We Persuade Others

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I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5 and hold your place at verse 11.
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The title of today's message is Persuading Others.
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And I thought before we read I just want to make mention of something that I think is important to say.
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We are a Reformed Church, which means that we, well we're Reformed Baptists and we hold to what is known as a
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Calvinistic soteriology, which means we hold to the five points of Calvinism and if you don't know what that is or if that is unique language to you,
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I'm not throwing it out for no reason, I'm just simply saying that one of the issues that often arises when we talk about the subject of Calvinism or the idea that God is the one who actually is sovereign over salvation,
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God is the one who actually does the choosing. When we say things like that or when we believe things like that, one of the most common objections, one of the most common responses to that theology is that, well if God has already determined the outcome, how does my participation really matter?
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And that leads to something called hyper -Calvinism. Hyper -Calvinism is the idea that because God has determined what
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He's going to do, we don't play a part at all and what we do doesn't matter.
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But beloved, we're not hyper -Calvinists. Hyper -Calvinism is alive, it does exist and I have talked to hyper -Calvinists and I tell you what, it is not fun.
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Because when you allow yourself to fall into hyper -Calvinism, you allow yourself to fall into theological fatalism.
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And theological fatalism is not Calvinism. It is not what the Bible teaches and it is not what we promote.
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And I'm saying that, I'm getting a little fired up at the beginning because I want to say this morning, what we're going to see the
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Apostle Paul actually say in this text is that one of the things that he did was he actually sought to persuade others.
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That he played a part in bringing people to the Lord, that he played a part in bringing the gospel to people and he played a part in convincing people that the gospel was true.
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Now ultimately it's God who brings them to faith, but we have a part in persuading others.
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And today we're going to talk about what part we play, how God uses us and how God not only ordains the end, but he ordains the means to the end.
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He ordains what it takes to get to the end. And so that's an important preliminary statement for today's message.
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Let's stand together and we'll read our text. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and we're going to begin in verse 11.
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Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
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But what we are is known to God and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to boast about us so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
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For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are in our right mind, it is for you.
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For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died.
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And he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
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Father God, I pray this morning and I ask first and foremost, as I ask every time
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I step behind the pulpit, Lord, that you would keep me from error. Not because,
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Lord, I simply am concerned with myself, but Lord, I'm concerned with those who hear the word and I'm concerned for your name.
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Lord, I do not want to be one who would bring dishonor to your name. So I pray,
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Lord, that you would keep me from error. And I pray, God, as we seek to open the word together,
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Lord, that you would fill me with the spirit of God, Lord, that your spirit would be the teacher and that his ultimate teaching would go out into the ears of the people today and that he would make it into the ear of the mind and down into the heart.
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For, Lord, apart from the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. And Father, I do pray.
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I pray, Lord, for the believer in this room today, that they would understand that they have been given a ministry of Christ.
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And our ministry is the ministry of reconciliation, that we would be ambassadors of Christ going out into the world, proclaiming a gospel of reconciliation, seeking to persuade men as the
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Apostle Paul went from town to town and he went throughout the synagogues and throughout the cities and throughout the
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Agora and throughout all of the places. And he pronounced the declaration that Jesus Christ is
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Lord and he sought to persuade men of that truth. Lord, may we have the same desire to persuade men.
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And Lord, if there are those today who are still unpersuaded, who have yet to bow the knee to the
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Lord Jesus Christ, may today be the day of reckoning for their soul.
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And may, Lord, you either melt them in the kindness of your countenance or,
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Lord, terrify them in the fear of your wrath. But whatever it takes, Lord, to draw men and women and children to yourself, we trust you as the only one who can.
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In Jesus' name, amen. We have been studying through the book of 2
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Corinthians now for several months. And we have discussed the larger context of the book and the larger context of the book is this.
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Paul is defending his ministry against those who would call into question its integrity and its truthfulness.
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We have seen since the beginning of this letter Paul calling out those who would call into question his ministerial integrity.
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And we have seen him make points after points after point that he is, in fact, doing what
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God has called him to do. And those who are in Corinth who are calling into question his ministry are actually the ones who are in error.
