Your Eternal Reward: Triumph and Tears at the Judgment Seat of Christ Paperback – May 1, 2015

Highest marks for this book. Highest respect for Erwin Lutzer writing this, being Senior Pastor at Moody Bible. This is not a subject a lot of Christians want to deal with.I believe this is a doctrine that all Christians should know, the Judgment Seat of Christ and the conditional ruling through out eternity with Christ. Not all Christians will reign with Christ. This is a life changing doctrine.Just a couple of outtakes from the book:p. 68, 69 "What kind of lifestyle might cause us to lose our inheritance? We can lose our reward both by the sins we commit and the opportunities we squander. Certainly all believers inherit heaven with its opportunity to serve Christ and worship at the throne. But there is another inheritance, a special reward given to the faithful. This second kind of reward is sometimes spoken of as "inheriting eternal life". .... To possess eternal life you simply need faith in Christ; to truly inherit it, you need faith and obedience."p. 151 "Rewards, particularly ruling with Christ, should not be taken as a foregone conclusion for all believers. We have observed that almost every time reigning with Christ is mentioned, it is always conditional. Successful suffering, overcoming, and faithfulness are generally spoken of as the qualifications. With these come special honors."He had a chapter "Taking It with You" being faith with money and investing wisely and a great example on when Germany declared all the "Mark" currency no longer accepted in Germany. Basically, be wise and invest in eternity.This books is influenced by at least two books (see his footnotes):Destined for the Throne, Paul Billheimer and Reign of the Servant Kings, Joseph Dillow.But mostly by one book: The Holy Bible.p. 58 " "Fear not, little flock; for it is you Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Let me repeat that the idea that we should reign with God's Son is not ours, but His. God's desire is to display His wonder and grace throughout all of eternity (Eph 2:7)"p. 131 "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or children or farms from My name's sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last; and the last, first (Matt 19:28-30)p. 149 "And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations" (Rev 2:26)

I have read many books in my life and this is by far one of the best if not the best! I cried and it left me wanting to not seek reward but to please God. So beautifully written and full of the truths of scripture and what the judgement seat will be like. We are so unworthy but our gracious savior will reward us according to our deeds. Read it!!

Great

I purchased this book because I wanted to learn about eternal judgment and was thoroughly blessed and encouraged by it. The author did an excellent job of talking about rewards and stating that there will be degrees of punishment in hell and degrees of rewards in heaven. We will be rewarded for the works we do after our conversion. God does not pay like an employer. He pays over and above out of his generosity. Therefore, we should serve him because we love him, fear him and we want to please him and not merely to receive a reward. The author did an excellent job of outlining the race that the Apostle Paul spoke about and how to qualify for this race. The race is not for us to get to heaven, it is about receiving the prize. He talked about how athletes must give up certain pleasures in order to prepare to compete. They must exercise great discipline in training inclusive of studying the opponents moves in order to win. Winning has a price. We must know how to win and what causes us to lose. Excellent book!!!

First of all, thanks to God for His Word and for brother Lutzer for writing this! The book came quickly and was an easy read. Lutzer gives an accurate presentation of an often overlooked (or not seen at all) aspect of the Christian's accountability before Christ at the Bema (frequently rendered “Judgment Seat of Christ”). The subject is laid out well, but this isn’t an exhaustive academic work by any means, as there are many, many more warnings and encouragements in the Bible regarding this matter of Christian accountability and running the race well. But he certainly covers most of the key points. If someone reads this book and soaks in the scriptures referenced in a prayerful way and asks for wisdom, then this book should provide a good foundation to see that this matter is spoken of throughout the Bible and specifically in the New Testament.NOTE: For anyone reading this review, two important things:1) As believers we are secure eternally! If you have received the new birth and Christ lives in you, God will not somehow cause you to be "unborn." This would also be unrighteous for Him to do. However, Christians are accountable for their works after the new birth. Lutzer brings this point out very well.2) In Matthew 25 the two faithful servants receive praise and a reward from their master for doubling what had been entrusted to them. Notice what he tells them - "Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a FEW THINGS, I will put you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!" I emphasized "few things" because I missed this for a long time. He praises them for being faithful in just a FEW things - not a bunch of really big works. This is what Christ says - a FEW THINGS!For instance, Hebrews 11 is full of people who did things in faith, but none of them were perfect by any means (Abraham trying to give Sarah away twice; David murdering and adulterating). They just showed faith to God at a certain moment (think of Sampson – he finished well). God took a "snapshot" of their instances of faith, and the Holy Spirit recorded them in Hebrews 11. Christ said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light," in Matthew 11:30.So don't fall into the trap and accept the lie that only SuperSaints will receive praise and reward. I thought that for many years and experienced much needless condemnation. If we are faithful in at least a FEW THINGS, we will hear those wonderful words, "Well done good and faithful servant!"

I accepted Christ when I was 13 and I’m now 34. I have always thought that all believers in Christ would receive the same eternal inheritance. This book shows very clearly that there is more at steak when we fail to live for Christ. We are forfeiting eternal rewards and positions.I wish this was given to me years ago because it may have prevented sin that I look back and regret.Hosea 4:6 “My people perish because of lack of knowledge”