The Problem With Reward and Punishment

A friend at work made the comment "I would rather serve God out of love than for reward or for fear of punishment." This is a very good point and raises some very reasonable questions:

1. Does the existence of heaven and hell require a Christian to be motivated by reward and/or fear?
2. Is it true that a Christian with saving faith is motivated to serve God out of fear, reward or simply out of love for God?

Fear of Hell?

I think it would be quite unusual if the thought of Hell, especially as described in the Bible, does not stir at least a little fear in people. Jesus said a lot about hell, but a few of His strongest statements were:

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Luke 12:5, ESV).

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43, ESV).

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8, ESV).

Assuming these words are true, if these verses do not instill fear in you, then I'm not sure what would. Should you not think that these words affect you, consider that it only takes one lie to become a liar (websters defines a liar as one who has lied).

The appropriate question then is whether or not it is legitimate to be motivated by fear. It can be shown that not all fear is undesirable or unhealthy. In fact, fear is a common part of everyday life and often prevents us from doing something that could put our lives in jeopardy. Similarly, the right amount of stress can motivate you to perform well at work, to prepare for a speech or to run a race. For an example of how fear helps you, consider a sign posted near a steep and unstable area near a ski boundary stating the following:

DANGER! AVALANCHE AREA! KEEP OUT!

As you inch a little closer to the boundary and look over the nearly vertical cliff edge, a brisk wind suddenly picks up behind you pushing strongly on your back. Immediately, a hot flash of fear streaks through your body and you immediately kneel down and move away from the edge. When you catch your breath, the thought of staying far away from the edge sticks firmly in your mind. Fear keeps you from endangering yourself further.

Another example would be walking across a street as you are talking to someone (and not paying attention) and suddenly, you look up and see that the red hand illuminated and look to your side to see a large bus coming straight for you. The fear you experience convinces you without a second thought to get out of the way of danger to the safety of the sidewalk on the other side of the street. It even "supercharges" you by invoking an adrenaline response.

Or how about when you are hiking and see 2 bear cubs in front of you. Your understanding of the mindless defense mechanisms that the nearby mother might make should you continue towards them causes a fear in you that prevents you from putting your life in needless peril.

Clearly then, fear is a normal part of life and in healthy measure protects us from harm and keeps us safe. Of course, there are those who smile in the face of fear (and even death) and live off the exhilaration from the adrenaline rush they get from putting themselves into near death experiences. And there are also those who allow fear to paralyze them from doing just about anything for even very remote chances of embarassment, pain or death. But clearly, we make decisions on whether or not to do something based upon knowledge of the effects of our action or an assessment of the risk to our health or very life. Who would drink arsenic for fun?

I propose that to be partly motivated by fear of Hell in order to repent and obey God's commands is both reasonable and good. Clearly, by not doing so we put our eternal life in jeopardy. Besides, should you choose to disobey God's requirements for salvation, you have everything to lose if hell is true and by comparison nothing but a brief life filled with sinful pleasure to lose if it is not true. I plan to address whether or not Hell is itself reasonable in another post.

The Wise King Solomon finishes the Book of Ecclesiastes with the following:

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden; whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NASB).

Lastly, those who are living in obedience to God's commands do not have to fear. The fear has already done its work to drive them to the cross in repentance and now God's love covers and protects them provided they continue to abide in Him. This by no means is a guarantee of bliss in this life on earth -- even Jesus (God Himself in the flesh) had much trouble in this life (think about that one for a moment!). But this life is but a single breath compared to the next. There really is no comparison.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also we are in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:15-18, ESV).

Doing Good for Rewards?

The next question is whether or not the Christian is (or even should be) motivated to serve God out of desire for reward or simply for altruistic purposes (ie. for love of God alone with no regard for self). Certainly, serving God with no regard for oneself sounds like the pinnacle of goodness. While it is logical to turn to God and follow His requirements to avoid punishment (discussed above), does it also follow that we should lay aside all our own will and follow God's will as spelled out in the Bible with no consideration for the rewards? First of all, heaven is a gift prepared for those who have been justified by God's grace apart from works, and is not a reward for doing good things:

Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law (Romans 3:27-28, NASB).

But the truth is that it is difficult if not absolutely impossible to not be motivated to do good for rewards. Often, the first thing that comes to mind is material rewards. However, even if we obey God out of love, we are doing so to please God and seek His approval which is a reward in and of itself.

And 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 11:6, NASB).

It is neither unreasonable nor wrong that God would bless us in return for loving Him. Not to even mention that when we realize what the God of the universe chose to go through for our sake, while we were dead in our sins He humbly took on human form and lived a lowly life as a servant, lived a sinless life despite great temptation in fulfillment of God's law and then, although sinless and uncondemned by the law, offered His body as a sacrifice to provide payment for our sin by taking it upon Himself.... not offering ourselves completely to Him in His service as a token thank offering is unconscionable.

I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [ie. set apart], pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1, MKJV).

It is only reasonable to give everything to God because of what He has done for you and I. And He is faithful, keeping His promises to us and showing His love to us -- not because of our faithfulness, but because of His faithfulness. Although, by ignoring His requirements, we are choosing to reject Him after He has done everything to reach out to us.

And I said,"O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments..." (Nehemiah 1:5, ESV).

I hope this article caused you to think and helped to answer/address your question/concern. Please post your feedback/comments!