Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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Like to turn tonight to 2nd Corinthians and 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 so 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. For 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.
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 to glory on our.
Behalf that He 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's dead be ye 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.
Well, I was just thinking of this chapter and dear friends, tonight as bringing before us the three reasons why we should live for the unseen and eternal things. You notice the way the last chapter ends, the 18th 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.
And then this chapter begins, for we know. So you can see very clearly there's a connection between the last verse of the 4th chapter and this 5th chapter. And I believe it brings before us in this chapter 3 distinct reasons why we shouldn't be living for the things that pass away, but rather for the unseen and eternal things. And the first one is because.
The groans of creation constantly remind us that we're not here to stay.
Everything that we suffer in this world, a headache, a toothache, sickness, all these things speak to us and constantly are reminding us how that we're not in this world to stay and so why should we live for this world when we're only going to have such a short time here? So the first one brought before us is this fact of the bodies being part of the groaning creation.
And then the second reason that is brought before us, I believe.
Is that our lives are going to pass and to review at the judgment seat of Christ. And this is a very serious thought too, that it says every one of us shall give account of himself to God. And this is a serious thing for us to think about so that each day is counting either for to be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ or to abide for his glory. And so this is another thing that.
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To make us think about how we're spending our time, a little poem put it like this.
Lost.
One hour set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered for what is gone forever, and every hour with its 60 diamond minutes that is lost can never be regained. We have the rest of our time we have henceforth, but we don't have the past to reclaim.
We can't change the past, but how wonderful we do have the rest of our time. And Peter says that we should not live the rest of our time to the flesh, but to the glory of God. Well, still our lives are going to pass into review. And then the third reason that is brought before us is that there is something that motivates us and it isn't just a sense of duty that makes us desire to please the Lord or it should not be. What is it?
The love of Christ constraineth us. That is, we're not living our lives in view of eternity because it's a sort of a duty that we feel we ought to perform. But we think of how much the Lord has loved us, how much He has done for us, think of His wondrous love and grace in going to Calvary for us. And I don't believe it to be possible to think about that even for a short time.
Without feeling, as it says in First Corinthians chapter 6.
It says he are not your own. He are bought with a price. I am his and he is mine forever and forever. And then in the end of the chapter, we really have what our position really is in this world. The apostles spoke particularly of his position. An ambassador for Christ. But every one of us brethren are responsible in this world to be representatives for Christ.
Over in Iran, I suppose there was one man.
That could be called the US Ambassador, but there were a great many others that were there, and they all were associated in seeking to represent the United States in that land. It wasn't an easy job, and many of them, as we know, have had to suffer for it. Well, you and I are in this world to represent Christ. And so when we think of these reasons why and what our position really is in this world, it ought to indeed stir our hearts.
That was what I had before me in taking up this chapter here tonight, because I believe it's brought before us in a very practical way, and I trust in a way that will stir your heart and mine as to this privilege and responsibility too.
Well, as we see from the first verse, it's all founded uncertainties. You know, people often spend their time and they put a lot of energy into things hoping that perhaps as a result of all their energy, they're going to get something in this world. And it's amazing how much energy they'll put into their business. Or perhaps a boy who's a sport in putting his energy into that, hoping that he's going to succeed in that particular field.
And how often after all his efforts, he is disappointed or she is disappointed. Put a lot of energy into it, but it didn't work out. But you and I are assured here that when we live for those unseen and eternal things, there is no uncertainty about it, as Paul said. So fight I not uncertainly, not as one that beateth the air. We're not beating the air. We have a certainty.
About our Christian life, 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. Isn't it wonderful that Christianity stands upon divine certainties? It stands upon the precious Word of God, and it's founded upon a work that we know God has accepted, the work of His beloved Son, that finished work that He is.
Accomplished. And so every believer in this room can say, with all the assurance that we have here, we know, we know. And he talks about the body in which he lived as the earthly House of this Tabernacle. In other words, a Tabernacle means tent. And he just considered himself while living here as living in a tent. We all know that a tent is not a a permanent place to live.
