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Subsection
Classifications & Degrees of Sin, & Venial vs. Mortal Sin
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Order of Contents
Summary
Believers: Included in Judgment
Particular Good Works: Particularly Rewarded
Differing Levels of Reward
Judgment will be Proportioned
Do Good for Reward?
Westminster
Articles 4
Contra 1
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A Summary Passage
1 Cor. 3:11-15
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.
If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.”
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That Believers are Included at the Day of Judgement
Eccl. 12:14
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
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Matt 12:35-37
“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
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Matt 16:27
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
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Rom. 2:16
” In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”
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Rom. 14:10,12
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
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2 Cor. 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
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Rev. 20:12,13
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
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Article
1600’s
Manton, Thomas – Sermon 16, on 2 Cor. 5:10 in A Second Volume of Sermons… (London: Astwood, 1684), pp. 97-103 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
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That Particular Good Works will be Particularly Rewarded in Heaven
1 Sam. 24:16,18,19
Saul said… to David… forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
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Ps. 19:8,11
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart… Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
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Prov. 24:12
“If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?”
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Jer. 31:16
Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
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Dan. 12:3
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
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Matt 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
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Matt 5:44-46
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you… For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”
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Matt 6:3-6
“But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does: That your alms may be in secret: and your Father which sees in secret himself shall reward you openly… But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.”
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Matt 6:17-18
“But thou, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; That you appear not unto men to fast, but unto your Father which is in secret: and your Father, which sees in secret, shall reward you openly.”
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Matt 6:20
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
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Matt 10:41-42
“He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
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Luke 6:22-23
“Blessed are ye, 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. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven”
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Luke 6:35
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great.”
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1 Cor. 3:8-9
“Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God.”
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1 John 3:8
“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”
David Brown (†1897) comments:
“A full reward – of grace, not debt: consummated glory. If ‘which YE have wrought’ be read, the reward is that of their “work (of faith) and labor of love.” There are degrees of heavenly reward proportioned to the capability of receiving heavenly blessedness. Each vessel of glory hanging on Jesus shall be full. But the larger the vessel, the greater will be its capacity for heavenly bliss (Is.22:24, “And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.”). He who with one pound made ten, received authority over ten cities; he who made five pounds, received five cities: each in proportion to his capacity of rule, and his faithfulness (Lk. 19:15-19; 1 Cor.15:41, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”). ‘There is no half reward. It is either lost altogether or received in full: full communion with God’ (Bengel). No service of minister or people shall fail of its reward.”
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Rev. 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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Quotes
1500’s
Conrad Bergius
Praexi Cathol. Divin. Canon., Dissertation 7, pp. 963-64 as the Latin is in Richard Baxter, Richard Baxter’s Confession of his Faith… (London: 1655), ch. 10, sect. 3, p. 364, trans. ChatGPT-5 Bergius (1544-1592) was a German reformed theologian.
“Therefore the Papists err grievously when they confuse works taken generally with merits, and as soon as they hear of a pious work being commanded, immediately understand merit and a work spoken of in a legal sense. Likewise, when they hear that a reward is promised, they again understand it juridically and legally, as in some contract of hiring and payment;
whereas reward is commonly called whatever we obtain after preceding labor and difficulties, whose fear might have deterred us from a good purpose, and which are compensated by the sweetness of the good that follows. Such are not only:
(1) the rendering of a good to which a preceding work corresponds in equal worth (that is, merit of condignity)…
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(3) Likewise, the execution of a promise made under a condition—not only of gratefully accepting and not despising the gift (for no donation is so free and pure as not to include this condition), but also of a certain work, besides acceptance and gratitude, required in addition—which therefore is in some sense meritorious, although there is perhaps no equality or commutation between the work and the promised reward;
as if a father promises a jewel to his son who takes bitter medicine, or a prince promises a prize to a subject engaged in an exercise or contest beneficial to him. In this case, the donation is not purely free, since the thing does not begin to be owed as soon as the promise is accepted, but only when the condition is fulfilled; nor is it properly merit of condignity, since the worker benefits himself rather than giving something to another for which he ought to receive an equal price. Hence again it effects nothing properly by its own virtue or dignity, but only from the liberality, magnificence, and mercy of the giver, or of one interceding with him. Yet it is a certain merit improperly so called, which they call merit by covenant.
Something of this kind, with respect to good works in the children of God, to whom God has promised rewards, is admitted by the Apology of the Augsburg Confession [written by Philip Melanchthon] in response to the argument—although others, on account of the ambiguity and great abuse of the term “merit,” not without reason reject it altogether.
[4] Another [kind of merit] is what they call merit of congruity [or proportion], which either seems not to signify merit at all, or involves a contradiction, etc.”
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Ludovicus Crocius
Syntagma, bk. 4, ch. 18, pp. 1130-31, as the Latin is in Richard Baxter, Richard Baxter’s Confession of his Faith… (London: 1655), ch. 10, sect. 3, pp. 369-70, trans. ChatGPT-5 Crocius (1586 – 1653 or 1655) was a German reformed minister, a delegate at the Synod of Dort and a professor of theology and philosophy in Bremen.