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And in our last message, Paul proclaimed a message of divine judgment. You remember last week, we spent all of last week's sermon on 2
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Corinthians 5 .10. Let's read it again together. It says, 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.
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That pronouncement of judgment leads into the text that we are going to study today.
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And I would say that that statement in verse 10 is unparalleled in its importance when it comes to the issue of our own lives.
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We must consider the fact that one day we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
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And so based upon that, Paul then begins to remind the Corinthians that this reality should motivate their lives, that this reality should actually instill in them an understanding that they have a ministerial function in their life.
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And their ministry is to bring the gospel of Christ into the world.
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Next week when we get to verses 16 to 20, we're going to see that Paul defines that ministry as a ministry of reconciliation.
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That we would go out and seek to persuade men to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ so that they can be reconciled to God.
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But before we get to that, there is this short section here between verses 11 and 15 wherein
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Paul continues to, as it were, defend his ministry and to state the reality that there are those who are seeking to call it into question.
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We have four parts of today's sermon, four points of the sermon, and they are on the screen.
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They are looking at the subject of persuasion, commendation, accusation, and separation.
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So as we begin, let us begin with persuasion, looking at verse 11.
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Paul says this, Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
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So let's just stop there. I know it's longer than that. The verse goes on from there, but understand that that whole sentence there actually sets up what else is to come.
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And you'll notice it's tied to what comes before it because it begins with the word therefore. And that is a key indicator, hermeneutically, that Paul is stating something and then he is stating the result of that thing or what it ties to.
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And what he has just said is, we're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, therefore, knowing the fear of the
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Lord, we persuade others. So first of all, let us just consider what it means to know the fear of the
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Lord. This is a concept that many people wrestle with. And some people would even say that it is a concept that the
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Bible gets wrong. Yes, there are people who say the Bible is wrong. There are churches that say the
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Bible is wrong. You're not in one, praise the Lord. But there are churches out there that say the
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Bible gets it wrong. And one of the things that people often say is that we should never fear the
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Lord. But the Bible says the opposite. The Bible says that the fear of the
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Lord is what? Is the beginning of wisdom. If we do not fear the
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Lord, we do not know who He is. Every time I think of the fear of the
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Lord, I cannot help in my mind but to go back to Isaiah, who when he saw the Lord, he put his hand over his mouth and he proclaimed judgment upon himself when he said, woe is me, for I am undone.
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I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the
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King, the Lord of glory. And he pronounced again upon himself a judgment of woe.
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Understand the fear of the Lord. The Bible, even in the New Testament, Jesus, He tells us, do not fear the one who can kill the body, but fear the one who can cast both body and soul into hell.
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So ones who would say there's no reason to fear the Lord do not know the Lord. The ones who would say that we have no reason to fear the
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Lord do not understand who we're dealing with. We are dealing with the one through whom all things hold together.
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The Bible says He holds all things together by the word of His power and in Him we live and move and have our being.
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I've told this story before, but I can't help remind you of it. I remember where I was when this truth hit me so hard.
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I was down at the end of the hallway. My office used to be down and to the left before we remodeled the learning center. And I was walking to my office one day,
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I had been struggling with severe time of being very sad and struggling with some anxiety in my life and some things were just happening that were just causing great difficulty in my mind.
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And I remember walking towards my office door and I stopped and I was stunned with this reality.
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Every part of my life is held in the hand of Almighty God.
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And if in one instance He were to release His hand, I would not only die, I could cease to exist because I live and move and have my being in Him.
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And so when I consider who God is, God is the one that holds me together.
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And so when someone says, do you fear the Lord? I say, I love the Lord and yet I know who
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He is. Someone says, this is just mere reverence. Well, reverence does include fear and there's no wrong way or there's nothing wrong with saying it is reverence.
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But beloved, let it not be mere reverence, but let that reverence help you understand who this
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God is. Do you know why people mock God? Because they do not fear
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God. Do you know why people speak against God's Word? Because they do not fear
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God. Do you know why people continue day after day after day not responding to the gospel of Christ?
