Page 52 - The Remnant Bride

prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the

games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable
wreath, 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 buffet my body and make it my slave,
lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

The imperishable wreath Paul refers to represents the eternal prize toward which he

is striving. He exercises discipline over his body so that he might not be disqualified. Again,
this disqualification is not speaking of the remission of sins, or the receiving of the Holy

Spirit. It is speaking of the fuller salvation of the soul. As Paul spoke to the Corinthians at
an earlier place in the same letter, ““If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but

his soul shall be saved, yet so as through fire” (I Corinthians 3:15). Much loss in the area of
the salvation of the soul will be the portion of many Christians.

Satan has purposely blinded the eyes of the church to the issue of personal reward. If
a saint believes that his lot in eternity will be the same, no matter how he lives his life before

God, he will have an increased temptation to walk carelessly and with little regard to the

ramifications of his behavior. He will have less motivation to walk in a circumspect and
disciplined manner in pursuit of the high calling of God upon his life.
The effects of removing personal reward can be seen in many of the countries of the

world under communism. When personal property is taken away and the profit motive

removed, productivity drops precipitously. When all receive the same reward, no matter
how diligently they labor, performance drops and mediocrity becomes the order of the day.
In the same way, the church has become mediocre. It is hard to tell the saint from the

unsaved. Both groups are subject to the same maladies. The same idols are pursued. Values

are nearly identical. There is little to differentiate the believer from the unbeliever.
Some may question, “Isn’t it selfish for a saint to focus upon reward?” The answer is,

“Not if the reward is something that the Father has told us to pursue.” In the book of
Hebrews we are told of the great heroes of the faith. They were pursuing a goal. They were

looking for a city not built with hands (Hebrews 11:10,16). They were looking to eternal
reward. Yahshua also encouraged His disciples to lay up treasures for themselves in heaven

(Matthew 6:20).
The average saint today is aware of nothing beyond the forgiveness of sins. Most have