When you search the Scriptures for a model of individual commitment to reaching others for Christ, you need look no further than the Apostle Paul. Paul’s passion is heard loud and clear when he says:
“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.” - Romans 10:1 (NLT)
“I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying; my conscience [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me that I have bitter grief and incessant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off and banished from Christ for the sake of my brethren and instead of them, my natural kinsmen and my fellow countrymen.” - Romans 9:1-3 (Amplified)
Paul’s commitment to reaching others for Christ becomes profoundly clear when we grasp the meaning of the word, “accursed.” The word means “to be banned” or “devoted to God for utter destruction.”
Paul was so burdened to see people go to heaven, that he was willing, if it would help, to be sent to hell! For Paul, the burden to see people know Jesus was so great, that to think of them being without Christ was hell for him! What brought about such a burden in Paul’s life for those without Christ?
In our passage for today, the Apostle shares three reasons with us for his deep commitment to seeing others come to faith in Christ. As we examine what things cause Paul to be burdened to see people come to Jesus in his day, perhaps we will come to share a similar burden to see people come to Jesus in our day. Paul was motivated to share his faith because of . . .
1. The Reality of Judgment - vs. 9-11
“It is appointed for [all] men once to die, and after that the [certain] judgment.” - Hebrews 9:27 (Amplified)
“Do not be surprised and wonder at this, for the time is coming when all those who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, And they shall come out--those who have practiced doing good [will come out] to the resurrection of [new] life, and those who have done evil will be raised for judgment [raised to meet their sentence].” - John 5:28-29 (Amplified)
Jesus spoke of two judgments - the judgment of the believer and the judgment of the unbeliever. Paul mentions the judgment of the believer in our passage. But before we consider that judgment, let’s first think together about the judgment of the unbeliever.
A. The Judgment of the Unbeliever -
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” - Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)
In verse 11, John speaks of a “great white throne.” This throne is “great” for three primary reasons: (1) Here each unbeliever’s eternal destiny is determined and declared with ample proof and reason. (2) It is great because it is the final judgment putting an end to all judgment for all time. (3) It is great because all the unbelievers of all time, from Cain to the final revolt at the end of the millennium, will be here assembled to face God’s perfect justice.
It is called “white” because it will be the supreme, undimmed display of the perfect righteousness, justice, and purity of God.
It is called a “throne” because here the Lord Jesus Christ will sit in absolute majesty and sovereignty.
In verse 12, John says that the dead before this throne are the unsaved of all ages that now stand resurrected. They come from all classes and groups of humanity.
We are told that there will be books that are opened in connection with this judgment. Verses 12 and 13 state that the unbelieving dead will be “judged according to what he had done.” The idea here is that Jesus Christ died for their sins, for their evil deeds, to forgive them, and to provide them with a righteousness from God so that they might have a perfect standing before Him. But when men reject the knowledge of God and His plan of salvation, they determine to stand on their own merit or in their own righteousness. This judgment proves them sinners and in need of Christ’s righteousness by faith.
Their good works will be shown to be insufficient to achieve eternal life. There is only one work that was sufficient to provide us with eternal life, and it is not a work we can do, but a work God has done in Christ through His death and resurrection. Eternal is not a goal that can be achieved, but it is a gift that must be received.
That is why, after consulting the “books” and allowing each unbeliever to present their case, which will show that their goodness is lacking, God will then consult the “Book of Life,” which will contain the names of all who have received eternal life as a gift from God through faith in Christ. Then, in verse 15, John concludes with some very sobering words: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
The vast majority of Americans are in denial. Barna Research recently conducted a nationwide poll about belief in life after death, heaven and hell, and who might end up where. Three-quarters of us believe in heaven, nearly that many believe in hell (71%), but only one half of 1% think they’re going to hell.
Unfortunately, many Christians live as if they also believe that their unbelieving friends will not go to hell.
There is a book written by a cardiologist at the University of Tennessee that contains interviews conducted by Dr. Maurice Rawlings and his colleagues, of more than 300 people who claimed to have had a near-death experience. What made Rawlings’ study distinct is that the interviews were not conducted months or years later but immediately after the experiences had allegedly occurred - while the patients were still too shaken up in the immediacy of the moment to gloss over or to re-imagine what they had experienced.
Nearly 50 percent of them reported encountering images of fire, of tormented and tormenting creatures, and other sights hailing from a place very different from heaven. In follow-up interviews much later many of these same people had changed their stories, apparently unwilling to admit to their families, maybe even to themselves, that they had caught a glimpse of something like what the Bible calls hell. Dr. Rawlings concludes, “Just listening to these patients has changed my life. There is a life after death, and if I don’t know where I’m going, it is not safe to die.”
