You can open your Bibles with
me now to 2 Corinthians. I've been preaching several services
now from Paul's epistle to the Romans, and I'll get back to
that series a little later. But events of the present and
the things that are happening now and have happened this week
I couldn't feel comfortable with Romans chapter 2 and 3 for tonight. I believe the leadership of the
Holy Spirit has given me a message on the fifth chapter of Corinthians.
I believe we are thinking in that direction more right now
than in the other. This is my message this evening.
from 2 Corinthians 5. But you know, as we always, I
always tell you, when we want to be true to the teaching of
a scripture, like I'm going to start, I'm going to preach here
from 2 Corinthians 5, and if we want to be true to the teachings
of 2 Corinthians 5, we're going to have to go back for a moment
to 2 Corinthians 4. continue the thought that's established
there, especially 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1 begins with the word
for. For we know that if our earthly
house and this tabernacle were dissolved. So you've got to go
back and see what is therefore, why he starts with for. So let's
go back to verse 16 of chapter 4. He talks about this outward
man, this natural body, how it's decaying and it's dying and it's
perishing, this natural body, through sickness and suffering
and death and old age. Look at verse 16. For the rich
cause we think not, but though our outward man, our outward
body perish, and it is through old age and sickness and sorrow
and suffering and death its perishing, its decaying. Yet the inward
man, the man created in Christ Jesus by the Spirit of God and
the Word of God, that new man is renewed day by day. It's ever
young. It's renewed day by day. Oh,
the joy and blessings of the presence of the Spirit of God
and the Word of God in inwardly every day. I'm not old inwardly,
I'm old outwardly. I'm young. He said that they're
always young. Our youth is renewed like the
eagles. Youth is renewed like the eagles. And then in verse 17, he says
these trials, these afflictions, he calls them light afflictions.
They're light compared to what the glory that we're going to
seek. But he says our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, they're
working for us. They're working, they're producing,
they're preparing for us a far more exceeding weight, an eternal
weight of glory. What does that mean, a far more
exceeding eternal weight of glory? It means it far surpasses anything
we can even imagine. an eternal weight of glory, exceeding,
surpassing any glory that you could even imagine. That's all
these things are working together for our glory and our good, these
afflictions. And we know that all things work
together for our good. And verse 18, while we look not
at the things which are seen, We're looking beyond this wire.
We're looking at the things which are not seen. That's what that
song was all about there. We're looking at the things that
are not seen. The things that we see here, all of them are
temporal. All of them are but for a little
while. But the things that we do not
see are eternal. And that's the two things in
those two verses, 17 and 18. Here's the two things that support
us. in old age, and in sickness, and in sorrow, and even when
we come to die. These are the two things that
support us. We know that everything that God brings into our lives
are working together, working together, producing and preparing
for us eternal glory. And then what supports us is
we don't look at these things. We look at the things that are
not seen, not seen, which are eternal. All right, verse 1,
let's go then far. He tells us some things that
we know in verse 1. We know, for we know. We know,
number one, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. We know this, that we're living
in an earthly house. We just read, we have this treasure
in earthen vessels. It's an earthen house. It came
from the dust, and it'll go back to the dust. God said to Adam,
he said, in the sweat of your brow, you'll eat bread, till
you return to the earth. For out of it you were taken,
and to it you'll return. So we are in an earthly house. And then he says, we know this,
it's a tent. It's a tabernacle. Why is our
house called a tent? Well, a house is too permanent
for us to say that this is a house. This is a tent because of its
frailty. It's just frail. So I read one time someone said,
Paul had in mind here a shepherd's lean-to that he builds out of
skin and sticks just to protect him from the wind. leading to,
a tent. It's frail. Secondly, it has
a very short existence. And thirdly, it's just like everything
on this earth. It's going to be folded up and
put away. That's what you do with a tent.
