Thank you musicians for helping us express the doxologies of our soul here this morning. We now come to a time where we open up the Word of God. And we find ourselves this morning in Second Corinthians, chapter five; we're going to be looking at verses 11 through 15. If you have not been with us, we go verse by verse through whatever epistle, whatever passage we are in. And in the providence of God, this is where we are today. I've entitled my discourse to you this morning, "The Fear of the Lord." Before we look at this, I want to frame our thoughts a little bit and just express to you how thankful I am, that you are willing to come here and humble yourself before the preaching of the word. It's a very rare thing, frankly, these days. I was noticing last week, the Democratic National Convention featured a person named J, MAI, the letter J and then capital MAI, who expresses himself; actually, he prefers the pronoun "they" or "them." He is a quote "black, Vietnamese, transgender, non-binary, gender transcendent, mermaid, queen-king. Who was also a licensed minister in the progressive National Baptist Church. Of course, his big thing was we need to abolish the police, abolish ICE, abolish prisons and all kinds of other absurdities. Folks, this is evidence of what happens when a person, and frankly a people, have been given over to a reprobate mind, as Romans describes. A mind that can no longer function, a depraved mind that is irrational. And I don't say this to in any way humiliate that person, but to let you know that here's a person that needs our prayers, because this guy needs Christ, as we all do. But I'm thankful that by God's grace and his mercy, we don't have a mind that doesn't function. We've been given the mind of Christ. And we've been given the Word of God. And so we find ourselves once again, immersing ourselves in his Word.

You know, when Paul came to Corinth, that wicked, vile, immoral city, what did he do? He preached Christ and him crucified. So that's what we're gonna do once again today. Remember the context of the passage, in which we find ourselves. The false teachers had infiltrated the church at Corinth, as they will always try to do in every church and every denomination, and every college and seminary that tries to take a stand for Christ. And as they came in, the first thing they wanted to do is to insult the apostle Paul, who founded the church. He was no longer there; he had been there for about 18 months. Now he's gone, and they are doing everything that they possibly can to assault his integrity, to frankly, deny his apostolic authority; to distort his message and his motives for ministry. In fact, you will recall in chapter 12, Paul speaks about this thorn in the flesh, that was a messenger from Satan; we believe referring to one of the kingpins of that group. Paul asked three times if the Lord would remove it, and remove this person, but the Lord said, No, "My grace is sufficient for you." For power is perfected in weakness. And Paul understood that. But what we see here in this passage is Paul defending himself for the sake of the truth that he preached, as well as for the sake of the unity of the church. Because certainly if the people began to follow these characters, the church would splinter. Left unchallenged, these scurrilous assaults against the Apostle Paul would cause the people to lose confidence in him, to lose confidence in his message. And of course, that's always Satan's strategy, right? To get you to doubt and to wonder...I don't know. So much of this epistle is devoted to Paul defending his integrity as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And certainly, that's the context that we have here. And I might also add that here we see power being perfected in weakness, okay? Which will have application to all of us who love Christ.

Now you will recall in verses nine and 10, that we looked at the last time we were together, Paul stated that his ambition in life was to be pleasing to the Lord. And he added, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." So now we come to the text before us that we will examine. Notice, beginning in verse 11, "Therefore," he says, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer to those who take pride in appearance, and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of a sound mind, that is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Now, Paul, knowing that his ambition was to be pleasing to the Lord and knowing that one day he would stand before the Lord--he would be rewarded for his service--we see three virtuous priorities emerge from this text. You might say, in order to be pleasing to the Lord, Paul had to do three things that you will find have application, frankly, to all of us. Number one, he had to defend his integrity for the sake of the gospel. Secondly, he had to unify the church under the banner of truth. And then number three, he had to live for Christ in light of his astonishing love.

Now you will remember, the inspired apostle admonishes all of us in First Corinthians chapter four and verse 16, "Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me." Powerful statement, "be imitators of me." And in chapter 11 and verse one, he says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." In Philippians, chapter three and verse 17, "Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." So, folks, what we have here is a pattern to live by; a model of Christian living and Christian service. So, bear that in mind.

