Lay Up Treasures in Heaven: What Did Jesus Really Mean?
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
— Matthew 6:19–20
This morning I woke up with these words of Jesus on my mind:
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
I have read those words many times, but this morning a question came to me that I believe deserves much more thought:
How does a Christian actually lay up treasure in heaven?
And perhaps an even bigger question:
What is that treasure for?
I wonder how many Christians have read Matthew 6:19–20 without ever seriously considering what Jesus was telling us to do.
Jesus did not merely tell us not to become attached to earthly possessions. He gave us a positive command:
Lay up treasure in heaven.
That means there is something we can do during this earthly life that has consequences beyond it.
And when we begin connecting these words of Jesus with the rest of Scripture—particularly what the Bible teaches about the Judgment Seat of Christ, or Bema Seat—His statement becomes incredibly important.
Salvation Is Free—but Faithfulness Matters
Before going any further, we need to make an important distinction.
We do not earn salvation by laying up treasure in heaven.
Salvation is the gift of God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works…”
— Ephesians 2:8–9
Our eternal life is based upon what Jesus Christ accomplished for us, not upon what we accomplish for Him.
But Scripture does not stop at verse 9.
The very next verse says:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
— Ephesians 2:10
- We are not saved by good works.
- But we are saved for good works.
- That distinction changes everything.
God has given each believer a life to steward—our time, abilities, opportunities, possessions, relationships, spiritual gifts, influence, and resources.
The question is:
What are we doing with what God has entrusted to us?
Two Bank Accounts
Perhaps one way of understanding Jesus’ teaching is to imagine that every Christian has access to two different accounts.
One is an earthly account.
The other is a heavenly account.
- Everything accumulated in the earthly account eventually stays here.
- Our homes stay here.
- Our bank accounts stay here.
- Our automobiles stay here.
- Our investments stay here.
- Our possessions stay here.
- Even the accomplishments for which people praise us will eventually be forgotten.
- There is nothing necessarily wrong with possessing these things. Scripture does not teach that owning possessions is sinful.
- The danger comes when temporary things become the purpose of our lives.
- Jesus said earthly treasure is vulnerable.
- Moths destroy it.
- Rust corrupts it.
- Thieves steal it.
- And ultimately, death separates us from all of it.
- But then Jesus describes another kind of treasure.
- Treasure that cannot be destroyed.
- Treasure that cannot be stolen.
- Treasure that survives death.
- Treasure already waiting for us in heaven.
That raises the obvious question:
How do we make deposits into that account?
How Do We Lay Up Treasure in Heaven?
I believe Scripture gives us the answer throughout the New Testament.
We lay up treasure in heaven whenever we faithfully use what God has entrusted to us for His purposes rather than merely our own.
- Sometimes that may involve money.
- But heavenly treasure is about far more than money.
- When you help someone who cannot repay you, heaven notices.
- When you give generously without needing recognition, heaven notices.
- When you encourage someone who is discouraged, heaven notices.
- When you forgive someone who has hurt you, heaven notices.
- When you share the Gospel, heaven notices.
- When you serve someone quietly, and nobody applauds, heaven notices.
- When you sacrifice your time to help another person, heaven notices.
- When you use your spiritual gift faithfully, heaven notices.
- When you resist temptation because you want to honor Christ, heaven notices.
- When you endure suffering while remaining faithful to Jesus, heaven notices.
- When you love your neighbor as yourself, heaven notices.
- And perhaps most importantly, God sees the motive behind all of it.
Jesus repeatedly warned about doing righteous things simply to receive recognition from people.
That is why Matthew 6 is so important.
- Jesus talks about giving, praying, fasting—and treasure.
Again and again He makes essentially the same point:
Your Father sees what other people do not see.
- That tells me something remarkable.
- Some of the greatest treasure in heaven may have been accumulated through things nobody on earth ever noticed.
The Bema Seat Connection
This brings us to something I believe many Christians rarely hear taught today.
Every believer will someday appear before Christ.
Paul writes:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”
— 2 Corinthians 5:10
Romans 14:10–12 also teaches that each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
And perhaps the clearest picture appears in 1 Corinthians 3:11–15.
Paul describes a believer's works being tested by fire.
Some are compared with:
- Gold.
- Silver.
- Precious stones.
Others are compared with:
- Wood.
- Hay.
- Straw.
Then comes this extraordinary statement:
“If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:14
There is the connection.
Jesus tells us to accumulate treasure in heaven, and Paul tells us that faithful work for Christ can survive His evaluation and result in reward.
- This judgment is not about determining whether the believer goes to heaven.
- That issue was settled at the Cross for everyone who has placed his or her faith in Christ.
- The Bema Seat concerns our stewardship after salvation.
What did we do with the life He gave us?
What Will Jesus Evaluate?
- This is where the teaching becomes deeply personal.
- Christ is not impressed by the same things that impress human beings.
- People see size.
- God sees faithfulness.
- People see accomplishments.
- God sees motives.
- People see platforms.
- God sees obedience.
- People count followers.
- God measures faithfulness.
Someone may accomplish something that appears enormous to the world, yet if it was motivated primarily by pride or self-glory, what will remain when Christ examines it?
