Conference: 1981, 2 Corinthians 5:1 (5:1)
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
I'd like to turn tonight to 2nd Corinthians of the 5th chapter. 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5. For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If thou be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked, for we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the self, same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore, we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are. Absent from the Lord. Walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 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. 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 of 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 know man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ said, be reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Just to give the context I would like to read the I'd like to read the last verse of the 4th chapter. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Here we see that we can be occupied with things that pass away, or we can be living for those things that are unseen and eternal. You know, the things about us are all going to pass away. It tells us that the heavens and the earth now are reserved under fire and perdition of ungodly men, and those who are living for this present time are living for things that are going to pass away. But God has given us reason why we should live for things that are not going to pass away. And oh, how wonderful it is, dear friends, that as those of us who know the Lord is our Savior, we have something far beyond this life, something that is unseen, something that is eternal. We have One who can fill and satisfy the heart. And in occupation with Him we can pass through this world as ambassadors. You know those men who were over in Korea, in Iran. Why? They were ambassadors from the United States where they interested in trying. To improve that country. Oh, you say they were just longing to get back to their own country. Their hopes, all their ambitions, their desires and everything were centered in another place. How happy they were when they're released. How happy they'll be when they get back to their own land. Well, dear friends, isn't that just like ourselves as Christians? We're here in this world, but our citizenship is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus, and we're just longing for the time.
And we're going to be called home too, when we're going to be called to be with the one whom we love, and we're going to spend eternity in his glorious presence. But while they were there, they had a responsibility. They had a job to do. And so while we're here in this world, we have a responsibility too, a privilege. And that's why I'd like to speak to this chapter because I think it brings before us 3 reasons that are mentioned in this chapter as to why we should live for. For what is unseen and eternal? The first one is because every day we're reminded by these bodies with their aches and pains and trials, that we're not here to stay in this Tabernacle. We groan. And the next reason is because our lives are going to someday pass into review, and therefore the way we have conducted ourselves here is going to be reviewed another day. And that makes it. Very serious for us and that we should remember to redeem the time because the days are evil. And then the best reason of all is given last and that is the love of Christ constraineth us. And so, you know, as we think of these three things here tonight, perhaps it will deepen in our hearts the desire to live for the Lord Jesus, for those unseen and eternal things for that time when we're going to see our precious Savior face. Faith. And so, as I say, as we look at these things, they can speak to our hearts. There's one thing that seems to stand out very specially in the first part of this chapter, and that is the words we know. And in the sixth verse we are always confident. And in the eighth verse we are confident. That is, Christianity is characterized by certainty. The world is characterized by uncertainty. People say, well, you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. Everything is so uncertain in this world, and it is, dear friends, it's getting more uncertain. And it seems to me because as the end draws near, men feel more and more their helplessness to handle in new situations that continually arise. But isn't it a blessed thing to be a Christian? And I say again, what characterizes Christianity is we know. We are confident, and we don't know because we rely upon the opinions of men, because the opinions of men are constantly changing, but we know because we rely. Upon the infallible, unchanging word of God, it says heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. All the arguments of man will never give you peace about your soul's need or about your eternal destiny, but simple trust in what God has said will give you peace. As one very, very learned lady said when she came to the end of her life, she. Said takes the whole Bible to live with, but it just takes one verse to die with. And she said the verse that speaks peace to my soul is this. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin. I say the philosophies of man, the creeds of a church, the fact that you've been baptized or gone through certain ordinances. Will never give you peace when the time comes to leave this world, but if you can say. From your heart I'm resting upon the precious blood of Christ. Then, friend, you have a sure foundation. Then you have something worthwhile to rest upon. And the word of God that says. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life. Well here we find the apostle speaks about death in such a very, very simple way. Doesn't he notice what he says the our earthly House of this Tabernacle and just as a man living in a tent and he said, well, I'm going to leave this tent and live in a house while everyone will understand that. But Paul spoke of living in his body as being in a tent. He said, I'm living now in the earthly House of this Tabernacle, but it's going to be dissolved. It's going to be dissolved. It's not going to remain. These bodies in which we live are called in the Bible tabernacles of clay. And we know very well as we grow older now that we have to face the fact that we're not here to stay. But Paul could look forward with certainty, just like a man who's living in a tent and there's a beautiful mansion being built.