Paul was motivated to share the Good News not only because of the judgment that would be faced by unbelievers, but also by the judgment that he knew was awaiting believers.
B. The Judgment of the Believer - vs. 9-11
Paul knew that he would one day stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to give an account of his stewardship of the Gospel. Knowing the reality of his ultimate accountability to Christ, Paul made sharing the Good News a priority.
Oh, how we need to also make sure that we keep the “main the thing, the main thing.” Too many of us have lost sight of what Jesus has clearly told us to make priority.
Many Christians have concluded that Jesus called us to be LAWYERS, as evidenced by the number of Christians who are committed to arguing for their particular case for this or that.
Others have mistakenly concluded that Jesus has called us to be JUDGES, as evidenced by the number of Christians involved in critical analysis, gossip, and slander of others.
Few, it seems, rightly understand that the job Jesus has called us to assume and for which He will one day hold us accountable is that of being a WITNESS (Acts 1:8).
The fact is, that if we would focus more on being a witness for Christ, we would do far less judging and arguing among ourselves.
The reality of judgment, both of the unbeliever and of the believer, should motivate us, as it did Paul, to make the commitment to share our faith. But Paul was also motivated by . . .
2. The Power of Love - vs. 14-17
Paul speaks here of the transforming power of the love of Christ. He says that just as the power of Christ which raised Him from the dead has elevated our understanding of Who He is, the power of Christ’s love has elevated our understanding to the place where we now see others as they are - people for whom Jesus died and whose life can be truly changed by Christ’s love and power!
Paul knew that just as surely as Christ’s love had changed him, Christ’s love could also change others. Therefore, the love of Christ compelled him to seek introduce others to Jesus!
Likewise, our encounter with the life changing love of Christ should place within us a firm conviction that His love can change the lives of others as well. As we remind ourselves of the depth of the love of Christ for us, we will be all the more motivated and dedicated to sharing His love with others. That is why, I believe, Paul prayed as he did for believers to grow in our awareness of the love of Christ.
“And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.
Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” - Ephesians 2:17-18 (The Message)
When one travels the icy waters around Greenland, he often sees mountainous icebergs towering out of the water. Closer to the land, one also sees small ice floes. Upon watching closely one will often notice a rather interesting phenomenon - the ice floes move in one direction while the icebergs move in another.
There is a simple explanation to this strange sight. The small ice floes are subject to the waves and surface winds, while the icebergs are moved by the deep ocean currents because almost nine-tenths of their mass is below the water.
Rather than being like the ice floe, drifting along with the crowd, let’s be like the iceberg, influenced by the deep current of God’s love, convinced that the power of that love can really change lives!
Paul was steadfastly convinced of the power of Christ’s love to change lives; and that conviction compelled him to share the Good News with others. But there is yet one more thing that Paul says he was motivated by. Paul was also motivated by . . .
3. The Nature of Our Ministry - vs. 18-20
Paul tells us that the ministry of reconciliation has been given to each of us. No Christian is exempt from the job of representing Christ! Every Christian has the high calling of being an ambassador for Christ!
In his book, Who Speaks For God, Chuck Colson tells in the first chapter of a New York bishop who announced unequivocally that "AIDS is not God’s judgment on the homosexual community" while he was addressing a gay rights demonstration.
The next day a predictable response came from conservative church leaders: AIDS is His judgment on homosexuals. Writes Colson:
"The debate raises a timely question. Who does speak for God? . . . Ironically, while the bishop and his conservative challengers were pontificating over who was responsible for AIDS, I discovered that a young woman on my staff named Christy was using her evenings and weekends to do something- about it.
"At a time when most Americans were panic-stricken over the contagious disease or snickering at snide AIDS jokes, Christy and her prayer group were visiting terminally ill AIDS patients at a Washington area hospital.
"None of the men had families in the area, and certainly no visitors. So Christy’s group brought them postage stamps, stationery, books, tapes and cookies. In a prayer memo, Christy explained why she visited AIDS victims: ’They are socially unacceptable because of their lifestyle and medically unacceptable because of their diseases. They are scared. They are dying. They are unsaved.’
"Christy’s report continued, ’We have been able to pray with eight of the patients. Two men who died in the last ten days received Christ . . .’
"Christy and her friends remind us of a great truth: The quiet, often unnoticed, actions of ’ordinary’ Christians who believe and obey speak far more loudly than all the bombast of so-called religious leaders.
"Who speaks for God? He does quite nicely for Himself. Through His holy and infallible Word - and the quiet obedience of his servants."
Conclusion: Are you speaking for God?