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He might go on vacation.
And live in a tent and you put up with the inconveniences, but you always have the feeling that you're going to come home shortly to your home where things are going to be more stable and more shelter, more protection. But you go and live for a while in the tent. Well, Paul considered that as he lived in his body, he was like living in a tent, but he didn't have uncertainty about the end of the journey. He.
Knew that he had a home in the Father's house, a building of God, and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Oh, it's very blessed for us to know this. The world is so full of uncertainty. People rise up and make all kinds of promises and are unable to fulfill their promises. Nations and individuals have all kinds of hopes that are often crashed. But oh, how different it is what you and I.
Have in Christ is sure, and it's certain because it's founded upon God's unchanging Word and upon what Christ has done.
But it does tell us here in the second verse in this, we groan. We do groan and that is there isn't a single person that doesn't feel suffering and pain. Now God could have made us so he didn't. He could have made us so he didn't feel suffering and pain. But had you ever stopped to think that if it was impossible for you to suffer, you would never know what it meant when it said Christ also?
Suffered for sin. You wouldn't know what Calvary meant if you never had any kind of suffering. It's in these things here that we have the tiniest glimpse of what our Savior passed through when He went to Calvary and suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. And so in this Tabernacle we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon.
With our house, which is from heaven, that is, it's natural for us when we go through these things to cry out. As the psalmist said, My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. He said, the Sparrow hath found an house and the swallow a nest for herself, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. He said even the Sparrow and even the swallow have some resting place, And he said my.
My flesh cries out for the living God. It's a normal thing. But brethren, let's not miss this point. The aches and pains and groans that we have not only should make us think, Well, I wonder if the doctor can help me out in this. Now there's nothing wrong in getting help, but what I'm trying to say is that when these things come, we ought to stop and think. The Lord is saying to me.
You don't belong here, you belong to heaven.
And those aches and pains, those groans are reminders that this is not our rest. It says this is not your rest, it is polluted. The Lord Jesus was a stranger in a Pilgrim area, nowhere to lay his head. And we are no more part of this world than he was. He said they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. And so instead of thinking of our aches and pains.
Means as just something that we groan and feel. And I say again, it's not wrong to feel them. The Lord Jesus groaned in spirit at the grave of Lazarus. The Lord Jesus felt hunger and thirst and weariness.
And so it's not wrong to feel the groans of creation. But what do they speak to us about? Well, they ought to remind us every time they come that God is saying to us, you're not here to stay. You're not here to stay and are not to cause us. And sometimes, happily, sickness and trial does have this effect. It makes us look above. That's what the psalmist meant when he said he maketh my feet like Hind's.
That is, the little hind has the spring in its hind legs so that it can jump over that obstacle. That's in the way. And the Lord intends us as he says, he makes my feet like hind's feet. He maketh me to walk upon mine high places. That is to lift us up above the difficulty in the trial. And that's that's what happens when we realize that we don't belong here, but our home is really.
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The above that was a little warning. I believe in this third verse, and you know there are ifs in Scripture and I believe these ifs are important when it says in this third verse, if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. And in the fourth verse, not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
And the word clothed here has to do.
With resurrection now that is, death is the unclothed state, and that is absent from the body present with the Lord. Death is the unclothed state. The ones who have gone before, our dear brother Myers and many others, they are unclothed. They are now with the Lord, but not there in bodies. They are there in spirit with the Lord Jesus in the glory above.
And that is going to take.
Not only for believers, believers are absent from the body and present with the Lord, but unbelievers have to pass through death too. And unbelievers are going to be raised. Yes, that tells us there is a resurrection of the just and a resurrection of the unjust. And so when he says here, if so be that being clothed, this is a very solemn thought when the wicked dead come forth from their graves.
