Introduction. (Read the reference)

This wonderful passage is remarkably well and closely reasoned. It is extremely heartening but also challenging for the Christian. It provides three great motives for Christian service.

(B) The fear of the Lord.

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.

(1) What this means.

Paul does not have a slavish fear of the Lord. It is not the fear of the abused wife or bullied child.

We need rather to think of a master craftsman; one who when he sets his apprentice a task expects the highest standards. The apprentice knows that his judge will be fair but also thorough and exacting. He will not be allowed to get away with shoddy work. The apprentice will be motivated by his fear of the craftsman's judgment. Perhaps, fear is not quite the right word but respect is not quite right either.

Paul feared Christ's judgment of his work. He wrote: For we must all appear before the judgment seat that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body whether good or bad. v10.

I wonder if we serve in the fear of the Lord?

(2) How fear affected Paul's ministry.

(a) Paul tried to persuade men and women to believe in Jesus. That was his priority. He didn't try to persuade individuals to believe in him, his doctrine or the church - but in Christ Jesus. Paul wrote:

• This should be obvious to all. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. v11. Paul was all things to all men that he might save some. His motivation is summed up in the words of the old Sankey hymn:
  Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
  Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave:
  Weep o'er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
  Tell them of Jesus, the Might to save.

  F.W. Boreham has an essay on the American evangelist D.L. Moody in his book, 'Cliffs of Opal.' He closes is essay like this: In 1874 Mr Moody wrote from Scotland to a Major Whittle: 'I am doing just one thing. That is my motto: one thing. This one thing I do.' There lies the secret - the secret that appeared so obvious and unmistakable to all who heard him. He felt - every day, every hour, every moment - the unutterable preciousness of the meanest human soul. He felt - every day, every hour, every moment - the all-availing efficacy of the crucified Redeemer to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. And therefore it became the most natural thing in the world for him to dedicate every day, every hour, every moment to the sublime task of bringing sinner and Saviour together.

• This should have been a source pf pride to the Corinthians. Paul should have been respected and valued as God's ambassador. He said it was as though God were making his appeal through us. v20.

  The instrument God used to bring us to Christ should be appreciated. I enjoy the testimonies given at the great gathering of the Gideons in the U.S.A.. Very often the person giving their testimony will have with them the Gideon's Bible that was used in their conversion. The convert will pay tribute to the work of the Gideons in bringing him and the word of God together. It is a huge encouragement to everyone present.

  My old friend John Eley has never forgotten that it was through my preaching one Sunday evening at Pioneer Camp that he came to the Lord. He will often remind me of the fact - for which I am grateful.

This statement can be interpreted in more than one way. Paul is probably saying: If we do experience ecstasy and speaking in tongues that is something between ourselves and God. In his first epistle to the Corinthians he told the believers to speak in tongues in private unless there was an interpreter present. The apostle asserted: In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. 1Cor14v19. Speaking in tongues didn't edify the church and it only confused and upset non-believing visitors. So he affirms: If we are in our right mind it is for you. v13.

In other words Paul speaks plainly, intelligently and reasonably the better able to persuade men to believe in Jesus. That was always Paul's way as we see from his testimonies in Acts and his one recorded sermon. See exposition on Acts13v14to41.

(3) Some lessons.

(a) To what extent do we persuade men? It is important to persuade them. The implication is that without persuasion men and women will not believe and become Christians. There is a very interesting article by Keith Dury on the internet entitled: The Triumph of Arminianism. In this article Dury says that in the U.S.A. even pastors who still call themselves Calvinists are actually practising Arminians as they try by all means to save sinners.

(b) Preachers and teachers should be careful that nothing distracts from the gospel message. William Barclay has a thought-provoking illustration in his commentary on Corinthians. While Rudyard Kipling was on a world tour he witnessed William Booth board ship at one of the ports at which it docked. Booth was seen off by an enthusiastic party of tambourine-beating Salvationists. Later when Kipling met Booth the famous author told the General how much he disapproved of the vulgar display. Booth replied: "If I thought that I could win one more soul for Christ by standing on my hands and beating a tambourine with my feet I would learn to do it." William Barclay very much approved!

Now I would have enjoyed the performance of the tambourine playing "Hallelujah lasses" but I can see the danger of William Booth's policy. What grabs the attention and impresses might actually distract from the gospel message. A man standing on his head, preaching while playing the tambourine, is probably going a bit too far. I think most people would be more taken by his manual dexterity that his message.

Preachers should avoid getting excessively worked up, over-emotional, ranting and raving like some of the black preachers I see on TV. I also believe there are dangers in telling too many jokes, being too clever and oozing charm. Gospel preaching is not entertainment. The evangelist should keep it fervent, keep it simple and keep it true.

(C) The love of Christ. For Christ's love compels us. v14.

(1) The evidence of Christ's love.

Paul summed up the evidence with these words: Because we are convinced one died for all. v14.This is a clear reference to the saving work of Jesus on the cross. He didn't just die - he died for ALL. At Calvary Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice on behalf of our sin. He made a token payment as atonement for our sin. It cost Jesus dear but it could only be a token payment because he DIED FOR ALL. Not the few, but FOR ALL. The death of Christ has the potential to save every man from the consequences of sin.

(2) Christ's love should affect the way believers live.

Paul wrote: For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. v14and15.

(a) Believers should die to self - to all the selves - and there are many of them: self-interest, self-seeking, self-centredness, self-serving, self-indulgence, self-promotion, self-congratulating ..... . None of the manifestations of self are agreeable or attractive. We should deny these clamouring selves because Christ died for us.

(b)Believers live to serve. Paul was no hypocrite and there is no doubt that the love of Christ motivated him to serve - not counting the cost.

