Different Degrees of Glory # 2
2. There will be certainly different degrees of misery and disgrace in hell, as is evident from Luke 12:47, Romans 2:6-16. And why not, then, different degrees of felicity and honor in heaven? Observe the manner in which the apostle speaks of the different rewards of the ministers of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 3, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. If any man's work shall abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss - but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." If this be true of ministers, it is no less so of all professors.
3. But this appears equally clear, if we consider the nature of those things of which our heavenly felicity will consist. Part of our happiness will arise from the recollection of what we have done for Christ. Memory will supply much of both the torment of hell, and the felicity of heaven - and they who have most to remember will be most happy. Our future happiness or misery will thus, in a great measure, arise out of our conduct here. Every holy action will be the seed of felicity. Did not Paul, when drawing near his end, look back with delight and gratitude, yet with humility, upon his apostolic life, when he exultingly exclaimed, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith," (2 Timothy 4:7). And if such joy was lawful and proper then, what will be the delight of looking back from heaven upon a life of service upon earth; or retracing all the way in which Divine grace has led, sustained, and sanctified us; of reviewing our temptations, conflicts, and triumphs! And this joy will be in proportion to the cause which produces it.
Another part of our felicity will arise from the approbation of God and Christ. This is evident from his representation of the solemnities of judgment (Matt. 25). How blissful to see HIM smile upon us! T hear HIM say, "You have done it unto me. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done. I saw every action of piety, every struggle with temptation, every tear of penitence, every gift of property, every expression of sympathy with a suffering brother, every labor, and every sacrifice. I know your works, and now I reward them by this public testimony." How rich a reward! And of course it must be in proportion to the conduct which will secure it.
Another source of our celestial bliss will be the proofs and the fruits of our usefulness in the cause of God, and of immortal souls. The misery of the wicked in hell will arise, in no small degree, from seeing around them, in that world of despair, those whom they had led there by their evil principles, active effort, and seductive example. By a similar law, the felicity of the saints in heaven will receive everlasting accessions from hearing the songs, and witnessing the raptures of those whom they were the honored instruments in saving from death and conducting to glory. What must be the heaven of such men as Whitefield and Wesley, and of other less distinguished servants of Christ, in beholding before the throne so many whom it was their unutterable privilege to lead there!
Do not all these considerations, then, sustain the fact that there are different degrees of glory in heaven? Can we conceive of heaven without it? Does it not prove itself to every man's judgment?
I come now to answer the OBJECTIONS which some who have not well considered the subject sometimes bring against it.
Is it not opposed to the parable of the laborers hired to go into the vineyard, all of whom received the same wages, whether hired at the third or the eleventh hour? (Matt. 20). I answer, this parable had nothing to do with the subject; its design being, not to represent the distribution of rewards and punishments in a future state - but the calling of the Gentiles to become fellow-heirs with the Jews, in the same church state and gospel privileges.
Does it not set aside salvation by grace, and justification by faith without works? Certainly not. The matter may be stated thus. Nothing performed by a creature, however pure, can merit eternal life. God may freely lay Himself under an obligation to reward the obedience of a holy creature with everlasting life, and His so doing may be fit and worthy of Him. Man having sinned, the promised good is forfeited, and death becomes the only reward of which he is worthy. God, having designs of mercy, sent forth His Son to obey and suffer in their place, resolving to bestow eternal life on all who believe in Him, as the reward of His undertaking. God not only accepts of all who believe in His Son for His sake - but their services also. There can be no rewardable action done by us at all, until we have believed in Christ, and are justified without works; and even then the different degrees of reward that follow, are all granted for the sake of Christ. It is not the result of any worthiness in us - but of Christ's merits. It is therefore a reward wholly of grace, and not of debt, from first to last.
If there are different degrees of glory, will not this be a source of envy and jealousy? It would, if we carried our present imperfections to heaven; but in a world of perfect love to God and perfect love to our fellows, these passions cannot exist. Heaven will be so full of love, as to leave no room for anything else to live there.
If all are perfect, it may be said, how can there be different degrees? All are perfect according to their capacity - but all have not the same capacity. The apostle compares the Christian life to a race, 1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 5:7; Phil. 3:14-16; 2 Tim. 4:7; Heb. 12:1, that I think it may be almost called a scriptural description of the present subject.
And I wish to impress very deeply upon your minds, that this will not only be the result of gracious and equitable appointment - but that it is the tendency of superior piety itself, to prepare us for such distinctions. I believe there is a far more close and intimate connection between a state of grace and a state of glory, than many imagine. We all need a fitness for, as well as title to, heaven -and although everyone is fit who is truly regenerated, and no others - yet the more we are sanctified, the more we are fit for some of the higher services in our Father's house; where, as well as in the church on earth, there will be use and employment for vessels of gold, as well as of silver. There are many professors whose attainments in piety are so slender; whose graces are so languid; whose religion is blended with so much worldly-mindedness; who are at so little pains to grow in grace, that if they are true Christians at heart, and should gain admissions to glory - they seem to be qualified for only some low place in the kingdom of heaven.
~John Angell James~
(continued with # 3)
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