Paul is saying to us, in verse
10 of 2 Corinthians, he says, for we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. There will be a judgment. There will be a judgment. It's
appointed unto men once to die. And after this, the judgment.
And it's called the judgment seat of Christ because all judgment
is relative to Christ. All judgment has to do with the
Son. Let me show you that in Romans
chapter 2. You see, those who believe on
Christ have no judgment because He has already borne our judgment
and penalty. But those who do not believe
on Christ will be held responsible for all their deeds, their thoughts,
words, and deeds. In Romans 2 verse 16, it says,
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ,
according to my gospel. And then in Acts chapter 17,
look at this. Acts 17, verse 31, "...because he hath appointed
a day in which he will judge the world." God is going to judge
all men in righteousness. He is going to be judged by a
righteous judgment, by the lion and the plummet, by His holiness. He will judge the world in righteousness. by that man whom he hath ordained,
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath
raised him from the dead." It's called the judgment seat of Christ
because all judgment is relative to Christ. In Christ, saved, redeemed, no condemnation. Out of Christ, condemnation and
judgment. eternal punishment. Now notice
these next words, that everyone may receive the things done in
his body, in his natural mind and flesh. According to that,
he hath done whether it be good or bad. Now, any time you see
these words here, Men standing before God in the judgment being
held responsible and accountable for what they've done. Bad or
so-called good. Good as man judges good. But
is there any good? I fear to be held responsible
for the good I've done. Don't you? I don't want to stand
before God and be judged even for My so-called righteousness. Let me show you why. Two scriptures
again. Isaiah 64. Now, any time you
see this, we'll be held accountable for the good and the bad. You
remember, even the good falls short of His glory. In Isaiah
64, verse 6, listen. But we're all as an unclean thing. And listen. And all our righteousnesses,
good, are as filthy rags. And we do all fade as a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. So
when God says that men are going to stand before Him and be held
responsible and accountable for good and bad, that good is not
good in His eyes. It's the good in our eyes. Let
me show you another scripture, Matthew 7. This is very enlightening
here. Here's a group of people who
pleaded their goodness. That's what they held out before
God at this judgment here. In Matthew 7, verse 22, Many
will say unto me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils,
and in thy name done many Good works, wonderful works, outstanding
works, works considered wonderful to me. Then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Our righteousness, our so-called
goodness, judged in the light of Christ's holiness is iniquity. It's filthy rag. When he says
here that all men are going to appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, it will be relative to the Son, to His holiness,
His righteousness. And whether we face our so-called
goodness or our wickedness in His eyes and in His presence,
it's all wickedness. It's all evil, iniquity. Alright, verse 11. So knowing
therefore the terror of the Lord." I don't think Paul was claiming
any special revelation of God's wrath. I think Paul had a special
revelation of God's mercies. He said, I was taken to the third
heaven, and I saw things it's not lawful to utter. But I don't
believe Paul had any special revelations of God's wrath and
terror of God's wrath. But we have enough examples in
the Scripture that we should know something of the terror
of God, the flood, when God destroyed the whole world. Egypt, when
God passed through the land of Egypt, killed the firstborn. The Red Sea, when God devoured
the armies of Egypt. Sodom, when God rained fire and
brimstone upon those mighty cities. but three people survived. Jerusalem,
70 years after our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and went
back to the Father, God sent the armies of Rome in there,
tied us, wasn't He the emperor? And destroyed that city. They
cried, His blood be upon us and our children. And it certainly
was so. So, knowing the terror Examples
given us in the Scripture of the Lord. The wrath of God against
sin. We persuade men. What do we persuade
men to do? To seek mercy. To believe God. To believe His Word. We persuade
men. We call upon men. To seek mercy. To seek the goodness of God.
