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Degrees Of Reward Or Punishment In Eternity?

I believe the Bible teaches, beyond doubt, there will be degrees of punishment and of reward in eternity. There is only one source we have to turn to in order to try and resolve this question. No one except the creator of the heavens and the earth either has the answers or could give us the answers. Bear with me as I attempt to show you the scriptures from the Holy Bible which have caused me to reach the above decision. (Underlined scriptures are for emphasis and are mine jh)

"For the son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds" (Matthew: 16:27).

Paul used practically identical words in Romans 2:5-7: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his works."

Such a concept was taught even in Old Testament times. Solomon wrote: "If thou sayest, We knew not this,' doth not he that weigheth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his work?" (Proverbs 24:12).

Eventhough these scriptures could be interpreted to mean simply lost or saved, I do not believe this is the full meaning and the following will explain why.

When Jesus stood before Pilate, he made this remark: "Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." (John 19:11) It was a band of Jews who took Jesus in the garden and delivered him to Caiaphas the high priest who, in turn, delivered him to Pilate. This statement shows that even Jesus recognized that some sins were of more severity than others. I'm sure that almost all men feel that way. A pedophile who rapes and kills a little 10-12 year old girl surely cannot be assumed to have committed no less sin than one who merely tells a somewhat harmless lie for instance.

Then we have the wise king Solomon who makes this statement: "If thou sayest, We knew not this,' doth not he that weigheth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his work?" (Proverbs 24:12).

Then finally, we have a statement by Jesus Himself in telling the parable of the wicked servant: " And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:47-48 )

It would seem from these scriptures that there certainly will be degrees of punishment as well as rewards in Heaven, or in Hell. Now armed with that information, is that comforting, or frightening?

It may seem comforting to some. But there is much to consider when thinking about such things. Regardless of the degrees, one will still be lost eternally or saved eternally. No degree of punishment will be had in Heaven, nor will there be any degree of reward in Hell. Always keep that in mind. . In other words, in Hell, one may suffer less than others, but the rewards will be entirely missing. Likewise, in Heaven one may receive more or less rewards than others but there will not be punishment there.

If one should make an attempt to "just barely make it to Heaven" or to at least do well enough to get the very "best spot in Hell", he will be sadly disappointed because that attitude is wrong. We must strive daily to be the best servant of our Lord that we can be, and try to attain the highest spot in the rewards of Heaven. Even then, we may scarcely be saved (1 Peter 4:18). For a certainty, we will still be unprofitable servants and whatever we receive will be by His grace.

When we have such competition as that of the staunch apostle Paul and myriad others who willfully were tortured and slaughtered rather than to denounce Jesus Christ, it is easy to see just by what our works will be measured. We need desperately to become serious with our lives and our service to God, study His word, meditate and pray regularly and earnestly. The time is swiftly passing.

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» left by Anonymous (3 years 14 days ago.)

I agree completely. Based on Luke 12 alone I do not know how any could disagree.

» left by Joel Hendon⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ (3 years 14 days ago.)

Thank you Anon, I appreciate your reading and commenting.

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