2 Timothy 4:8

henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.

Henceforth ... means that the next thing in order is for Paul to receive the crown.

Crown of righteousness ... Hervey thought the crown of righteousness here means "that crown the possession of which marks the wearer as righteous before God";[18] whereas White believed that "it is the crown which belongs to, or is the due reward of, righteousness";[19] however, the view here is that it is most certainly BOTH. Without the righteousness of keeping the word and commandments of the Lord, none shall receive that crown; but all of the righteousness of a Christian cannot make him ultimately and truly righteous in the eyes of the Lord, THAT righteousness being the achievement of Jesus Christ alone. However, the crown of righteousness at the last day will endow all who are truly "in Christ" with the sum total of our Lord's own righteousness. Analogous expressions are "the crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4) and "the crown of life" (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). Of course, all of these are used metaphorically, crowns being the earthly symbol of the glory, power and majesty of kings, they are also, by metaphor, fitting symbols of the rewards, honors and glory of Christians in the world to come.

The Lord, the righteous judge ... There is an unstated but obvious contrast here between the righteous Lord and the unjust judge before whom Paul had stood to be condemned.

Shall give to me at that day ... It should be noted that Paul said nothing of any who would be crowned in some "first resurrection." He spoke of only one day, only one occasion, that of the Second Advent of our Lord, as being the occasion when all of the redeemed would receive the crown of life.

To all who have loved his appearing ... One cannot escape the overwhelming emphasis upon the doctrine of the Second Coming in a statement like this. Those who are finally to be saved are precisely those who love, and longingly await, the coming of Christ in judgment. How many professed Christians can meet this test? The great design of the Lord's Supper was that it should be observed by the faithful "until he come"; and it is a loss of interest in Jesus' Second Coming that contributes to the omission and forsaking of the Lord's table by vast multitudes of the secular church of this age. Why should Christians love the appearing of Christ in judgment? It will mean that the glory of Jesus Christ will then be apparent to all men; the time of probation shall have ended; the reward of the righteous shall be received; and God shall rise in holy wrath and cast evil out of his universe.

[18] A. C. Hervey, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21,2Timothy (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 59.

[19] Newport J. D. White, op. cit., p. 178.