I hear it all the time. Pastors, Bible teachers and Believers on social media sites promising God's people the their Heavenly Father has all kinds of earthly blessings and promises; and all kinds of heavenly kingdom rewards and responsibilities that He wants to freely (i.e. unconditionally) give them...simply because they're His children! At its least...that concept is a biblical 1/2 Truth. (And we all know that a 1/2 Truth is a lie!) Yes, there ARE some amazingly wonderful blessings and promises and rewards that the Father wants to bestow on His children. However...these things are not free! They're earned! They're earned thru faithfulness. And not just faithfulness! Faithfulness to the Truths of Scriptures (that the Lord has established for His Church Age children!)
Brethren, the Good Lord has always told His people...IF you DO as I say...THEN I will DO as I promised! The only unconditional (i.e. free) blessing that a Believer ever received (from the Lord) was the FREE GIFT of eternal salvation! Every other promise or blessing or reward (that the Good Lord 'offers' His children) comes with the stipulation that they must obey those commandments and teachings that He has given for the Church!
The Judgment Seat of Christ IS a rewards judgment...and NOT a salvation judgment! Anyone who is at the Judgment Seat of Christ WILL BE eternally saved from hell! However...the Bible clearly shows...time after time...that simply being eternally saved (from hell) does NOT mean that the Believer's next life is going to be everything it could be! 1 Corinthians chapter three clearly shows that there WILL BE blood-bought, born-again, eternally saved Believers (at the Judgment Seat of Christ) who Yeshua Christ 'finds' to have done NO good works...who are still saved (from hell) by the 'skin of their teeth!" These unfaithful Believers will hear... "You wicked, lazy slave (i.e. Believer). At which point Yeshua Christ will rebuke these worthless Believers (who loved the world and the ways of the world more than they did the things of the Father). Yeshua Christ will tell these unfaithful Believers that they will have no part in serving (Him) in either His Heavenly or Millennial Kingdoms! Yeshua Christ even taught that some Believers will be judged to be SO UNFAITHFUL...that in eternity... they will not even be allowed to 'live' inside the walls of God's Heavenly or Millennial kingdoms!
On the other hand...those Believers who hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (from the Lord) will be rewarded with special Kingdom rewards and Kingdom responsibilities! And those Believers whom the Lord deems faithful...will receive special kingdom rewards and responsibilities because they've earned them!
Brethren, God keeps His promises! So long as we humbly, and sincerely and repentantly and FAITHFULLY DO as He has commanded! God's 'rest' for Church Age Believers happens in His Heavenly and Millennial kingdoms! If a Believer is found to be unfaithful (at the Judgment Seat of Christ...they will NOT enter God's 'resting place' in eternity!
Hebrews 3:12 (Written TO and FOR Believers)
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief (i.e. unfaithfulness).
Hebrews 4.1 --- Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
Exodus 18:23 ---- If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their place in peace.”
