In the biblical narrative, the concept of reward serves as a significant motivator for faithfulness and obedience to God. The Scriptures frequently present rewards as both temporal and eternal, encouraging believers to remain steadfast in their devotion and service to the Lord.

Old Testament Context

The Old Testament often associates rewards with obedience to God's commandments. In Deuteronomy 28, blessings are promised to the Israelites for their faithfulness: "And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 28:2). These blessings include prosperity, protection, and peace, serving as tangible incentives for the Israelites to adhere to the covenant.

The Psalms and Proverbs also reflect this theme. Psalm 19:11 states, "By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward" , highlighting the benefits of living according to God's laws. Similarly, Proverbs 11:18 declares, "The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward" , contrasting the fleeting gains of wickedness with the enduring rewards of righteousness.

New Testament Perspective

In the New Testament, Jesus frequently speaks of rewards in the context of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Sermon on the Mount, He assures His followers, "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you" (Matthew 5:12). Here, the promise of heavenly reward serves as encouragement amidst persecution and trials.

Jesus also emphasizes the importance of motives in seeking rewards. In Matthew 6:1, He warns, "Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" . This teaching underscores that genuine faithfulness, rather than outward show, is what God rewards.

The Apostle Paul further elaborates on the theme of reward in his epistles. In 1 Corinthians 3:14, he writes, "If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward" , referring to the enduring value of work done in Christ. Paul also encourages believers to run the race of faith with perseverance, looking forward to the "crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8) that awaits them.

Eternal Rewards

The ultimate reward for faithfulness is eternal life with God. Revelation 22:12 records Jesus' promise, "Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done" . This eschatological perspective assures believers that their faithfulness will be recognized and rewarded in the life to come.

Throughout Scripture, the promise of reward serves as a powerful motivator for believers to remain faithful to God. Whether through temporal blessings or eternal life, the Bible consistently affirms that God honors and rewards those who diligently seek Him and live according to His will.Exodus 20:6,12
And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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Leviticus 25:18,19
Why you shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and you shall dwell in the land in safety.
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Leviticus 26:3-45
If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
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Deuteronomy 4:40
You shall keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days on the earth, which the LORD your God gives you, for ever.
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Deuteronomy 6:3,18
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you, in the land that flows with milk and honey.
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Deuteronomy 11:13-16,18-21,26-29
And it shall come to pass, if you shall listen diligently to my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
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Deuteronomy 15:9-11
Beware that there be not a thought in your wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you.
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Deuteronomy 22:7
But you shall in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to you; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
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Deuteronomy 24:19
When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
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Deuteronomy 25:15
But you shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shall you have: that your days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
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Deuteronomy 27:12-26
These shall stand on mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
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Joshua 8:33
And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
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Isaiah 1:16-20
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
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Isaiah 3:10
Say you to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
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Isaiah 40:10,11
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
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Jeremiah 17:24-26
And it shall come to pass, if you diligently listen to me, said the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
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Jeremiah 22:3,4
Thus said the LORD; Execute you judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
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Matthew 10:32
Whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
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Matthew 16:24-27
Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
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Matthew 20:1-16
For the kingdom of heaven is like to a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.
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Matthew 25:34-46
Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
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Mark 10:21
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
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Mark 13:13
And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
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Luke 6:22,23,35
Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
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Luke 12:8
Also I say to you, Whoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
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Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
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Romans 2:10
But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
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1 Corinthians 3:8
Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
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Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
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Hebrews 10:34,36
For you had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
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Hebrews 11:26
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect to the recompense of the reward.
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Hebrews 12:1,2,28
Why seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
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1 Peter 3:9-12
Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that you are thereunto called, that you should inherit a blessing.
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2 Peter 1:10,11
Why the rather, brothers, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall:
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Revelation 2:10,17,25-28
Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be you faithful to death, and I will give you a crown of life.
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Revelation 7:14-17
And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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Revelation 22:12
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
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'Concerning the Crown'
... And the Lord from heaven lays down the condition of faithfulness unto death as the
necessary ... And now, lastly, note the power of the reward as motive for life ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/concerning the crown.htm

Christ's Witnesses
... of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.' The motive is the ... The reward for
work is more work. ... He lifts us to the wider one, where the faithfulness of the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/christs witnesses.htm

Watching for the King
... Such faithfulness and wisdom (which are at bottom but two ... for one course of conduct)
find their motive in that ... The reward of the faithful servant is stated in ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/watching for the king.htm

At the Front or the Base
... It is faithfulness that is required in a steward ... a prophet shall receive a prophet's
reward.' Therein He ... the identity in spiritual stature and motive for service ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/at the front or the.htm

Traders for the Master
... also includes spiritual receptiveness and faithfulness, which increase ... of capital,
there will be the same reward. ... about quantity, but about quality and motive. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/traders for the master.htm

Jotham
... to the theocratic constitution of Judah, faithfulness to God ... upon him, and make that
thought a motive for holiness ... before the Lord' will for reward get more ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/jotham.htm

The Servants and the Pounds.
... master, they are tried as to faithfulness and diligence ... does this conception really
weaken the motive to diligence ... although it may diminish his reward, does not ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xxx the servants and the.htm

Parable of the Talents (Matt. , xxv. , 14-30) Compared with that ...
... talents aimed to intimate that the reward depends upon ... been given?" Here again, then,
faithfulness and zeal ... the talents; here equality in motive and disposition ...
/.../section 257 parable of the.htm

C. The Last Stages. Chs. 17:11 to 19:28
... may be deserved, and while the hope of reward should not be the motive for service ...
that when opportunities are the same, greater faithfulness will receive ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/c the last stages chs.htm

The Entrusted Talents.
... and had laid them out with equal faithfulness, give in ... the Reason, the Nature, and
the Reward of his ... Fear is a powerful motive in certain directions and for ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xiv the entrusted talents.htm

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Reward: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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