2 Corinthians 5:6-10

                                                             2 Corinthians 5:6-10

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  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.

 

We often think that eschatology, the study of future events, is impractical and has little impact on our lives in the present.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is our convictions about what God has promised in the future that motivates us to live a life of obedience in the present.  Faith, hope, and love are the three qualities that Paul constantly places together as essential to the Christian walk.  Love is the supreme command of Scripture and is focused on the present.  However, both faith and hope are focused on the future and are truly essential to promoting a life marked by love.

 

WE ARE CALLED TO BE PLEASED BY GOD: Faith is essential to living a life according to God’s will.  Paul faced great amounts of suffering as he served the Lord.  Yet, he said that he and his companions were “always of good courage.”  They lived a life in which they were pleased by God.  Despite their suffering and hardship, they lived a life of rejoicing and gratitude because they walked by faith and not by sight.  They understood that the sufferings of this present body were only temporary and that there was a far better life awaiting them with the Lord.  They had never seen or experienced this “better life,” they simply lived looking forward to it by faith.  Complaining is born out of faithlessness.  Rejoicing in the Lord is the result of faith.

 

WE ARE CALLED TO BE PLEASING TO GOD: Hope is a great motivation for a life that is pleasing to God.  Paul did not live to please himself but to please the Lord.  The reason Paul lived in this way was the hope that he had of future rewards.  When we live to please ourselves, we receive immediate rewards.  However, those rewards are always tainted by guilt, and they only last a very short time before we begin to lust after even more self-pleasing experiences.  Paul was motivated to live a life that was pleasing to God because of his hope for eternal rewards.  Paul had already taught this church about the Judgment Seat of Christ in 1 Corinthians 3 and 4.  Now he reminds them of the fact that his hope for eternal rewards was motivating him to live to please God and not just himself.  Joyful obedience out of gratitude to the Lord reaps eternal rewards.  Our lives are of eternal consequence.  Both the good and evil of our lives are taken into consideration when we stand before God and have our motives and actions examined by Him.  If we place our hope on the glory of eternal rewards in the future, it will help us live lives that are pleasing to Him in the present.

APPLICATION:  Develop a strong faith in the eternal promises of God instead of focusing on the difficult circumstances we might face.  Rejoice and be of good courage because of our faith in His promises.  Value the eternal rewards in heaven above the immediate rewards of pleasing ourselves.  Take great hope in the rewards of living to please God.

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