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Because they do not fear God. Therefore I tell you today,
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Paul says, knowing the fear of the Lord. Actually, the
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Greek can actually be translated this way, because we know what it means to fear the
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Lord. Because we know what it means to fear the Lord, we persuade others.
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Why? Because when I realize who God is, it's then my desire to tell you.
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So that you can know who this God is, so that you do not continue to go through your life not knowing who this
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God is and then die and realize that all along this God who had called you to repentance and faith, you have mocked and spit upon and hated and rejected and rebelled against and when you face
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Him at judgment, you will face Him in your sins. And you will have everything in the world to be fearful of then.
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But if you face Him in Christ, your fears will vanish, because Christ will be your advocate.
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Your fears will be abated, because Christ is the
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Savior. Every one of us has a reason to fear the Lord, but not everyone has a reason to fear judgment.
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Because if you're in Christ, there is what? No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
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So Paul says, because we know the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
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And the question that comes up, and I want you to know, I've wrestled with this question this week as I was preparing the message, thinking about what
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I wanted to say, as I was preparing and writing, I was asking this question, what is it he's saying that they seek to persuade others of?
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And the easy answer, not easy, but the simple answer, is that he seeks to persuade others of the gospel, because we know that was
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Paul's life. And if you follow it down to verse 20, down in the later part of this chapter, it even says we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us, we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
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That's his persuading words. We implore you to be reconciled to God.
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So what is Paul persuading men of? He's persuading men to be reconciled to God. But I want to add an additional thought, because certainly
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Paul seeks to persuade men to be reconciled to God, but he also has another part of his desire, and that is to persuade them of the authenticity of his message.
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Because there were those in Corinth who were denying that what Paul said was accurate. So not only is he seeking to persuade them of the gospel, but he is seeking to persuade them that he, in fact, has given them the correct gospel.
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You understand, there are men out there who hear the gospel, they come right behind the speaker and they say, what he said isn't true.
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What he said is wrong. And here's what you really need to do. You need to give this much, do this much, do this many works, have this many accolades.
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You need to do this if you're going to be saved. Paul preached a message of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and just like men today won't hear that message, men in the first century wouldn't hear that message either.
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They wanted to add to it. They wanted to add circumcision. They wanted to add the keeping of the law. They wanted to add the dietary restrictions.
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They wanted to add the separation. They wanted to add all of those things. And today there are still men who do that.
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They will not be persuaded that the gospel alone is enough. They will not be persuaded that Christ is enough.
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So Paul is saying we seek to persuade others not only of the gospel, but to persuade them that the gospel they've been given is the right gospel.
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This is why he says in the very next line of that verse, But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
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Why would he say that? What he's saying is God knows that my message is sincere, and I hope you know it too.
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God knows my message is right, and I hope you know it's right. Paul is saying we seek to persuade men of the gospel and the right gospel.
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Beloved, are there false gospels out there? The prosperity gospel is a false gospel.
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It's out there. The gospel of the Jehovah's Witnesses, when they come rapping on your chamber door at 8 o 'clock on Saturday morning, that is a false gospel.
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When those two little boys on the ten speeds with the elder button on their pocket, can't be more than 20 years old, when they come riding up on their bicycles, they are bringing a false gospel.
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Rome proclaims a false gospel. That doesn't mean there's no
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Catholics who are saved. Please hear me, there are Catholics who are saved, but Rome itself does not proclaim the gospel of Christ.
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They have added foolishness to it, false things to it, and it has become a danger.
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So we have an issue there. So, with that, Paul says,
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What we are is known to God, and I hope it is also known to you and your conscience. He's wanting them to know that he has, in fact, preached a true message.
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He is seeking to persuade them of his message, because his message is true.
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Now, before we go to part two of the sermon, I want to simply talk for a moment about the subject of persuading others.
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Paul says he is seeking to persuade others of the gospel. And the word persuading here literally means he's seeking to convince others.
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That's what the word persuade means, to seek to convince, to come to certainty about something.
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And I heard a quote this week, and it has been in my head all week. I wrote it in my notes because I said
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I don't want to forget it, but I wouldn't have forgotten it anyway because it's been rattling around in my head. I did an interview this week, met a very nice young man.
