Managing for the Master

Quarter 1, Lesson 12
“Rewards of Faithfulness”
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MEMORY VERSE: “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many
things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:21, NKJV
LESSON STUDY INTRO
This week’s lesson explores the “rewards… we are promised through
Christ after the Second Coming and this terrible detour with sin is
once and for all over and done” (Qtly, Sab, par 3).
1. The Lord will reward faithfulness. (Sab, Sun, Wed)
• Rewarding is something God does, earning is something we do.
When it comes to salvation, we earn nothing (Rom 6:23).
o “Being rewarded for faithfulness… is not the same as salvation
by works… Rewards, instead, are the mere outworking of what
God has done for us” (Qtly, Sun, par 4).
o “Though we can never earn salvation, the Bible uses the hope
of reward as a motivation for faithful living as undeserving
recipients of God’s grace” (Qtly, Sab, par 1).
• A correct understanding of the source of a reward does not
diminish the righteous desire to strive to attain it. (Luke 13:24;
Acts 24:16; Phil. 3:7-15)
• A key aspect of our faithfulness to God is the proper use of
money (Mt. 25:14-19; Lk. 19:12-24).
I was shown that the parable of the talents has not been fully understood.
This important lesson was given to the disciples for the benefit of Christians
living in the last days. And these talents do not represent merely the ability
to preach and instruct from the word of God. The parable applies to the
temporal means which God has entrusted to His people. 1T 197 (Qtly, Wed, par 2)
Every individual will be dealt with personally, and will be required to give an
account of the talents entrusted to him, whether he has improved or abused
them. The reward bestowed will be proportionate to the talents improved.
The punishment awarded will be according as the talents have been abused.
CS 119 (Qtly, Wed, supplemental EGW notes)
2. God’s rewards are beyond description. (Sun, Mon, Tue)
• The gift of eternal life (Rom 6:23; John 3:16)
o “Perhaps more than anything else, Christ’s death on the cross at
His
• first coming is our greatest assurance of His second coming,
for without the Second Coming, what good was His first one?”
(Qtly, Mon, par 4).
• The New Jerusalem
o The rewards of the New Jerusalem, besides the rest of the new
heavens and new earth God promises to make, are incredible to
ponder (see Qtly, Tue).
• Jesus will dwell with us in person, and we will see God face-to-
face; every tear will be wiped away, we will dwell in mansions
and walk on streets of gold, and we will have eternal access to
the tree of life and the river of life!
Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will
be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the
glory of the Paradise of God. GC 674 (Qtly, Sun, par 1)

3. Eternal rewards can begin today (Thu, Fri)

• The rich reward that God will give the faithful when He returns
can be experienced, in part, here and now.
o Thursday’s lesson (par 3) outlines three ways that we can
experience the promise of true prosperity in this life:
• Prosperity is having what you need when you need it. It is not
the accumulation of possessions.
• Prosperity is claiming the promise, ‘My God shall supply all your
needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 4:13).
• Prosperity is to be thankful for what you have in the Lord and to
trust in Him in all things.
o Friday’s lesson paints a beautiful “word picture of a church family
who are financially faithful managers of God’s business on earth.”
CONCLUSION
Fellow pilgrim, we are still amid the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities;
but soon our Saviour is to appear to bring deliverance and rest. Let us by faith
behold the blessed hereafter as pictured by the hand of God. He who died
for the sins of the world is opening wide the gates of Paradise to all who
believe on Him. Soon the battle will have been fought, the victory won. Soon
we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His
presence the trials and sufferings of this life will seem as nothingness. PK 731
(Qtly, Sab supplemental EGW notes)