Rewards Of The Faithful

Speaker: V. P. Black
Date: April 14, 2004, Wednesday Evening Worship Service During a Gospel Meeting Hosted by the Strickland church of Christ in Glen, Mississippi
Main Scripture References: Matthew 5:1-12

[Matthew 5:1-12]

“5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him:
2 And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven….”

Those words were taken from the Sermon on the Mount, from Matthew, the 5^th chapter, and the first 12 verses—the greatest sermon that’s ever been preached in any age of the world. In its profundity, in its simplicity, in its majestic sweep, in its practical bearing upon life, it stands unapproached by anything that man has ever written or anything that man has ever spoken. And if the world should be standing ten thousand years from tonight, man will never write anything or speak anything comparable to the Sermon on the Mount.

I wonder if you observed the rewards that were offered as we read these verses. In every verse that we read, there was a reward attached to it. For instance, when Christ said, “Blessed are poor in spirit,” what’s the reward? “…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Blessed are they that mourn”—what’s the reward? “…they shall be comforted.” “Blessed are the merciful”—what’s the reward? “They shall obtain mercy.” “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness”—what’s the reward? “…they shall be filled.” “Blessed are the pure in heart”—what’s the reward? “…they shall see God.” “Blessed are the peacemakers”—what’s the reward? “…they shall be called the children of God.” “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”—what’s the reward? The same as the first one—“…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

If these were the only rewards offered in the Bible, these would be enough to encourage every person to want to live the Christian life. But these are not the only rewards offered in the Bible. These were taken from the first book in the New Testament. But then, when we turn to the last book in the New Testament, the book of Revelation, to every church that John wrote there was a reward offered to those who were found faithful.

For instance, when he wrote to the church at Ephesus, he said, “To him that overcometh will I [Jesus] give to eat of the tree of life” [Revelation 2:7]. What a reward, to sit down under the tree of life for all eternity.