Across the street he doesn't mind if the tent does spring a few leaks. He probably says to himself, well, it's not going to be long till we'll be over in that nice house across there, and it's going to be finished shortly. That's where we're going to live. And dear friends, isn't it a wonderful thing to be able to say? We know that we have a building of God and house not made with hands. Eternal in the heavens There are some houses in this world that have stood for. For even centuries, but isn't this grand? A building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Oh, I hope that's the portion of everyone here tonight. A little hymn says we have a home above from all defilement free, a mansion which eternal love prepared our recipe. Oh, what a grand thing it is to have that assurance. And all through what Christ has done. Well then, he said, in this we grow. Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. Oh, is that true? Our Christians promise that now that they're saved, they're not going to have any more aches and pains, never going to have anything to groan about. Oh, our precious Savior, who was holy, harmless, and undefiled, He felt the sorrows of this world. It says he groaned in spirit and was troubled as he stood by. Grave of Lazarus and saw the sorrow that had come into that home through death. And dear friends, we do feel the sorrows of life. God allows us to feel them. He intends us to feel them. It tells us it's better to go into the House of mourning than into the House of feasting. For that is the end of all man, and the living will lay it to heart. Sometimes when you go to a funeral, you'd think that the service was for the person that was dead. They're talking all about what the person. His dad did, But God intends that the House of mourning would be a place where the living would lay it to heart, where those who were still living would realize the solemnity of leaving this world. And of the only two ways that a person can die, either in his sins or in the Lord, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Well, in this Tabernacle we groan. Someone has said God permits us to groan but not to grumble. It's not right for Christians to grumble. We're told that all things work together for good to them, that love God. We should learn to be able to take our circumstances from him. Not that we don't feel them, but when the Lord Jesus groaned, he looked up to his Father and said, I thank thee, that thou hearest me always. That precious Saviour ever walked in communion. God His Father, and so you and I have the privilege as believers to walk here on earth in fellowship with our precious Savior. But we do feel these groans, and it says we desire to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. Now there's another little warning in this third verse. If so, be. That being clothed, we shall not be found naked. That is, there's not only a resurrection of the just, there's a resurrection of the unjust. There's a resurrection of sinners and they're going to be called upon. They're not going to be called upon where they glorified body like believers. They're going to come forth though, and at that great white throne, they're going to stand before God and they're going to meet the just penalty of their sins and be sent away from the presence of God. And I beg you, if there's anyone here tonight that's not saved, that you'll stop and think of what it will be. To stand before the Lord of glory in your sins. Without our role of righteousness. So he gives a little warning here. And I say this because sometimes at a funeral, people like to take the verses of comfort. And if they're not saved, it doesn't apply to them at all. Comfort is given to the one who knows Christ, but warnings to the ones who don't. And so here's a warning if there's anyone here that doesn't have the role of righteousness. May God grant that you will come like the prodigal and the father. Come back and repent. Come back acknowledging your guilt, and he'll put on the best role, the Father said. Bring forth the best rod and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. All the welcome that awaits the Sinner who returns confessing his sins and looking only to Christ. At any sales, For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Now this is a lovely verse for believers, because when it says here not that we would be unclothed but clothed upon, it simply means that the proper hope of the Christian is not death, but the Lord's coming. That is, when the Lord comes, we will be clothed upon if the Lord descended from heaven with a shout right now. There is a good many in this room that wouldn't pass through death at all, but they would be clothed upon. They would never know what the unclothed state is, that is, and they would never have to pass through death, because it says in second at First Thessalonians 4. