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"To Duly Consider the Fear of God and the Love Of Christ"

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-15

When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ

And He shows me His plan for me.

The plan of my life as it might have been

Had He had His way, and I see

How I blocked Him here, and I checked Him there,

And I would not yield my will --

Will there be grief in my Savior's eyes,

Grief, though He loves me still?

He would have me rich, and I stand there poor,

Stripped of all but His grace,

While memory runs like a hunted thing

Down the paths I cannot retrace.

Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break

With the tears that I cannot shed;

I shall cover my face with my empty hands,

I shall bow my uncrowned head...

Lord of the years that are left to me,

I give them to Thy hand;

Take me and break me, mold me to

The pattern Thou hast planned!

These words penned by an unknown source reveal the heart of one who understands the tragedy of most lives called Christian. They never find prosperity and hope and joy in their relationship with God. Yet, in the end, these words reveal much concerning the attitude of the one who sees the futility of His life, and at the same time recognizes the beauty, the love and fearsomeness of God. And this person we will see is also the one who lives life to the fullest and experiences the rewards of right living.

It is my intent at this time to unveil several truths concerning the redeemed that, if understood spiritually, will yield in us both the desire and ability to live that type of life which is abundant with all things good and holy. For the sake of time, let's just dive in. You can keep your Bibles at 2 Corinthians chapter five throughout our time, for that is where we will remain for this span.

Paul opens chapter five in Second Corinthians by talking to us about the future dwelling place of all believers. He describes it as a new home which we, who are God's children, will one day enter. It is said that while we live in a tabernacle, a temporary tent of sorts, that the new dwelling that Christ is preparing is an "eternal house." Jesus called it a mansion with many rooms. Paul tells us that the one who is redeemed does not simply desire to be unclothed, so to speak, to have the tent removed, but rather he tells us that the believer desires (and he uses the word groans) for the tent to be replaced by a new garment, a heavenly dwelling. And so the believer when he dies is not left naked, having been evicted from his temporary dwelling, which is his flesh. But rather, he is transported to a new dwelling in which that which is mortal, thus subject to death, is swallowed up by life. Now this is a grand picture. It shows the believer who sees the beauty of what God is preparing for him, groaning for the day in which that promise will become a reality.

As a result of having composed this picture, Paul then says in verses 9 through 11, "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. {10} For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. {11} Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others;. . ..." (2 Cor 5:9-11 NRSV)

The redeemed then, we should note , know the fear of the Lord. They recognize that while their salvation rest securely in the seal of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts, God will judge them yet. Paul is very clear about the fact that all individuals will one day stand before Christ and be judged by Him according the deeds done in the flesh. He will judge whether they were good or bad, and He will reward them accordingly.

Now let it be clearly understood that the elect of God will not at that time be rejected by Christ because of sins. That is not possible. We have been purchased and God will not let us go after having paid such a price. Yet, it still remains that I will be judged by God and I should fear His authority over me lest I not be what I think I am, and that is one of His children. Interestingly, I believe that the person who truly fears God's right to judge him is demonstrating in his fear the first characteristic that I believe Paul gives us here of a redeemed individual. And so we see that God's children will fear Him because He will judge them.

Later Paul tells us in verse 14 that, ". . . the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." (2 Cor 5:14 NRSV) Now it is well understood by all that death is a necessity. One of the reasons that death is necessary is because sin exists. Paul tells us in First Corinthians that death entered into the world through Adam and that Adam brought this death upon humanity because he sinned. He rebelled against God. As long as sin exists, death will also exist, for the wages of sin is death. This is simple theology for most of us. What is not so simply understood is the dynamic of how Christ's death is a benefit to us. Oh, we know that through that death He became a substitute for the world. He died to save all men. But what doesn't make sense is the fact that we still die. If Christ has died in our stead then why does death yet occur? Now you should recall earlier in chapter five that Paul said, "For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Cor 5:4 NRSV) Christ's death is a benefit to us only if we share in it. Remember, Paul said that when Christ died, all died with Him. Yet all are not resurrected. That is because some refuse to share in His suffering and death. They refuse to receive in themselves vicariously the suffering and death of Christ. Yet, His death is only a benefit to us if we accept it as our own death. And here's the beauty in this: when we accept Christ's death as our own, what happens? We are not unclothed, rather we are further clothed. Go back to the tent analogy. If I refuse to share in the suffering and death of Christ, I must experience my own suffering and death; and when my tent is removed from me I remain homeless and naked. That's why when we see pictures of hell in old gothic depictions of the after live, the residents are naked. Their home is gone. They have no place to live, they simply wander about in aimlessness. And so we can say that the redeemed are those who share in Christ's death rather than experience their own. The second characteristic, then of the redeemed is that God's children share in the death and suffering of Christ.