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We had a great conversation, and he said this about what people think.
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He said, I cannot think what I don't think. Now, stop for a minute. That don't sound too clever, but it's actually very powerful.
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Because what he was talking about is this. When you tell me something, when I tell you something,
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I can't make you think it. All I can do is proclaim it to you. I can't make you think it, but I can seek to persuade you to think it.
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And how do I do that? I do that by showing you why I think it. I do that by proclaiming to you why this has convinced me.
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So, for instance, how this becomes important in this situation, when you're talking to the person at work, or when you're talking to the person at the
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Walmart, or when you're talking to somebody about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you're telling them about Jesus, you can't make them believe in Jesus.
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But you can tell them what convinced you. And I would say there are three things you need to consider when you're seeking to persuade others.
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And if you want to take notes on this, you don't have to, but these are three things that I think are vastly important.
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If you've ever gone out witnessing with me and Brother Andy, Brother Mike, or whoever else, you've probably heard us do these three things.
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Number one is the use of the law to show people their sin. The Bible says right there, the law of the
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Lord is perfect, converting the soul. We only got two banners, they're not very big, but I use them a lot, because the law and grace, the law points us to grace because we have to have it, and the law shows us that we are desperately needing a
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Savior. If you stand before the law of God, it will crush you. In the story of the
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Pilgrim's Progress, you'll remember Christian going through and trying to climb
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Mount Law. You can't do it. The law crushes us, it doesn't save us.
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But the law will persuade us that we are sinners. The law will persuade us that we have, in fact, a desperate need for a
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Savior. So if you are seeking to persuade someone of the gospel of Christ, might
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I encourage you to begin by pointing them to the law. Number two, apologetics seeks to overcome the intellect.
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The law overcomes the conscience, but apologetics overcomes the intellect.
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Somebody says, why do I believe that Bible is written by men? I don't trust men, why would I believe your Bible?
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There's your opportunity to use apologetics. You say, I don't know what apologetics is. Apologetics is learning to defend your faith.
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We live in an era now, more than ever in history, where men and women have the opportunity to open their computers and come up to all kinds of objections against the faith.
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Because there are men and women who dedicate their lives to objecting to the faith. They can create whole websites about objections to the faith.
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And you won't know every answer, but you better have some answers. If you're seeking to persuade men today, you better have thought about why you believe what you believe and be able to give an answer for it.
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The Apostle Peter says, to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us and to do so with gentleness and fear.
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Reverence, fabas, right there. So, the law overcomes the conscience.
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Apologetics overcomes the intellect. But then we have the third one, and this one's most important.
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Make sure that you understand the gospel. Because if all you give someone is the law, and all you give them is a defense for why the
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Bible's true, and you leave them without a gospel, you have left them damned without hope.
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You understand the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the
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Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
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As it is written, the just shall live by faith. If you don't tell people about the gospel, if you don't tell people that God sent
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His Son into the world, who lived a perfect life, who died a substitutionary death, and He rose again on the third day, and He provides forgiveness for everyone who believes in Him, if you leave them without that, you have left them hopeless.
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So, persuading men, we overcome the conscience with the law, we overcome the intellect with apologetics, but we do not abandon the gospel because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
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And that's what it looks like when you're seeking to persuade men. And not every man will be persuaded. Amen? Have you ever longed for someone to come to Christ and seen them reject and reject and reject?
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Absolutely, we all have. Not every man will be persuaded because ultimately,
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I planted, Apollos watered, finish it. But God gave the increase.
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I can seek to overcome the conscience with the law, I can seek to overcome the intellect with apologetics, and I can seek to give them the gospel, but I cannot make a man be born again.
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I talked to an evangelist one time and he said, you give me two minutes with anybody and I can talk them into believing in Jesus.
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I said, you're a used car salesman, not an evangelist. Jesus is not a commodity that can be sold.
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And he is not something that can be convinced the same way you convince someone to buy a car or a house or something else.
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You proclaim the gospel and it's God who changes hearts. So, on the subject of persuasion, you have to seek to convince men.
