The great English preacher Charles Haddon Squrgeon, once said, “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.” What you do for Christ is eternal. What you do out of selfish motives will pass away.
Several years ago I had a very vivid dream that seemed so real that I have never forgotten it. By no means do I believe that all dreams have any significance, but some of them do. Some of them I call “Pizza Dreams” – they are usually filled with nonsense caused by over eating right before going to bed. Others of them are oppressive, promoting worry and fears. These are devil inspired dreams designed to pull down and take away hope. Then there are God-given dreams that deal with truth and reality and always leaves on with hope.
It was one of these latter ones the night I dreamed of the Judgement Seat of Christ. This is the place where Christians will be rewarded for their work while on earth. Let me hasten to say that the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is given to us as the free gift of God’s grace and not by our works. However, the Bible also teaches that we are rewarded for our works.
In this dream I was told the criteria by which our works are judged. All that we do for Christ and for others will be rewarded and are compared to silver, gold, and precious stones. All our works which are done selfishly will vanish like wood, hay, and stubble when thrown into a fire.
There are leaners and there are lifters. There are the selfish and the unselfish. There are givers and there are takers. All will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ. Remember the criteria: Only that which is done for Christ and others will be eternally rewarded.
J.T. Parish is the Founding Pastor of Christian Fellowship Church. He further serves on the Church Leadership Council, as Chairman of the Board of World Missions and Evangelism, and as President of the School of Ministry.