then you're going to get there, but you're going to have a lot
of loss. You're going to lose your reward. And they use these
crowns to describe that. Now, I'm not pulling this off
the top of my head. Some of you folks will have Schofield reference
Bibles at home, or you can get hold of one, and just look at
the notes. They tell you all about these
crowns. Well, what are these crowns? These crowns are described
in the New Testament, not as Mr. Schofield describes them
and others. But as I read through the New
Testament, I see five distinct crowns given to believers. I
want you to look at them. If you have difficulty following
in the references, just jot them down and look at them for yourself
later. First turn to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. Paul here speaks about an incorruptible
crown. An incorruptible crown which
is the reward of perseverance. Notice what it says in verse
24. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receives the prize. So run that you may obtain. And
every man, verse 25, that striveth for the mastery is tempered in
all things. He rules his flesh. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crowd, like runners in the Olympic Games would get just a wreath
that was planted together and it'd be planted on their head.
He said, but we're not looking for a corruptible crowd, but
we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly,
so fight I not as one that beateth the air. But I keep under my
body and bring it in subjection, lest that by any means when I
have preached to others, I myself should be cast away. Now, the
believer's life in this world is often compared to a runner
in a race. Hebrews chapter 12 particularly.
The apostle tells us to run with patience the race that's set
before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. And he tells us that those who run the race must run to
the end. And if you don't run to the end,
you get no prize. You get no prize. But everybody,
as Paul uses the analogy here, who crosses the finish line,
everybody who runs to the end receives a crown of life that's
incorruptible, a crown of glory that fades not away. And so Paul
says, I keep under my body, I bring it in subjection that I may persevere
to the end. Now, this is what he's saying.
The very same thing our Lord Jesus said, Matthew chapter 10,
verse 20. He that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved. What about those folks who don't
endure? They've never known the grace of God. What about those
folks who fall away? They never knew Christ. What
about those who turn away from Christ? They never had Christ.
The believer, that one who has life in Christ, he perseveres
to the end. He continues in the faith. Then
in James chapter one, James the first chapter, you can turn there,
jot down for your reference later, Revelation 2 verse 10. Both of
these texts speak of a crown of life. A crown which is incorruptible,
which is the crown of perseverance, the reward of perseverance. Here
the crown of life is spoken of in much the same way as the reward
of faithfulness, which is nothing but another word for perseverance. Faithfulness is stick-to-it stuff. Faithfulness is the kind of glue
that holds you steady in the course of responsibility. Here
in James 1 verse 12, James talks about our trials, temptations,
He says, blessed is the man that endures temptation, not just
the one who suffers it, but the one who endures it, the one who
stands the test. For when he is tried, the word
is having been proved, when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love
him. Now, folks get a hold of that
and say, well, the Lord promised this crown of life to those who
suffer greatly for him, to those who have hardship in this world
and they're faithful in their hardships. That's true. That's
true. But he also promised it to everybody
who loves him. Everybody. Everybody who truly
loves Him. Who's that? Every believer. If
any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.
Let him be damned. The Lord's coming. That's language
of scripture. In Revelation 2.10, our Lord
speaks and says, None of these things which thou shalt suffer,
or fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer. Behold,
the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may
be tried, and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou
faithful unto death. and I'll give you a crown of
life." That's not just talking about martyrs. All believers
are martyrs. Believers are men and women who
laid down their lives in the cause of Christ. And every believer,
Bob Punster, is faithful to Christ unto death. What's that mean? He continues looking to Christ
all the days of his life. Those trials that destroy men's
faith do not really destroy faith, but only the profession of it.
Those who perish, perish because they never knew our God. But those who are faithful in
their trials, those who persevere when the heat's on, those who
continue in the faith when it costs them something, that's
the man who proves his faith, proves it by his faithfulness.
Now then, the third ground is mentioned in 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy
chapter 2. This is called a crown of righteousness,
which is the reward of those who love Christ at his appearing.
Paul is about to be put to death for the gospel and he knows it.