Meanwhile, another believer may quietly care for an aging parent, encourage a struggling neighbor, faithfully teach a small Sunday school class, give sacrificially, pray privately for others, or serve people who can never repay them.
The world may never know that person's name.
But heaven does.
That may be part of what Jesus meant when He said:
“Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”
— Matthew 6:4
Why Would We Need Treasure in Heaven?
This may be the question we overlook most often.
- If we are already saved and will already be with Christ, why do rewards matter?
Scripture appears to connect present faithfulness with future responsibility.
In Jesus’ parable of the minas, the faithful servant hears:
“Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.”
— Luke 19:17
Notice the relationship:
- Faithfulness now → responsibility later.
- The servant was not given responsibility because he had earned salvation.
- He was rewarded because he had been faithful with what had been entrusted to him.
- This becomes especially meaningful when considered alongside Scripture's teaching concerning Christ's coming Kingdom and believers reigning with Him.
- Perhaps the life we are living now is not merely preparation for getting to heaven.
- Perhaps it is preparation for serving Christ in His Kingdom.
- That gives everyday life eternal significance.
The Greatest Commandments Show Us the Way
Jesus made our responsibility remarkably simple.
- Love God.
- Love your neighbor.
- “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
And:
- “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
— Matthew 22:37–39
Maybe we sometimes make Christian service more complicated than Jesus intended.
- You do not need a worldwide ministry to accumulate heavenly treasure.
- You do not need thousands of followers.
- You do not need a theological degree.
- You do not need to be wealthy.
- You simply need to become faithful with what God has placed in your hands.
- Your family.
- Your neighbors.
- Your coworkers.
- Your money.
- Your abilities.
- Your opportunities.
- Your spiritual gifts.
- Your time.
- Your testimony.
- Your life.
The question is not:
“Did I accomplish as much as someone else?”
The question is:
“Was I faithful with what Jesus entrusted to me?”
What Are We Building Today?
First Corinthians 3 forces every Christian to ask a sobering question.
What am I building?
- Gold, silver, and precious stones?
- Or wood, hay, and straw?
We can spend an entire lifetime building something impressive on earth only to discover that very little of it survives the fire of Christ's examination.
Or we can live what appears to the world to be an ordinary life while quietly accumulating treasure that will last forever.
That changes how we look at almost everything.
- A conversation can have eternal value.
- An act of generosity can have eternal value.
- A prayer can have eternal value.
- An hour spent helping someone can have eternal value.
- Sharing Christ with someone can have eternal value.
- Remaining faithful during suffering can have eternal value.
- Forgiving someone can have eternal value.
- Encouraging another believer can have eternal value.
- Even the smallest act performed out of genuine love for Christ can have eternal significance.
Jesus said:
“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple… he shall by no means lose his reward.”
— Matthew 10:42
Think about that.
- Even a cup of cold water can become treasure in heaven.
- Not because the water itself is valuable.
- But because faithfulness is valuable to God.
Where Is My Treasure?
Jesus concludes His teaching with one of the most revealing statements in the Sermon on the Mount:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
— Matthew 6:21
Notice the order.
Jesus does not say:
“Where your heart is, your treasure will follow.”
He says:
Where your treasure is, your heart will follow.
- What we invest ourselves in begins shaping what we love.
- If we spend our lives accumulating earthly treasure, our hearts naturally become attached to this world.
- But when we begin investing our lives in eternity, our hearts increasingly begin longing for the Kingdom that is coming.
- Perhaps this is one reason Jesus commanded us to lay up treasure in heaven.
- He is not trying to take something away from us.
- He is teaching us how to invest in something we can never lose.
One Day We Will Stand Before Him
- Someday every possession we worked so hard to accumulate will belong to someone else.
- Every dollar left in our bank account will be spent by someone else.
- Our houses will belong to someone else.
- Our names will eventually disappear from most people's memories.
- But what was genuinely done for Christ will remain.
- That is why the Bema Seat should not merely frighten believers.
It should motivate us.
- Today is an opportunity.
- Every morning God gives us another day to make eternal investments.
- Another opportunity to love Him.
- Another opportunity to love our neighbor.
- Another opportunity to serve.
- Another opportunity to give.
- Another opportunity to forgive.
- Another opportunity to encourage.
- Another opportunity to share Christ.
- Another opportunity to use whatever He has entrusted to us faithfully.
The Question I Woke Up With
So I return to the thought that came to me this morning.
Jesus said:
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
- What if He meant exactly what He said?
- What if the choices we make today really are preparing something for eternity?
- What if the unnoticed acts of faithfulness in this life will someday be revealed before Christ?
- What if the way we use our time, abilities, resources, opportunities, and spiritual gifts really does matter at the Bema Seat?
- And what if part of preparing for the return of Jesus is learning to live today for what will matter then?
- Suddenly Matthew 6:19–20 is no longer simply a warning against materialism.
It becomes an investment strategy for eternity.
Earth says:
Get all you can now.
Jesus says:
Invest in what you can never lose.
And perhaps the question every follower of Christ should ask at the beginning of each day is simply this:
“Lord Jesus, what can I do with the life You have given me today that will still matter when I stand before You?”
Because one day, the earthly account will close.
But the heavenly account lasts forever.