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so isn't it lovely? We're just. To talking to some older people, and as old age comes on, you often wonder what the future holds. Isn't it lovely to be able to say, not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon values? They don't need to look for death, but look for the Lord's coming, the blessed hope of the believer. And so this is the proper hope that is set before us, when mortality will be swallowed up of life. That will be when the Lord descends from heaven. With a shout for his own. And he's given us an assurance about this. Now he that hath wrought us for the self, same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident. Has God-given some pledge to us that He intends to complete what he has begun? Yes, he has. He has given the Holy Spirit of God. To indwell our bodies, and it tells us that he is the earnest of our inheritance. Until the redemption of the purchased possession of sometimes used it this way, because I think we all know what earnest money is, money that you put down when you intend to buy a piece of property. Let's suppose a man is going to buy a piece of property and it's valued, we'll say at $50,000. And he says to the agent, well, I'll put down $100,000 as earnest money. Well, the agents say that's not necessary. It's only worth $50,000. Well, he says. I want to be absolutely sure to get it. So the next day somebody comes along and says, do you think that man will back out of the deal? Well, he said never. He paid twice the price, just as earnest money. He's not going to back out of that deal for sure. Well, isn't it a wonderful thing that when God say the Sinner like me, what assurance did he give me that he's going to complete what he has begun? He sent the Holy Spirit of God to indwell a poor, worthless thing like me, to give me the assurance that He intends to complete what he has begun. And when I say that, I mean that now I have the salvation of my soul, but when the Lord comes, I'm going to have my full salvation, the salvation of my body. And so here He's telling us what the believer has, and he says therefore. We're always confident and even though we're. Here in our bodies, at home, in the body, we're confident about death because we know what it is, it says in the seventh verse. We walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. And we're confident and we're willing because we know that the Lord is going to complete what He has begun. And So what is death for the believer? How isn't this blessed? Well, it's just, it's just the fact that when the body is laid away in the ground, the person is not asleep in the ground. His soul is not. Sleep, he's absent from the body and present with the Lord. The Lord said to the thief on the cross, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And so we find in the in the Epistle to the Philippians, Paul said to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. So what a portion is the believer. But I I say again as we go on with this subject. I believe, brethren, that every time we have an ache and a pain, God is saying to us, I am just reminding us, I'm just reminding you that you're not here to stay. You don't really belong to this world. Because in heaven it says God himself shall wipe away all tears from off of all faces, and there shall be no more sickness or sorrow or crying or pain. For the former things are passed away. And so.
Wouldn't it be nice, brethren, if every time we had an ache and a pain, we said the Lord's telling me something? The Lord's telling me that I'm only here for a little while and he wants me to use the rest of my time for him. And he's speaking gently every time we have these little things in our lives. He's saying to us, You don't belong here. How are we spending our time? Are we spending our time in view of eternity? How are we looking at the unseen and eternal things? That's the. Only thing that's going to abide in our lives. The things that are seen are temporal. The things that are not seen are eternal. Well, what an assurance we have then. But what a word to us that we should realize that we don't belong here. And now we come to the second thing, and that is the thought of the judgment seat of Christ. It says in this ninth verse wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. I want you to just to notice this order. The eighth verse says we are confident, and the first 3 words of the ninth verse wherefore we labor. Some people are laboring to get confidence. That is, they're working, hoping that somehow they're going to do enough and to gain some measure of confidence that will be all right because they've done enough. God puts it completely the other way. He says we're confident because we walk by faith. We rest upon what God has said. We rest upon the finished work of Christ. We know we're saved and therefore we labor. And what do we labor for? Well, we want our lives to be acceptable to the Lord. We want him to be pleased with the way we live our lives. The Christian doesn't live a certain way in order to get saved or even to keep. Saved he is to live to please the Lord because he loves him and because he wants his life to be acceptable to him. You know when you're going to get a gift for someone that you love usually think when you're buying it. I wonder if my friend is going to like this gift and you look around and you're using quite a bit of consideration as to whether the person would really like this thing that you're getting are are we living our. Times that way, from the time we get up in the morning till we go to bed at night, Are we saying I want to Live Today in such a way that it'll be acceptable to my savior because someday he's going to look at my life? And just like that friend opens that package and says, oh, that's just what I wanted. It's just lovely. Oh, how pleased