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And you convince them in those ways. And it is our job. It's our job to persuade men.
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To seek to persuade them. But ultimately, it's not our job to save them.
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You say, well, what's the difference? The difference is we are not responsible for the results. We are responsible for being faithful to what we're given.
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When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone? When was the last time you sought to persuade someone to trust in Jesus Christ?
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Amen. Praise the Lord. That is our desire. To seek to persuade men.
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And when I say men, ladies included. Mankind. And children.
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Do you seek to persuade your kids? You should. From the very earliest of ages, as young as they can remember the gospel.
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As young as they can hear the gospel. We catechize our children. We preach to our children. We teach our children.
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For what reason? That God would use that in bringing them to himself. Because God does not just ordain the ends.
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He ordains the means. I want to continue on in the sermon.
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Now to the second part. Which is the commendation. Paul says this in verse 12.
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We are not commending ourselves to you again. But giving you cause to boast about us. So that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance.
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And not about what is in the heart. I'm going to tell you something. As I was preparing this message.
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And I was looking at how this all fit together. It seems like that kind of came out of nowhere. Because Paul is talking about persuading people.
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But if you understand. Remember what I said the second part of his persuasion. He is persuading people to believe the gospel. But he is also persuading people to trust in his gospel as being correct.
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So now he moves to the concept of his own commendation to them. And saying these words.
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We are not commending ourselves to you. But we are giving you a reason to boast about us.
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That sounds very strange. But what does he mean? There are men among you. Who are calling our gospel into question.
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So what we are doing is we are giving you a reason. A way to stand up. Look what it says.
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So that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance. And not about what is in the heart.
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That's Paul's enemies. Paul's enemies boast in the outward appearance. Paul's enemies boast in their glorious ministries.
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In fact the New Living Translation actually says it that way. It says we are giving you a reason to be proud of us. So that you can answer those who brag about having spectacular ministries.
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They brag about having spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. Paul is saying
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I am telling you what you can say to them. You can say to them that what
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Paul has taught us is true. That what Paul has taught us is correct. And we don't care about your stadium sized ministries.
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If you are preaching a false gospel then we don't want to hear it. Now you see how it applies to us.
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I can't convince you of the truth. All I can do is seek to persuade you of it. But I can tell you this.
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There are men out there who are persuading men into a lie. There are men out there whose goal is to persuade men into a lie.
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Some of them do it for money. Some of them do it for the power.
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I mean like cult groups and stuff. Most of those guys aren't in it for the money. Most of those guys are in it for the recognition and the power.
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They want people to say yes sir to them. Let me tell you this.
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I will always seek to persuade you of what the Bible says. But I cannot tell you what to think.
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And if you are in a group that tells you what you have to think. You're in a cult. I will tell you what the
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Bible says. I will tell you what our creeds and confessions say. I will tell you what the historic faith is. But if I tell you you can't think what's in your eyes and mind.
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And I tell you your brain isn't capable of thinking. That's a cult. Now the segue
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I'm about to make might make you nervous. Because I'm going to talk about Catholics again.
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Don't get too upset. But in the Roman Catholic Church, in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
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There have been teachers who would say. If I see that as red and the church tells me it's white.
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Then it's white. Because the church has that authority.
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You know what has authority in the church? More than anything else. The Word of God.
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And if I tell you something that is not in accord with the Word of God. I have stepped away from any authority that God has given me.
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Because my authority is to proclaim to you the Word of God. And if I say to you something that violates, transgresses, or ignores.
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Or rebels against God's Word. One, I have walked away from my role.
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Because my role is to preach and teach the Word of God. But I've also asked you to do something that would violate your own conscience.
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And that is not what I'm supposed to do either. The Apostle Paul is saying to these people.
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I'm committing myself. I'm not committing myself to you again. But I am giving you a reason to tell these men.
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That what I've taught you is right and stand up for it. Because what they're doing is wrong.
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Beloved you understand there are ministries out there that are just wrong. And again
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I'm not here trying to kick people in the shins today. But there are dangerous ministries out there. And Paul is saying.
