II Corinthians 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 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.
16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
There were people like Festus who thought the apostle Paul was beside himself. They could not understand why anyone would want to stand up and speak the truth regarding salvation through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why would they defend the resurrection from the dead.
Paul was willing to accept it if people wanted to look at him as though he were strange. He was not inventing some new belief. He was living for God.
Others would assess Paul’s ministry and think he was too straight. He needed to loosen up a little. Paul lived the way he did because he wanted to be a blessing to the Corinthian saints. He could not be that if he would be a compromiser.
Jesus Christ did not come to try to fit in with the Pharisees. He was not a winebibber. He was and is the eternal Son of God and He came to teach the truth and to lay down His life for the sheep.
The apostle Paul was saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Once he was saved he appreciated the gift of God. He wanted others to know that gift as well. The gift of salvation and eternal life is so precious and so needed that he wanted to help people to know the truth. He did not want to see people remain bound by the Pharisees’ false teachings.
It is the love of God that motivates a true child of God to continue to speak the truth. It is not that they look to be ridiculed. They understand that will be a consequence of speaking the Truth, but they are also hopeful that some will receive the Truth and be saved.
In verse 14 we see that it is the love of God that motivates the child of God. The true child of God understands that if one, Jesus Christ, died for all, then all people were dead. Why would Jesus die to offer life to people who did not need it.
Of course the Pharisees did not believe they were sinners. They looked at people like the Publicans as sinners, but they themselves were good people and did not need a Saviour. However, Paul knew better than that. He knew that he had been a lost sinner seeking to stop people from turning to God for salvation. He did not see himself as lost at one time either, but by the grace of God he was brought to the place where he humbled himself and was saved. Now he wanted to help as many people as possible to also turn to this same God and trust in the same Jesus for salvation.
In verse 15 Paul was directed to continue his argument. If Jesus died for all, then it only stands to reason that those who are given life, should not live unto themselves, but unto Jesus Christ.
We have often talked of the difference that God’s gift of salvation makes in the repentant sinner’s life. Most professing Christians do not understand this. They profess salvation, but they are still lost. They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. It is sad to hear of a person who claims to be saved but still bound in sin. What kind of a God is that if He cannot deliver the bound person from bondage?
What kind of a doctor would it be if you go to have him set your broken arm, and he sends you home with the bone still out of place and a hand that cannot function properly because the bone was never set properly. You go to the doctor and you expect him to be able to help you.
A lost sinner that turns to God for salvation expects that God will help him. We are currently studying Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus Christ. In chapter 18 a blind man heard that Jesus was passing by. That blind man cried out for Jesus to heal him. The people told the man to be quiet but he kept crying out. Jesus stopped and talked to the man. He asked him what he wanted Jesus to do for him. The man told Jesus he wanted to be able to see. Jesus gave him his sight right there. In chapter 19 we looked at Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a rich man, but he was missing the most important thing in life. He did not have the peace of God in his heart. He wanted to see Jesus. He climbed into a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. Jesus stopped under that tree and told Zacchaeus to come down from that tree. He told him that He wanted to come to his house that day. Zacchaeus was happy to come down and bring Jesus to his house. That day Zacchaeus was saved and the evidence of that salvation was that he wanted to clear his name in his community. He did not want to be known as a crooked man who cheated people out of their money.
When a person is saved they are immediately changed. There is growth that needs to take place, but the saved person wants to grow. God changes the heart of the saved person. This cannot be denied Biblically. The only way this can be denied is when a person rejects the Word of God. That is where New Evangelicalism is at. That is where the ecumenical movement is at. That is where the majority of people who claim to be saved are at. Don’t buy the hype. Study the Word.
In verse 16 the apostle Paul was directed by God to continue to make God’s position clear. We will look at that further tomorrow, Lord willing. It should be clear to anyone with their eyes open that God’s salvation is powerful and it is life changing. I know there are multitudes of naysayers. Their fight is with God, not with me. I am simply a messenger of what is clearly written in God’s Word.
Pastor Bartel