When you get through with it, you just fold it up and put it
aside. Turn to Hebrews 1 a minute and see where Paul uses this
about everything in the world. In Hebrews 1, verse 10, everything is going to be folded
up and put away. Hebrews 1 verse 10, And thy Lord
in the beginning hath laid the foundations of the earth, and
the heavens are the work of thine hands. They shall perish, earth
and heavens, but thou remainest. They all shall wax old as doth
a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up. They shall
be But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." Earthly
house, from the dirt. A tent, frail, temporary. And when this happens, look at
the next line. When this takes place and the
body returns to the dirt, to the earth from whence it came,
we have a building. We have a building. We have a
dwelling place. That's what it is. The body returns
to the earth, the scripture says, and the soul to God who gave
it. This body dies, but the soul never dies. The body will sleep
in the ground, but the soul never sleeps. I want you to turn to
John 11, and listen to our Lord say that. You know, Lazarus had
died. That's our language, John 11. But the Lord didn't say Lazarus
had died. He said he was sleeping. He didn't
say he died until the disciples made him say it. They said, well,
if he's dead, he doeth well. I mean, if he's sleeping, he
doeth well. Let's go sleep with him, you
know, let's go have rest. So the Lord said, all right,
in your language he's dead, but in my language he's not dead.
And here's his language, John 11, verse 25. He said, Martha, I am the resurrection
and the life. And he that believeth in me,
though like Lazarus he were dead, he shall live. And, verse 26,
and whosoever liveth, he is not died yet, he liveth, and believeth
on me, will never die. Do you believe this? You can
believe that if you believe he is the life. He can't die, so
if we are in him, we can't die. The body is going back to the
earth with the soul of God who gave it. Immediately. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. Christ said to the thief, today you'll
be with me in paradise. Now back to the text. Verse 2
says this, In this body, this tent, this tabernacle, this frail
earthly house, we groan, we groan, all believers groan in this body.
Don't you? You've grown under the burden
of work and toil. You've grown under the burden
of life and troubles. You've grown under this nature
of sin. Don't you ever say with Paul, O wretched man that I am.
Don't you ever say that. Groaning. O wretched man that
I am. Troubles in the flesh. We've
grown. And there comes a time, and you
may not know this now, but there comes a time, listen to the next
line. earnest and desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven, there comes a time, there will come a time
in your life when you'll actually desire to leave this world right
now and be with the Lord. There'll come a time. Paul actually
experienced that. Let me show you that in Philippians.
In Philippians chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1, when there
will come a time, I know the young people here have families
to raise and obligations, and Paul recognized that, he had
the same thing. But he came to the place and
the time when he wanted to die, he desired to go home and be
with the Lord. And this he writes about it right
here. In Philippians 1.23, I am in a strait betwixt the
two. I have a desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is far better." He really meant that,
right now, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ. But
then he says, nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful
for you. But for me, I want to go home. And I really believe what Paul
is writing here in our text, 2 Corinthians 5, to in this body
we groan earnestly. In reality, we've reached that
place and time when we desire to be clothed upon with our house
from heaven. I believe every believer will
come to that point in God's own time, when he's ready and willing
and desiring to leave. All right, verse 3. If so be it being clothed, we
shall not be found naked. All right, verse 4, look at this.
For we that are in this tabernacle, we do groan, being burdened,
not that we would be unclothed, that's what he said back in verse
3, being clothed we shall not be found naked. But it's not
just death we're seeking, but it's immortality, incorruption. That's what we're seeking, to
be like Christ. We desire to be clothed, clothed upon that
mortality might be squatted up in life. Mortality. I think, I suppose when people
think of death, I suppose that they think mainly about what
takes place right now. If the Lord is pleased to let
me die right this minute, on my mind I'm thinking, well, the
body goes to the dust and the soul to God that gave it. What
does this involve? Isn't that what you think? What
happens immediately at death? Well, let's turn to John 19.
Let's see. Let's see something here. John
chapter 19. John chapter 19. John 19, verse 40. Our Lord Jesus
Christ was a man. He made of a woman, flesh and
bones and blood. He walked this earth just like
we, he's a man just exactly like we are. He took upon himself
the likeness of sinful flesh, lived in a body. And he died. He died. Died on that cross.
