1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. . . . (10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (11) Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord . . .

Scripture is clear that even those who are truly born again will be held accountable for their actions. The existence of heaven and hell does not mean there is just a single uniform reward and a single punishment in the next life. The Bible is clear that rewards and punishments vary considerably according the wide variations in faithfulness and accountability that exist in the human race. In this page, we will focus on varying punishments and in a link at the end you will a discussion of varying positive rewards.

Punishment varying according to accountability is alluded to in the words of Jesus:

Luke 12:47 That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. (48) But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Jesus again also alluded to greater exposure to God’s grace leaving one open to greater judgment if ignored when he said:

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. . . . (24) If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

And again:

Matthew 11:23 And you, Capernaum . . . will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. (24) But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.

Having witnessed Jesus’ miracles made Capernaum even more accountable than the sinful city of Sodom that had not been blessed with a personal visit from Jesus. This greater demonstration of God’s power and kindness (healings and teaching) exposed the inhabitants of Capernaum to greater punishment when they did not change. Hence, “it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment” than for these people. Our kindness to the undeserving similarly increases the stakes for them.

Again, the book of Hebrews suggests degrees of punishment:

Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (29) How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Punishment might sometimes mean reduced rewards rather than torment and this is possibly what the following refers to. Nevertheless, it implies there is more than just one punishment and one reward:

James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

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Varying Heavenly Rewards