As a result of having shared in Christ's death we see that the third characteristic of the redeemed is that God's children share in the Life of Christ.

The Wall Street Journal once projected a striking paradox of our time when it reported: "The elms in South Park, Pittsburgh must come down because they are obstructing the monument to Joyce Kilmer. They have lifted their leafy arms so high that passer-bys can no longer read the inscription which begins: 'I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree.'"

In a world where people surrender their rights to preserve themselves, where cities are bombed to protect people, where nations wage war to preserve peace, where spending determines economy, it is tragically appropriate that trees should be sacrificed for a poem about trees.

Isn't it even more ironic that a single Christ would have to die so that we could find forgiveness of our sins? And that my friends is what occurred. God reduced his son to a tiny seed of life, planted that seed into the womb of a virgin and brought it to fullness of life only to cause it to be annihilated upon a wooden cross. And to what end did He do this? Paul says that God sent His son and His son, ". . . died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them." (2 Cor 5:15 NRSV)

You know, we are always talking about health care reform, social service reform, prison reform. We have a plethora of government agencies all funded by the tax dollars of the people and instituted for the purpose of bringing about a better way of life for the citizens of our country and our world. We spend billions of dollars attempting to give every one a fair chance at an abundant life of wealth. Each of us sends thousands of dollars annually to support these programs that attempt to bring about bliss in the people of society. What an erroneous way of living. Why do we as a nation spend so much time, effort and money to provide a temporary quality of life when there exists free of charge a program instituted by God to give life and to give it to the fullest. I am amazed that we don't see this. God's children share in the life of Christ, they live for Christ, Christ lives in them. Christ's life is abundant, filled with joy, hope, assurance of glory and honor and it is eternal. And those who are redeemed have such a life to claim as their own. We the redeemed should see this. And as Christ shared His life with us, let us who live in His life share it with others.

But let us not just share the fact that Christ provides a better way of life for us today. Let us also remember that Christ provides a hope for a completely new life. We read in First Corinthians that, "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Cor 15:19 NRSV) And so that we would be reminded of this fact let's read together verses one through eight. Paul says: "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. {2} For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling-- {3} if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. {4} For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. {5} He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. {6} So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord-- {7} for we walk by faith, not by sight. {8} Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." (2 Cor 5:1-8 NRSV) You see, when physical death occurs in the life of a believer his mortality is swallowed up by life. And if it is swallowed up then what remains is eternal. God not only provides for His children the necessary ingredients for an abundant life on this plain, but He also provides for eternal perfection in the next life. And what strikes me as being so wonderful is that none of this occurs as a result of our jockeying for position in heaven through good deeds and faithful living. These are by-products of God's work in us. Who is it that prepares us for eternal life in heaven? God does. He prepares us for our solid home which will never be removed from our possession. In the knowledge that God is the one who prepares us for our stay in His mansion, one should find the encouragement needed to face life's pains and sorrows well. Matthew Henry wrote that "the believer's assurance of his interest in this future blessedness" comes "From the experience of the grace of God, in preparing and making him meet for this blessedness. He that wrought us for the self-same thing is God." He continues, "Note, All who are designed for heaven hereafter are wrought or prepared for heaven while they are here; the stones of that spiritual building and temple above are squared and fashioned here below. And he that hath wrought us for this is God, because nothing less than a divine power can make a soul partaker of a divine nature; no hand less than the hand of God can work us for this thing. A great deal is to be done to prepare our souls for heaven, and that preparation of the heart is from the Lord." And so we ought to be encouraged because we see that that which we groan for, the new heavenly place, is that thing for which we suffer and die in Christ. And all of this, all of these things that have been said concerning the characteristic of a believer are the result not of the believers efforts but they are the result of God's movement in our lives.