And stand before God, Why it says, it says the sea gave up the dead which were in it. Now that is, their bodies are raised now reunited with their spirits, and they stand before God about their naked they don't have a robe of righteousness. They stand in the presence of God like Adam did, with no covering. And the warning here is that there might be.
Those who had made a profession, who were not real, and they would come forth, they would be raised, but they would be found naked. Now that will not be true of any believer. When you get your resurrection body, you will also be there with Christ, with that robe of righteousness. You will be fitted for His presence. And so when the Lord Jesus descends from heaven with a shout and calls his own to be.
With him, we're going to go into his presence perfectly fitted for his presence perfectly fitted because we'll have, like the prodigal, the best rub of heaven upon us. But there's a little warning here. And if there's anyone here that's not saved, what a solemn thought to be raised, not to come into blessing, but to be raised from the dead, to meet God as a judge, to stand before him with no covering for your sin, that's what.
Kings in the 11TH verse. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade man, when he thought about the life passing into review, he thought what a terrible thing for a person to stand before God naked. His life passes into review and not one sin has been blotted out. So this little warning in this third verse.
But then in the fourth verse, for we that are in this Tabernacle do groaned, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. This is simply telling us in the fourth verse that the Christian's proper hope is not death, but the Lord's coming. That is, we're not looking for the unclothed state the ones who have gone before.
Trusting in Christ, they are unclothed, that is, they're absent from the body and present with the Lord. But he said, that's not what we looked for. And that's a very comforting thought. You know, you can visit a person on a sick bed, and even if it seems that his case is hopeless and you hardly look for recovery, yet you can bring before him the blessed hope of the Lord's return. You don't need to set death before him.
Because it says not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. And that's what will happen, as you read in First Corinthians 15. This mortal shall put on immortality, this corruptible shall put on incorruptibility. And so at the coming of the Lord, mortality will be swallowed up of light. Now every one of us in this room are in mortal bodies.
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And if the Lord doesn't come, every one of us are going to die. We have mortal bodies, but in resurrection we will not have mortal bodies. We will have immortal, incorruptible bodies like Christ. So he's speaking here of the portion of the believer and mortality will be swallowed up of life.
And so he says, he that hath wrought us for the self. Same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. God didn't save us to leave us in these bodies of humiliation. He didn't save us to leave us in this scene with its sufferings and groans and trials. No, what did He save us for now? Is our salvation nearer than when we believed? What does that refer to?
Well, it refers to the fact that we now have half our salvation, if I can put it that way. We have the salvation of our souls, but it's nearer than when we believed, when we'll have our full salvation. And that is when the Lord comes. And so here he says, he that hath wrought us for the self. Same thing that is, God worked in you.
Not to save you and leave you in this world.
But to save you for heaven, to give you a complete salvation.
It says we wait for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies, and at the Lord's coming we will have, I say, our full salvation. And he says God's given a pledge that he's going to complete what he has begun. We all know what earnest money is. When you buy a piece of property and you put down a certain amount of money, it's called earnest money. Not earnest money, not earnest money is the.
Pledge to the real estate agent that you intend to complete the deal you have begun. And if you put down a good sum, it's a great assurance to him that you're not going to back out because you know very well that you could lose all your earnest money if you decided not to go through with a deal. And if you put down half the amount or the whole amount or even more, why, he'd certainly say, well, that fellow is going to go through with a deal. He put down so much money on this property.
How much did the Lord put down upon you and I to assure us that He's going to complete what He has begun? He has given the Holy Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance till the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory. And so here He is showing us why we are confident. That real estate agent is confident that man is going to complete the deal because He's put down.
Such a large amount on it, and oh, and we think of the earnest little hymn says, If such the earnest thou hast given, what must thy presence be so here?
Therefore, we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body were absent from the Lord.
Some people perhaps in this room have been saved for 50 years or more, and it says here they're still at home in the body. That is, that they were saved and the Lord saved them for heaven. He saved them to have a glorified body. But we've continued in this world for many, many years, and we still have these bodies of humiliation. And so he says.