The grace of God. Because listen to me now. give
you something here that I want you to hear. Judgment, the wrath
of God, is always the result of refusing the mercy of God. Think about it now. The wrath
of God is always, the judgment of God, is always the result
of refusing the mercy of God, refusing to hear Him and believe
Him. Listen to David. Psalm 130. He said, Lord, out of the depths
have I cried unto Thee. Lord, hear my prayer. Lord, if
Thou should mark iniquity, if you should charge sin, who's
going to stand? But there's forgiveness with
Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. Everyone who seeks mercy and
forgiveness in the name of Christ is going to have it. Everyone,
without exception. Now this is so. And judgment,
condemnation. You see, there is no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Christ has delivered us from
all judgment. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. So wrath and judgment. is the
result of not seeking mercy. That's right. So, knowing the
terror of the Lord, we persuade men to seek mercy, to call upon
God, to believe His Word, to receive His Son. And we aren't listening to this,
but we are made manifest unto God. What does that mean? God
knows the sincerity of our hearts. God knows it. See, God tries
the heart. He tries the reins. The reins
like the bowels. The Scripture talks about bowels
of mercy and talks about our reins. R-E-I-N-S. It's the real
us. It's the real soul and innermost
being and truth of a man. And Paul says here, God knows
my sincerity. God knows, my heart, God knows
that I seek His glory and you're good. God knows that our objective
is not our own increase, but His glory and you're good. And
I trust, listen, I trust that also that is made manifest in
your conscience. God knows the sincerity of our
hearts. I trust you realize it too. That
what we're giving you here is not of our making. And it's not for our gain or
benefit or glory. It's for His glory and your good.
So I persuade men. Seek the Lord while He may be
found. Call upon Him while He's near.
He delights to show mercy. He delights to show mercy. He
takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God is plenteous
in mercy. Nobody's ever called upon His
name in Christ sincerely and been sent away. All who are sent
away are sent away because they will not come. Now that's something. And God knows that we're telling
the truth. And I hope you do. That's what
Paul said. God knows it. But we, listen, we commend not
ourselves, we're not praising ourselves, we're not defending
our gospel. Our gospel doesn't need defending. We commend not ourselves unto
you. Our gospel needs no defense. I'm saying these things to you,
listen, but I give you an occasion. I give you these words to glory
on our behalf, to glory in the truth, to glory in the gospel.
And that you might have somewhat to answer, folks, the glory in
appearance. They know nothing of heart conviction.
He said they glory in appearance, not in heart. These false preachers
glory in success, numbers, greatness, Magnitude, power, all these things,
not in heart. And I say these things to you
that you might have wherewith to answer these people with whom
you work and shop and do business and live. You might tell them
the things that I'm telling you, Paul said. They know nothing
of heart conviction. They know nothing of heart repentance. They know nothing of heart faith.
They glory in outward works. and outward strength. They're
like these people over here in, let me read you this, over in
Luke 16. Our Lord talking here to the
Pharisees. These covetous religious leaders.
Our Lord said in Luke 16, 13, no man can serve two masters,
Either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will
hold to the one and despise the other. You can't serve God in
mammon, God in the world, God in riches, God in the flesh,
and the Pharisees. Also, these religious leaders
who were covetous, these men gloried in appearance, outward
form, ceremony. They heard these things and they
derided him. They didn't understand. And he
said, He said to them, you, you who
glow in appearance, you are they which justify yourselves before
men. But God knows your heart. God
knows your heart. And that which men highly esteem,
that which is highly esteemed among men, is an abomination
in the sight of God. Verse 13, listen. What does this
mean? Paul says, for whether we be
beside ourselves, it is to God. Or whether we be sober, we be
sober, it's for your cause. Whatever. Now listen. Paul's
zeal, he had such a zeal for the gospel and for Christ. Separated to the gospel. Obsessed
with the gospel. He called it my gospel. My gospel. He said if any man preach any
other gospel, let him be accursed. Let him be an anathema. I don't
care if it's an angel from heaven. Oh my soul, that's boldness. That's confidence. That's powerful.