Listen, let's read about it. 19 verse 40, Then took they the
body of Jesus, as they'll take yours and mine. We'll die at
home or in the hospital and our family will be there and they'll
call Steen or Lazer or Millers or one of the funeral homes here
and say, my husband or my wife or my friend is gone. Come get his body. And they'll
come get his body. And our Lord died. They came
and got his body. He took the body of Jesus, wound
it in linen clothes with spices, as a man of Jews is to bury,
like they put you in a casket, they'll bomb your body and put
you in a casket, and all that stuff around you. And in the
place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the
garden a new grave, and they'll have your grave already dug out
here at Rose Hill over at Ashland Cemetery. Already had it dug.
The dirt piled up there. His grave was already there.
It was a grave in which nobody had ever lain. That's where you'll
lay someday. I will. I've got a lot out here. I've
got a place for Doris and I both. And they'll have it all dug open.
And they'll take my body. And then they laid Jesus. They
took his body. Then laid their Jesus. Therefore,
because of the Jews' preparation day, there they laid him for
the sepulchre was not in. They took his body and put it
in that grave. put that stone in front of him.
That's what they do to us, to the body. That question, was
he asleep? His body wherever he was. Was
he in limbo? I hear people talking about limbo
and Hades and all these places where you're supposed to go wait
for something to happen. Do you think the Lord was that?
I'll tell you where he was. He said to the thief, today you'll
be with me in paradise. He said to his disciples, I go
to my Father and your Father. He said, Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit. When he said that, it's finished,
he bowed his head and died. And he went straight to the Father. And if you're a believer, that's
where you'll be. Naked? No. Clothed upon with
immortality. But this body, like his body,
will be slipped into the grave. Awaiting what? Three days later,
he arose. And I don't know how many days
will pass, but you will too, this body. And I can't explain
all, I just know that's a fact. That's a fact. He arose in a
glorified body. But for the time being, it's
just a fact. In verse 1, chapter 5, we know
if I earth the house of this tabernacle of desire, put in
the grave, we have a building of God, we have a dwelling place,
we have a body eternal in the heavens, just like the Lord Jesus. He was in glory. His natural
body was down here in a tomb with a stone rolled over it.
It wasn't until three days later that body came out. He came down
here to join that body. And that's where we'll be. It's
all beautiful. It's all desirable. It's all
planned and purposed by God. And the same thing that took
place in the life of Christ will take place in our life. That's
right. And why? Verse 5. Listen now. He that hath wrought us, he that
hath chosen us, he that hath redeemed us, he that hath called
us, and he that hath saved us, For the self-same thing is God. The self-same thing. Resurrection,
eternal glory in the presence of God. And he's also given us
the earnest of his spirit while we walk in the flesh. We're going to die. Our bodies
are going to lay here and sleep. We're going to be with him. Someday
Christ will come and he'll raise this body. And he that hath wrought
us, saved us for this selfsame purpose is God Almighty. And
he's given us the earnest, the token of his Spirit. Now, what does that mean? He had given us the earnest of
his Spirit. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. He's given us the earnest of
his Spirit. That word earnest is token or
pledge. Pledge is a good word, presence
and pledge of his spirit. Let's read about it here, Ephesians
1, verse 13. In whom you trusted after you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in
whom after you believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest, the pledge,
the token of our inheritance, the proof of it. until the redemption
of the purchased possession under the praise of his glory, until
we are resurrected. Now everybody here, every believer
here, everybody here is a believer, I'm sure, you feel carnal much
of the time, that's just so. We don't feel real spiritual
most of the time, we feel carnal, we feel fleshly. We walk daily
dissatisfied with ourselves. We're not satisfied. David said,
I'll be satisfied when I wake with his likeness. David said,
my sins are ever before me. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am, the things I would do, I don't do, the things I wouldn't
do, I do. And with the new man, I serve the law of God, but the
old man, the captivity of the flesh. And we're unhappy with
ourselves. But God has given us his Spirit
who dwells within us as proof and pledge of our redemption.