We're at home in the body.
And were absent from the Lord, That is, we haven't reached home yet. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We're waiting the time when the Lord will come, and then faith will be changed to sight. Now we walk by faith, we take God at His word, we believe. And that's why the world doesn't understand us, it says in first John chapter 3.
Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not.
And that is where now the children of God tell your friends that you're a child of God and that heaven is your home and that you're a joint heir of all that belongs to Christ. And they will probably laugh at you. The world doesn't know. The world doesn't understand. We walk by faith, we believe it, but we haven't yet possessed our full salvation. But it tells us that we're going to. We have a building of God and.
Made with hands eternal in the heavens. And then when death does come, as it has for many dear children of God, they're confident and they're willing. They weren't looking for death. They were looking for the Lord's coming. But when death came, they were confident and they were willing. Yes, confident because they knew that God was going to fulfill his promise and willing because.
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Death is ours, brethren, Death is the belief.
Believer's servant, It's ours. It's not. Not only has the sting been taken out of it, but First Corinthians chapter 3 says all things are yours, whether life or death. What does it mean? It's ours? Well, it's just the servant of the believer to take him out of this world, to be in the presence of his Savior. And so in the Old Testament it was, it says that.
They they lived their whole life, it says, through fear of death.
They were subject to *******. They didn't have the assurance that you and I are entitled to have. And so, like Hezekiah, they feared death. But now we look upon death as our servant to bring us into the presence of the Lord. So it's beautifully brought before us here that our proper hope is the Lord's return. If death comes. We're confident and we're willing.
Because we know what death is, and we know.
That we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Well, how blessed then to have all these assurances. But I say again, so we don't miss the real point. As life goes on and as we have these trials and these aches and pains, do they make us desire to live for the eternal things, or do we cling to this earth?
Only going to pass away. Oh, brethren, how important it is that all these things should have the effect that they're intended to have, to make us look up, to make us realize that our home is not here. It's above in the Father's house. And gradually, little by little, that we would relax our grasp and the things here that pass away and have a sense before us of what awaits us in the Father's house.
Now the next thing that is brought before us is the judgment seat of Christ. The ninth verse says, Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him, or another translation is agreeable to 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 has done.
Whether it be good or bad.
It tells us here that we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted or agreeable to him.
And that is, we think now of when our lives are going to pass into review, as they will at the judgment seat of Christ. And so Paul had the desire. He labored or he endeavored. The margin says this was his desire as he lived day by day that his life would be.
Acceptable to the Lord.
He didn't say, well, I'm just going to forget about it all and I'll see how everything turns out. He said I want to live here in the sense of the Lord's approval as I await the time when my life will pass into review. We labor that, whether present or absent, we may be agreeable to Him. Let me illustrate it like this. You're going to buy a gift for a person.
You love that person very much and you go into the store.
Do you say I don't care whether I get something that he likes or not? That doesn't matter to me. I'll find out when I show it to him. Well, of course not. You do a lot of thinking about whether this gift that you're going to buy is going to be acceptable and pleasing to the person you love. And you perhaps look at different things and perhaps you've heard him make different comments. Well, I don't like that sort of thing and I don't like that and.
Based on all those things that you know about your friend, you're trying to pick out something that's pleasing to him. Well, brethren, we have the word of God to tell us what is pleasing to the Lord. Are we in our lives day by day trying to live in such a way that will meet His approval? Oh, that's a very precious thing that we can.
As it says in Ephesians, that we be not unwise, but understanding what?
The will of the Lord is. And so as we think of all the things that the Lord has told us in His Word that are pleasing to Him now, then we don't have to wait until the time that comes to know whether some things are pleasing to Him, because His Word tells us. And let us live as the Word of God enlightens us, live to please Him.
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Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.