you are. You say it was worth all the trouble to get something my friend really liked. And are we living our lives that way? Because they are going to be reviewed. In a coming day now, just like that parcel that's open and and the gift is examined, so Paul said our lives are going to be examined in that day too by the one who loved us and gave himself for us. And so here we find that Paul desired, whether present or absent, that is, while he was here in this world, he wanted to please his Lord. When he got saved, he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And then afterwards he thinks, well, I want to think every day, and that pleasing to him, for he says, we must all appear. Before the judgment seat of Christ. Now you know the judgment seat of Christ is brought before us in different two different ways in the Scripture and what it has to do with an unbeliever. It's an intensely serious thing. It takes the character of the great white throne. God will have to deal with those who have rejected Christ and their lives will pass into review, and every sin will appear in all its enormity because not one has been blotted out. Not one has been blotted out. I say from God's record, and that's why he says in this 11TH verse, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade man he thought of what it would be to have life pass into review and not. Have a Savior, not have the robe of righteousness, but for himself. He wasn't afraid of the judgment seat of Christ, but he did desire that his life would be pleasing to the Lord.
Perhaps in order to make it simple, I might say that we use the word judge in English in two different senses. We use it in the way of a judge in a courtroom. And so here's a courtroom and a judge is brought up. He's there, and the criminal is brought up, and the criminal is found guilty and the judge pronounces a sentence. But only you might go to, we'll say, a dog show or something, and the judge is not there to punish the dogs at all. The judge is there to look over these animals and he's there to give rewards, not for punishment at all. And now, you know, if you're a Sinner, you're going to meet God as a judge in the courtroom. But if you're a Christian, you're going to meet him as one who judges your life. Not that there's going to be anything charged to you, because the blood of Jesus Christ has. From all sin. And when you as a Christian appear at the judgment seat of Christ, you're going to be there in the robe of righteousness. Let me illustrate it again. Here's the judge in the courtroom and he has to pronounce several sentences during the day. And then he comes home and his children have done some, some little work at home. And his wife says, well, look at the work the children have done and tell me which you think is the best. Well, he's judging now about those. Children's work. But he's not there to punish his children. He's there to look over their work and to give reward. And I want to ask you, my friend, tonight, are you going to meet the Lord as a judge who will have to punish you and send you away from His presence forever? Or are you going to meet him as one who reviews your life and would seek to pick out of your life of that which will be pleasing to him? Well, as Paul thought of that, he said I want to live. My life in a way that's pleasing to my Lord and Savior. Of course, we might say that in regard to the judgment seat of Christ, it speaks here of the things done in the body. And I believe that at the judgment seat of Christ there's going to be a review of the whole life. Not that anything will be charged, because those of us who are Christians know that. We have failed even since we have been saved and every sin whether it was before or sin of the believer has been put away in the precious blood of Christ. But we will never really know how great the debt was that the Lord Jesus paid until its all comes out then. And just like if someone paid some debts for you and then you take the adding machine and add them up and you find that they. Far more than you realize at the first. Aren't you going to thank them more heartily when you know how great the debts were? Well, I don't believe that in this world we have a proper appreciation of the grace of God. I believe that if we, who are Christians, knew how much the Lord had done for us and how great the death was that He paid for us, we'd be praising Him far more than we are. One hymn writer put This is my story. This is my. Son praising my Savior all day long. And I don't believe that we'll fully realize how great the dead is until it was, I should say, until we stand there and the Lord shows us how great it was. You know, if you have some bills in the not mark paid, will they bother you? But you can have a stack that high and as long as Walmart paid, they don't bother you at all, do they? And you know, that's what the Lord has done. He's paid the debt. Paid it in full. There's another Perhaps we could look at a couple of scriptures about this. First Corinthians chapter 3, First Corinthians chapter 3, and verse 8. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation. Another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon for other. Can no man lay it? And that is laid which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, he shall which he hath built, thereupon he shall receive a reward.
