Steve's Weekly Letter

Thursday, January 22, 2026

I arrived at a scenic overlook one summer evening in 2022 just in time to take this photo of Mount St. Helens in Washington state as the sun was setting.

Reflection

Will there be degrees of reward in heaven?

To put it another way, will believers be distinguished from one another for all eternity on the basis of their works as Christians on earth?

My answer is “no.” I do not believe that there will be degrees of reward in the new heaven and new earth. A 1992 journal article by New Testament scholar, Craig Blomberg, convinced me of this, and further study has strengthened my convictions.

I bring it up this issue because I believe it matters to our spiritual-well being—not because I like to stir up controversy.

Here are some key Scripture passages to consider.

The Crown Passages

One prominent Bible teacher says: “The New Testament describes five different heavenly rewards, referred to as crowns, believers can receive: the Victor’s Crown, the Crown of Rejoicing, the Crown of Righteousness, the Crown of Life, and the Crown of Glory.” These crowns are described in 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, and 1 Peter 5:4.

However, I believe these are five different aspects of the same reward—eternal life. Thus, all believers will receive these crowns. For example, 2 Timothy 4:8 speaks of the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will reward to all who have longed for his appearing, while James 1:12 refers to the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. If only some believers receive these awards, the implication is that not all believers long for the Lord’s appearing and that not all believers love him!

Furthermore, I do not believe the reference is to literal crowns believers will wear on their heads but to the incredible rewards they we will receive. For example, the crown of righteousness is righteousness, and the crown of life is life itself.

The Builder’s Reward

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 is another passage used in support of degrees of reward in heaven. It talks about how believers build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Judgment day will reveal whether a person has used gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw. Fire will test the quality of each person’s work. So, this passage does teach that more faithful believers will be rewarded with knowing that they spent substantial time using their resources for God’s kingdom.

However, nothing suggests that this difference in reward will be experienced in heaven or determine the believer’s “rank” in heaven. Craig Blomberg says: “Nothing in the text says anything about these distinctions among believers’ experiences persisting for all time. In like fashion, 1 John 2:28 anticipates that some Christians may experience more shame than others when Christ returns, but no Scripture ever suggests that shame remains a component of heavenly life beyond the immediate context of the parousia [the second coming of Christ].”

Treasures in Heaven

Some supporters of the view that there will be degrees of reward in heaven cite Matthew 6:19-20. In this passage, Jesus tells his followers not to store up treasures on earth but to store up treasures in heaven. Similarly, in Matthew 19:21 tells a wealthy man to “go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”

However, in response to Peter’s concern that the disciples would not get any return for leaving everything to follow him, Jesus says: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). Thus, our treasure in heaven is the gift of eternal life.

The Nature of God’s Grace

Ultimately, Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 convinces me that there will not be degrees of reward in heaven. In this parable, God is gracious to all the day workers and gives them the same wage—whether they started work at 9:00 am, Noon, 3:00 pm, or 5:00 pm. This does not seem fair according to human reckoning, but it is the nature of grace.

This parable demonstrates that all true disciples are equal in God’s eyes. In the parable, all workers receive the same reward, even though some worked longer than others. The issue (v15) is God’s generosity (grace), not human effort. God gives us all more than we deserve, but the amount of grace may seem disproportionate.

R. T. France offers this comment about the parable: “There is a deliberate discrepancy between the effort expended and the recompense received: God does not leave anyone unfairly treated, but his grace is not limited to human deserving. . . . there is no room for computing one’s ‘treasures in heaven’ on the basis of earthly effort.”

Our Motivation for Serving God

As I already mentioned, there is a lot at stake with this issue. At its heart is our motivation for serving God. I believe Michael Wilkins is spot-on when he writes: “Focusing on rewards and comparing oneself with others will cause disciples to question the wisdom and generosity of God. Instead of being motivated by ‘fairness’ or ‘reward,’ the most notable noble of motivations is gratitude.”

Exactly! Gratitude is our motivation. An old chorus says it well:

          After all he's done for me, 
          after all he's done for me.
          How can I do less than give him my best 
          and live for him completely,
          after all he's done for me.

Craig Blomberg offers a fitting conclusion: “When one reflects soberly on the vast gulf that separates even the most righteous of believers from God’s infinitely perfect standards, it is hard to see how the differences among Christians that seem to loom so large in this life could figure significantly in God’s eternal reckoning.”

’Tis grace has brought us safe thus far—not the prospect of heavenly rewards.

And grace will lead us home—to our heavenly reward: life in God’s presence!

Personal Update

This Sunday, January 25, I’m going to preach at Center Church in Libertyville. This is the home church for my two daughters and their families. I’ll be back at the Evangelical Free Church of Des Plaines, where I serve as interim pastor, the following Sunday (February 1).

Center Church is in a three-year journey through the Bible titled God with Us. They asked me to preach the book of Esther. Yes, I will cover the entire book in 35 minutes! The title of my sermon is, “When God Seems Absent.”

Today I’m in Tulsa, Oklahoma where I’m teaching a class for students enrolled in a master’s degree program through Western Seminary (Portland, OR). The class is “Theology and Practice of Team Leadership.” I’ll fly home this evening.

One of the books I’ve been re-reading this week in preparation for my sermon on the book of Esther is Esther in The NIV Application Commentary by Karen H. Jobes (here).

I still think Jobes’ volume is the best entry-level and mid-level commentary available on Esther. I’ve also been reading Esther, in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, by Debra Reid (here) and The Message of Esther by David Firth (here). They are good, too, but to me, the analysis by Jobes seems clearer and more compelling. I highly recommend it to you if you’re planning to do a Bible study on the book of Esther.

Grandkids Corner

Recently, our son Luke and our daughter-in-law Janzyn took their boys to a Target store near their home in the southwest suburbs of Denver, CO. When they pulled into the parking lot, they saw a young woman in handcuffs standing by a police car. The officer was in the process of putting her in the car. Our grandson Jacob (4)—pictured below—had an interesting response.

First, he said, “Hey, is that Taryn?” Uh, no. Taryn is his 8-year old cousin who lives in central Illinois. The young woman was wearing glasses that resembled the glasses Taryn wears.

Once Jacob was convinced that the suspect was not his cousin, Taryn, he announced that he wanted to pray for her. He said: “God, please help that woman. She is getting arrested and going to jail. Amen.” I’m glad that Jacob was concerned enough to pray for her, and I love the way he got right to the point and asked God boldly for help.

Thanks as always for reading this. Have a good weekend!