And a light to my path. If a man also strive for the masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully? So Paul said, I want to be well appointed with this book so that when I live day by day I'll have the sense in my soul at what I am doing is pleasing to the Lord. And then when my life passes into review, I'll see his blessed face.
And he'll be able to tell me that he approved, he was pleased, as it tells us in the Gospels. He said, well done, thou good and faithful servant. And So what a privilege it is for us now to be able to live our lives to please the Lord.
And so that's what the judgment seat of Christ is really for. First here that we might be acquainted with his word because he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. And then when our lives pass into review, now, you know, when it speaks of the judgment seat of Christ for believers, it's not a question of the individual being judged, but it's rather our work that is going to be judged, our deeds that are going to be judged because.
As far as personal judgment is concerned, the Lord Jesus bore all the judgment for us. I often say we use the word judge in two different ways. We speak of a judge in a courtroom who is there to find people or perhaps to send them to jail. You could call that man a penal judge. He's there to deal with people who are guilty. But then you might go to some kind of a show for.
Craftsmanship or something like this?
This And there's a judge there, but he's not there to punish anybody. He is there to look at the work and examine it and to give rewards. And some get rewards, some suffer loss. And so the judgment seat of Christ is in the second sense, that is, he is the one who judges of every man's work, as it tells us in First Peter chapter 1.
And so at the judgment seat of Christ.
Christ, it tells us here the deeds done in the body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
I think a lot of people have uncertain thoughts about the judgment seat of Christ, but I believe the Scripture really makes it very clear. First of all, it says the deeds done in the body. And so this shows us that the whole life is going to pass into review. It isn't a question of whether it happened before or after we were saved. There were no.
Good works before we were saved, of course, but it isn't a question of that because through the work of Christ, whether the sins were before we were saved or after we were saved, they're all put away in the blood of Christ. And so the question is how great the debt was that the Lord Jesus paid. You know, he paid a great debt for your sins and mine, and we're never going to realize fully how great the debt was.
Until our life.
Passes into review and we'll find out that if we only thought here that we were 50 pence debtors, we'll find out that we were 100.
100 talons or 500 talons, we're going to find that our debt was far greater than we ever realized. And you know, the judgment seat of Christ will certainly make us worshippers in one sense as we realize that the Lord Jesus loved us enough.
To pick us up from perhaps a life of sin, save us and bear with us even in our failures since we have been saved. We're going to learn, as I say, how great the debt was that the Lord Jesus paid. And this passage here has to do with what I might call a general view of the judgment seat of Christ.
I want to make it clear that there were no good deeds before we were saved. They that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But since we have been saved, then there are those things that have been done that are pleasing to the Lord, and that is going to abide. If you turn to 1 Corinthians 3, you'll see this.
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First Corinthians, chapter 3.
Verse nine. Well, I'll begin at the eighth verse.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. 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, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundations can no man lay than 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 which he hath.
Thereupon he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so is by fire. Now I think you can see very clearly from this passage that it's no question of salvation, because if a man's work was burned, still he himself was saved. That is, it's a question of his work here that is brought out.
And you'll notice that there are two kinds of.
Workmen. There is a Workman whose work abides and he receives a reward. And as a Workman who though a true believer, his work is burned up and he suffers loss. And now this is a very searching thing for us because as I've often said, it's possible to have a saved soul and a lost life. That's what you see about Lot. Lot is a true believer. We're going to meet him in.
Authority, but he had a lost life and everything he lived for burned up with Sodom, but he is going to be in heaven because the Bible says he was a righteous man. But there he was in Sodom and he was just, shall I say, wasting his time, wasting his time. And so it brings before us here. If any man's work abide, and you know the Lord is going to pick out of your life and mine everything that has been done for him.
Him and He's going to reward it. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Now isn't this a good reason why we should want to live to please the Lord Jesus? I say it isn't a real motivation. The motivation is love. But when we love Him, I'm sure that we do want to please Him. When you love somebody.