Any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire. You'll notice in this passage that it has to do with our work for the Lord. And how important it is that the work that we do is according to God's will, because that alone will abide. Now a person might do a great deal of work and it's compared here to wood, hay and stubble. I've known, I knew some workmen and he, they did a great deal of work, but they didn't do it according to the City of Ottawa Code. And it all had to be taken out because it was not acceptable. I don't say they weren't good workmen, but I. They would have been much wiser to have found out what the code was before they had to pull out all their work and start over again. And dear friends, it's important for us if we're going to work for the Lord, that we do it according to His Word. And then it says, if any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward. It says, where laborers together with God. Why, if you get a man to do a job in your house? You're concerned that he's a good Workman, but you're also concerned he does the job the way you want him to. To do it, and God is concerned about that too, and He is going to reward what has been done for himself in obedience to His Word. And so it tells us here. If any man's work be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved. You can see it's no question of whether the man is saved. He's saved all right, but his work is destroyed. It's burned up because it was not acceptable. And then in the next chapter it says. In the fifth verse, therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God. Here we find that it's not only what we do about, it's the motive of our of our service. You know, we can do a great deal for the eye of others. There's a lot of pride in our hearts and we can do things so that other people will give us credit. And God is going to make manifest the counsels of the heart. And So what is done to please him, what is done out of love for him will be rewarded in that day. And I think this is so beautiful. Itself. And then shall every man have praise of God, Because you know, you might undertake to do something for the Lord. And then you might say, well, I'm afraid I made a mess of it. I'm afraid I didn't do it very well. Well, you know, sometimes our children, they undertake to do something for us. They don't do it very well, but we know they do it out of love. And we give them praise, we give them credit, we say. Oh, we're we're really appreciate their little efforts. Perhaps we could have done it better ourselves. But we appreciate the effort, don't we? Have a gracious Savior. Why, when He reviews your life and mine, He is going to pick out everything that's done for him, and He's even going to take notice of the motives of the heart. And even if perhaps we sort of messed things up sometimes, if we did it out of love for him, he's going to, it says, then shall every man have praise of God? There'll be something in every believer's life that he can pick out. Reward. There's one other passage. I won't just turn to it for time's sake, but it's in Romans 14 and it says there it says, Why dost thou judge thy brother, and why dost thou setteth not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. That means we should be very careful about our attitude to our brethren in Christ. It doesn't mean that the assembly doesn't have to judge what is evil, but it's talking about forming judgments about other people's lives. We should leave that. And we may be surprised that there's far more in someone else's life than we ever realized. Because the Lord is the one who looks at the heart. And so we're told not to judge or set it. Not another. Leave him with the Lord. Leave her with the Lord. Our part is, every one of us shall give. Of himself to God. Remember this, brethren, at the judgment seat of Christ. We're not going to have to give account for what somebody else did, but for ourselves. May we live our lives then in view of the judgment seat of Christ.
