From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.From now on, the crown of righteousness is stored up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.
7 sermons cite this verse
… You'll get rewarded. Second Timothy four, last letter Paul ever wrote. He said, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give me on that day. And not only to me, but also all those who have loved his appearing. So fruitfulness is consequential. You get on one hand, the reward of seeing people that you have influenced led to Christ, et cetera. And you will get a reward from God himself for being faithful with the opportunities he has presented to you. And get this. According to Paul the Apostle, even those people who partner with those who share the gospel will get a reward in heaven. Paul said that to the Philippian church. Remember he was writing to the Philippians and he said, you know, no other church has shared with me in giving and receiving except you only. You have sponsored me. You have supported my ministry financially. And then he writes this, listen carefully. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. …
… I finished the course. Henceforth there is later for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me in that day and not to me only but to all who love his appearing. What does it mean to love his appearing? It means you look forward to the return of Jesus. How many of you are looking forward to the return of Jesus? Okay, you have a crown waiting for you. You have a crown waiting for you on the other side and that's a great hope that we have. Finally, the crown of life for those who persevere through temptation and trial. For those who persevere through temptation and trial. James 1.12 says, Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. The crown of life. So, every temptation you've resisted. How many of you have ever been tempted to sin? Raise your hand. …
… I kept the faith. Henceforth there is later for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day, not to me only, but to all who love his appearing. So the Lord will give you crowns and rewards for how faithful you were to what God set before you in life. It's not like you're gonna say, what's this for? What's for your faithfulness on earth? I don't remember anything about earth. What, do you think you're going to get a lobotomy in heaven? You remember. And you're going to be rewarded for that faithfulness on earth. And sometimes people say, well, there's no tears in heaven. Eric Clapton even wrote a song about it. Okay, it's a nice sentiment. But the fact of the matter is, there are tears in heaven. You say, well, that's not true. It is true. because we read in Revelation 6 about these tribulation saints that have died and they've gone into heaven and they cry out to the Lord. …
… I've kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, our righteous judge, will give to me on that day. And not to me only, but to all those who have loved his appearing. He writes about believers as those who love his appearing. That's a description, a descriptive phrase of what a believer ought to be. A believer is somebody who loves the coming of Jesus, loves the appearing of Jesus, is anticipating and looking forward to that. All who have loved his appearing. Now I'm going to give you another text. I pre-marked it to read with you because these are related texts. This is 2 Peter chapter 3 and I'm beginning to read in verse 10. Peter says, but the day of the Lord, same phraseology, same idea, the day of wrath, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. …
… I have kept the faith. finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. The letter ends. Shortly after it's over the letter is done. He is taken to the Basilica Julia from the Mamertine prison 100 yards away. Thank you. he would stand to hear his death sentence read publicly. And then he was taken out to be executed. I'm going to close by reading to you the words of A.T. Robertson, a great scholar and another one, another author. So I'm borrowing from them of what it would have been like. The crowds flowed into town. some were going out. Paul was only a criminal going to be beheaded. Few, if any, of the crowds would know or care anything about him. At a good place on the road, some miles out, the executioner stopped. The block was laid down. The executioner stood ready, axe in hand, the men stripped Paul, tied him, kneeling upright to the low pillar which exposed his back and his neck. The lictors beat him with rods for the last time. He groaned and bled from his nose and his mouth. And then, without a hint of hesitation, the executioner frowned as he swung the blade down swiftly, hitting its mark with a dull thud, and the head of the greatest preacher of the ages rolled upon the ground. It was a brutal moment. But in that brutal moment, …
… This is 2 Timothy 4, eight. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, the day you should all have circled on your calendar. Martin Luther said, there's only be two days on your calendar, two day and that day. Two day and that day. Everything else is just a detail, right? Two day and that day. Two day and Jesus coming back day. And if you live that way, you get the crown of righteousness. Not just to me, Paul said, don't think it's just about Paul the apostle. He says, to all who have loved his appearing. And if you love it, you live in light of it. If you love it, you're giving towards it. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. And if you love it, resource and time and attention and energy are focused and flowing towards that thing. Do you love his appearing? Or are you like that engine in Minneapolis that day? …
… Fought to the end. henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me and not only to me but to all those who have loved his appearing. That's the bucket list. So if you are feeling the creep of comfort like I am, I feel very threatened by this. I am more comfortable, more at ease, less pressure in my life right now than ever, ever before. Pastor is pressure. My job 40-50 hours a week with DG, piece of cake. No pressure. Every night is free. Good night, that's dangerous. So I feel it. I'm preaching to myself here. Turn with me to Philippians chapter 2, please, and let's look at Philippians 2, 17 and 18. This is God's Word to the young, it's God's Word to the middle-aged, it's God's Word to the old. It's an antidote to cowardice, consumption, and comfort, and it is mind-boggling, mind-bogglingly counterintuitive, countercultural, offensive to many people. Philippians 2.17, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad. …