The Crown of Righteousness

“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Hey Gang, one does not have to be a rocket scientist to see that, if Paul was confident of anything, he was confident of God's righteousness.   In other words that He is ‘the righteous Judge" who can be counted on to do what is right.’ And part of God’s righteousness is the fact that He will reward those who have been faithful to Him. Having kept the faith, Paul was confident that his earthly life would be crowned with victory when he stood before the Lord.  Wow, out of sight!!!!

When Paul spoke of the “crown” of righteousness to be given, he used the Greek word stephanos. This was not a reference to the royal crown of a king but rather the victory crown of an athlete. Paul had “fought the good fight . . . finished the race . . . [and] kept the faith” (v.7) — and he was in no doubt about the result. His decision to keep on running, when he might have given up and quit, and, he had many good reasons for quitting, (read 2 Corinthians 11: 23-30 for a listing of what Paul referred to as 'slight afflictions). In other  words. a righteous God will not fail to reward those who have persevered.  And that you can take to the bank!

Yes, we live in a time when blasphemy seems to be a way of life with many folks.   Paul tells us we need to be humbled and sobered and he urged his readers to be careful.  In 2 Corinthians 10:12 he gives this warning,  "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall".   

But he also gives us recourse against being taken down the Prime Rose Path in the following verse: "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow  you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also; so that you will be able to endure it" (v.13).

In other words our Crown of Righteousness will not be in jeopardy, if we choose to remain faithful as Paul did. Nor should our emphasis upon God’s grace mean that we don’t look for Him to reward us. He is, after all, “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

But notice, Paul speaks of the crown being given to those “…who have loved [the Lord's] appearing.” Today, we can have Paul’s same confidence concerning the Crown of Righteousness, but only if we have his same passion for the Lord’s return. God forbid that we should be so in love with this world that we wouldn’t be overjoyed to hear that it was all coming to an end THIS VERY DAY. Paul’s attitude was, “O Lord, come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Soooo, good buddies, our fondest hopes should be set on the “not yet” part of the faith more than on the “already.” Christianity is about receiving the Crown of Righteousness — so we ought not to dread the day of our death (or that of the Lord’s coming) any more than a runner dreads to cross the finish line. To get to the finish is why we run!

Blessings,

 Gramps