And now he goes on to the next one, here in the 14th verse. 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. You notice he says in the end of the 12TH verse. We may have somewhat to answer them which glory and appearance and not in heart. And it tells us in Proverbs, My son, give me thine heart. And so this brings us to the third thing. Since our lives are going to pass into review, we certainly want to have the Lord's approval in that day and now. What is the motive that is really to control our lives? Are we to do things merely out of a sense of duty? I never wanted our children to do what they did just because it was a kind of a duty and that this was something that they had to do. And they kind of did it because they had to, but certainly not because they wanted to. But you know, the things that pleased me most about my children were the little things that they did out of love. Just did them because they wanted to show us as parents that they loved us. For some of those little things, some parents will keep and keep for years. It's some little thing. It may only be a little piece of paper with a few words on it, but it was something that was given in love, and now that's what the Lord values. It says that we shouldn't glory in appearance, but in heart. And hasn't God-given us every reason that our hearts should be moved? Is there any love like His? He's loved us through everything that we've done. He loved us as another said when? He couldn't like us, nothing in us to like at all, but he loved us and the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And even since we've been saved, how often we've grieved and dishonored him. And yet it says having loved his own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. It's an unchanging love, a love that's just the same. No matter what we do, His love ever remains the same. Doesn't that make us want to please? Wonderful Savior. And so I've often said the verse does not say the love of Christ should constrain us, but the love of Christ constraineth us. It's stated as an absolute fact. And perhaps someone might say, well, I don't know why it is the love of Christ doesn't seem to constrain me. Well, let's illustrate it like this. Supposing I had a magnet in my hand here, and I have some nails on the table and I hold the magnet up here. The nails don't move at all. And yet I say this magnet will move nails. But you say, well, why isn't it moving those nails? Well, you know why? The magnet has to be close to the nails. There's no question that there's a sufficient pull in that magnet to move those nails. But the magnet needs to be close to the nails. And you know, sometimes we're like Peter. Peter followed the Lord. Afar off and the result was that he denied. Lord and we as Christians, if we allow ourselves to get away from the Lord and we don't stay close to him, we won't feel the constraint of his love, not because it isn't there, not because he doesn't love us through it all, but James says draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you and that's exactly what happens when you bring down that magnet. Two things as the magnet gets close, the nails come up. They come up to meet the magnet and the. Established, that magnet moves nails, and the love of Christ constraineth us. And it says 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. I was once a dead Sinner. There was no response in my heart to him, but the Lord did something in. My heart, he put something there. He put a new life there. Supposing I had a pile of brass nails there, I could bring that magnet down and nothing would happen because the magnet doesn't move brass nails. But if I could replace those nails with those brass nails with steel nails, why, Immediately they start to move. And you know, that's what God does. Some people say, well, I don't think I could enjoy reading the Bible and I don't think I can enjoy.
Praying and coming to meetings, that's that's not just down my line. Well, it's just like the the brass, the brass nails. Nothing happens when you bring that magnet down. But what does God do? He makes a change. He imparts a new life. We pass from death unto life. We're no longer dead sinners. God has given us eternal life and that life responds to the claims of Christ and when a person is saved. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. Something has happened inside. Who did it? God did it. He brought a new life, put that new life inside, and now it says we were once dead, but now we live and we're just like those nails. We don't live now to ourselves. Where do those nails go? Well, there's only one answer. They go wherever the magnet takes them. That's where they go. They don't choose a course of. On as long as that magnet is close, while those nails will move anywhere around the table where the magnet takes them. And that's what happened when Saul of Tarsus met the Lord on the road to Damascus. The first thing he said was, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? He just said, as if I I'm a nail now and you're the magnet Lord. And he just asked the Lord to take over. And that's what happened in his life. He was told to go into Damascus and he would show him what to do. And he went into Damascus, He yielded his life. He presented his body, a living sacrifice to the Lord and a new creature in Christ Jesus. He had new desires. It says people marveled. They said he preached the face which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. Oh, in this beautiful dear friends, the love of Christ constraineth us. And you say, well what's wrong in this? Well, this verse answers it so simply. Are we doing it for self? Are we doing it for the Lord? That's the whole point. Are we doing it for self? Are we doing it for the Lord? That we should not live unto ourselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again? How much did my Savior pay for me? What was the price? Oh, a price that I could never pay, but He paid it in full. He took my place. He bore my sins. He's given to me eternal life. Oh, what a love is His, and so the love of Christ. Us now and so I say again, aren't these three wonderful reminders for us all First of all, that every time we have a groan, God is saying, well, you're not in this world to stay. You might as well live your life in view of eternity. And then we think of our lives passing into review and everything coming out at the judgment seat of Christ and we want to have the Lord's approval in that day and then what is the. Reigning power. In other words, what is it that makes us want to do it? What makes me want to please my Savior? Is it because you belong to a certain group who lays down certain rules? No, there's a new thing in the life altogether, and that is you want to please the Savior, You want to live to please the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. And so he says in the 16th verse, Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh. Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we have no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away, Behold, all things are become new. That end of the 16th verse might be a little hard to understand. Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. But perhaps I could explain it like this, that when the Lord Jesus was here, he said. But I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. He came particularly to that one favored nation, because he says of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. He came as a man born into this world, and He came to His own, to that favored nation, But they rejected Him. Now He accomplished a work on Calvary's cross, and He's gone up on high. Is the blessing limited to Israel? Do I have to ask a man if he's a Jew? Oh no. Disciples were told to go into the not into the way of the Gentiles, into any cities of the Samaritans. Enter ye not, but go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. We have to do that now. Now we know Christ in resurrection, and in resurrection the message goes out to whosoever will. He said, He shall be witnesses unto me, both in Judea and in Jerusalem and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth, and so from every.
