Compelled by the Fear of God
2 Corinthians 5:9-11(ESV):
9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each
one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
The Lord is always interested in our motivations. He doesn't just examine our actions; He examines the reasons behind why we do what we do. Here are some great verses that highlight this truth:
Proverbs 16:2 (ESV):
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Matthew 15:8-9 (ESV):
8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
How many of us faithfully examine the motives behind our actions? The reality is that God does not only look at our actions; He determines our motives. Proverbs 16:2 em- phasizes that while man can be self-deceived, "the Lord weighs the spirit." In other
words, the Lord judges or evaluates people and their true motives.
Then, we have Matthew 15:8-9. It provides an image of people outwardly worship- ping; they say all the right things while they worship. But God exposes their hearts. As He ex- amines their motives, He concludes thateverything they do is empty worship because their hearts are far from Him. This passage reminds me of what A. W. Tozer's words:
"It is not what man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular; it is why he does it."
This morning, we are starting a new sermon series entitled "Compelled." This series will revolve around 2 Corinthians 5, where the apostle Paul shares at least four essential mo- tivations in his life. Undoubtedly, the apostle Paul is one of the most dynamic and effective servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. This sermon series is important because it allows us to de- termine what made Paul a mighty servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll have four sermons in this series:
1. Compelled by the Fear of God (vs. 9-11)
2. Compelled by the Love of God (vs. 14-15)
3. Compelled by the Transformation of God (vs. 16-17) 4. Compelled by the Message of God (vs. 18-21)
To give us a little background of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians,
this book was very personal to the apostle Paul. While he was serving the
Lord, some people hated him and wanted to destroy his ministry. So, Paul
wrote this letter to defend his apostleship and ministry. And part of his de-
fense will cover his four primary motivations in his ministry. And now, let's
dive into our first motivation by considering the three essential elements of the fear of God:
I THE RECKONING OF GOD (vs. 9-10)
I heard a story of a concert violinist who gave a great concert, and the people stood and applauded. The violinist left the stage while the people were applauding. The people behind the stage said, "Go back out there – they're all standing." "No, they're not all standing. Do you see that little man on the third row? He's not standing, and he is my teacher.
The apostle Paul always understood the person he needed to please in life. He stated it plainly in verse 9 – "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." By the way, if you read the verses before verse 9, you would know that the phrase "at home or away" is a direct reference "to being dead or alive." Therefore, he is alluding to the fact that wherever he may be in life, his aim will not change; he will always do his best to please the Lord. Meaning he is always conscious of honoring the Lord in his life.
Of course, He is the same person who declared these words in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV):
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Why was he always conscious of pleasing the Lord that he wanted to honor Him even in as simple as eating and drinking? The answer is found in verse 10, where he talks about
the "Judgment Seat of Christ."
Let's briefly remind ourselves about this essential doctrine. The Judgment Seat of Christ is not to judge believers for their sins but a time of reckoning for believers, where they would give account and be rewarded for how they have served the Lord while they were on earth. Going back to verse 10, I want to emphasize the word "appear" came from the Greek
word "phaneroo." This word can be translated as "made manifest." More than just appearing before the judge, the verb suggests our lives "being laid open" before the judge. In other words, the Judgement Seat will reveal not only the quantity of our service to the Lord but the quality of our service. So, it will be a time of reward for some and a time of regret for others. To understand how God will examine our works, let's check 1 Corinthians 3:11-15: 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be re- vealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
According to this passage, there will be two major categories for all
our works. First, gold, silver, and precious stones are the ones that will sur-
vive the test of fire, and these are the ones that will receive a reward. On the other hand, the wood, hay, and straw will be consumed by the test of fire. This category speaks of the works which are cheap and temporary. If they are your kind of work, you will surely suffer loss.
Are you confident to stand before our Lord Jesus Christ to be evaluated for how you have served Him? Here's John's challenge to all of us:
1 John 2:28-29 (ESV):
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices right- eousness has been born of him.