This is his last letter writing to Timothy. He says, I am now
ready to be offered, verse six. The time of my departure is at
hand. I fought a good fight. I finished
my course, I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day." Oh, now there you see,
preacher. Paul said, since I've fought
a good fight and I've finished my course and I've kept the faith,
now then, there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness because
I've earned it. Read the next line. Read the
next line. And not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing. So Paul is saying that this crown
of life This blessed crown that is laid up for him of righteousness
is promised to everyone who indeed fights a good fight, who finishes
his course, who keeps the faith, because these are the ones who
know the Lord God. This is simply talking about
faith, nothing less than that, nothing more than that. And then
look in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. Here Paul speaks of a crown of
rejoicing. This one, Folks get ahold of it, they say, now this
is the soul winner's crown. Boy, you buttonhole enough folks
and get them to say, I believe in Jesus, and you're gonna get
you a big, big crown when you get to heaven. Now read the text. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 19. For what is our hope, or joy,
or crown of rejoicing? Crown of rejoicing. Are not even
you, look at it now, in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming? For you are our glory and our
joy. The wise man says children's
children are the crown of old men. Boy, I'm finding that out. Children's children are the crown
of old men. Boy, that child's child, that
makes the old man happy. That child's child, that puts
a smile on his face. That child's child, oh, what
delight there is in that. Now look at this. When the Lord
Jesus comes in his glory, to gather his elect from the four
corners of the earth, and he presents them to his father,
saying, Lo, I am the children which thou hast given me. As
he rejoices in their salvation, so shall we. As he rejoices in
the fullness of his kingdom, so shall we. As he rejoices that
all his elect are now with him in glory, so shall we. Paul is
not saying here, now listen carefully, Paul is not saying to these Thessalonians. Let me put it personally, as
if I were speaking to you. I'm not saying this. I glory
and rejoice in the fact that I was the instrument God used
to save you. That's so foreign to the New
Testament, it's pathetic anybody would imagine such a thing. I
thank God for the privilege of preaching the gospel. But you
read 1 Corinthians 3, and you'll find out that's not what Paul's
saying. Paul said, I'm nothing. He said, Apollos is nothing. Peter's nothing. He said, one
comes, and he sows the seed, and other plants, and other waters.
God gives the increase. We're nothing but hoes and hoses. That's all we are. That's all
we are, instruments in God's hand. The work is his. Well,
preacher, what's he saying? I glory and rejoice in the salvation
of God's elect, because the salvation of God's elect is the glory and
joy of God's Son. That's exactly what he's saying. Now then, look in 1 Peter 5 and
verse 4. Here is a crown of glory, the
reward of our union with Christ. And when the chief shepherd shall
appear, You shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Who? All of you who've been gathered
to the chief shepherd. When Christ comes, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. He said, the glory
which thou gavest me, I have given them that they may be one,
even as we are one. Now this is what it means, Larry.
When the Lord Jesus comes again, Being united to him, really and
truly, united to him, one with him, as he wears a crown of glory,
our head, we who are his members, shall wear the crown of glory.
You can't put a crown on this head without putting it on these
feet. Can't do it. You can't put a crown on this
head without putting it on these hands. When Christ is crowned
with glory, we who are his are crowned with glory. There is
then this incorruptible crown, the crown of life, the crown
of righteousness, the crown of rejoicing, and the crown of glory. Now there's one more text in
this connection. What are these? Turn over to Isaiah 28. I want
you to look at this one. Isaiah 28. What are all these crowns? All
these crowns? Why, they're all just one crown.
They're just one crown. That one crown is Christ himself. Look here in verse 5, Isaiah
28 verse 5. In that day shall the Lord of
hosts be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty unto
the residue of his people. Do you see that? Oh, you mean
preacher? Christ is everything? You got
it. That's exactly what I'm saying.
You mean he's all our glory and all our rejoicing and all our
life and all our righteousness? That's it. That's what he's saying.