Nation, there are those who are being brought into the family of God, made new creatures in Christ Jesus. And so Paul said, isn't the question of knowing people after the flesh? I don't suppose I'd know anybody in this room if the Lord hadn't saved you and saved me. And because he did, we were brought to know each other because we all have different callings in life, but the Lord has brought us together. Because he has brought us into his family. He's made us new creatures in Christ Jesus and So what a place we have been brought into. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That's why the Christian is not understood, because you can't understand the life of the Christian until you possess it. Once you possess it, then you immediately begin to understand. You see that the one who is born to the family of God partakes of the life and nature of the family, enjoys different things. So if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Well then in the end of the chapter he tells us. What our position is really in this world? And it seems to me he makes a comparison in a simple way that I think we can all understand. Perhaps we can understand it a little more just in this very time because of those hostages who were held over in Iran. They were over there in connection with the American, in connection with the American ambassador to Japan. They were over there to represent their country. It wasn't very easy for them and they certainly have had a very, very. Difficult time just because they were there to represent their country. Well, you and I are in this world. And what is our purpose here? Well, brethren, this is a tremendous privilege and responsibility. I think those men feel that they had a great privilege to represent their country even amid hardships. And you and I have the privilege of representing heaven on this earth. God has saved us. We belong to heaven and we have a building of God. And how it's not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Do we realize what a privilege and what a responsibility we have here in this world? Oh, just think of what it is, he says in the chapter before that the life of Jesus might be seen in our bodies. Our others, as they look at us, say those people are different, but they seem like the Lord Jesus. I believe. It's quite interesting to me that in the early church it doesn't tell us that the disciples called themselves Christians. It says they were called. Christians, they were called Christians. And I think it just simply means that as the population in Antioch looked at these young believers, they said, well, these people are like Christ. And so they started to call them Christians. They started to call them Christians. And so as the world looks at us, they ought to see in us that we are heavens representatives and the Lord Jesus has gone away. He's gone back to glory. And he said, when he went away, he said to his own, as my Father hath sent me, Even so send by you. What a place, what a responsibility. And so we go to this world, and it says, We pray you in Christ said, be ye reconciled to God. Men have wrong thoughts about God. They think God is against them, but the wonderful message of the gospel is God is not against. Wants to bless the Sinner. God wants to pardon the Sinner. God wants to impart to him the best role. It says He hath made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. What astounding the believer is brought into the righteousness of God in Christ. Well, brethren, may we each remember them, our place and privilege here. Certainly our time is short. We must. Feel that the Lord's coming is drawing near. Soon faith is going to be changed to sight. But as we think of this and we think of our privilege here to be representatives for heaven, representatives for such a wonderful Savior here in this world. Or may these three thoughts lay hold of our hearts and make us realize that although the time is short, we do have the rest of our time. It may not be very long, but may the Lord grant that. All the things that come along in life, whether it's the trials or as we think of our lives passing into review, or as we meditate upon His love, all these things will, as it were, put a new desire into our hearts that will say, I just want to live for the Savior who did so much for me. Well, may the Lord grant that His love will constrain us not to live unto ourselves, but unto Him from henceforth.