The Rewards of Remaining in Christ
The Rewards of Remaining in Christ
Remain in Christ Word Study, Lesson 5
At the end of last week’s study, we learned that one reason we should remain in Christ was because if we do, we will survive and receive a reward. This week, I want to look a little more closely at the rewards that we receive if we remain in Christ. Some of these rewards are rewards that we will receive here on earth, and some of them are eternal rewards. We’ll look at these seven rewards:
We will be chosen be God to do his work.
We will be equipped to do God’s work.
We will bear fruit.
We will receive what we ask for.
We will have joy.
We will be confident and unashamed at his coming.
We will receive eternal life.
Chosen to Do God’s Work
In lesson 2 of this series, we learned that one of the steps to remaining in Christ is to do the work of the Father. In Jesus’ message to his disciples where he exhorts them to remain in him, he tells them that he chose them so that they might go and bear fruit—he was sending them out to go do God’s work.
John 15:16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Jesus used this same language in the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). Have you ever heard the phase “The only thing you can take with you to heaven is other people”? We have been chosen by God to go and bear fruit—to go and make disciples—which is the fruit that will last.
Equipped to Do God’s Work
When God chooses us to be his disciples and to do his work, he doesn’t just send us out and hope for the best. No, he equips us to do his work.
2 Timothy 3:14-17: 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
If we remain in Christ by continuing to practice what we have learned through his teachings, through the Scripture, then we will be equipped for every good work that he has called us to complete.
Bear Fruit
As we do God’s work, God promises that we will bear fruit that will last. We saw that earlier in John 15:16. Bearing fruit is a key outcome of remaining in Christ.
John 15:4-5: 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Bearing fruit is discussed in many places in the New Testament—so many, in fact, that I’m going to have a separate lesson on this point next week. Although part of bearing fruit is spreading the gospel and making disciples, bearing fruit has a much wider scope than that. I’m excited to discover all the possible ways we can bear fruit as we remain in Christ.
Receive What We Ask For
As we remain in Christ and bear fruit, Jesus promised that we will receive whatever we ask for:
John 15:7: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Notice, though, that in order to receive whatever we ask for, we must be in relationship with Christ—we must remain in him. As we’ve learned in previous lessons, this means that we must know Christ’s teachings, follow God’s commands, and do God’s work. We also have the Holy Spirit guiding us. If all of these things are true of us, then what we ask for is very likely to be aligned with the work Christ is doing in us and in the world. And if what we ask for is aligned with his work, then he is delighted to fulfill those requests.
Another factor in receiving what we ask for is that we have to be in communication with God, which we typically think of as prayer. If we aren’t in communication with God, we won’t be able to ask him for anything. And if the only time we ever go to him in prayer is to get what we want, then we likely aren’t remaining in him in the rest of our lives. As we remain in Christ and communicate with him through prayer, he will go to the Father on our behalf when we ask for something.
Romans 8:34b: Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Joy
Another key outcome of remaining in Christ is that we will have joy—and not just a little bit of joy. Our joy will be complete in Christ.
John 15:9-11: 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
That complete joy overflows into every area of life, in our actions and attitudes in good times and bad.
Confident and Unashamed at His Coming
As Christians, we all long for the second coming of Christ. What will your reaction be when you finally stand before Christ, either when he returns for his people or when you stand before him in heaven? According to John, if we remain in Christ, we can be confident and unashamed.
1 John 2:28: And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
If we remain in Christ, we will do our best to live a life that is pleasing to him. That means that when he returns, we will have no reason to cower in fear. Instead, we will be confident and unashamed because we know that we have been washed by the blood of Christ.
Eternal Life
Finally, and most importantly, the reward for remaining in Christ is eternal life.
1 John 2:24-25: 24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
If we remain in Christ, he has promised that we will have eternal life. We will live in heaven in his presence forever. This is the greatest gift we have ever been given! But in order to receive eternal life, we must remain in him. In particular, we must obey God’s command to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.
Conclusion
The rewards we receive from remaining in Christ follow closely from the tasks of remaining in Christ. To remain in Christ, we must follow God’s commands and do the work of the Father. When we do these things, he will equip us to do his work, he will make our work fruitful, and he will give us what we ask for when we need it. He will also fill us with joy and confidence, knowing that we have lived a life that is pleasing to him. In the end, we will receive the greatest gift of all—eternal life.