His zeal and his boldness in the gospel led some of his adversaries
to call him a madman. You're mad. That's what that
old ruler said over there in Acts 26. He said, Pop, you're
mad. You're mad. Well, that's what
he's talking about here. Whether I be beside myself, thought
to be mad, fanatical, radical, overly bold, it's to God. It's for the glory of God. It's
for the truth of God. And whether I be sober, serious,
solemn, laid back, that's for your cause. Boy, he says, verse
14, and here's the foundation, he says, of everything I do. Here's the foundation of everything
I do. Foundation for my preaching,
suffering, sacrifice, giving, praying, commitment, travel. Here's the whole thing. The love
of Christ. My love for Him? No. His love for me. It's twofold. For the love of Christ, the love
of Christ, constraineth us, because we thus judge, if He died for
all, then we're all dead. Here's my foundation, twofold.
He loved me, and He died for me. That's what motivates me. Oh, I love Him. I think you can
say our love for Christ motivates us, constrains us, keeps us going. But not like
His love for me. I love Him because He loved me.
And He loved me and herein is love. Not that we love God. When
we talk about our love for Him, it's nothing compared to His
love for us. Nothing. Not even worthy to be
mentioned. That's the reason I don't think
Paul's talking about his love for Christ here. Because his
love for Christ, great as it was, There's nothing compared
to Christ's love for him. And he said, this is what, whether
I be beside myself, it's to God. Whether I be sober, serious,
solemn, whatever, it's for your cause because He loved me and
gave Himself for me. That's what constrains me. That's
what motivates me. And he says here, look at verse
14, the love of Christ. I read that while ago, greater
love hath no man than this. He laid down his life not for
his friends, his enemies. When we were enemies, he died
for us. The love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge. If
he died for us, we were dead. Here's four things to think about. If he died for me, If He had
to die for me to deliver me from death, then I was under the sentence
of death when He found me. Secondly, if He died for me,
if He died for me, the Son of God, if He died for me, now think
about it, there must be no other way out. Contrary to what Mr. Graham said
here a few Sundays ago, if He died, then there was no other
way. Because the Father, if there
had been another way to redeem sinners, certainly would not
have subjected the Son to the humiliation of the cross. Thirdly, if He died for me, then
the reason was not found in me, and the cause was not found in
me, it was found in Him. I love my sheep. I lay down my
life for them. Fourthly, if He died for me and
rose again, then the Father hath accepted me and you, and there
is no condemnation. If Christ has borne my condemnation,
I cannot, must not, will not bear it. How shall He not with
Him freely give us all things? And verse 15, and that He died
for all. He loved me and He died for me.
that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him who loved them and died for them and rose again. That's our motivation. If we need to be reminded of
that, which I'm sure we do not. So it's Christ. Whether I be
mad or whatever, It's because He loved me and He gave Himself
for me. My boldness and zeal and unwillingness to bend, unwillingness to compromise that
gospel is for His glory. He loved me and gave Himself
for me. Wherefore, verse 16, now watch this, wherefore, consequently,
henceforth know we no man after the flesh. We do not regard,
listen to what Paul is saying here, we love men. and women. We love children. Paul loved
the Jewish people. He said, I could wish myself
a curse from Christ for my brethren according to the flesh. My heart's
desire and prayer to God is they might be saved. He loved them.
But as far as regarding and esteeming and seeking to please any man
from a human point of view, We can't do that and be the servants
of Christ. We can't compromise His glory
for their friendship. We can't compromise His gospel
for their support. We can't compromise His way for their fellowship. So he said, Jew or Gentile, male
or female, old or young, all have sinned, and we have no confidence
in their flesh or our flesh. And I know no man after the flesh. I serve no man after the flesh.
I regard, esteem, and seek to please no man after the flesh."