So, you might say in order to be pleasing to the Lord, he must number one, defend his integrity for the sake of the gospel. Now, mind you, he did this with great reluctance. Now, let's look at the text closely. He begins by saying, "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord..." let's pause here for a moment. It's a powerful statement. The grammar in the original language helps us understand what he's referring to. First of all, let me tell you what he's not referring to. He's not referring to the fear of God's judgment upon unbelievers that's inspired by the Lord. Like those who, according to Romans two, five are stubborn and "unrepentant heart are storing up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath and revelation to the righteous judgment of God." That's not what he's referring to here. Nor is he referring to some kind of an all-consuming angst or terror regarding the nature of God, as Moses did, and the children of Israel, remember, at Mount Sinai when Moses said, I am full of fear and trembling, although it indeed it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But what Paul is referring to here, when he says, "Knowing the fear of the Lord" is this, he has a reverential awe, that is directed toward the Lord. He has a humbling sense of adoration for who God is, and that's what animated his heart to praise and to worship and to serve the Lord come what may? This is what would cause him to write to all of us in Second Corinthians seven one, "beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Beloved, is this the attitude of your heart? Do you fear the Lord in that way? Was that in your heart and your mind when you came into this place to worship him this morning? I hope it was. In Psalms 22, verse 23, we read, "You who fear the Lord, praise Him." Certainly, that's what we're doing here today. In contrast to the ungodly, described in Romans three, beginning in verse 14, "'WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS; THEIR FEET ARE SEIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN. THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.'" Dear Christian, do you fear the Lord? Do you have a soul captivating wonder of God's intrinsic glory; the very glory that resides within you and waits its full expression one day, when we see Him face to face, does this motivate who you are as a person; that you long to see the perfections of God manifested in his works and his word, and in his people and your family? In your life? Are you looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us? Folks, this is what drove the Apostle Paul.

"Therefore," he says, "knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." The term persuade, "peitho," in the original languages, a verb better rendered here, "we seek the favor of" now he's not talking about persuading people with the gospel, the truth of the gospel. Sometimes you hear this passage wrongly used in that way. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about persuading them with respect to the truth of his apostolic credentials; of his personal integrity, the sincere motives of his heart. And notice he persuades them, he says, in the fear of the Lord, because he knows the Lord knows his heart. He knows that he will one day have to give an account before the Lord. And thus, he goes on to say, "but we are made manifest to God." In other words, his conscience is clear. And he knew--God knew--what is true character, what his true motives, and conduct were all about. Can you say that of yourself? I hope you can. Frankly, this is an extension of what he said earlier in chapter one and verse 12. He said, "For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness in godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you." And so again, he's saying "we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences." He's essentially saying this, "Come on, folks. I was with you for 18 months, and you can all give testimony to the radical change in your lives, when you place your faith in Christ. You know what happened when you embrace the truth? Now, can you honestly say in your hearts, that I'm a fraud, really? I appeal to your conscience, not to what others are saying, but to your conscience."

You will recall his statement in Second Corinthians four two, "We have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." Folks, very practically speaking, our lives will either adorn the gospel of God, or they will detract from it. Those who know us best will know what is true of each of us. I might ask you to ask yourself, what would others say about my life? Do you conduct your life in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, as Paul said. Or is that not something you really ever think about that much? And you renounce the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, does that describe you? Or do you have a secret life that you wish nobody would ever know? Thinking foolishly that God doesn't see it? Well, sadly, I know many professing Christians that, frankly, I don't want to around unsaved friends. I really wouldn't want them to know that these people claim Christ. They are like those described a second Timothy three. They're lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, they hold to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.