You're very careful about the gift you choose because you're really.
Really want them to like it. You're really pleased when they look at it and say just what I wanted. Oh, I'm really pleased. And so, you know, the apostle lived in that way and the Lord is going to give rewards. You know, they're not something, shall I say, it's not an intrinsic reward. Paul speaks of it. He says he compares it to the crowns that were given for the races in those days. And there was no particular.
Value in the reward itself, but it was the honor of the fact that the the governor placed it upon the the emperor, I should say, placed it upon the head of the man, and he was so honored that the emperor would put his hands up and put a crown on his head. And so they ran to get a crown of Garland leaves. It was the person who gave it, and as a little hymn says, not at the.
He gives, but on his pierced hands. For the Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel's land. Doesn't it thrill your heart, friend, to think that the Lord Jesus on Pierce's hand should be lifted to put a crown on your head or mine, because He saw something in our lives that pleased Him? Why? Surely it makes it all worthwhile when we think of that. And so there are different crowns that are mentioned in the scripture.
Here I'll just say, will we have any feelings then? Well, it says here if any man's work be burned, he shall suffer loss. Another verse says about being ashamed before him at his coming. I believe we will have feelings. It's hard for us to understand them now because we still have the flesh in US. And sometimes when we have feelings, they're associated with wounded pride.
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I like to think of it, and perhaps this will convey the thought to your mind.
And how did the Lord Jesus think about the way I lived yesterday? How did he think about the way I lived yesterday? I believe at the judgment seat of Christ, I am going to find out.
And I'm going to feel exactly the same as he felt And I to my mind that brings before me what the judgment seat of Christ really is. It's really the manifestation. It's finding out what the Lord thought of our lives. And that's why the hymn writer said how will recompense his smile, the sufferings of this little while.
Then when you come to 1St Corinthians 4, you find another interesting little point about it.
Verse 5. 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.
This verse tells us that God is not only going to manifest the actions, but He will manifest the counsels of the hearts. And that very that is very lovely because it says, it says then shall every man have praise of God. You know, a little child might try to help you, and in trying to help you the little child might break a dish or something.
And yet you're really pleased.
The child tried to help you, and while I was trying to help, you dropped a dish. You couldn't say, well, I'm pleased you dropped the dish, but you could say thank you for trying to help me. I appreciate that. And you know sometimes we do things and we mess them up. But isn't it lovely? Then shall every man have praise of God? He is going to pick out of our poor failing lives every right motive, every desire to please him. This also.
Comes out at the judgment seat of Christ, and then in Romans 14 it says in the 10th verse.
But why dost thou judge thy brother, Or why dost thou said it not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Now, you know, there are things that we have to judge as we learn from First Corinthians 5, the assembly is called upon to judge. But the subject in one Corinthian in Romans 14 is things where we perhaps don't always see eye to eye in little things. And it's a good thing for us to learn to bear and for bear with one another.
Because perhaps my brother sees things in me.
And I see things in Him, and so I need to be careful because at the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord is going to show what He thought about all those things. Now, as I say, this doesn't have anything to do with the assembly having to judge. The assembly often does have to deal with evil in its midst. But this is talking about so many little things as we read in that chapter.
The one who might observe a day and another dozen does not.
That one eats certain things and another doesn't. And so we're told to be very careful about those little things where we ought to just desire to see Christ in one another, and bear and remember that every one of us shall give account of himself to God. So perhaps we could say we have the judgment seat of Christ in its general view in Two Corinthians 5 as to our labor in.
1St Corinthians 3 As to our moves in First Corinthians 4 and as to our attitudes to one another in Romans 14. So you can see that it's a very general going over of our lives. Well, brethren, as we think of this, doesn't it make us desire to live our lives so that they'll have his approval, that they'll be accepted of him?
But now we come to the next one, and that is.
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.
