TUESDAY 30th
James 1:1-16 – CROWNS – Part One
In one of our devotions last week (Friday) I mentioned verse 12 of James 1 ‘Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.’
James mentions the ‘crown of life’. In this devotion I want to look at the verses in Scripture that mention crowns in relation to the Christian life.
We have the crown of life
James 1:12 ‘Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.’
Revelation 2:10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.’
We have the crown of righteousness
2 Timothy 4:8 ‘Henceforth 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 also to all who have loved his appearing.’
We have the crown of glory
1 Peter 5:4 ‘And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.’
We have the incorruptible crown (in the ESV it is an imperishable wreath)
1 Corinthians 9:25 ‘Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.’
1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV) ‘Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.’
There is a warning to hold fast so as not to lose the crown
Revelation 3:11 ‘I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.’
And Paul considered those who were under his pastoral care to be his crown, a crown of rejoicing
Philippians 4:1 ‘Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.’
1 Thessalonians 2:19 ‘For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?’
When we read of these crowns, they are not crowns as we see a king or queen wearing signifying authority, but rather as the ESV translates the word in 1 Corinthians 9:25 as wreaths or laurels that would have been given to competitors who have completed and won a race, or like a trophy presented to someone who has achieved something.
In Malachi we are told about a book of remembrance, Malachi 3:16 ‘Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.’ later in Scripture we are told that a day of judgement is coming for all men (and women) and on that day the books will be opened, Revelation 20:12 ‘And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.’ And in 2 Corinthians 5:10 ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.’
Is one of the books that will be opened the book of remembrance? I wonder what will be recorded down about each one of us, thankfully some of what has been written about us will be blotted out, everything that happened pre-conversion will be blotted out because it will have been forgiven as we saw in the devotion June 18th (Acts 3:19) but what about post-conversion, well, the Scripture also tells us that if we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us of that sin, (1 John 1:9) so every confessed sin will be blotted out, but what about the things we should have done and didn’t do, or the things we have done that we should not have done? The Scripture says that ‘we will receive what is due according to what we have done . . .’ Let us be clear that if we have kept the faith and run the race we will not lose or forfeit salvation, but we can lose out on our eternal reward! What is written in the book of life determines our eternal destination, (Revelation 20:15) and what is written in the books that will be opened will determine our eternal reward, that is, what crown, crowns or laurels, winners wreaths, reward we will receive. That is why what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 is so important. ‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.’
Jesus also taught of reward in his parable of the talents, being rewarded according to what we have done with anything that he has entrusted to us in our Christian ministry (Matthew 25)
We will continue this theme tomorrow:
Living for Jesus a life that is true,
Striving to please him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to thee,
For thou, in thine atonement, didst give thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be thy throne,
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for thee alone.
Living for Jesus who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer his call,
Follow his leading and give him my all.
Living for Jesus wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy name,
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.
Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of his smile,
Seeking the lost ones he died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in him.
T O Chisholm CCLI788682