Author Interview: Brian Huizinga on Crowning His Gifts

The following Q&A with author Brian Huizinga is on the book Crowning His Gifts: Gracious Rewards in the Reformed Tradition (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2024). This review was originally published in the Grandville Gleaner, the newsletter of Prof. Huizinga's home congregation.

Question: What was your motivation/purpose for writing your thesis (which became the basis for this book) on this topic?

Answer: My goal with this topic is to help fill a small gap in Reformed theology. Reformed theologians touch on various aspects of the subject of rewards, but I discovered that there is no book devoted to a thorough examination of this topic. I was spurred onward by controversy in [the Protestant Reformed] churches a few years ago and wanted to provide a helpful guide on a subject often fraught with difficulty.

Q: What dangers do you see in Reformed theology ignoring the aspects of reward in Scripture either due to fear or misunderstanding, or worse, false doctrine teaching merit? Does your book address this question?

A: My book addresses both of these dangers. The first danger is that we come to think that our good works can merit rewards with God. The Roman Catholic church has always appealed to biblical passages teaching rewards as alleged proof that our good works must be meritorious in some sense, and that they must count toward our righteousness before God in justification. On account of Rome’s teaching, the main thrust of the Reformed faith regarding rewards has been the teaching of Lord’s Day 24 of the Heidelberg Catechism: Yes, God rewards our good works in this life and the next, but the reward is not of merit. The reward is of grace! The second danger is that we develop an unhealthy fear of rewards and view any positive mention of them with suspicion. To ignore rewards is to ignore large portions of Scripture, especially in the teaching of Jesus, and it takes away a sweet stimulus that God uses to excite us to faithfulness. What I love about the Reformed faith, as expressed in the Three Forms of Unity, is its balance. It is so easy to get out of balance in our thinking and develop extremes in one way or the other, and when we do that in life or theology we run into all sorts of problems. In my book I aim to provide a careful treatment of rewards that does not fall into the ditch on either side of the way of orthodoxy.

Q: An interesting contrast to the proper motivation for good works was brought out when describing “mercenary service.” There is a whole section in the book for this, but can you provide a brief summary of this and why this distinction is important?

A: The reformers always warned God’s people against viewing the Christian life as one of mercenary service. A mercenary is a soldier who gets paid to come fight on behalf of a nation to which he does not belong. He has no personal history in or connection to that nation, knows none of its citizens, and has no real interest in its welfare. He is only interested in earning a wage, and while some men earn a living as farmers, blacksmiths, or merchants, he earns his as a mercenary soldier. We may never serve God as mercenaries who have no real interest in knowing Him and advancing His name, but only want to get something from Him. The attitude looks like this: What’s in it for me? Rewards? Really? God rewards obedient Christians? Okay, sounds great! I want to be a Christian, and I will try to keep God’s commandments so that I can get something. But if I don’t get anything exciting out of serving in church office, loving my spouse, witnessing to my neighbor, or being an honest employee, then what’s the point of striving to be faithful? Mercenary service in God’s kingdom is not heartfelt obedience in love for God. So, what is a proper motive for obedience? And may we be excited by the thought of getting a reward? Read chapter 7 of the book.

Q: It is a trait of our human nature that we are incentivized by rewards. Workers are incentivized in business with compensation bonuses. Shoppers are enticed to purchase more with the promise of a future discount. It is rare for businesses not to offer rewards programs now. It is clear that rewards incentivize behavior in our human nature. How is the concept of godly rewards similar or different in theology?

A: Earthly rewards are always attractive and desirable, and so are God’s. However, God’s rewards are different in that they are not perishable and fleeting like credit card rewards in travel points, gift cards, or cash back. God’s rewards are eternal. Another significant difference is captured in the title of the book, Crowning His Gifts. Our good works of obedience are God’s gifts to us in the sense that His Holy Spirit works in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Without the gift of God’s mighty grace operating in our hearts, we would never have the desire or ability to do good works of obedience. But God not only gives us that gift of obedience, He crowns it with His rewards. We may not boast or take credit for anything but owe all praise and gratitude to God. However, that is not how it works with a credit card rewards program. Your Capitol One Visa card can give you some attractive rewards for points earned, but the credit card company does not give you the breath of life, strength, and money to make the original purchases that earned the rewards. You must earn your credit card rewards with your own strength and purchases. When your Capital One credit card rewards you, it does not crown its own gifts, it crowns your efforts. To underscore divine grace, Augustine, and then the reformers and Reformed confessions after him, always described the rewards of Scripture as God crowning His own gifts.

Q: What is a main takeaway you would like readers to consider in why they should read the book?

A: First, I hope the readers will see how great our God is for Jesus’ sake. He is not only mindful of us and saves us, but He promises to reward us in His grace. Idols are cruel, and their worshippers live in fear of offending them. Our God is gracious and a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Second, I hope the readers come to appreciate how clear the Reformed faith is in making numerous helpful distinctions for a proper understanding of rewards.

Third, I hope the readers will be encouraged to be faithful and committed to obeying God. A more long-term goal is that the content of this book will stick in our hearts and minds so that when we and our children are tormented by all the forces of evil under the tyranny of the antichristian world kingdom, this thought will give us added encouragement to persevere: on the other side of all this suffering is a crown for me from my Lord.

Brian Huizinga is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament Studies at the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches in Wyoming (MI). He is also an editor of the Standard Bearer magazine. Before his appointment to professorship, he served for eight years in the pastoral ministry in Redlands, California. Crowning His Gifts is his first book.