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He speaks in the end of the 12TH verse about some who glory in appearance and not in heart because you know, brethren, it's our hearts that He wants. There may be a nice outward appearance, but God is looking at our hearts and it says the love of Christ constraineth us. Now that should be the motivation of all that we do. It's not. I say again, as I said at the beginning, it's not in a sense of duty.
It's not just because.
We want to get the approval of one another, but it's that we might seek to please the Lord because of His love toward us. I have often said that this verse does not say the love of Christ should constrain us, but it states that as an actual fact, the love of Christ constraineth us. And it might be that some of us would say, well, I don't feel the love of Christ constraining me as much.
He sure as it should. And we might say, well, why does the verse put it that way? Well, perhaps a little illustration will help to make the point clear. Those. And I had a magnet in my hand here and I had some nails sitting on the table and I held up this magnet to you and I said this magnet will move those nails. Well, it's not moving them. It's quite apparent the nails are sitting there and they're quite unmoved.
And I'm making a confidence statement differently this means.
Will move those nails. I want you to say, well, why isn't it moving them now? Well, we all know the answer. The magnet is not close enough to the nails for the nails to feel the pull. But just bring that magnet down and there's no question whatever what's going to happen. As soon as the magnet gets near to those nails, the nails are going to start to move.
And I could make a confidence statement about what that magnet does.
Because it moves nails, it moves iron, it moves steel. And so that's what the love of Christ does. Why is it that the love of Christ does not constrain us more than it does? Well, I think we all know the answer. We're not walking close enough to the Lord. We're not walking close enough if we were walking close enough to Him.
Why his love would constrain us. It would be impossible.
For us, if he stood right now visibly in our presence, and we saw those nail prints in his hands and he told us with his own lips that he had died for us, I think every believer in this room would feel something happen in his or her heart. But we're like Peter. Sometimes we follow afar off and we need the exhortation that James gives. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.
We need to get close to Him and as we do, then something happens in our lives. And perhaps sometimes you come to a meeting and you felt really cold in your soul. You felt really down under with all troubles and burdens and so on. And as you sat in the meeting, something was brought out about the love of Christ that touched your heart and something happened. There was a new desire in your heart. It was because the love of Christ was.
Constraining you and making you desire to live. What does it say here? Not to ourselves, Not to ourselves. I've often said there's just two ways to live. Live for ourselves or unto Him.
Not to ourselves, but unto Him. It doesn't list here a code of rules. The law gave 10 commandments. But God doesn't list here a code of rules. Because if we want to please somebody, it usually doesn't take very long to find out what pleases them. And if you really love the Lord, it won't take you long to find out in this book what pleases Him. And then too, in little things where we perhaps don't have a definite.
Scripture, we can go to him. How often many of us do look up and say, Lord, show me the right thing to do. And so the love of Christ constrains us not to live to ourselves, but unto Him. And it says that we which live should not henceforth live.
That is, I could have some nice shining brass nails here on the table, and I could bring down the most powerful magnet I could hold in my hand, and I wouldn't do anything to those brass nails. Not a thing. They're not the right kind of material. But I could have rusty nails there. Rusty nails, dirty nails, anything, as long as they're the right kind of material. Why the coming down of the magnet would move them. We get pretty rusty sometimes.
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Sometimes we get dirt on US1 Time I was down to the harbor with our brother Piropato in New York and the New York harbor, and they were loading scrap steel onto the onto the ship to take it away somewhere to be reclaimed. And I was amazed as I saw the magnet come down, a huge magnet come down and pick up perhaps a few tons of steel. And there were all kinds of pieces.
Pieces, rusty pieces, but there were also among this some pieces of brass and Chrome and so on. As I watched it lift, I'd see those pieces of Chrome, which looked a lot nicer than those greasy pieces dropping down into the water, and the others were being carried across and placed into the ship to be used. Well, so it is, you know, if you're a real child of God, you may have gotten involved in the world, and it's not a good thing, certainly, to get involved.
