Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above our Lord Jesus mentions the same crown that James spoke about, i.e. the crown of life. The context of this passage is that the Lord Jesus was speaking to the church at Smyrna, and He was encouraging them in their tribulations to focus on the heavenly rewards that He had laid up in store from them. In this passage our Lord confirmed the same thing that James taught, i.e. that the saints who endure testing and tribulation in this life, even to the point of death, will be the ones who qualify to receive this particular crown on that day.
1 Peter 5:1-4 “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: (2) Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; (3) nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; (4) and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter tells us about the crown of glory that will be available to the Lord’s elders and shepherds on that day. The apostle Peter tells us that the elders that serve willingly and lead as examples to the Lord’s flock will qualify to receive that particular crown on their day of judgement. And so from these passages of scripture that we have looked at, the point is very clear that all of these various crowns (and I am sure that there are many more not mentioned in scripture) will be given as rewards on that day to those who have earned them. Crowns are very important in the kingdom of God, for they denote the positions and levels of authority of those who wear them. The bible describes our Lord Jesus as one who has many crowns (Revelation 19:12), and the scripture also teaches us that the twenty-four elders that sit on thrones around the throne of God all wear crowns of gold (Revelation 4:4). And so clearly only the Lord’s saints that receive crowns from Him on that day will be eligible to reign in the age to come.
1 Corinthians 9:24-26 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (25) And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. (26) Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air.”
We have seen thus far that none of the crowns available to the saints are freely given to them, but rather they are given as rewards that are earned. We have also seen that the saints earn their crowns through the works they do during their time on the earth. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul encourages the saints to be focused in this life so that they may receive their rewards of crowns on that day. In this passage the apostle Paul tells us that we should run our race in such a way that we may obtain the prize of our crowns. The analogy that he uses to describe how we should go about obtaining our crowns is that of an athlete who competes in a race in order to win that race. Paul goes on to say that the athlete that is going to win their race is the one who is disciplined in their preparation for their race. In the same manner our eternal crowns will not just fall into our laps by chance. They will only be given to the saints that are determined to do what they need to do in this life in order to obtain them. And so clearly the saints who choose not to run their race with the purpose of obtaining the prize of their crowns will end up forfeiting their eternal prize.
Michael E.B. Maher
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