I want to ask each one of you
sitting here within the sound of my voice, young and old, boys
and girls alike, a very personal and in some ways a very simple
question, but a question perhaps more than many others, if not
more than any others, will help you to know precisely where you
stand before the living God. And the question I want to ask
you, that simple, personal, pointed question, is this. Who are you
living for? Not a complicated question. Who
are you living for? According to the Scriptures,
Every one of you is living basically for one of two people. You're either living for someone
who is small, insignificant, and in reality unworthy of being
the object of your life. Or you're living for one who
is great and glorious and infinitely worthy of being the one for whom
you live. Who are you living for? The youngest child who can take
my question and process it in his brain and at least grasp
the elements of what it means, that child is living for someone. Someone worthy to be lived for
or someone unworthy to be lived for? The oldest man or woman
in this building is living for someone, someone worthy to be
lived for, someone unworthy to be lived for. And we're going
to answer that question looking together at a text found in Paul's
second letter to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, where
we read in verse 15 these words, And he that is Christ died for
all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves,
but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again. No longer living unto themselves
but live unto Him. There's the two people for whom
each of us is living, one or the other. Sitting here tonight,
every one of you, regardless of age, regardless of background,
regardless of understanding, every one of you is either living
for yourself or you're living unto Him who died and rose again. And as we attempt to wrestle
with this question and the guidance this text gives us in wrestling
with that question, I want you to note with me, first of all,
who we all live for by nature. When Paul writes these words,
he is explaining what makes him and his fellow laborers in the
gospel tick. He's explaining to these Corinthians
what makes him what he is as a man and as a servant of Christ. And in that setting, he said
in verse 14, for the love of Christ constrains us, that is,
it holds us in its grip. Christ's love for us as his servants
so seizes hold upon us that there are times, he says, when we may
appear out of our tree. Notice, he says in the earlier
part of the text, verse 13, whether we are beside ourselves, it is
unto God, or whether we are of a sober mind, it is unto you.
There are times when the apostle was so constrained by the love
of Christ in selfless service that people accused him of being
out of his tree, having something less than a full load. And he
says, if that's so, then you must understand that something
has taken hold of us, the love of Christ has taken hold of us,
and that love having taken hold of us has changed us from what
we once were. For we once were what all men
are by nature, creatures who live unto themselves. Now that's not the way God intended
us to be. When we turn to Genesis chapters
1 and 2 and read the account of the original creation, we
see God creating the man and the woman in his own image, placing
them down in a perfect environment, in a perfect relationship with
each other, giving to them a standard of obedience that was reasonable,
and the creature, man, Adam, and Eve, in that context of a
perfect environment, with no bent to evil, found their delight
and their joy in living unto the God who made them. Doing
His will, enjoying communion with Him, seeking to glorify
Him in His world was the deepest delight of Adam and Eve. It was
their blessedness as well as their joy. But when sin entered,
all of that turned inward upon themselves and from the tragic
fall recorded in Genesis chapter 3 to this very hour, each of
us by nature is a creature who lives unto himself. Sin brought about nothing less
than this horrible, wretched tyranny of self-centeredness. When God was pushed out of the
place of being the one unto whom Adam and Eve were living, rushing
into that vacuum of a vacated God came a new God called Self. And so when the apostle writes
these words, he can assume that all men, without distinction
in terms of who they live for by nature, live unto themselves. And very early this shows itself
in little ones. You see it in petulant, pouting
self in a little toddler, in hot-tempered tantrum self. You see it in their greedy, selfish
self. Soon it merges into lying, manipulative
self, into whining, sneaky self. And as the human soul and mind
develops, the ability to express this obsession with living to
self multiplies in tragic and in horrible ways. No wonder the
prophet could say, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have
turned every one of us to what? To his own way. In other words, we have all turned
to living unto ourselves. Now in some people, the living
unto self finds expression in a life of open, evident, obvious,
and in many cases, a disgusting lifestyle of lawlessness and
debauchery. In others, it expresses itself
in moral, upright, cultured, refined self-centeredness. But the common denominator of
every fallen son and daughter of Adam is that by nature he
lives unto himself. His own pleasure, his own satisfaction,
the seeking of his own ends, the pursuit of his own happiness
by his own rules and his own standards he lives unto himself
so that the apostle can write and that he died for all that
they who live should no longer live unto themselves because
he knows that by nature each of us does indeed live unto himself. Who are you living for? Unless
you've been transformed by the grace of God, while I know little
of the specific details of your life, this much I can say on
the authority of the Word of God, you live for yourself. You live for yourself. Who we
all live for by nature, we live for this idol called self. But then note, secondly, who
some live for by the power of God's grace. According to our
text, there are some, like the Apostle Paul and his companions,
who live unto Him who for their sakes died and rose again. Some, by the power of God's grace,
no longer live unto or for themselves, but they live unto Him. And the Him in this passage is
obviously the crucified and the risen Christ. He is referred
to as the one who died and who rose again. A clear reference
to the Lord Jesus. He was the subject of verse 14,
the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge that one
died for all, therefore all die. So the apostle is saying with
respect to himself and his companions, and as we shall see, this was
true of him not because he was an apostle, but because he was
a Christian. Because in the language of verse
17, he was in Christ. and being in Christ was a new