Well, not so the Apostle Paul. So, to be pleasing to the Lord, he had to first of all defend his integrity for the sake of the gospel. But secondly, he had to unify the church under the banner of truth because these characters were raising up another banner for them to follow. You see, men and women of godly integrity will not only be committed to defending the gospel, but also committed to defending the unity of the church, the Body of Christ, under, as I say, the Banner of Truth, not the banner of culture. But the banner of the gospel that the world hates. It's interesting, I keep hearing a new term, because I'm hearing new terms all the time these days, right? I don't even know some of the language that's being used anymore. But you've heard the term cancel culture. And I'm beginning to understand what that's all about. Of course, frankly, as Christians, we were used to that; we should be. Cancel culture, I looked it up, "public shaming and withdrawing support of people or organizations that do or say something you find objectionable or offensive." Well, as a result of that, what we see is many churches; many, Christians caving into the mob, and beginning to erect another banner, under which they will march, maybe it's the rainbow banner of the LGBTQ perversions or the Black Lives Matter banner, or the feminist banner, or whatever it is, there's so many satanic movements out there today. And certainly, those three that I just mentioned, are as wicked as they come. And of course, nothing is more offensive than the gospel. So naturally, Satan is going to want to cancel it. You know, he's been trying to do that from the beginning. And the way he does that primarily is through false teachers, false doctrine. But we're thankful that Christ is promised to build his church, right? I rejoice in that. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."

And again, that's what Paul preached when he came into Corinth, and you see what happened there. And what has happened down through the centuries, and what has happened to us. But frankly, dear friends, when a church follows the wrong banner, or Christians follow the wrong banner, they forfeit divine blessing, they forfeit their effectiveness when they get divided. You will recall at First Corinthians one and verse 10, Paul addressed the issue of factions, remember that, when we studied that? Right off the bat, he lets him know, look, I know what's going on. And he's trying to stress the importance of humility and unity. He said, there in that text, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there'll be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul' and I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' There was all this sectarianism going on within the church. And of course, factious divisive people will develop fierce loyalties on their own and they will begin to promote themselves and other people, other agendas. That's why, in First Corinthians, Paul described them as being "puffed up"; six times he used that phrase. "Puffed up" referring to, you're filled with self-promoting pride. You love to grandstand like politicians that we see all the time. They're puffed up. They were acting as well, like spoiled infants, demanding their own way. In chapter three verses one through four, he said, "You're still fleshly," which means your worldly, your unspiritual, you're pursuing your own ends. He went on to say, "For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" referring to unsaved people. "For when one says, 'I am of Paul' and another, 'I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? And later on in chapter 11, he says that every church is going to have some selfish factious divisive people in it from time-to-time people. He says, "In order that those who are approved may have become evident among you," verse 19 of chapter 11. In other words, the Lord will use that wickedness, that bickering among people to contrast those who are humble, and the spiritual leaders that are there, people of integrity and so forth. So, Paul knew their immaturity, he knew what was going on there. And he knew how the false teachers were playing into that. He knew their proclivity to sectarianism to, to cliques to factions, and of course, Satan knew it as well. So, he inspires these false teachers to turn folks against Paul. So, he has to defend his integrity for the sake of the gospel and the unity of the church.

And notice what he says in verse 12, "We are not again commending ourselves to you." Now, obviously, he had been accused of that. That's why he's saying that. He had been accused of tooting his own horn, as we might say, in our vernacular, making himself a hero of every story. So that's what hypocrites do. The only thing Paul boasted about was his weakness. Remember? Chapter 11, verse 30, he says, "If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness." You see, he wanted to magnify the power of God that was work; it was at work in and through Him. And when the Lord declined his request, to have that thorn in the flesh removed from him, Second Corinthians 12 Nine, the Lord says, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'" So, Paul said this, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

So again, verse 12, "We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us." In other words, I want to give you a legitimate basis to rally to my defense, if I can put it that way. I want to bolster your confidence in my spiritual integrity so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. And there he takes a shot at the false apostles, self-righteous hypocrites. So many passages that speak to that. You remember what Jesus said, regarding the Pharisees and scribes, Matthew 23, beginning of verse 27. He called them "whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they're full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." He went on to describe them as those who outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. You might say they were all sizzle, but no steak. Like we see in so many people today. Everything from pastors to politicians, we see this; people that tout themselves to be paragons of virtue and justice, when in truth they are sexually deviant, greedy, power hungry, liars. But not so the Apostle Paul. What we see here is that he was controlled by the love of Christ in verse 15. He was passionately devoted to the truth. But of course, the enemies of Christ hate the truth. They hate anybody that believes the truth. And so they call them crazy. That's what they did with Paul. And we see that here in verse 13. Notice what he says, "For if we are beside ourselves it is for God; if we are of a sound mind, it is for you." What a curious statement. What's he talking about here? Beside ourselves? Well, the Greek verb "existemi." It's very interesting. It literally means, "to be beside oneself; it carries the idea of being out of one's mind. That's the idea. And that's how Paul's accusers judged him; that he was out of his mind. He was crazy. As we might say he was irrational. He was mentally deranged, and therefore he can't be taken seriously.