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I'm giving you a reason to boast in what is true. What I've told you is true. So that you are able.
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So that you are able to answer those. Who boast about their ministries which are false.
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And then in the third point. We move to an accusation.
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Now this is a little strange. Again this whole section. Studying it was fun. How is he trying to connect this?
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How does this connect? And this is part of the fun of preparing. But Paul says it's for.
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If we are beside ourselves it is for God. If we are in our right mind it is for you. What is that talking about?
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The phrase if we are beside ourselves. Means in its idiomatic form.
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If we are out of our minds. Or if we are. In a way that seems to be out of our minds.
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So let me give you an example. If you look at this sentence. This is what's called a parallel.
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And it says this. If we are beside ourselves it is for God. If we are in our right mind it is for you. So what is the.
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If it parallels. What's the parallel of right mind? Beside ourselves. So that's how you.
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That's one of the ways you come to a conclusion about what Paul means. But also if you look at this idiomatic phrase. To be beside oneself means to be out of your mind.
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Right. So you ask the question what's Paul saying? Paul has been accused. By his opponents.
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Of being a man. Who is not trustworthy. A man who is so overzealous.
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That he gets it wrong. He's a man who is so out of his mind.
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He can't be trusted. So Paul in responding to that.
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This is how I understand it. He's saying if I'm out of my mind. It's for God. And if I'm in my right mind.
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It's for you. What does he mean by that? Well. Understand this. When Paul is seeking to persuade.
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There's two ways. That he might seek to persuade. One. Is he might persuade gently.
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And personally. And through acts of. Discipleship.
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But he also might stand up and proclaim the word of God. Boldly. In such a way that men would say.
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Is that guy out of his mind? Yes. He's out of his mind for God. Let me give you an example.
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If you go back to. Jesus' ministry. Jesus always.
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Perfectly articulated his points. But. In Mark.
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Chapter 3. His own family. Hearing his message.
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You know what they said? He is out of his mind. Mark chapter 3 verse 21.
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Jesus' family comes to him. And says he's out of his mind. Now when I was preaching through that.
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I had a thought about that. Maybe they were saying that. Because they thought he was going to get in trouble. And if they said.
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Oh he's just crazy. Let's pull him in. You know. Maybe they could defend him. By claiming he was insane.
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But either way it goes. Jesus' preaching. Made some people think. He was out of his mind.
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When Paul faced Festus. In Acts chapter 26. This is what Festus said.
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It says. And as he was saying these things in his defense. Festus said with a loud voice. Paul you are out of your mind.
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Why? He says your great learning. Has driven you out of your mind. You see when a man proclaims the word of God.
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What does he sound like to unbelievers? A crazy man. He sounds like someone.
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Who's out of his mind. Paul says if I'm out of my mind. It's for God. But if I'm in my right mind.
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It's for you. Either way. What's my goal? I'm seeking to persuade men.
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I'm seeking to persuade men. Finally we come to.
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Separation. Verse 14. For the love of Christ controls us.
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Oh by the way. Let me just. Before we go any further. When he says. We're beside ourselves.
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It's for God. We're in our right mind. It's for you. For the love of God controls us. That's connecting back to what he just said.
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Because he says. If I'm out of my mind. Or if I'm in my right mind. Either way. Who's in control? Christ.
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The love of Christ. Controls us. The love of Christ. Actually the word could be translated.
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Compels us. For the love of Christ. Compels us. Compels us to do what?
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Persuade men. That's what the love of Christ does. The love of Christ.
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Persuades us. To. That's actually right. It should say four.
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But it's three. It's wrong. That's my. That's my error. But it's. He's on the right.
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Point. Separation. For the love of Christ. Controls us.
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It compels us. Compels us to seek to persuade men. And he gives this.
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Added statement. Because we have concluded this. That one has died for all. Therefore all have died.
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And he died for all. That those who live. Might no longer live for themselves. But for him.
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Who was for their sake. Died. And. Was. Raised. What's he talking about?
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He's talking about this. The love of Christ. Compels. Him. Because of this.
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He's concluded. That Christ died. For all. Who's the all there?