I pray that we will all serve the Lord with our best motives and confidently look for- ward to the time we will stand before our Savior to receive His rewards.
II THE REVERENCE OF GOD (v. 11)
Proceeding to verse 11, we read – "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we per- suade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your con- science." It is evident that the conjunction "Therefore," provides the link between the Judg- ment Seat of Christ and the fear of God. Since Paul was seeking Christ's rewards, he served maintaining the fear of God in his life.
Now, the Bible has so much to say about the fear of God. One of the familiar verses is Proverbs 9:10; we are told that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Meaning you and I will begin to show that we are wise the moment we start fearing the Lord. So, how many wise people do we have in this room today?
To appropriately define the fear of God, we should never think of God as someone we need to be scared of or afraid of; instead, this fear suggests deep respect or the worshipful reverence of God. When we examine it as a source of motivation for the apostle Paul, it means that he wanted to live his life with a continual awareness that he was in the presence of a holy and almighty God and that He was judging his every thought, word, and action.
How many of us maintain this deep sense of respect toward God? When you go to the Old Testament, you will find King Solomon, the second wisest man who walked on earth, gives the very same instruction as to how God's people should live their lives in Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14 (ESV):
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Again, both King Solomon and the apostle Paul have the same mind-
set. We fear the Lord because one day, we will be rewarded for everything we have done for God, privately and publicly.
One more verse before I move to my third point – Proverbs 1:28-29 (ESV):
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will
not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
One fundamental truth I need to help us understand from these verses – we have to choose the fear of God. It will never be a part of us until we have decided to live it out.
III THE REWARDS OF THE FEAR OF GOD
Lastly, besides the eternal rewards that the fear of God can bring into our lives, I also would like to show that it can get some practical rewards that God's people can enjoy while waiting to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Consider the following:
A. Guidance In Our Decisions
Psalm 25:12 (ESV):
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
In this Psalm of David, I certainly love this promise that if we fear God, He will show us how to choose. Let's face it; we sometimes need to figure out the best route to take toward achieving our goals and dreams in life. So often, we take the leap of faith, hoping we'll hit our target. Well, God wants to provide us with the guidance we need, but we should prioritize fearing Him first in our lives.
B. Protection From Our Enemies
Psalm 34:7 (ESV):
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
I have learned that even when we are doing our best, people would hate us and would love to see us destroyed. Well, when we fear the Lord, He promises to give us angels to pro- tect and deliver us. By the way, we must get used to angels, God's invisible defenders, being on our side. Sometimes you will feel all alone, but if you fear the Lord, the Lord will keep this promise of protection.
C. Victory Over Temptation and Sin
Proverbs 16:6 (ESV):
6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
Sin is always dangerous and destructive. There are many people who think they can outsmart sin. With our sinful nature, I trust we are humble enough to recognize that only God can protect us from sin's vicious and harmful effects. Sin will have difficulty getting the best of us if we maintain the fear of God in our lives.
D. A More Satisfying Life On Earth
Proverbs 22:4 (ESV):
4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Do you want the best quality of blessings in your life? This verse clearly shows that the rewards for humility and the fear of God are riches, honor, and life. If you read the same verse in Message Translation, it would read – "The payoff for meekness and Fear-of-God is plenty and honor and a satisfying life."
Think about what this verse promises! Often, there are many who, because they are after these things, will turn away from God instead of fearing Him. By doing this, they miss out on God's most faithful blessings.
As I close this sermon, I would like to continually challenge all of us to renew our motivation to live our lives in fear of God. I am reminded of a man named Cornelius in Acts 10:22. He was a Roman soldier who became known in his community as a man who feared the Lord – "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish na- tion" (Acts 10:22, ESV).
I wonder if the people who know you would call you a "God-fearing man." Evidently, in the way Cornelius lived, people could see the fear of God in his life. There is undoubtedly a difference between people who fear God and people who don't. Just like Paul and Cornelius, let's do our best to be compelled by the fear of God in our lives!
Leading People To A Life of Commitment and Productivity in Christ
Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana/Nov. 6, 2022