You will recall Paul's passionate testimony of his conversion and the transforming power of the gospel when he stood before King Agrippa. The Roman governor Festus was standing there and he heard what Paul was saying. And in Acts 26:24, he says with a loud voice, "'Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad." And I love what Paul said in response in verse 25, "I'm not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words, of sober truth. To the natural man, the things of the Spirit are foolishness, and he cannot understand them. For he was spiritually appraised. Paul wasn't insane, he was merely passionate for God's glory. He had his zeal for evangelism. So he says, "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God;" In other words, look, I'm a steward of the gospel of God. I have a blazing zeal for the glory of God that cannot be extinguished. Then he adds, "If we are of sound mind," which literally means sane, or mentally healthy and behaving responsibly--"if we are of sound mind, it is for you." Again, we know that God has given for example, Pastor, teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ--Ephesians four. He goes on in verse 12, to say until we all attain to the unity of the faith. That was Paul's passion, not only the unity of the faith, but also of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man. And later on, he explains why. "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming." You see, Paul was uncompromising. He was indefatigable in his proclamation of the truth, there was nothing that could stop him, because he knew that the gospel is the only thing that can save sinners. And it's also the only thing that can unite saints together in a church. Oh Child of God, is this the passion of your heart? Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and he must take up his cross daily and follow Me." Folks do you follow Christ or man? Do you carry the banner of Christ, or culture? Do you have the mind of Christ or the mind of man? Do you fear God? Or do you fear man?

Well, Paul was committed to defending his integrity for the sake of the gospel and unifying the church under the banner of truth. But finally, to live for Christ in light of his astonishing love. Notice what he says, "For the love of Christ controls us." I think the old King James has" constrains us." The Greek term, "synecho." It speaks of a force that propel, a pressure that results in action. You might say, Paul, in light of this verb, Paul was compelled by an overwhelming reality. There was something that motivated him. And he tells us what it is--"For the love of Christ controls us having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died." What's he referring to here? He's referring to the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, bear with me a little bit, we're going to plunge into some of the ocean depths of theology. I don't have time to get real deep, I need to be brief, I need to be succinct. I'm probably going to leave far more questions unanswered than answered. But I want you to bear with me and think about these things, so that you can understand what drove the apostle. Certainly, what drives me more than anything else. And I hope what drives you. And ultimately, he's saying here it's the atonement.

Now, if we look at atonement, biblically we understand that atonement required two things. It required satisfaction and substitution. There had to be satisfaction for the offended holiness of God. And that's why Jesus is called "the propitiation for our sins." "Propitiation," the term that means "to satisfy." The Greek term "hilasmos", it basically means to appease the wrath of God. So not only must there be satisfaction, but there also has to be substitution for the guilty party.

And as we understand the gospel in Scripture, we see that as sinners, we all stand liable to punishment. But by God's grace, he has provided a substitute the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has been judicially accounted a sinner in our stead, as our substitute and the infinite offering he made suffices in our stead to satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God, the one that we have offended. That's why Christ had to die in our stead. So, when we, by faith, place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation, our sins are not only forgiven, but we are also declared righteous. So why did Christ have to die? To reconcile sinners to a holy God. To put it simply; this is the gospel. This was what was so overwhelming to the apostle Paul; this is why he was so devoted to Christ. His heart was absolutely overflowing with gratitude for Christ's love for him. Christ's love for him was the motivating force of his life, the dominating theme of his songs. He was driven by the reality that Christ--and I want you to catch this--was his personal substitute and sacrifice. He was driven by the fact that Christ died for him, specifically, on the cross. Verse 14, he says, "having concluded this, that one died for," which could be translated in the place of "all,"-- "therefore, all died;" verse 15, "and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