“Such works (that obtain a reward) are not only those of condign merit, but also:
(1) the execution of a donation or almsgiving that is entirely gratuitous, which a poor man, humbly and faithfully waiting for it, does not render void by contempt or ingratitude;
(2) the execution of a promise which is made not only under the condition of accepting and not despising the gift (a condition which no donation is so free as not to include), but also of a certain work besides—on which account it is in some sense meritorious, even though there may perhaps be no equality or commutation between this work and the promised reward; as, for example, if a father promises a jewel to his son who takes bitter medicine.
Yet this is not a purely gratuitous donation, since the thing does not begin to be owed as soon as the promise is accepted, but when the condition has been fulfilled; nor is it properly merit of condignity, since the one acting benefits himself rather than gives something to another for which he ought to receive an equal price.
But it is a certain merit improperly so called, which they call merit by covenant. Something of this kind, with respect to good works in the children to whom God has promised rewards, we admit.”
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There will be Differing Levels of Reward in Heaven
Matt 5:19
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
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Matt 18:4
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
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Luke 19:12-26
“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come… And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin… And he saith unto him… Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds… For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
Matthew Poole (†1679) comments:
“The different account the servants brought in, signifies that men do not equally use the gifts with which the Lord blesseth them; some use them well, some ill; some bring honour and glory to God by the use of them, and that some in one degree, and some in another. Some bring him no honour or glory at all. The master’s answer to them upon their accounts, lets us know that every man shall be rewarded according to his work. There will be degrees in glory, (though we cannot well open them), as well as of punishments.”
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1 Cor. 15:39-42
“All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:”
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The Judgement Will be Proportioned to How we Judge Others in this Life, and how much Responsibility and Power we Have
Matt 7:1-2
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
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James 3:1
“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”
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May One do Good partly in Hope of Reward? Yes
Quotes
Order of
Alsted
Mede
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1600’s
Johann H. Alsted
‘On Justification & Good Works in General’ in Theologia polemica, exhibens praecipuas huius aeui in religionis negotio controuersias sex in partes tributa studio (d. 1638) at Nosferatu’s Substack (2024)
“Controversy XVI: Is it lawful to do good for the sake of the eternal reward?
[Romanist] Position of Bellarmine: It is lawful and useful to do good for the sake of the eternal reward as a meritorious work. The saints were moved to true piety in this way, like Moses (Hebrews 11), David (Psalm 119), and Paul (Philippians 3). And the apostles use this argument to exhort to piety (1 Corinthians 9; Galatians 6; Colossians 3).
Orthodox Position: In doing good, we should primarily seek God and His glory as the ultimate end (Colossians 3) and secondarily our salvation. Subordinate ends are not incompatible. And our salvation is closely linked to God’s glory. Moreover, this is done to stir our zeal. And this is what is proved by the cited passages. Care must always be taken to love God for Himself, not for our own benefit, with the love of friendship, not of concupiscence, so that it is not a mercenary friendship. Therefore, Bernard says: ‘God is not loved without reward, though He should be loved without the intention of reward.'”
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Joseph Mede
The Works… (d. 1638; London: 1672), Discourse 34 on Neh. 13:14, pp. 176-77
“I come now to my third [point]: that it is lawful to do good works intuitu mercedis, ‘with an eye or respect to the recompense of reward’.
It is plain that Nehemiah here did so: “Remember me, O my God, concerning this,” etc. [Neh. 13:14] So did Moses, of whom it is said that he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt(Heb. 11:25–26), for, says the text, [Greek] (aspiciebat or intuebatur) [Greek], he had respect unto the recompense of reward.
And, I confess, it seems an unreasonable thing to me [1] that that which is made the end (though but in part) of the action should not be at all looked unto by the agent; whereas finis is principium actionis [‘the end is the principle of the action]; and [2] that that which God has promised unto us as an encouragement, to make us work with the more alacrity, should not be thought on nor looked to in our working. Do not they who would persuade this go the way to discourage men from good works, by removing out of their sight the encouragement which God has given them?
But they object, the obedience of God’s children ought to be filial, that is, free, and not mercenary, as that of hirelings.
I answer: obedience which is only for reward, without all respect or motive of love and duty, is the obedience of a hireling; not that which acknowledges the tie of obedience-absolute, and the reward no otherwise due than of his Father’s free love and bounty, as every true child of God does, and ought to do.
They object again that of the apostle, 1 Cor. 13:5, “Charity seeks not her own.” Now, say they, the works of God’s children must proceed from love and charity.
I answer: what though charity seeks not her own? May not yet a charitable man so much as look or hope for his own, or have an eye to what is promised him? But this place is altogether misapplied and abused: for that property of charity now mentioned (as some also of the rest in that chapter) concerns only our charity towards men, and not our charity towards God; the meaning thereof being that a charitable man will sooner lose his own than, by seeking or contending for it, break the bond of charity.”
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The Westminster Confession
Ch. 16, Of Good Works
“6. Yet notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him;[u] not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight;[w] but that He, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.[x]
[u] Eph. 1:6. 1 Pet. 2:5. Exod. 28:38. Gen. 4:4 with Heb. 11:4.
[w] Job. 9:20. Ps. 143:2.
[x] Heb. 13:20,21. 2 Cor. 8:12. Heb. 6:10. Matt. 25:21,23.”
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33.1
“God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ,[a] to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father.[b] In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged,[c] but likewise all persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.[d]
[a] Acts 17:31.
[b] John 5:22,27.
[c] 1 Cor. 6:3. Jude ver. 6. 2 Pet. 2:4.
[d] 2 Cor. 5:10. Eccl. 12:14. Rom. 2:16. Rom. 14:10,12. Matt. 12:36,37″
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Articles
1500’s
Beza, Theodore – p. 55 in A Book of Christian Questions & Answers… (London, 1574)
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1600’s
Mede, Joseph – Discourse 23 on Mt. 10:41 in The Works… (d. 1638; London: 1672), pp. 84-89 “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward.”
Ward, Samuel – Theological Determinations in Works of Samuel Ward… ed. Seth Ward (d. 1643; Gallibrand, 1658)
‘Good Works Mortified by Sin are Revived by Penitence’, pp. 189-94
The question of whether the merit and reward of good works is returned to Christians after repentance (or penance) for a mortal sin was often discussed in the Middle Ages. Ward here discusses this common place question in a Protestant framework, with much insight.
“However, such [good] works, through a new supervening sin, are said to be mortified, when they are impeded from their own proper effect and operation. For as a living thing through death loses the operation of life, so things are said by analogy to be mortified, when they are impeded from their own proper effect or operation. But the effect of good works which emanate from faith and grace, by divine ordinance and pact, is to lead to
eternal life. This effect, however, is cut off when a grave sin intervenes, by which, as I might say, the said good works are mortified; and they are deprived of their own proper effect and operation of leading to life, so much so that the force of these, while the guilt of that sin lasts, is suspended. We say, however, that these very works, mortified by grave sin, are revived by penitence and recover their former vigor and virtue of leading to life.
Two things, therefore, are to be briefly demonstrated here.
I. That good works are mortified by a new grave sin; in what way the good works of David, perpetrated before he committed homicide and adultery, were rightly said to be mortified while the guilt of these things lasted. This is proved from Rom. 8:13, where the apostle addresses the regenerate: “if you live according to the flesh, you will die,”…
II. The second point that remains to be demonstrated; that these same mortified good works of the regenerate are revived by penitence… the vital force of these works no longer exists in the nature of things, but is preserved in the repository of divine acceptance; and with the impediment of the interposed new sin removed, God again accepts those works unto eternal life.” – pp. 189-90
“Therefore, good works do not entirely lose their salutary force by any grave sin. Let it be that they are mortified for a time. Let it be that their force and efficacy of leading to life is blunted, let it be that it is intercepted, let it be that it is suspended; yet it is not taken away, not extinguished, not abolished, not to die; but with the arrival of a new act of penitence and of trust in Christ our propitiator, they are finally revived, because the interposition of the grave sin is removed, they recover their former vigor and do not cease to exercise their force of leading to life, until all who are truly penitent are crowned, redeemed with a diadem of unfading glory.” – p. 192
‘Good Works have a gracious promise of reward’, pp. 194-97
“We say that the said good works are pleasing and acceptable to God, and indeed have their reward from God, yet not a reward of any preceding merit properly so-called, which would have either an equality with the prize of eternal life, or even a proportion to it; but a reward that is only gracious, resting on the benignity and mercy of God.” – p. 194
Turretin, Francis – 10. ‘Will there be degrees of glory? And will the glory in heaven be equal or unequal and unlike?’ in Institutes of Elenctic Theology, tr. George M. Giger, ed. James Dennison Jr. (1679–1685; P&R, 1994), vol. 3, 20th Topic, p. 621 ff.
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2000’s
Venema, Cornelius – ‘Degrees of Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ in ch. 14 in The Promise of the Future (2000), pp. 405-19
Venema is a professor at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and devotes a chapter of his book to the question of differing levels of rewards and punishments in the afterlife. His discussion surveys all the relevant Biblical data, quotes respected theologians on the subject, and provides the fullest analysis of the issue that is easily available.
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Contra: those Teaching that the Reward of Christians will be the Same in Heaven
Article
1500’s
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – ‘That All Men’s Glory in Heaven shall be Alike’ in The Common Places… (London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583), pt. 3, ch. 17, ‘Of the End of the World’, pp. 389-93
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Related Pages
Bible Verses on Degrees of Punishment in Hell
On the Renovation, New Heavens & Earth & Believers’ Eternal Home