creation. So that when he says, we no longer
live unto ourselves, but unto him who died and rose again,
he is not referring to himself because he is an apostle, but
because he is a Christian. And the one for whom some live
by the power of God's grace is none other then the Lord Jesus
who died and who rose again on their behalf. His person is lived
for in a loyalty that exceeds the loyalty to any other creature
or to any creature, to any other person. His will is chosen as
a way of life. His ways are desired and embraced
as the pattern of life. not with perfection, not with
equal constancy, but according to our text, the baseline of
their lives is this, when you ask them the question, who do
you live for? They are able to answer honestly
and to validate it by the pattern of their life, they live unto
Him who died for them and rose again. In other words, they can
say with the Apostle Paul in the language of Philippians 121,
for to me to live is Christ. For to me to live is Christ. I live unto him. He is the object of my life's
focus, my desires, my ambitions, my standards, my goals. They all focus in Christ. They flow out of Christ and back
to Christ. For me to live is Christ. Who are you living for? By nature,
you with me must answer if we're thinking biblically. We live
for ourselves. Who are you living for? If you
can say, I am no longer living unto myself, but unto Him who
died for me and rose again. It is because the grace and power
of God has come and changed the whole focus and the whole direction
of your life. And then note with me What it
is that makes this difference? We've seen who we all live for
by nature, we live for self. Who some live for by the power
of grace, they live unto Christ. And what makes the difference?
Well, if we read this whole section, beginning with verse 14, in which
the apostle says the love of Christ constrains us. We see
that the death of Christ on behalf of sinners is the central theme
of this whole section, culminating in the Apostles' words in verse
20, we are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ. As though
God were entreating by us, we beseech you on the behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God. Him who knew no sin, he made
to be sin on our behalf. that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him. What makes the difference? Sitting
here tonight, there are certain boys and girls, men and women
of all backgrounds and degrees of knowledge. Some of you are
living for yourself. Some of you are living for Christ.
Some of you, you're living unto self. Some of you, you're living
unto Christ. And what makes the difference?
What is the issue that divides the two groups? Well, according
to the Apostle in this passage, it is the truth of Christ crucified
brought home to the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.
That's the difference. The Apostle could say in verse
14, the love of Christ constrains us. Christ's love for us holds
us in its gracious pressure because we thus judge. It holds us in
its pressure because we think in this way, that one died for
all, therefore all died. And that those who receive life
by that death and they that live should no longer live unto themselves,
but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again. What does
all that language mean? Well, it means this. The Apostle
says, when we contemplate what the death of Christ signifies,
it is our understanding of the significance of his death that
has brought us to the place where we no longer live unto ourselves,
but unto him who for our sakes died and rose again. This is
what we understand, that living unto self, is such a wretched,
abominable, and disgusting thing in the sight of God, so provoking
of His wrath and displeasure, that it demanded the enfleshment
of the second person of the deity, It demanded that Jesus Christ,
the God-man, be handed over death to die under the wrath and curse
of God. Now surely, if living unto self
is such a disgusting, abominable, and wretched thing in the sight
of God, that nothing less than the bloodletting of incarnate
deity can satisfy God's justice against living unto self than
surely anyone who says, I see in a crucified and risen Christ,
My only hope of acceptance with this God, my only hope of the
pardon of my sins, my only hope of being right with God, surely
then, if I receive life from the death of Christ on behalf
of sinners, that life is not to be lived to the end which
demanded His death. Surely, the life received is
not to be lived unto self. It was living unto self that
provoked the wrath and anger of God. It was living unto self
that caused the bloodletting of incarnate deity. Then surely,
if I receive life from the death of Jesus, it must be life no
longer lived unto myself. but unto him who for my sake
died and rose again. You see the logic of that in
the apostles' words. The love of Christ constrains
us because we thus judge. One died for all, therefore all
died, that is, all died in him. And what died in him and with
him in his death spells the death knell to living unto self. that they that live should no
longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who for their sakes
died and rose again. This passage clearly teaches
that whenever the Spirit of God shows us what we are as sinners
and shows us something of the glory of God in the face of Christ
crucified for sinners, There is the constraint of the love
of Christ, and there is the perception of the purpose of the death of
Christ, that we no longer consciously, deliberately live unto ourselves,
but unto this person, the Christ who died for us and rose again. We learn then from this passage,
that all professed faith in Christ crucified that leaves people
still wedded to themselves is spurious faith. It's spurious
faith. A professed faith in a crucified
Christ A professed reception of pardon and forgiveness from
a crucified and risen Christ that leaves someone still living
to himself is not biblical faith. For the faith that is unto salvation
and the pardon of our sins is the faith that brings us into
this attachment to the person of Christ. and he does not take
second or third place in the life so attached to him, but
that life is found being lived unto him. Now if that is the
teaching of the passage, and I believe it clearly is, do you
see the tremendous relevance it has for so many matters that
we get hung up on? I want to speak a word to you
young people tonight Some of you wrestling with this whole
question, am I really attached to Christ in faith? Or is my
faith mom's faith and dad's faith and the church's faith? Is it
really my faith? May I give you one way by which
to come, perhaps quite quickly, to an accurate answer. Who are
you living for? Who are you living for? You say,
Pastor, that's nebulous. All right, let's get specific.