Now, here, we plunge into some deep, rich, profound theology. I want you to notice what he says, "One died for..." "hyper" in Greek meaning in the place of, "all." Okay, this is where he begins. In other words, he was the substitute and satisfaction for all and then he goes on to say, for all who died in him, well, that's interesting. And we know according to second Corinthians 5:21, that "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf." Why? So that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Now, when it comes to this word "all," some will say he died in the place of everyone who will ever live. Well, if you believe that, then you have to either say that you agree with universalism, that therefore, everybody is going to go to heaven, or you're going to have to say, my goodness, must have been an deficient and an impotent atonement. Because most people reject Christ as their substitute and Savior, and they will be required to pay for their own sins, in an eternal hell. So, help me understand this. So who are the "all" ? Paul answers the question, they are the "all" who died in Him, verse 14, one died for all, therefore all died; ultimately a reference to all who place their trust in Christ.

And to understand this better, I'm going to take you to just one passage in Romans six. If we look at Romans six, one through four, for example, you will see that we have "died to sin," an amazing concept. And when we look at that text, we see that that's in the "aorist" tense in the original language, which speaks of something that has happened in the past, once and forever. That there was any event that took place, once in the past. And what is that event? We died to sin. What an amazing concept. We died to sin. When we placed our faith in Christ, you must understand at that point we ceased to exist in Adam, and we became alive in Christ. Therefore, in verse four, Paul says, "We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead, through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." And so what we see here is Christ is only the substitute for those who by grace, through faith, died in Christ. Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Now, if we stay in Romans six, Paul tells us who these people are. Who are these people that died in Christ? Well, we could go for example, to his salutation in Romans one, six, he's referring to "the called of Jesus Christ." Okay? Verse seven, those" who are beloved of God...called as saints." He's referring to specific individuals. If we were to go to chapter eight, we would read more about who these people are. They are the ones whom God foreknew and predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. In other words, the elect of God. You go to chapter nine, and see that he's referring to those whom he chose to have mercy and compassion.

The point is, dear friends, Christ knew specifically, each person for whom he suffered and died. Even at the end of verse 15, he says, "He died and rose again on their behalf." On whose behalf? On the called, the elect of God. Ephesians, one four, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." Verse five, "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of his will."

Now, you ask the average Christian, "For whom did Christ die?" And the response will typically be "everybody, you know, for the whole world." So, in other words, what you would be saying is that Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone, when he died on the cross. Well, yes, that's what he did. Okay. Well, then why would Jesus speak more of hell than heaven? Why would there be people in hell? Why would you call people to repent, or you're going to die in your sins, if your sins have already been paid for? How do you explain that? Why it must have been a rather unsuccessful atonement. Most Christians will say, "Well, yes, he died for the whole world, for everyone, but his death did not really guarantee the salvation of anyone in particular, but rather his death on the cross removed an obstacle and made salvation possible for all men in general." Okay. Well, if that is true, then Jesus’ death on the cross was merely an act whereby he accomplished a potential salvation, not an actual salvation. So, the sins of sinners had been atoned for potentially, but it is not actual unless they activated by faith. Well, if that's true, then both heaven and hell are filled with people for whom Christ died. The only difference is that those in heaven somehow made the right choice. You see where it begins to go. I told you it's going to be a little complicated here. Just bear with me some. So, you're telling me that Jesus was only a potential substitution and satisfaction. You're telling me that God intended nothing specific at the cross. Moreover, nothing specifically was accomplished at the Cross affected by his death that there was no real benefit in his death for anyone in particular, or just one in general. And that's what people will say, and many people will say, Well, yes, his was a general ransom. Salvation does not directly depend upon a divine decree and subsequent act of God, but on man independently exercising, his free will in believing. So, you're telling me that the atoning work of Christ is ineffective unless those who are spiritually dead, somehow activate his grace. I mean, Jesus must be a forlorn, frustrated impotent savior, somehow knocking on the door of man's heart, hoping that somehow that spiritually dead person, whose blind, and at enmity with God, who has no fear of God, will open up the door and let him in. That's what we hear in a lot of evangelism today. In other words, God is pacing the throne room of heaven, hoping spiritually dead people will somehow cause themselves to be born again.

