...what believers do in this life will have consequences for the life to come - figures like those of sowing and reaping, grain and ear, ripening and harvest. Paul teaches that a person may build on the foundation of faith in Christ with lasting materials like gold, silver, or precious stones, so that in the consummation his or her work may survive and he may receive a reward (1 Cor. 3:10-15). The book of Revelation speaks about the deeds which shall follow those who have died in the Lord (14:13). It is clear from passages of this sort that what Christians do for the kingdom of God in this life is of significance also for the world to come. There is continuity, in other words, between what is done for Christ now and what we shall enjoy in the hereafter - a continuity expressed in the New Testament in terms of reward or joy (1 Cor. 3:14; Matt. 25:21,23).
Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, p. 74
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