“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).
Federal Visionists love verses like this because they think that Jesus is offering a reward for those who pray in secret. They argue that this promise of the reward should help motivate us to pray in secret. Obviously, this is anti-Reformed.
The Reformed faith has always insisted that our only motive for obedience is gratitude. We hear God’s law, then we feel guilty for not being perfect, then we remember the grace of God, then we obey out of gratitude. It’s guilt, grace, gratitude. Anything else, and you are not Reformed.
God may reward us, but we are not supposed to think about this. We are never to be motivated by the promise of rewards. Certainly, God would never base rewards on such works as “praying in secret” or “fasting in secret.” Rewards imply Pelagianism. It is best to ignore those who speak of rewards.
