Article 48

By Steven J. Hogan

Your future as a Christian is not just that you will be in heaven someday – it’s so much more than that. If you are saved, if you are born again, then you have this hope – which is summed up as being with Jesus Christ, being with fellow believers, being in a brand-new body, and being in your heavenly home. This is what will happen if you are just born again, if you are just saved, which is very good news! But if during the course of your Christian life, you love the Lord, you serve and obey Him, then you will also be greatly rewarded, and beyond imagination! Do you realize that you will be rewarded for living for the Lord, for whatever you do for Him? “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:23-24). “To Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think… to Him be the glory…” Eph. 3:20-21

No words can truly and adequately describe your future. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). But always remember that your greatest reward, your greatest future blessing is the Lord Himself. “And so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). All other rewards you receive from the Lord relate directly to your personal and eternal relationship with Him. “In your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11

We are now living in the end-times, the last years before Christ’s return to rapture the church. This means it won’t be long before all believers from all time will be gathered together and then individually receive their rewards, their inheritance from Him. “Behold I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according to what He has done.” (Rev. 22:12). “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3

Listed below are over 150 verses about God’s future plans for you, about your eternal life after this short life on earth. Your heavenly Father gives you His word, and many words at that, because He wants to give you a little taste of your incredible, wonderful, and amazing future. Might you read every one of these verses, and take the time to think about them. As you do, you will be greatly encouraged for they all speak about what God has in store for you. You will also grow in your love for God, for He is giving you a good glimpse of how He will love you in the future. And you will be more motivated to love the Lord, to serve and obey Him every day. “How (eternally) blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How (eternally) blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart.” Psalm 119:1-2

* Job 19:25-27 – “I know that My Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me.” 
* Psalm 11:7 – “For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face.”
* Psalm 16:11 – “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
* Psalm 17:15 – “And I – in righteousness I will see Your face – when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness.”
* Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
* Psalm 31:19 – “How great is Your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You.”
* Psalm 67:1, 7 – “May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth… God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.”
* Psalm 73:24-25 – “You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You, and besides You, I desire nothing on earth.”
* Psalm 84:1-2 – “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my flesh and my heart cry out for the living God.”
* Psalm 84:4 – “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house. They are ever praising You.”

* Psalm 100:3-5 – “We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.”
* Psalm 117:2 – “For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”
* Psalm 121:8 – “The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forever.”
* Psalm 145:2, 13 – “I will exalt You, my God, the King; I will praise Your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise You, and extol Your name forever and ever… Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
* Isaiah 40:11 – “Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him.”
* Isaiah 57:1-2a – “The righteous man perishes, and no one takes it to heart; and devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, he enters into peace.”
* Matthew 5:3, 10 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
* Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.”
* Matthew 5:12 – “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
* Matthew 5:44-45a – “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father, who is in heaven.”

* Matthew 6:3 – “When you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
* Matthew 6:6 – “When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
* Matthew 6:20 – “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”
* Matthew 10:41b – “… he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.”
* Matthew 19:28-29 – “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
* Matthew 24:46-47 – “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when He comes. Truly I say to you that He will put him in charge of all His possessions.”
* Matthew 25:21 – “Well done, good and faithful slave, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.
* Mark 10:29-30 – “… he will receive a hundred times as much now in this present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.”
* Luke 6:22-23 – “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.”
* Luke 6:35 – “Love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”
* Luke 6:38 – “Give and it will be given to you.”

* Luke 12:37 – “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when He comes; truly I say to you, that He will gird Himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.”
* Luke 12:32 – “Do not be afraid little flock for the Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”
* Luke 12:33 – “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys.”
* Luke 12:37 – “Blessed are those slaves whom the Master will find on the alert when He comes; truly I say to you, that He will gird Himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.”
* Luke 12:42-44 – “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom His master will put in charge of His servants, to give them their rations at the proper time. Blessed is that slave whom His master finds so doing when He comes. Truly I say to you that He will put him in charge of all His possessions.”
* Luke 16:9 – “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into eternal dwellings.”
* Luke 19:16-17 – “The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’”
* John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
* John 4:14 – “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
* John 7:37 – “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

* John 11:25-26 – “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if He dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”
* John 12:26 – “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
* John 14:2-3 – “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places… for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
* John 14:21, 23 – “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
* John 17:24 – “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which you have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
* Acts 20:32 – “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
* Acts 26:18 – “… to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
* Romans 5:2 – “We exult in hope of the glory of God.”
* Romans 5:5 – “Hope does not disappoint us because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
* Romans 8:18, 23, 25 – “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us… waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body… if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

* Romans 8:29 – “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
* 1 Corinthians 2:9 – “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
* 1 Corinthians 3:8, 14-15 – “Each will receive his own reward according to his own labor… if any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved as through fire.”
* 1 Corinthians 4:5 – “… wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts, and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
* 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 – “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wrath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
* 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 – “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
* 1 Corinthians 15:53 – “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
* 2 Corinthians 4:17 – “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.”
* 2 Corinthians 5:1, 8 – “If this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands… We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
* Galatians 4:7 – “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

* Ephesians 1:13-14 – “You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
* Ephesians 2:6-7 – “But God… because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
* Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
* Philippians 1:21 – “To live is Christ and to die is gain… I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.”
* Philippians 3:12 – “I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
* Philippians 3:20-21 – “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.”
* Colossians 1:5 – “… because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.”
* Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
* Colossians 3:23-24 – “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.”
* 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 – “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
* 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 5:10 – “… so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words… so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
* 1 Timothy 6:18-19 – “Instruct those who are rich in this present world… to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they might take hold of that which is life indeed.” 
* 2 Timothy 2:11 – “It is a trustworthy statement; for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.”

* 2 Timothy 4:7-8 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future 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.”
* Titus 3:7 – “… that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
* Hebrews 6:10 – “God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.”
* Hebrews 11:6 – “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
* Hebrews 11:10 – “He was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
* Hebrews 11:13, 14, 16 – “All these died in faith without receiving the promises… For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own… But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
* Hebrews 11:24-26 – “By faith Moses… choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking ahead to his reward.”
* Hebrews 11:35 – “… and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection.”
* Hebrews 12:2 – “… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
* Hebrews 12:22-24 – “You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God. You have come to thousands and thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.”

* James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love Him.”
* James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
* 1 Peter 1:4 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
* 1 Peter 1:13 – “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
* 1 Peter 5:4 – “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
* 1 Peter 5:10 – “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
* 2 Peter 3:13 – “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
* 1 John 3:2-3 – “Now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
* 2 John 2:8 – “Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.”
* Revelation 1:6 – “He made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father – to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.”
* Revelation 2:17 – “To Him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one else knows but he who receives it.”
* Revelation 2:26-27 – “He who overcomes, and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.”

* Revelation 3:12 – “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore.”
* Revelation 3:21 – “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne.”
* Revelation 5:10 – “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
* Revelation 5:13 – “And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’”
* Revelation 7:9-10 – “And behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”
* Revelation 7:16-17 – “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
* Revelation 19:7 – “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
* Revelation 21:4, 7 – “He will wipe away very tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away… He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be His God and he will be My son.”
* Revelation 21:10-21 – “… and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper… and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”
* Revelation 22:3-4 – “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”

BEHOLD, I AM COMING SOON, AND MY REWARD IS WITH ME, TO GIVE TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO WHAT HE HAS DONE. REVELATION 22:11