Why is it that we would evangelize? Why is it that we would share the gospel? These are questions that many in the world would ask us right now as the common thought of the day is to live your life and let others live theirs. And yet, it seems that many are rushing to provide answers. Even among a group this size, I bet many would be ready to stand in line to give an answer to the question, “Who is it that you would evangelize or share the gospel with another?” I believe many of us would point out that the reason one would share the gospel with another is because we believe that the gospel alone is the power of God to salvation for anyone who believes, or because Christ is the only way to the Father, or because unless one obeys the demands of the gospel he will go to hell for eternity. Indeed, our answers could be multi-faceted and I believe more than a few of us would line to answer that question to many in our world today.

A harder question to answer, however, is, “Why is it that we do not share the gospel with others, or do it very little?” I imagine the line would be far shorter for those standing up and wanting to give an answer to that. And yet, it seems that evangelism is something that has fallen on hard times for Christians. Maybe we could credit it to a generation in the church telling us the way we evangelize is simply by inviting individuals to a revival service or something so that few felt the individual responsibility to know and share the gospel with others. Indeed, maybe it is because the church has done little to educate her members on what exactly the gospel is so that few have confidence to share the message with others (something we’re hoping to correct not only through teaching and preaching but also through some forthcoming cards on the back table outlining the gospel and how to go about sharing it).

And yet maybe there are a number of other reasons, such as a lack of courage or care shown in a selfish desire simply to want to care for ourselves and bring the most pleasure to our lives possible. I do not know all the reasons why, and could add many that come from my own heart as I search it out. However, this morning our text aids us in focusing us afresh on those things we need to know and remember so that we might be faithful in declaring the gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ) to others in order that they might be saved. Therefore, let us turn to the text and see those things.

Paul makes it his aim to persuade men to place their faith in Christ, knowing that judgment is coming (11-13)

In the last verse of the text we looked at last week, Paul wrote to the Corinthians of living in light of the judgment of Christ that awaits all men. We need to remember that because he begins the first verse of our text this morning with “therefore.” That is to say, “Because we know all men will stand before Christ …” Then he adds, “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (11a).

One of the tasks that we are to be about as Christians is persuading men to repent and believe in order that they might be reconciled to God. And one reason that we are about this task because we understand that judgment is coming and that only those who have truly repented and believed will be saved. That is what Paul is saying in that first verse.

Now here we might want to say, “Wait a second. What is all this persuasion talk? Didn’t Paul just talk about not tampering with God’s Word and renouncing disgraceful, underhanded ways in evangelism in 4:1-6? So what’s he saying here?”

To that, we must say, “Yes, Paul did say he renounced cunning ways, manipulating the gospel in 4:1-6. However, that does not mean that Paul does not long to persuade men. He simply refuses to persuade with underhanded, manipulating ways. That is, Paul is not going to say, “Are you lonely? Then believe in Christ, for he’ll take away all your loneliness.” For anyone who has been a Christian for any time know that being a Christian does not mean you are never lonely. In fact, if you end up laboring in foreign missions you might find that you’re lonelier after placing your faith in Christ than before. What Paul is willing to do, though, is to plead with men to believe, realizing the consequences that will come to those who disobey the demands of the gospel. That is, after we declare that God has made a way for us to know him by sending his Son to die on the cross for our sins and raising him from the dead three days later to conquer death, we must then urge them, beg them to believe, for if they do not God’s wrath is still upon them. In fact, later in our text Paul says just that, writing, “We implore [or beg, plead with] you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (20). Therefore, simply declare the open gospel, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (as Nathan said a few weeks back). And then plead with men to respond. Plead with men even as you would plead with a man who is about to be killed by a coming army and could live if he would only switch his allegiance.

But in addition to saying he persuades others, Paul notes his motivation. He writes, “Remembering the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (11). Paul keeps the coming judgment in his head so that he is driven to persuade others. In fact, this coming judgment leads him to two things: 1) to seek to please the Lord and 2) to labor to see God’s redeemed of every nation to come to know Christ and to become mature in him. We see this two-pronged desire in the rest of verse 11 through verse 13. There, Paul writes, “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. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.”

Paul’s motives had been questioned in front of the Corinthians and even by some of the Corinthians themselves. Therefore, Paul has said, “Look, here’s my motivation in my labors. I know of judgment and therefore seek to persuade men.” Then, he notes in verse 12 that he is not saying all of this simply to commend himself before them again but so that when the Corinthians hear others speak ill of Paul’s motives because of his change of travel plans, or whatever else, they can have an answer. Then, he sums up his actions, saying, “If we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you” (13).

Now, it’s not clear what Paul is talking about here. It could be that this is a reference back to the topic of speaking in tongues that Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 12-14, writing that he spoke in tongues to God but wanted to speak intelligibly to those in the church. Or maybe Paul is answering a charge of these false apostles saying that he was acting out of his mind. But either way, Paul exposes his motives. If he is acting in a way that seems out of his mind, then you can know he is simply seeking to please God, and if he is acting in his right mind, it is because he loves the Corinthians and wants to see them built up. In short, as we have said, he longs to please God and to see people come to know Christ and to become mature in him. That is his drive, and that is why he seeks to persuade men as he looks to judgment. A task and two-pronged desire that we must be about as well.

However, Paul gives us more of what goes through his mind, motivating him to persuade others in verses 14-15. He writes, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 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.”

Paul reminds himself of what Christ’s death means for him (14-15)

In these verses, Paul says that the love of Christ controls him. It is the driving factor behind his thoughts, decisions, and actions. But why? Why is it that Paul feels he must be controlled by Christ and his love? Why doesn’t Paul get caught up in the things that so easily hinder me, like simply focusing on myself and seeking my own betterment? Paul answer that it is because he has concluded two things.

