Let me just repeat that again.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 11. And we'll read through to
verse 16. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto
God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves
again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf,
that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance
and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves,
it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth
us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then we're
all dead. And that he died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them and rose again. Wherefore, henceforth
know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this
reading. I have just a few thoughts that
I wanted to share with you today with respect to these few verses
that are before us. And I wanted to say that I liked,
I admired the way that the Apostle sets out his thoughts in these
few verses that we have before us. They kind of make a personal
mission statement for me, at least, and perhaps for some of
you too. such that if someone were to
ask, why do you do what you do? Or why do you preach the gospel? Or even as it might be framed
these days, why are your opinions and ideas better than anyone
else's? And these few verses, I think,
explain some of the principle reasons why we do what we do,
or why the apostle did what he did, and indeed, why we desire
thereby to emulate him. So to the question that might
be asked, why do you do what you do? I say with Paul, first
of all, because there's a judgment coming. And because that judgment
is coming, we have a job to do. And we find that in verse 11,
where the apostle says that, knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. And the apostle had just finished
talking about the fact that we all must appear before the judgment
seat of Christ. And wonderful as that day will
be for the Lord's redeemed people, it shall be indescribably dreadful
for all who are outside of Christ. Recently, some of you may have
noticed this, it depends what websites you look at and what
newspapers you read, but recently I saw that one of the world's
richest men, a celebrity in his own right, I suppose, he said,
I'm okay with going to hell. That was his comment. He tweeted
it, so that might be a clue to some people. Well, smart as he
might be in many ways, that's a pretty stupid statement to
make because he should not be okay about going to hell. And so with Paul, believing as
the Apostle did, we say, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men, and we will endeavor to bring the message
of salvation, salvation from death, from judgment, and from
hell. to men and women and boys and
girls as the Lord enables us to do so in the hope that some
may be made wise unto salvation thereby and flee the wrath that
is to come. And the second reason as to why
we do what we do is that Despite the fact that the world might
call us mad for doing as we do and for believing as we believe,
so be it, says the Apostle Paul. Let it be so. And that's what
he is going on to say here. in verse 13, for whether we be
beside ourself, that word, or those words, beside ourself,
just means that we're mad, we're regarded as being mad. I think
it was one of the Roman governors who said to Paul, you're beside
yourself, much learning has made you mad. Well, we may be mad,
in the view of the world, but we serve a higher cause and a
higher calling than the opinions of men. And our purpose is God's
glory. That's what the apostle says
in verse 12. And our purpose is a parallel
purpose, the well-being of God's people, the church of Jesus Christ.
And we are therefore content with the apostle and indeed honoured
to spend our lives serving the cause of God and truth. Our worship
of God is spiritual worship. It's commitment with the heart
inwardly as the Lord has quickened and enabled us to serve him and
worship him. And men and women in this world
are more concerned with outward appearance, says the apostle.
And that might be, that outward appearance might be the pursuit
of their passions, their desires, the will and purposes of the
fallen nature, or even if it's within the church, which is a
strand of Paul's argument here, because he was writing to the
Corinthians about false teachers. where these professional leaders
provided religion that was designed to serve and to suit the natural
man and that's what those false teachers in Corinth did. But
we have to say with the apostle Peter when the Lord says will
you also go back Peter said, Lord, to whom would we go? You
have the words of eternal life. We're driven by a power, by a
force, by a motivation that is deeper, not outward, not outward
appearance, but an inward transformation, a change of the heart. And with
Martin Luther, to quote another leader, here I stand, I can do
no other. So again, to the question, why
do you do what you do? We look to see what Paul is saying.
And the third thing he says is lovely. It's in verse 14. He
says, our motivation for doing what we do is Christ's love towards
us. The love of Christ constraineth
us. so that Paul's motivation wasn't
religious duty, it wasn't some national loyalty, it wasn't social
responsibility or any urge that he found within himself to do
something for himself or for others. He acted, he served out
of gratitude and a sense of privilege and indebtedness that the Lord
Jesus Christ had loved him and given himself for him. And so
do we. A little postscript to this point. Some people tell us that we are
constrained as believers by law and duty and the Ten Commandments
and these are enlarged and reimagined and reapplied for our modern
age. Well I'm really not interested
in arguing about such ideas. because for me it is enough to
say with Paul, the love of Christ constraineth us. They tell us
that Moses' law is the believer's rule of life to keep us well
pleasing to God and to keep us honoring God. But Paul tells
the Galatians, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many,
here's what Paul says to the Galatians, this is beautiful.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them
and mercy and upon the Israel of God. Here's the fourth reason
that we do what we do. We have a powerful, positive
message to bring to men and women and boys and girls. a message
about everlasting salvation through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is eternal life in Christ and we see this in what Paul
says in verse 15. I believe, to say it in as many
words, I believe in limited atonement. I believe in particular redemption. I believe that when the Lord
Jesus Christ died on the cross, he died with a view to the salvation
of a particular number of people. Unlimited atonement and particular
redemption are two phrases that teach us that Christ fulfilled
God's will to redeem the people given to him in the covenant
of grace or the covenant of peace by carrying the sins of those
people and by bearing their punishment in their place. Therefore he
was a sacrificial lamb. He had our sins laid upon him
and they are no more imputed to us. The apostle says to the
Romans in chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Someone might say, but does this
verse not say that Christ died for all? Well, it doesn't quite
say that, but it almost says that, but we need to understand
what this is saying. It does not say that Christ died
for every individual of mankind. He did die for all his people. He died for all his sheep, all
his church and all his sons that he as the great captain of their
salvation brings to glory. This verse and these verses do
not support a doctrine of general redemption. but Christ died for
all those who were committed into his covenant care and for
whom he rose again for their justification and for all who
are made the righteousness of God in him. but he didn't die
for all men without exception. So that verse 16 tells us that
there is no other way of salvation but by God coming in the flesh,
taking the sins of his people and dying in their place. And
equally, Christ having come and done exactly that, taken our
sins and died in our place, no other way is needed. Coming to faith is coming to
Christ. Coming to Christ for forgiveness,
God's way of salvation for sinners. He came once to die, He will
not repeat His work. We know no other way, there is
no other way. Therefore we preach Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. And we preach life and liberty
and forgiveness by Him. In the next couple of verses,
the Apostle will look at them another day, but in the next
couple of verses, the Apostle Paul will call this message that
he preaches, the Ministry of Reconciliation. This was Paul's
message. I want it to be my message, and
I want it to be your message. And I desire with Paul to convey
and communicate and preach it to all who will hear. I want
with Paul to lift up the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only
way of salvation and peace with God. May we all find reconciliation
with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.