You and mom and dad are having discussions over what kind of
music you're going to listen to. Well, at the end of the day,
kids, isn't this the issue? Do you really want nothing to
come into your ears but that which is pleasing unto Christ?
At the end of the day, it's not what kind of music do I like. But the real issue is, what kind
of music can I listen to and know that it pleases Christ? Rather simple, isn't it? You
see, something else is at the focal point of your decision
about the music you're going to listen to. It isn't whether
or not it fits here or there on the scale of what others say
is acceptable. The issue is, you want to please
Christ. and you're willing for Christ
to stand as Lord over your Walkman, over your CDs, and over your
radio, and over your stereo. Not as some kind of a celestial
bogeyman, not kind of a celestial Scrooge, But you know whatever
is pleasing to Him is the thing that is good for you. Now I ask
you teenager, is that the way you think at all? You're wrestling
with what's appropriate dress. What is just innocent stylish
dress? What crosses the line into the
immodest and the bizarre? Well, at the end of the day,
isn't this the issue that you need to come to grips with? I'm
not my own. The cross of Christ has constrained
me. I am now committed no longer
to live to myself. The issue is not what pleases
me, but what will please Him. And I know He says whether I
eat or drink or whatsoever I do, I'm to do all to the glory of
God. So the issue is not whether I
will be considered on the cutting edge of the latest styles or
whether I will be considered a little doughty and a little
dorky. The issue is what will my Savior
think? What will please Him? And you
see, when that begins to be the focal point of life, you carry
about with you a constant internal standard. A standard, or I should
say the means of finding the right standard. And it is living
unto Him who for your sake died and rose again in the choice
of your friend. This begins to be the litmus
test. What will the Lord Jesus think
about my choice of these friends? Will they be instrumental in
his hands to help me in my Christian life? To spur me to greater godliness? I'm not talking about the friendships
that you will prayerfully establish with a view to being a witness
to the transforming power of the gospel. I'm not speaking
of those. I'm speaking about the choice of friends in whom
I'll find delight, and with whom I will have voluntary companionship,
because they welcome what I have to impart to them, and I know
I can welcome what they have to impart to me, and we do each
other good on our way to heaven. He died for all that they who
live should no longer live unto themselves in the choice of their
friends, but unto Him who for their sake died and rose again. And when you can say, for to
me to live is Christ, pleasing Christ, doing the will of Christ,
knowing what advances the honor of Christ, that's what I live
for. I'm living unto Him. I say it resolves many of these
little tacky issues. I would be considered by many
an old man, but my memory is not gone yet. And when God saved
me as a teenager, this resolved about 98% of the issues with
which a lot of you are wrestling. I had a passionate obsession
to live unto the Christ who had rescued me. From the horrible,
nagging guilt of an accusing conscience, the dread and fear
of hell, the sense of no purpose and direction in life, the panic
mode I was in as a senior in high school wondering, what in
the world am I going to do with my life? I'm at that age when
people expect you to say what you're going to do when you're
done high school, you're going to college, what you're going
to be, how you're going to earn a living, and all of that purposelessness
and confusion and lack of direction and accusing conscience, all
of that was swallowed up in him who died for me and rose again.
