Is It Sin Or Not?

Q. There are a couple verses in the Bible where it states that Christians will be judged and that it is not our deeds alone the Lord will judge, but the motive which caused us to perform the deed in the first place.

Jesus also spoke of rewards in Heaven and to store up treasures there instead of here on Earth.  Some of these rewards consist of attaining a higher responsibility in Heaven and receipt of Crowns.  My question is: Does striving to receive rewards in Heaven for your deeds on Earth, even in part, constitute a sin?  Deep down how can you not have a selfish motive in doing his work with these kinds of rewards?

A. It’s true that our works will be judged based on the motives of our hearts. (1 Cor 4:5) But Jesus told us to store up treasure in Heaven. (Matt. 6:19-21)  And in 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul used a sports analogy to encourage us to “run in such a way as to get the prize.” He was speaking about getting victory over our sin nature.

This is how we thank the Lord for our salvation.  As long as that’s our motive, there’s no problem. The trouble begins if we ever start thinking that we’re helping to earn or keep our salvation by doing these things, or that because of doing them we deserve something other believers don’t.