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Well the all there is all believers. We know that. Because the very next sentence. It says. Therefore all have died.
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Guess what? Not everyone has died with Christ. But who has died with Christ?
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Romans chapter six. What does Romans chapter six say? In Romans six verse two.
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It says. How can we who died to sin. Still live in it?
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Do you not know that all of us. Who were baptized into Christ Jesus. Were baptized into his what? Into his death.
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We were buried with him. Therefore by baptism into death. So that just as Christ was raised from the dead.
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By the glory of the father. We too might walk in the newness of life. The point Jesus. Or excuse me. The point Paul is making here.
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Is that the ones who have died. Are the ones who have trusted in Christ. And that is who Christ died for.
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And he died for all. That those who live. Might not live for themselves.
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But for him. Who is the object of that concern? Going back to verse twelve.
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He is concerned about those who boast in outward appearance. Those who boast in what they have. Those who live for themselves.
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And not for him. But he is also in this.
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Including a gospel presentation. He is saying Christ died.
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For all. That those who live. Might not live for themselves. But for him.
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Who for their sake. Died. And was raised. What is ultimately.
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Our persuasion. Our ultimate persuasion. Is Christ. And those who live for other things.
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Those who live for other pursuits. Even if they say they are gospel ministers. Even if they say they are preaching the truth of the gospel.
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If they do not live for Christ. If they are not pursuing Christ. If they are not.
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Preaching Christ. Then they are living for themselves. And that is the separation.
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That is the separation. This passage does show us.
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An interesting relationship between justification and sanctification. And this. I don't want to go too far down a theological rabbit trail.
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But just understand this. We are justified. By what Christ did on the cross.
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His death paid the penalty for our sins. But we are sanctified also by his work.
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When the spirit comes and empowers us to live for him. Notice what it says again.
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The text says. He died for all. That those who live. Might not any longer live for themselves.
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But live for him. Beloved. We are to live with this basic principle of life.
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Here it is. It is very simple. We are to live with Christ as our king. Christ is the captain of our ship.
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He is the commander of our lives. Christ is the one whom we are to live for.
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He controls us. Going back to verse 14. The love of Christ controls us. 1
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Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 says. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.
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Whom you got from God. You are not your own. You were bought with a price.
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People want to argue about their freedom. But beloved understand.
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If you have come to Christ. You now belong to him. And the greatest thing about the
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Christian life. Is not our freedom. But who we belong to. We are called the doulos of Christ.
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The slave of Christ. We are owned by him. We have been purchased out of the market by him. And we are now his.
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Part of Paul's persuasion. Is always. Grounding his arguments in the work of Christ.
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Some people think. To be a great evangelist. You must be super creative.
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You must have a wonderful way with people. Or you must have some great ability.
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As an orator. But none of that is true. The most important thing.
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If you are to seek to evangelize. Is that you point everything to Christ.
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What do people need who are broken? Christ. What do ministries need to be built upon?
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Christ. What do struggling marriages need? Christ.
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What do wayward children need? Christ. What do our neighbors.
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And our co -workers. And our fellow Americans. Need more than anything.
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Christ. And even our friends from France. Everyone needs
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Christ. So when we seek to persuade men.
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May it not be that we simply seek to persuade men. That they might believe as we believe.
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But rather we seek to persuade men. That they might trust Christ. Because it is
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Christ. Who deserves their allegiance. Beloved seek to persuade.
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And trust God with the increase. Let us pray. Father I thank you.
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And I pray that today Lord that my words. In one way or another have been also persuasive.
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For Lord it is. In seeking to persuade. Seeking to preach on how
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Paul has sought to persuade. Lord I have sought also to persuade men to believe in Christ. To hear the gospel.
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And understand there is no other salvation. There is salvation in no other but Jesus Christ. And I pray.
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That today if there are those here. Who maybe at this point have not yet received the gospel.
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That today might be the day. That you would open their hearts. To believe.
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And Lord as we come around the table. To be reminded of what Christ has done. May we be even further persuaded.
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That we serve the God of the universe. Who created all things by the word of his power.
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And sent his son in the fullness of time. To pay the penalty. For all who will believe.