Folks, if that's the case, evangelism is nothing more than a political campaign where we try to get people to decide for Christ. And we present Christ as the one who offers himself as a candidate. Well, I would humbly submit that this is part of the error in the doctrine of salvation that's known as Arminianism. They would have us believe that the atonement is unlimited in extent, but limited in power. When in fact, I believe the Bible teaches just the opposite, that it is limited in extent, and unlimited in power. You see, under Arminian theology, the atoning work of Christ, is incapable of saving us unless you allow him to do so by cooperating with him. So ultimately, man, not God, is sovereign over salvation. So, Christ's death on the cross has made the option of salvation available. It has removed an obstacle of our inability to save ourselves, but now it's up to you. But beloved, I would humbly submit to you that what Christ said on the cross is "It is finished." Something happened at the cross. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God, for all that the Father had given him in eternity past. Something actually happened at the cross, not something just potentially happened. That's why we sing "Long my imprison spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eyes diffused, a quickening ray, I woke the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee." Dear Christian, if I can put it this way, we were all saved 2000 years ago. He knew who we were by name. This is John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd." Jesus said "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Verse 14, "I am the good shepherd and I know", referring to I have an intimate relationship with, my own. And my own know me." Verse 15, "I lay down my life for the sheep." Later on in verse 26. And following Jesus told the unbelieving Jews, "You do not believe that because you are not of my sheep." And then he says this, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me and I give eternal life to them. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. And I and the Father are one." By the way, at that point, that message was so wonderfully received that they picked up stones and tried to kill Jesus. It's still not a popular message is it?

Folks, this is the love that humbled and motivated the Apostle Paul, he understood that the names of the elect were written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world--Romans 13, eight and other passages. There's no ambiguity here. I want you to think of it this way. Christ volunteered for the work of redemption, with the full knowledge of those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life, and they would therefore be the reward of his ransom. John 17 that we read earlier this morning. Before his death, Jesus prayed to His Father, quote "for all whom the Father had given Him." Jesus is going to the cross. That's who he's praying for, "All whom the Father had given Him." That through His death, they would be granted eternal life. You see, folks, here's where I'm going with all of this. This is what I believe the Bible teaches, the atonement is not a potential salvation for all, it is an actual salvation for the many. For the bridal church, it is limited in its extent, but it is unlimited in its power to save to the uttermost. Paul understood this Romans 8:29, "For whom he foreknew," a term that literally means "for loved with an intimate love,"-- "those whom he foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son." Verse 30, "And whom He predestined, these He also called and whom He called, these He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Ephesians 1:11, "We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will." So, for whom did Christ die? Well, He died for his chosen possession, his holy offspring, those who were "bought with a price" for, First Corinthians 6:20. I mean, surely he knew whom he was purchasing. John 17:9, "I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou has given Me. For they are Thine." Verse 19, "For their sakes, I sanctify Myself." Folks, he didn't die for no one in particular, but for those whom the Father had specifically given to him. Ephesians 5:25. And he gave himself for his bride, the church. I mean, do you really think Jesus had no idea who he would be marrying?

Well, indeed, this plan includes specific persons. Now, I'll be the first to admit, there's many things we don't understand when we start looking into the inscrutable mysteries of God. In fact, I was thinking about this, this morning, when I was on my front porch where I love to spend time with the Lord as the dawn breaks. I looked down and there was one of those little fuzzy caterpillar guys, and he was coming up the thing and I was watching him and I was thinking, you know, there is an amazing chasm between that little creature that God made and me. I know things that I mean, he's too ignorant to even know he's ignorant. It's impossible for him to even fathom what I know and understand. And then I was thinking, you square that by some infinite number, and that's me compared to God. There's so much that we don't understand about a God who loves us with an infinite love. He does tell us enough to motivate us and to humble us. And I can't think of anything more humbling than to know that Christ, paid for my sins, knowing who I was on the cross of Calvary.