Now let me ask you this. While you feel carnal, much of
the time, not all the time, fleshly, dissatisfied with yourself, is
there not also in your heart and life faith in Christ? Yes. Trust in Christ? Yes. Confidence in Christ? Oh, yeah. Is there not also a rejoicing
in the promises of God? Does not your heart within you
burn and rejoice when you hear his word preached? Oh, yeah.
Is there not a blessed assurance of your interest in Christ? Can't
you say with Peter, Lord, you know all things, you know I love
you. Of course I can, Pastor. All right. Is there not a love
for him? Not like we ought to, but we
love him. Is there not a love for his gospel? Is there not
a love for his people? Is there not a love for his word?
What is this? If that carnal feeling is a result
of the fleshly man, that believing spirit is a result
of the Holy Spirit. That's the, his spirit beareth
witness with our spirit, we are sons of God. That's what that
is. That's that conflict. between the old man and the new
man. That's that warfare, the flesh against the spirit and
the spirit against the flesh. But what I'm saying is this, that he has given us the earnest
of his spirit. That's right. He that has saved
us to be glorified, to be like Christ, is our God. And he's
given us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to give us hope and
confidence and peace and joy in Christ, even while we walk
through a life of warfare and conflict and battle and flesh. There's no perfect faith, but
there is faith. There's no perfect love for Christ,
but there's love for Christ, and that's his Spirit in us. Look at the next verse. Therefore,
because of that witness of the Spirit, his Holy Spirit witnesses
that we're sons of God, We're confident, we're confident, knowing
that while we're at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord. And we walk by faith, not by
sight. And we're confident, now we're not cocky, we're not confident
in ourselves, but we're confident in him. We're confident, I say,
and we're willing rather to be absent from the body than to
be present with the Lord. And here's our desire. Therefore
we labor, we endeavor, that whether present or absent, present with
the Lord or in the flesh, we may be accepted of him. We endeavor,
we strive to be accepted in Christ Jesus. That's our desire. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him. Here is a verse, verse 10, that
is quoted often. It presents a problem to some
people. Even some of God's elect have
a struggle with verse 10. Let's read it. For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may
receive the things done in his body according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad. I don't know a lot about judgment
because I've never been there. But I do know five things about
judgment from the word of God. I know that all sin must be judged. All sin must be judged. The scripture
says it's appointed to man once to die after that judgment. It's got to be judged. All sin's
got to be judged. The second thing I know is that
all judgment, all judgment is committed to Christ. Let me show
you that in John 5. All judgment is committed to
Christ. In John 5, verse 22, the Father judges no man. He has
committed all judgment to the Son. That all men should honor
the Son is to honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which is same. All judgment is in Christ. He's the judge. He's committed
to Christ. That's the second thing. Third
thing is this, and all judgment is relative to Christ. It has
to do with my relationship with Christ. Relative means relationship. All judgment, all judgment that
men shall encounter will have to do with Christ Jesus. That's
right. What they thought of Him, how
they treated Him, how they considered Him, what they think of Christ,
Let me read that to you in Acts 17, Acts 17, verse 31. All judgment
is relative to Christ, has to do with my relationship with
Christ. That's what this says here, Acts 17, verse 31. Because God hath appointed a
day, in the which he hath judged this world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead." That man,
Christ Jesus. And all judgment is relative
to that man, and God has given us assurance of that in that
he raised him from the dead. Let me show you another verse
that says that, Romans 2, verse 16. All judgment is relative
to Christ. It has to do with your relationship
with him. Romans 2.16, in that day, in
the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. All right, now that's, are those
three things true? I keep that in my number one,
sin's going to be judged. It's got to be judged. God's
got to judge sin. Our sins were judged on the cross
in the body of Christ. He paid for them. But sin's going
to be judged. All judgment is in the hand of
Christ, he's the judge. Thirdly, all judgment has to
do with our relationship with him. All judgment is relative to Christ.