All of this smacks of the sovereignty of God. The person who diligently studies the Word of God and allows His spiritual eyes to be opened cannot help but see that God is responsible for the changes wrought in sinful man. God creates in us a holy fear of Him as He reveals to us His sovereign right to judge us. He births in us a willingness to share in the death of Christ as He reveals to us the futility of our lives. He, through the substitute, places us in a position of security and hope for eternity. And He, through our sharing in the suffering of Christ, prepares us for that eternity. All these things when seen by the spiritual eye of man reveal to him that God is sovereign and in that revelation man is moved to respond.

First of all, Paul says in verse 9 that as a result of understanding the new dwelling place that will be ours and the fact that God is in the process of making sure that we will ready for it, the believer makes it his "goal to please him, (God) whether at home in the body or away from it." The one who understands what God has done for Him is also the one who will be seen attempting to please God for the simple fact that his heart is thus disposed to due so. None of this attempting, mind you, is done to make God love us more. He cannot love us more than perfectly.

Secondly, we hear Paul saying that because he sees God's authority to judge all men he fears God. As a result of fearing God, the believer, Paul says in verse 11, tries to "persuade men." He also said in verse 14 that Christ's love compels the believer. What does the fear of God and the love of Christ compel the believer to persuade others? Well in verse 17 and 18 we read that, ". . . if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" This we have established. "{18} All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ," this we have also seen. What we are now learning, as Paul continues, is that through all of this God ". . .has given us the ministry of reconciliation;" (2 Cor 5:17-18 NRSV) And so the redeemed of God are urged on by the fear of God and the Love of Christ to live lives pleasing to God and also persuade others to be reconciled to God that they might also live lives pleasing to God.

An article once appeared in Christianity Today in which someone related the following:

Our pastor's sermon ran overtime a couple of weeks ago. And though he tried to compensate, I still think it was a mistake when he closed the service by saying, "Because we're running late, let's sing just verse one of our closing hymn, Take Time to be Holy."

It prompted me to recall other occasions when I sang the closing hymn with something other than pious reflection.

Like the time the pastor was preaching on Faith in the Nuclear Age, and we closed with Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Or the time we had a presentation from the local suicide prevention hotline, and a few minutes later we were singing, Take My Life and Let It Be.

Or the time a sermon on "The Dangers of Contemporary Music" was followed by the song leader directing us to sing Rock of Ages.

Or the time a presentation on the New Age Movement was followed by singing several hymns, including Channels Only and Make Me a Channel of Blessing.

Or the series on the Seven Deadly Sins, which, after the sermon on gluttony and weight control, saw the congregation heartily sing, And Can It Be That I Should Gain? and How Great Thou Art.

When it comes to planning church services, Yogi Berra was right. It ain't over till it's over. Well folks its over. I have taken my time and said my peace. I pray that God's truth has been revealed to you today and that you have been encouraged to live your life for Christ and to persuade others to do the same. If however you still lack conviction in this area listen closely the Spurgeon's words as I close.

"How much owest thou unto my Lord? Has he ever done anything for thee? Has he forgiven thy sins? Has he covered thee with a robe of righteousness? Has he set thy feet upon a rock? Has he established thy goings? Has he prepared heaven for thee? Has he prepared thee for heaven? Has he written thy name in his book of life? Has he given thee countless blessings? Has he laid up for thee a store of mercies, which eye hath not seen nor ear heard? Then do something for Jesus worthy of his love. Give not a mere wordy offering to a dying Redeemer. How will you feel when your Master comes, if you have to confess that you did nothing for him, but kept your love shut up, like a stagnant pool, neither flowing forth to his poor or to his work. Out on such love as that! What do men think of a love which never shows itself in action? Why, they say, 'Open rebuke is better than secret love.' Who will accept a love so weak that it does not actuate you to a single deed of self-denial, of generosity, of heroism, or zeal! Think how he has loved you, and given himself for you! Do you know the power of that love? Then let it be like a rushing mighty wind to your soul to sweep out the clouds of your worldliness, and clear away the mists of sin. 'For Christ's sake' be this the tongue of fire that shall sit upon you: 'for Christ's sake' be this the divine rapture, the heavenly afflatus to bear you aloft from earth, the divine spirit that shall make you bold as lions and swift as eagles in your Lord's service. Love should give wings to the feet of service, and strength to the arms of labour. Fixed on God with a constancy that is not to be shaken, resolute to honour him with a determination that is not to be turned aside, and pressing on with an ardour never to be wearied, let us manifest the constraints of love to Jesus. May the divine loadstone draw us heavenward towards itself."

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