Now, wait a minute. He said, there was a man one
time in the flesh whom I regarded and esteemed and sought to please. Read it. Though we have known
Christ after the flesh." There was one man. Our Lord Jesus Christ
was once a man, a perfect man. We do admire Him, reverence Him,
exalt Him, magnify Him, have total confidence in Him. We know
Him no longer in terms of the flesh. You know what he said? Henceforth, know we Him that
way. So really, though we love people, and we wouldn't hurt them needlessly,
offend them recklessly, it's nice to be well thought of, but when it
comes to the Word of God, the gospel, the truth of God, We
don't know any man after the flesh. Can't be. Can't be. All right, verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
not in religion, not in the church membership, not even in the ministry,
He said, if any man be in Christ, in Christ by covenant grace,
in Christ by the new birth, in Christ by regeneration, in Christ
by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in Christ by faith, if he's in
Christ, that man is what? Bob read it
right, a new creation. A person, and I'm afraid most
of the world, the religious world, does not understand what redemption
is, what salvation is. Salvation is not my being persuaded
in my mind and thoughts or emotions that the Bible is true, and regarding it as being true. believing it as being true, and
making some sort of profession that Jesus Christ is my Savior. Salvation is a new creation. It's not God changing the old
man, or reforming the old man, or educating the old man, or
teaching the old man. It's God creating a new man. Let me show you that in the Scripture
here. Turn to Ephesians 2. Salvation is a miracle. It's
a creation. Paul over in 2 Corinthians chapter
4 describes it or compares it to the creation of the world.
In the beginning. when the world was not. Nothing. God said that there'd be light.
And He created all things by the Word of His power out of
nothing. New creation. And He said, even so, God hath
shined in our hearts in a new creation to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
It's a new creation. Look at Ephesians 2, verse 8
and 9 and 10. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is
not of works lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them." Turn to Ephesians 4
verse 24. Listen to this. Verse 24 of Ephesians 4, "...and
put on," he talked about putting off the old man, the old man,
"...and that you put on the new man, which after God is created, created in righteousness and
true holiness." This is what the Scripture is saying, that
that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And that new person, that new
creation, is born of the Spirit of God. And this is a new man, created
in righteousness and true holiness. This old man knows no goodness. This new man knows no sin, has
no sin. This old nature has no righteousness. This new nature has no evil.
There's the flesh and the Spirit, and they're contrary one to the
other. And salvation is not this man changed. He's never going to be changed.
You're going to put him in the grave. It's a new man. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. A creation in righteousness and
holiness, true holiness. One more scripture, Colossians
3. Colossians 3. This is the miracle of redemption. This is not a decision. It's
a creation. In Colossians 3.10, verse 9 says,
"...lying not one to another, seeing you put off the old man
with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created it." You see that? We're born of God. And this salvation, it's being preached today as
if people are persuaded, talked into, and brought to change their
minds, and they're the same folks. They've just learned a new doctrine
or a new religion or a new way. No, sir. Salvation is God Almighty
creating a new person that's in this flesh and in this body. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. A new creation. I try to explain
to people there's several kinds of life. Mineral life, plant life, animal
life, fleshly life, and there's spiritual life. And Adam lost that when he sinned.
He died. And when Christ redeems us, He
puts within these bodies a new creature, a new creation, a new
person. Not the same. And listen, He
says, old things pass away. All at once? No, sir. No, sir. They're passing away. The old
man, he's not gone yet. The old man has to be mortified
and put down and suppressed and denied all the time. Old things
are passing away. The old way, the old walk, the
old religious works and traditions, they still rear up their heads
and they're put down. They're contrary to the Spirit.
The flesh is contrary to the Spirit. And they don't get along.
There's a warfare. But these old things, the old
pride, the old self-righteousness dies so hard. But it's denied. It's denied. I gave you an illustration this
morning. The Apostle Peter was a new creation in Christ. He
knew who Christ is. And yet, when he sat around at
that fire with those people, that old man took over, didn't
he? They said, you're a disciple. No, I'm not. Yes, he was. But he couldn't stand the thought
of dying. He couldn't stand the thought
of being whipped and crucified. He just said, I'm not one of
them. The fellow said, yes, you are. He said, blankety blank,
I'm not. I don't know the man. And then
he looked at that man. And he went out and wept bitterly.
He knew him. The new man knew him. The old
man denied him. The new man knew him. Old things are passing away.
Old ideas, old philosophies. Old companions, old friends.
They're just not as much fun as they used to be, are they?