The world. But that's what draws us back. He restoreth my soul. Because there's something in the heart that responds to the claims of Christ, even when we get away. When the Lord looked on Peter, even though he had grieved him so badly, it says he went out and wept bitterly. He was the right kind of material, shall I say.
But there was a lot on the surface that was displeasing to His Lord.
Well, this is the third reason, and it's the true motivating force for our lives. And so it tells us here, 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 Him no more. That is when He was here upon earth, He came for the blessing of that particular nation, the nation of Israel.
But now he's gone up on high and as he said, I if I be lifted up.
From the earth will draw all men unto me. That is not just the nation of Israel.
But all those who believe Jew or Gentile, and so we don't know Him after the flesh, as the one who came and said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. But we know Him in resurrection, the one who said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached among all nations.
The message goes out now to all, not a question of what nation you belong to, but whether you have been drawn to Christ to be part of the redeemed family and now a member of the body of Christ. And then last of all, in our chapter, as I said, we have a real position in this world. Why did he leave us here? We talked in the beginning about how we're here and these bodies with the Rakes and pains.
Well, certainly the day.
We were saved. We were just as fit for having the day we were saved as if we lived 60 years after we were saved. 60 years after we were saved didn't make us any more fit for heaven than the day we were saved. Why did he leave us here? Well, he tells us here why we have been left here. He could have taken us away the very day that he saved us.
But it tells us that we have something to do for him here.
We have a message to proclaim to this world. Paul said. We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. The Lord Jesus has gone back to glory, but he left his disciples to be his representatives, and he said that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name. He was going away. He put his hands on them and said, as my father has sent me.
Even so.
Will send I you so they had a a work to do and did we realize this brethren? Do we realize that as we are left here we're left here for a purpose and I've often said God doesn't put all his lights in one place. I'm very glad that in the city of Vancouver all the lights aren't down in the main square in the center of the city.
I'm very glad there's lights in the back streets. I'm glad.
In dark alleys because we need lights all through the city. And you know, the Lord is the one who shows us where he wants us to be.
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The representatives for the United States government in Iran had a very hard time. I think the ones that represent United States here in Canada have it comparatively easy. And you know, God doesn't place us all in easy places. Sometimes He places us in different difficulties.
Thoughts he may place us in a situation where it just seems well why did he put me here it's the hardest thing I can think of but maybe he wanted us in that place to be a testimony for him and so instead of thinking oh I'd like to change places with somebody else just say well the Lord can give me the grace to be a light for him here here in Vancouver here in Seattle, wherever we.
Place the Lord wants us to be like his representatives, his messenger, and just like the Levites of old when they were taken as the redeemed of Israel, for they represented the redeemed, the first born from Egypt, it tells us the Levites really represented them. And so they were all brought to Aaron and each one was appointed his service and his burden. And you know the Lord gives.
To every believer, a service to do and a burden to bear. And it's just as important that we bear the burden well as we do the service well. A cheerful spirit, as we bear a burden, is just as much glorifying to the Lord as a gospel message. And so there is to each one of us a service given and a burden to bear. And so he tells us here in the end of this chapter, after bringing before.
The reasons why we should live for eternity. He outlines to us what our real position is in this world. Let's not forget it, brethren. I'm afraid we do forget it sometimes. Sometimes at school or in business or with our neighbors or something irritates us and we forget that we're representatives of heaven. But the way we act wherever we are is going to reflect on the name that we bear.
It says that worthy name.
By which ye are called. May we not forget how that we do bear that name, and that we have the privilege of being in this world, as as his representatives and the apostle says in the chapter before, that the life of Jesus might be seen in our bodies. May the Lord grant that it will be so, and surely we can all say there is every reason why it should be so.
His love couldn't have done more. It wouldn't have done less that we might.
Realized that He loves us and that we belong to Him. Well, may all these things as we think of them cause us. As the apostles said, we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.