All right then. Fourth thing, if a man doesn't
have Christ, and doesn't believe on Christ, and he's not in Christ,
he's going to stand before Christ in the judgment and be judged. Isn't that true? If he doesn't
have Christ. Turn to Revelation 6, and I'll read you about those
people. In Revelation 6, verse 15, and the kings of the
earth, the great men, the rich men, cheap captains, mighty men,
every bondman, every free man, hid themselves in the dams and
in the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains
and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him." Jesus Christ. Hide us. You want to see it. We're just
saying, I want to see him. You want to see him. When we
see him, we're going to be like him. We're waiting for his Son
from heaven so we can see him. But they don't want to see him.
They want to be heard from him. Him that sitteth on the throne
from the wrath of the Lamb, hide us from the face of him that
sitteth on the throne from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great
day of his wrath is come. Who shall be able to stand?"
That's judgment now. That's judgment. And it's because
they don't know him. They don't love him, they don't
see the Lord. Hide from him. Hide us from him. Now, this is the fifth thing.
Those who believe on him, love him. and rest in him will not
face this condemnation, because he says in Romans 8, chapter 1, there is therefore no condemnation,
no judgment to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh but after the Spirit, for the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made us free from that law of sin
and death. For what the law could not do, and it was weak through
our flesh, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin condemned sin in the flesh." It put away no judgment. And verse 33 says there's no
charge to them who are God's elect. No judgment, no condemnation,
no charge. You know, I keep telling you
that one of the best things you can get is a strong concordance. And when I was reading this,
the word condemnation, condemnation, what does the word condemnation
mean? Well, I'll tell you what it means. All you do, you turn
to the back of that, you turn to condemnation, and you see
where it's found, and you turn to the Greek lexicon, you go
down through there and you find what it means. Condemnation means
this, the Greek language, it's a tribunal. It's a tribunal. a decision for or against. It's an accusation. It's a damnation. It's a judgment. So it says here,
to them who are in Christ, there is no tribunal. It's over. It's finished. He's saying that.
There's no tribunal for good or bad. We're bad by nature.
We're good in Christ. There's no accusation. Who can
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? There's no damnation! Christ was born of the cursed
fires, and there's no judgment. Now, let me give you a clincher.
This is just so. God's going to judge sin, and
all that judgment committed to Christ, and it's all relative
to him. And if God doesn't have him,
he's going to face the judgment, and he's going to beg to be hid
from the face of him, the wrath of The man who knows him, there's
no accusation, there's no charge, there's no tribunal. It's over. Let me show you that. John 5,
here's the verse I want you to rejoice in. John 5. When we read the scripture slowly
and meaningful and base it on what the Lord has taught us,
it's so clear. I just read you verse 22, John
5. Let's start with verse 22 again. The Father judges no man,
committed all judgment to the Son. I'm talking about judgment
now. That all men should honor the Son even as they honor the
Father. He that honors not the Father honors not the Son which
sent him. And here's Christ saying this. He says, Verily, verily,
I say to you, he that hears my word and believes on him that
sent me hath everlasting life. and shall not come into tribunal,
accusation, condemnation, or judgment, or damnation, shall
not, because he's already passed from death to life. So there's
no judgment to the believer because he's in Christ. Isn't that clear? So when somebody reads this to
you in 2 Corinthians 5, we are almost standing before the judgment
seat of Christ, you just say, I've already been there in the
person of my Lord. I've already been there. And
the debt's paid, the sin's put away, and there's no condemnation,
there's no judgment to them in Christ Jesus. So I'll wind it
up with this. I won't be able to finish the
chapter. I'll give you a couple of verses here. In verse 11,
knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. We persuade men. We preach to them. But you know,
it's not only the terror of the Lord that I know. I think I can
say with Paul here, knowing the mercy of God, I persuade men.
It's not the fear of hell that brings a man to Christ. It's
the fear of sin. That's right. It's not preaching
fire and brimstone that bring men to Christ. It's preaching
the goodness of God in Christ Jesus. It's the goodness of God
that leads a man to repentance. Oh, you can take hell and scare
a man into religion, and scare a man into a profession of faith,
and scare a man into changing his ways, but you don't take
hell and scare a man to Christ. A man doesn't come to Christ
because he's scared to come because he loves him. He needs him. He comes because he's merciful.