And when I began to live unto him, it was relatively easy to
choose my friends, relatively easy to make choices about the
music I'd listened Relatively easy to make choices about clothing
and a host of other issues over which I see so many young people
constantly struggling until these things become almost an obsession. Can it be that the problem is
you're dealing with rules and regulations and you've never
known what it is to be wonderfully arrested and blessedly obsessed
with this person who alone is worthy? to be the one you live
unto. You see, you're really not that
big and wonderful a thing to be the object of your life. It's
a tragic thing to live unto self. You're a small, insignificant
thing. You're not worthy to be the object
of your life. There's someone infinitely worthy.
It's the glorious Son of God, whose beauties cannot be described. whose glory cannot be spoken
of by mortal tongues, the one who is even now the object of
the adoring worship of all of the intelligent creatures in
heaven. God pulls back the veil in the
book of the Revelation and gives us a little peek of those that
cry, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Now you may think
that you're pretty special. But you can't even draw your
next breath unless God gives it. He gives to all life and
breath and all things. And you may think you're pretty
special. A few people think you're nice-looking and handsome and
attractive and well-built. But in a national beauty contest,
you wouldn't even make the second round. You say, Pastor, that's not very
flattering. That's reality. Who in the world are you to be
made the object of your life? dependent upon God for your next
breath, God could stop that heartbeat in a moment. What a tragic folly
to make yourself the object of your life, the one to whom you
live. And God in Christ is prepared
in his love and mercy to deliver us from that horrible tyranny
of self-centeredness and to free us into the glorious liberty
of a Christ-centered life. The love of Christ constrains
us because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all
died, that is, all died in him. So wretched, so vile, so unworthy
a thing is this living unto self, that those who have thus lived
are judged in the death of Christ. so that all who by faith, beholding
God's glory in the face of a crucified Savior, no longer live unto themselves,
but unto Him who for their sakes died and rose again. And that is so fundamental and
radical a change that it's called in verse 17, a new creation. If any man be in Christ, a new
creation. the old things are passed away
behold they are become new and how new they are with this whole
new center of life and existence and all of them are of God's
grace verse 18 but all things are of God who reconciled us
to himself through Christ and gave unto us, now speaking as
an apostle and his companions, gave us this ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Christ. reconciling the world to himself,
not reckoning to them their trespasses. And having committed to us the
word of reconciliation, we are ambassadors therefore on behalf
of Christ, as though God were entreating by us, as though God
were begging by us. We beseech you in the behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God. Give up the God of Seth. Be reconciled to the God who
made you. The God to whom in Adam, in Eden,
you were related as the center of your life. You have turned
aside and turned to your own way. The Apostle said the great
plea of the Gospel is be reconciled to this God because this God
has done an amazing work in Jesus Christ. And he has done it not
only that we might have a righteous pardon, but that we might have
a radically new center of life. I come around full circle to
where I began some 40 minutes ago, with the simple, pointed,
personal question, who are you living for? Who are you living
for? You're living for yourself? you've
got a tiny, shriveled, damning God. Are you living unto Him
who died and rose again for sinners? You have a glorious, saving,
majestic, triumphant God worthy of being the one to whom you
live. May God help you to honestly
ask and realistically to answer that question. And may you have
no rest until you can say with the Apostle, the love of Christ
constrains me as well. For I thus judge that if one
died for all, all died in him. God's put his death sentence
upon living unto self and receiving life from a crucified and risen
Savior. I now joyfully say no longer
to live unto myself, but unto him who died for me and rose
again. Let us pray. Our Father, many of us hang our
heads in shame when we think of the misspent, ill-spent years
living unto ourselves. We inwardly hang our heads with
shame that we served so unworthy and distorted and ugly a God. Forgive us, we pray. We thank
you for your mercy that has rescued many of us, and we pray that
this night you, by the power of the Spirit, through the simple
declaration of the truth of the gospel, will cause some to come
under the constraint of the love of Christ, that they may no longer
live unto themselves, but unto Him who for their sakes died
and rose again. We pray for those of us who can
say, to some degree, for us to live as Christ Lord, we want
to be able to say it with a greater singleness of purpose, with greater
intensity and spiritual passion, that for us to live is Christ. We plead with you that in those
areas where he's been pushed from the center and is off somewhere
in the margins of our thinking, in any relationship in any avocation,
in any recreation, in any pattern of thought, in any relationship. Gracious God, we pray that He
will occupy afresh His rightful place of unrivaled centrality
in every facet of our lives as the people of God. How we plead
with you that in the coming week it may be evident in our homes
in our relationships, in the workplace, in our most relaxed
moments, may it be evident, O our God, that we are not living unto
ourselves, but unto Him who for our sakes died and rose again. We plead with you to seal your
word to the prophet of our hearts, and we ask these mercies in Jesus'
name. Amen.