Old foolish thoughts, foolish ways. Old false ideas of true
happiness. What is true happiness? David
finally arrived at it. He said, I'll be satisfied when
I wake with His likeness. Solomon tried everything there
was to try. Was he a new creature? Yes, he
was. But he had to find out there wasn't any solution anywhere
but in God. There wasn't any happiness anywhere
but in Christ. You found that out, every one
of you. Old things are passing away. If any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. He's a new creation. And if he's
not a new creation, he's not in Christ. If he can go back to the old
way, he never knew the new way. Because old things are passed
away. Dead. Counted dead. And all things become new. New
family, new direction, new thoughts, new love, new life, new husband. And all these things, verse 18,
are of God. They're not of us, they're not
of our doings, they're not of our planning, they're not of
our making, they're of God's giving by His grace. They're
all of God. We didn't do it, He did. All things in creation are of
God, and all things in providence are of God. He works all things
after the counsel of His own will. All things in life and
death are of God. He kills, He makes alive, and
all things in salvation are of God. Verse 18, "...who hath reconciled
us to Himself by Jesus Christ." Who planned your salvation and
mine? Who purposed it? He did. Who sent Christ from heaven's
glories into this world as our substitute and Savior, Redeemer,
Righteousness? He did. Who delivered Him to
be crucified into the hands of wicked men and pleased Him to
bruise Him? God did. Who raised Him from
the dead and exalted Him to His right hand as our intercessor
and advocate? God did. Who chose us? Who quickened us? Who called
us? Who quickened us? Who begat us
to life? God did. Who gave us repentance
and a hatred for sin and a love for Him? Faith in Christ. He did. Who gave us an understanding
of the way of life? He did. Who keeps me from falling? He does. Who will give me grace
to die and raise me from the grave? Who will take me to glory
and make me like Christ? Who will say to me, someday enter
you, blessed, into the kingdom prepared for you from before
the foundation of the world? God did and God will. I'll tell you this, if any man's
in Christ, he's a new creation. And old things that are of the
flesh and the world and of us and cling to us, they're passing away. They're
marked for destruction. Like all the rest of the things
that are contrary to Christ. And all things are new. And all
those things are of God. That's right. He's not going
to preserve or conserve anything having to do with us. All these
new things are His. I make all things new. Behold,
I make all things new. It's a gift of grace. It's a
gift of God. People say, well, you're mad.
I am for His glory. You're this, that, and the other.
I am for your good. I shut men up to the grace of
God because there ain't no other way. I shut men up to the grace
of Christ. There's no other way. I shut
men and women up to God's mercy. There's no other way. If He doesn't
call you, you won't be called. If He doesn't save you, you won't
be saved. If He doesn't reach down in the
pit and lift you out, you're going to stay in the pit. So
that's the reason we need to call on Him. Help me, Lord, be
merciful to me, the sinner. The publican cried, and God heard
him. Lord, remember me, the thief
cried, and God heard him. Judgment is upon all who won't
call. And he's reconciled us and given
us the ministry of reconciliation, and here it is. Listen to it.
Here's that ministry. God. was in Christ. What did I say? God was in Christ. God was manifest in the flesh.
Jesus Christ is God Almighty. And He was in Christ, reconciling
the world to Himself. What world? Every tribe, kindred,
nation and tongue. To Himself. Not to the law, to
Himself. The law was against me, but the
law was against me because God was against me. I'm reconciled to Him. And He's
not imputing, charging, reckoning our trespasses unto us, but He
has committed to us this Word, this message of reconciliation. Now then, we're ambassadors for
Christ. True ministers are literally
ambassadors for Christ. as though God did beseech you
by us. We pray you, in Christ's stead,
be reconciled to God. Old Barnard said, lay down your
shotgun, put your sword back in the scabbard, bow the knee,
be reconciled to God. So be it. For He, God the Father,
hath made Him the Son to be sin for us, the sinner. He knew no
sin. We were nothing but sin. But
He made Him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Our Father, bless the Word to
my heart and to every heart here. Thank you for your grace, your
mercy to us in Christ Jesus. Thank you Lord that you did not
pass us by and leave us in the pit. But you chose us and called
us and redeemed us and made us in Christ a new creature. And made us to despise and hate
this old flesh and long for the day when we shall see Him and
be like Him. Make this message to be effectual
to every heart. For your glory, I pray in Christ's
name. Amen.