Beloved, if I could summarize it this way, in eternity past, the father ordained a plan to demonstrate his infinite love for his son by providing for him, a chosen bride. And he chose them by name. And he recorded that their names in a book of life. Elect sinners hostile to him. Desperately in need of forgiveness and transforming grace. A vast multitude of human humanity, pledge to the Son, a gift of the Father's love, a pledge that was also sealed by the Holy Spirit, a promise and in time, in the miracle of salvation, the Father would irresistibly compel those sinners to voluntarily exercise their will and repent of their sins and believe in his Son. And central to this whole plan of inner-trinitarian love, and for his glory, was the Son's death. He had to be a perfect substitute for each specific sinner whose name had been written in that book of life, in order for them to be reconciled to a holy God--"the ones to whom thou hast given me," as Jesus says. Yes, in some sense, Christ has appeased the wrath of God temporarily for every human being, thus allowing them to live, to hear the gospel and to respond. But the efficacious effect of the atonement is only for those who trust in Christ as Savior. And according to his eternal purposes, that will only be the elect that will respond and be saved. Oh child of God, never think of the cross in general , vague terms. But remember that he died specifically for sinners. He bore your sins and mine in his body. He died for us, personally.

And this is what motivated the Apostle Paul. This was the love of God, that motivated him. Friends, the cross actually saved specific people. That's the point. and never say, well, I could not have gained my salvation apart from the cross. No, no, no, please don't say that rather, say, Christ gained my salvation for me at the cross. With this brief overview of the doctrine of the atonement, we can better understand what Paul says in verse 14, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this.." in other words, here it is, "that one died for all, therefore all died, and He died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him, who died and rose again on their behalf."

As I close this morning, I want to share something from my heart, one of the hardest things in the world to do is to preach funerals, for people who you know are unsaved. But I might add, it's also very hard to preach funerals for people who you just really don't know if they were saved or not. Because they really have no basis to claim that they've been born again. And when I prepare for funerals, one of the things that I have to do is compile information about the deceased from the family, in order to give a fitting eulogy. So I interview the family members. And I can't tell you how many times I will hear from the family about their Christian relative that has deceased. They will say things like well, "oh, yeah, well, he was a good man; he loved his family, loved to hunt and fish. Worked hard. Had a great sense of humor. Look out if he ever got upset." And then you hear all the funny stories and things that people want to share. And I understand some of that. Or "well, that's a good woman, yeah, she was a great woman; loved her family would do anything for those kids and grandkids. Fantastic cook. Loved to sew, loved to read. Love those game shows on television. Never met a stranger. You know, everybody liked her." Oh, yeah. And here goes the stories. And I always want to be careful, but I will always say to them, "You know, I'm curious. You said that your loved one was a Christian? How would you describe his or her love for Christ, their walk with Christ." And time and time again, I will see people look at me with a blank stare as if they don't know what to say. And typically they'll say something like, "well, oh, yeah, well, she belong to such and such a church, yeah. Gotta love that gospel music, used to sing in the choir years ago. Yeah, he used to go to such and such a church. And yeah, he was a member up there. And he did such and such in the church." Or sometimes I'll hear, "Well, he, you know, he wasn't much organized religion, he liked to worship in the great outdoors, you know, that type of thing." Folks, how tragic to live for yourself and leave that kind of a legacy. Contrast that to a man or a woman who fears the Lord, who is so awestruck over the fact that the Lord gave himself on the cross, to satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God that you could not satisfy. And to be so overwhelmed with that, that everybody knew what type of person you were. I want to have a eulogy prepared for me and for you where people the first thing they would say is, "oh, that man loved Christ, and the love of Christ controlled him. He had but one goal in his life, and that was to live for the glory of God by preaching Christ, and him crucified and presenting his body as a living in a holy sacrifice, acceptable to God." Oh Child of God, the only thing that matters in life is living for Christ. And you're never going to really live for Christ unless you're absolutely overwhelmed by his unmerited love on your behalf when he bore your sins, specifically in his body, on the cross, as our Savior.

Well, my role this morning is not to bring you to Christ, but to bring Christ to you. And having done so I hope that you will cast yourself wholly upon him, if you don't know him, and receive his pardon and his peace. But for those of us who know and love Christ, may will truly be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Father, thank you for the great truths of your word. May they bear much fruit in our hearts, for our good and for your glory. And for those who do not know you, I pray that you will overwhelm them with such conviction that today will be the day that they will cry out to you for salvation, knowing that ultimately, you are the one that drew them unto yourself, gave them the gift of faith and caused them to be born again. So Father, to that end, we trust in you. We give you praise; we give you thanks in Jesus name. Amen.