He's our crown, our full crown given by grace. Christ is the
prize we seek. Christ is the crown we shall
wear. Christ is the reward we shall be possessors of. What more could anyone want or
desire? Christ is heaven. If I have him,
I have all, and I want no more. He's my glory. He's my joy. He's my righteousness. He's my
life. He's my incorruptible crown. Now, here's the second question.
Who's gonna wear these crowns? Well, if you look at this text
here in Revelation 4, everybody there, Everybody there, the 24
elders, all of them have a crown on their heads. Well, pastor,
what about this doctrine of degrees, degrees of reward, degrees of
glory in heaven? I don't believe it for a minute. There are no degrees of happiness
among the redeemed in heaven. Such doctrine is nowhere written
and nowhere implied in the word of God. upon the very surface
of things. It's apparently false because
it promotes pride and teaches the reward of a debt and promotes
self-righteousness in men. It says that some things are
earned by human works as wages that God in fairness must pay
because you've done better than somebody else. It makes our acceptance
and our joy in heaven dependent not upon our God's grace, but
upon our works. I say, let that heresy be rooted
out and stomped to pieces once and for all. The notion that
there will be degrees of reward in heaven runs contrary to everything
in this book. Listen to what God says. Who
maketh thee to differ from another? Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have you've not received? Somebody says, well, I have great
faith. I doubt you've got any, but if you think you've got great
faith, and indeed you do, and somebody else seems to have such
little faith, it's because God gave you strong faith, and for
some reason, he hasn't yet given it to your brother. Somebody
says, but I serve the Lord faithfully. You probably don't, but just
in case, maybe you do, just in case, just in case, I'm telling
you, your faithfulness is God's gift to you. and another's lack
of it is not something that you can brag about. God makes us
to differ, and God alone. Salvation by grace, the blessings
of God in Christ were given to us by grace from eternity. God
never accepts, much less rewards anything but perfection, and
Christ is our perfection. Perfection requires a perfect
reward. And in Christ, every believer
stands perfect before God. Do you understand that? Our acceptance,
Bob, is Christ. Our righteousness is Christ.
We stand before God in him. Our Lord plainly states that
our reward in heaven shall not be based upon merits, but rather
upon God's purpose of grace. Read his parable in Matthew chapter
20. And besides that, the Lord alone
will have the praise and the glory and the honor in heaven,
he alone. People talk about rewards and
God dealing with them on the basis of what they've done. Now
just how would you like for God to deal with you on the basis
of what you do? Who can stand before him? I'll
tell you who can. I'll tell you who's gonna stand
before God in heaven. I'll tell you who's gonna be
crowned with glory. He that has clean hands and a pure heart
and has never lifted up his soul to vanity. Well, that shuts me out. Me too,
except in Christ. In Christ, we'll stand before
God with clean hands and a pure heart as a people who never once
sinned, who never once lifted up their souls to vanity. We
don't serve our God being motivated by desire for gain, but rather
because the love of Christ constrains us. The bliss, the glory, the
happiness of heaven is the reward of God's elect, and it shall
be equal to all the redeemed. Well, why do you insist on that? Let me tell you why. I'll wrap
it up. Lindsay Campbell and Don Fortner
and Diane and Buddy, are redeemed with the same blood, loved with
the same everlasting love, chosen by the same grace, accepted on
the same principle of substitution in the righteousness of Christ,
blessed from the same covenant with all the inheritance of God's
grace in heaven. We're accepted in Christ, only
in Christ. We'll wear these crowns of gold
just long enough to take them off our heads and cast them down
at His feet, acknowledging worthy is the Lamb. We won't have any
praise. We won't have any honor. We won't
receive any recognition. Christ alone be exalted. Christ
alone be praised. God teach me to do that. Teach me to receive no accolades
now, to receive no praise now, to receive no honor, but cast
it off to Him. Who makes us to differ? God alone
makes us to differ. Christ alone makes us to differ. The Spirit of God alone makes
us to differ. Let us now join that glorious,
glorious multitude seated around the throne, robed in white garments,
robed in the righteousness of Christ, and say, worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor and power and
dominion both now and forever. Amen.