Warren Wiersbe in his commentary on 2 Corinthians, 'Be Encouraged,' tells the story of the writing of the hymn, 'I gave my life for thee.' In 1858 on a visit to Germany with her father Frances Ridley Havergal saw a picture of the crucifixion in a pastor's home with underneath it the words, 'I did this for thee. What hast thou done for Me?" Frances immediately sat down and composed a poem based on Christ's question. She wasn't pleased with the result, crumpled up the paper on which it was written and threw it into the fireplace. However later the poem was retrieved unharmed and Frances was encouraged to publish it. We sing it today to a tune composed by Philip P. Bliss:

I gave My life for thee;
My precious blood I shed,
That thou might'st ransomed be,
And quickened from the dead;
I gave My life for thee:
What hast thou given for Me?

(3) Christ's love should affect our judgments

(a) We shouldn't judge people using the criteria of the world. Paul wrote: So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. v16. We need to remember that Jesus was misjudged because worldly criteria were used to assess him. Paul acknowledged that he made this mistake: Though we once regarded Christ in this way we do so no longer. So what are the worldly criteria we should avoid? They are:

• Appearance. Jesus was not impressively handsome. Judas needed to identify him with a kiss.

• Wealth. Jesus was worse off than the wild jackals. They at least had holes to crawl into.

• Birth. Jesus' mother and father were nonentities.

• Popularity. The establishment rejected Jesus and so, too, in the end did the crowd.

• Occupation. Jesus was only a carpenter.

• Education. Jesus had no credibility with the Jewish scholars because he hadn't been to university. He was an amateur.

• Personality. Jesus didn't ooze charm. Jesus denounced the Pharisees and his disciples were wary of him.

Christians should be very, very careful not to use these worldly criteria to assess the worth of God's servants.

(b) We must accept that every Christian is a new creation - hard though that is sometimes.

Paul wrote: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! v17.

What matters more than the qualities outlined above is our relationship with Jesus - If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. It is our relationship with Jesus alone that confers upon us a lasting status. Through him and in him we become God's children, his sons and joint heirs with Christ.

It is very easy to be sniffy, disparaging and condescending about poor, uneducated, inarticulate, very ordinary believers. The fact is one day they will be like Jesus himself. They will share his glory. As C.S. Lewis once wrote if we could see them as they will become we would fall at their feet and worship them. And perhaps, too, some of the drabbest saints will one day wear the most medals.

(D) God's commission.

Paul wrote: All this is from God who ... gave us the ministry of reconciliation. v18. He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. v19.

That was Paul's commission. Let's examine how it motivated the apostle.

(1) What it means to be reconciled.

First a relationship needs to have broken down. For a relationship involving trust, mutual respect and co-operation to thrive certain conditions have to be observed. Such relationships exist between husband and wife, business partners, employer and employees, allies and teacher and pupils.

Usually, but not always, the break-down of a relationship is a consequence of one party to the relationship breaching the conditions on which it is based and destroying trust.

Man's relationship with God broke down. Adam and Eve breached the conditions God established for a harmonious and happy relationship in the Garden of Eden. They showed lack of trust in God and base self-interest.

We are the ones who have wronged God and so the responsibility lies with us to repair the damage. We should pay what it takes. The sacrificial system was an attempt to atone - but even it relied very much on God's willingness to accept what was offered. All those sacrifices for repeated sins always depended upon God's grace for acceptance. The Israelites often forgot that!

(2) It is God who took the initiative to reconcile men to himself.

The wronged party, the innocent party, took the initiative. Paul wrote: All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, not counting men's sins against them. v19.

• It was God who sent Jesus to earth to be the Saviour of the World. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Gal4v4.

• It was in God's will and purpose that Jesus went to the cross and drank the bitter cup of his Passion. Jesus knew that God had given it to him. See John18v11.

• It was God who made him who had no sin to be sin for us. v21. Our sin was laid on Jesus, the innocent one, the spotless Lamb of God, and he bore it for us. So Jesus suffered for a time on the cross the consequences of our sin. He was separated from God, cut off from his Father and left horribly alone.

• It is God who graciously accepted the token payment Christ made. Jesus was raised again. v15. When God raised Jesus from the dead he declared himself satisfied with his saving work.

• Forgiveness. God .... not counting men's sins against them. v19.

  When I was a teacher one of my colleagues had a lot of trouble with one of his pupils. He said to me one day, "I'm keeping a list of all his misdemeanours." My colleague was going to keep adding to the list until the day came he would use it to condemn the miscreant. God has no list of the believer's sins. Paul wrote to the Romans: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom8v1.

  Horatio Spafford put it like this:

  My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought!
  My sin, not in part but the whole,
  Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;
  Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.

• Righteousness. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. v21.

  We will not have to depend upon our own righteousness but will share Christ's righteousness. It will be imputed to us - credited to us by grace and through faith in Jesus.

• Friendship. We are reconciled to God. We become God's friends again.

All this is wonderful news and it motivated Paul to preach the gospel and persuade men and women to believe in Jesus. He was God's ambassador. God was appealing to sinful men and women through Paul. Paul counted it an immense privilege to be God's spokesman and so should we.

(4) Paul's appeal.

We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. v20. Paul is writing to Christians who have been reconciled to God. So what does he mean? There is a clue in 2Cor6v1: As God's fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. Paul seems to be urging the Corinthians to live as friends of God. To do this they need to:

• Fully trust God - with no reservations whatever.

• Rejoice in what God has done for them.

• Be humbled by God's boundless grace.

• Be united in common dependence upon God's grace, Christ's mercy and the spirit's power.

• Behave in a way pleasing to God.