The first of which is that because Christ has died for his people, those who know Christ have died. Now, he does not write this meaning that all Christians are physically dead, for if that were the case then none of us could claim to be Christians. What Paul means, it seems, is that Christ died for us so that we might die to ourselves.

That is to say, when you first repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ, you were saying, “Lord, I have decided to take up my cross [i.e. die to my own desires] and to follow and obey you.” Therefore, to know that Christ has died for us means that we have died to ourselves, to our selfish desires. In addition, Paul acknowledges that Christ’s death means something else. He writes that Christ died for us so that as we live we might not live for ourselves but for Christ’s sake.

Therefore, knowing that Christ has died for him, Paul understands two things: 1) that he has died to serving himself, and 2) that he lives for the sake of Christ. That is why he’s going through this suffering and working for free and risking his life. It’s not because he’s some crazed man who likes suffering. It’s because he understands what Christ’s death means for him.

And so, we must understand what Christ’s death means for us. It means that you have died to any right you thought you had simply to seek your own will and pleasure in this world. You’ve died to seeking your joy in pornography, or gossip, or stealing software, or coveting another’s possessions. You’ve died even simply to saying, “I will seek to do today that which will be pleasing to me.” And you live so that you might seek that which is pleasing to your Lord, the one who died and was raised from the dead. Therefore, when you start your day, it would be helpful to remember the coming judgment and to remember what Christ’s death means for you so that you might start your day and go throughout the day with a mindset that says, “Lord, having been bought with your blood, I simply seek to do what is most pleasing to you today. Let your love control me.” In addition, …

Paul views this world in light of eternity, of the new creation that awaits us (16-17)

Having spoken of judgment and what Christ’s death means for him, Paul writes in the next two verses, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (16-17).

Paul declares that he does not look at people simply according to the flesh. That is, he doesn’t look at people simply according to the standards of the world. The world would tell Paul to leave alone the poor and destitute, for they can offer him nothing. It would tell him not to minister to those in “great” sin, lest others get the wrong idea of his own involvement. It would tell him a number of things leading him to put down some and exalt others. However, Paul has cast off the world’s standards and simply regards men according to an eternal perspective.

He acknowledges that he once regarded Christ according to the world. He saw Christ as one whose suffering showed he was judged by God and not some triumphant King. As he was saved, his perspective has changed. He now looks at men in light of eternity.

In fact, Paul acknowledges that as he looks around and sees men saved (in Christ), he sees that God is bringing about a new creation, that this old world is passing away and a new one is coming. Therefore, he lets that guide his perspective.

In the same way, we need to remember that this world is passing away and that God is going to bring about a new creation. For if we do not remind ourselves of this, this present age has a powerful and alluring effect. We’re easily drawn to seek what the world praises and to avoid what the world condemns. Not remembering the passing nature of this world and its standards will lead us to live a life of self-comfort and avoid seeking to persuade others to place their faith in Christ. Maybe it is this that is the reason we find it so difficult to evangelize.

Finally, Paul understands the privilege of being reconciled to God and the ministry that has been given to him (18-21)

In these final verses Paul writes, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (18-21).

Paul notes two things. The first is the privilege and blessing that is found in being reconciled to God. For Paul, it was clear that he needed reconciled. He has persecuted the church and was an outspoken enemy of Christ. You would not have had to convince Paul that he was an enemy of Christ. Nor, would you have had to convince Paul that God’s holy wrath was therefore against him, for he notes in Romans 1:18 that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Therefore, Paul knew well that he knew an immense blessing in being reconciled to God. In Christ, God has quenched his wrath and changed Paul. According to verse 21, God allowed Christ to bear our sin on the cross in order that Christ’s righteousness might be credited to us by faith. That is a miracle, and Paul knew it.

And he also knew that God had been about more than reconciling us to himself as he sent Christ. He was also entrusting to his people the ministry of reconciliation. Paul knew that he had been called to be an ambassador for Christ, declaring what God had done in Christ and begging men to be reconciled to God. These two realizations affected his daily life.

However, we must realize that these things are not unique to Paul. If you are a believer, then you too have been reconciled to God in Christ. Your sins have been paid for in Christ and you have been declared righteous in him. And you have been entrusted to declare that message to others.

We all have been entrusted to tell others the good news, that Christ died for sinners, bearing God’s wrath on the cross, that he was buried, that he rose from the dead three days later, and that the demand of that message is that men repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ. No doubt one reason we fail to understand the privilege of that task is because we think too little of the wonder of such reconciliation in our own lives.

In this text, Paul shows us that he was driven by knowing judgment and seeking to please God, by remembering what Christ’s death meant for him, by knowing that this world and its standards are passing away, and that he was privileged to be reconciled to God and given the ministry of reconciliation. For us today, my prayer is that we might be driven by the same. Knowing judgment, might we today repent of not thinking of such and seek to please God and seek the good of his people. Understanding that Christ’s death means that we have died to ourselves and live in order to please him, lead us to declare before God today that we will seek this day and those which follow putting away sinful pleasures and seeking what is pleasing to Christ. Understanding the fleeting nature of this world, might we today begin to look at all men in light of eternity and know that a new creation awaits us. And, understanding the blessing of being reconciled to God and the privilege of being entrusted with that ministry, might we seek to proclaim the good news to others so that they too might know such a blessing. Indeed, might we say “yes” and “amen” to these charges in coming to the table this morning. Amen.

LABORING TO PERSUADE MEN - THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION