As we enter the week of Thanksgiving, Pastor Josh White challenges us to consider something we may not often reflect on: are we thankful not only for the gift of salvation, but also for the opportunity to earn eternal rewards? In Colossians 1:12–14, Paul gives thanks to God for qualifying believers to share in the inheritance of the saints of light—a passage that reveals a profound truth about what God has done for us and what He desires to reward us with.
Two Groups, One Inheritance
The Bible presents humanity in two distinct groups that will be clearly separated at the end of time. Malachi 3:17–18 describes a future day when God will distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve Him and those who do not. Similarly, in Matthew 24, the sheep and the goats are separated at the end of the tribulation. And in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul uses the language of light and darkness to describe the same division.
Who are the saints in light? They are believers—those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and have been transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. That transfer is described in the passage itself: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Only those who are in this kingdom—only those who have been qualified by God Himself—are eligible to share in the inheritance. And that inheritance includes not just eternal life, but also rewards earned through faithful service.
The Difference Between a Gift and a Reward
To understand this passage, we must grasp a critical distinction the Bible makes between gifts and rewards. A gift is given based on the graciousness of the giver—it cannot be earned. A reward is based on the performance of the one who is eligible and qualified to earn it.
The Bible is clear that salvation is a gift. Consider these familiar passages:
Romans 3:23–24 — “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 — “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
No one in eternity will be able to say, “I’m here because I earned it.” Every believer will be there by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
But beyond salvation, there are also rewards. The Greek word for reward is apodosis—a repayment or recompense for something earned. Colossians 3:24 says, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
The Judgment Seat of Christ
One of the most important passages on rewards is 1 Corinthians 3. Paul describes a future event when all believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ—not to be condemned for their sins (those were paid for at the cross), but to have their works tested by fire.
“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become manifest for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”
Verse 14-15 makes the stakes clear: “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved as only through fire.”
Notice carefully: the believer who lives like a child of darkness will still be saved (that’s a gift, impossible to lose), but they will suffer loss—the loss of potential rewards. They will forfeit part of their share in the inheritance.
A Warning to Saints
In Ephesians 5:3–21, Paul speaks directly to believers—to the saints in light—and warns them about the consequences of living like children of darkness. He is not warning unbelievers about losing their salvation; he is warning believers about losing their rewards.
“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints… For you sons of light, be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
This is a sobering warning. The Corinthian church provides a vivid example: a believer living in ongoing, unrepentant sin, and a church that had become dangerously comfortable with it. They assumed their sins were covered, so it didn’t matter how they lived. But Paul’s concern was that they didn’t understand there is more to eternity than just being there.
Sin has consequences—even for believers. It damages relationships, steals joy, and disrupts peace. But the most devastating consequence is the loss of eternal rewards. God desires to reward us for faithfulness, but unfaithfulness forfeits that reward.
It Truly Matters
Pastor Josh closed the message with a simple but profound challenge: “Does it matter how we live? Yes, it does. It actually does.”
How you treat others matters. Whether you serve matters. Whether you give or don’t matters. And it all matters for eternity.
This Thanksgiving week, add one more item to your list of thanks: thank God that by the gift of His grace, you have been transferred from darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son—and that He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. And then ask yourself: will I build on that foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and straw?
The choice you make every day truly matters.
Scripture References
- Colossians 1:12-14 — Qualified to share in the inheritance
- Malachi 3:17-18 — The distinction between righteous and wicked
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 — Children of light vs. children of darkness
- Romans 3:23-24 — Justified by grace as a gift
- Ephesians 2:8-9 — Saved by grace through faith, not works
- Romans 6:23 — The gift of God is eternal life
- Romans 4:1-5 — Works and faith, wages and gift
- Colossians 3:23-24 — Work for the Lord, receive inheritance as reward
- 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 — The judgment seat of Christ and testing by fire
- Ephesians 5:3-21 — Warning to saints about forfeiting inheritance
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 — The Corinthian believer and consequences of sin
- Acts 20:28 — Pay attention to yourselves and all the flock