Goodness of God! So I know the mercy of God, and
the grace of God, and I persuade men. All that labor and heavy
laden, come to me. I'll give you rest, Christ said.
Whoever one that thirsteth, come. Out of your belly flow rivers
of living water. But also knowing the terror of the Lord, the terror
of an angry God, how fearful it is to fall into the hands
of an angry God, we persuade men. And we are made manifest
under God, with God's servants and God's ambassadors and God's
true preachers. And I trust you recognize that
we are made manifest in your consciences. The things that
I've said here are the things that God has said
and taught me and told me to say, to encourage you. And knowing the mercy of God,
I persuade men. Knowing the terror of God, I
persuade men. Flee to Christ. And I manifest. That's manifest
unto God. That's just true. That's what
God says. And I hope it is to you. But
verse 12, he says this, and I'll close with this. We commend not
ourselves. The apostles and ministers of
Christ don't commend themselves. They don't point to themselves.
They don't brag on themselves. No, we don't. But you know us,
you know our ministry, you know our motive, you know our Lord.
But he says, I'm saying these things to give you an occasion
to glory on our behalf that you might have somewhat to answer
them. which glory in appearance and
not in heart. I'm saying these things, Paul
said, so you'll have an answer and a reply for the false religionists
that are all around you. And how do you identify these
false religionists, preachers? They glory in appearance. They
glory in outward show. They glory in religious ceremonies.
uniforms and crosses and processionals and praise teams and in appearance
and outward show, raising their hands and walking aisles. They grow in outward piety and
works, and not in heart. They know nothing of heart faith,
heart love, and heart obedience. That's how a man is saved, with
a heart. With a heart, man believeth unto
righteousness. It's not outward show and ceremonies. It's not
even, really, let me say this as carefully as I can. Salvation
is not learning of Gil's body of divinity. It's not teaching
the mind what's right and what's wrong, what's true and what's
error. It's not teaching the mind the
five points of Calvinism or these things. that are doctrinally
sound and necessary and help us grow. But salvation is when
the heart is broken over sin, and the heart is distressed over
our separation from God, and the heart is troubled over eternal
condemnation. When the heart is troubled, with
a heart man believeth unto righteousness. With a heart, my son, give me
your heart, out of it are the issues of life. The Lord is known
to them of a broken heart, not an intellectual mind or a person
that's got a grasp on all the doctrines and the dates and the
kings and all their escapades, but a man who has a broken heart,
a contrite spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken
heart, a broken heart and a contrite spirit. O God, thy will not be
spied. And that's what he's talking
about. If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead. You're the
same. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And that's
where the work is done. That's where Paul said, they
glow in appearance. in appearance, in precision,
and exactness, and holy days, and showmanship, and ceremony,
and rituals, and this sort of thing. But God looks on the heart. Our Lord said one time to those
Pharisees, He said, You justify yourself before men. You there
would justify yourself before men. You've got your exacting
detail and duties and and works of religion. You justify yourself,
poor man, you like to pray on the street corners to be seen
of men, and give your arms to be seen of men, and fast to be
seen of men. But he said, God looks on the
heart. God looks on the heart. Keep thy heart out of the issues
of life. That's where the work's done.
And I said, is the person saved? Yes, he's got a broken heart.
He's not if he doesn't. The man know God, he does if
he's got a contrite spirit and a heart that loves Christ and
loves his word and loves his people. He may not know the doctrines
as much as somebody else, but he loves Christ. That's what
Christ said to Peter, you love me? Nobody's going to hell loving
Christ, that's right. Nobody. They may not have all
the answers, but it's a heart. Brother Barnard said one time
we was in a Bible conference and one of us young fellas preached
and Brother Barnard went up to him, I was standing close by
listening, he went up to him and said, I wish you'd quit preaching to
my head so much and start talking to my heart. That's all he said and walked
away, but that's good advice.