[0:09]Our text for this morning is 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the text that Tom read for us this morning. So, if you have your Bible, you can turn there. Just three days ago, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Allied Invasion of the coast of Normandy. And I'm sure many of you are familiar with stories of valor and heroism from the battlefield. D-Day stands out as one of those momentous days in history, when those representing the allied forces were able to begin to push back the Nazi advance and the fate or the end of World War II began to change in direction in favor of the allies. You're familiar, I'm sure, with stories of valor from the battlefield, but you may not know about some of the pastors who were there, embedded with the troops that landed at Normandy on D-Day. Pastors who were serving, of course, as Chaplains in the armed forces. And as I was thinking about the 80-year anniversary of D-Day, I was interested in learning more about some of these pastors, who were ministering to these young men who were on the front lines fighting in this great conflict. I came across the account of a man named Leslie Skinner. He was a British pastor. In fact, he was the first British Chaplain to reach the beach that morning. He distinguished himself among his fellow Rangers because of his great courage and also his compassion. He kept a diary of those whom he ministered to, both the wounded and those who had died, and then corresponded with their loved ones back home, sometimes for an extended period of time as he helped them understand what had happened in the last moments of that soldier's passing. Another Protestant Chaplain was a man named George Barber. Barber was ministering to the troops even before they had crossed the English Channel. He ensured that they all received Gideon Bibles before they made that crossing. His message to those men found its home in John 14, where Jesus himself promised that if you believe in me, I go to prepare a place for you.
[3:13]And he encouraged his men with that troop, with that truth. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, then he is preparing a home for you. One other name, just to mention, was a man named John G. Burkhulter. Burkhulter was a Baptist pastor from Florida, who in 1943 joined the army as a Chaplain.
[3:36]He was assigned to the first infantry division and was with the men when they hit the beach that morning, June 6, 1944. A few weeks later, in a letter to his wife, he recounted all that had happened on that momentous occasion. He talked about how he had prayerfully entrusted himself to the Lord, even while danger and death was all around him. And that he had entrusted himself and his fellow soldiers to the one who is the true source of all hope in life and in death. And I recount those stories, the stories of these men, Skinner, Barber, Burkhulter because not only do I find them to be compelling accounts of heroism, but because these men as pastors on the front lines, understood what was at stake.
[4:52]That eternity itself was at stake, that they were charged with the care of human souls. And thus their motivation was not merely national pride or civic duty, but they were motivated out of a much more profound calling, a desire to serve Christ even in the hardest and most difficult possible circumstances. They exhibit then for us by way of illustration what it means to have courage in the midst of adversity, to not lose heart when everything around you is danger and destruction and death. As I mentioned, our text for this morning is 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And the Apostle Paul also serves for us as an example of one who did not lose heart, even when everything around him seemed to be collapsing. He was surrounded by hostility and opposition and adversity. And while it's true that the Apostle Paul never engaged in a physical war, he nonetheless was very much engaged in a spiritual war, and a war in which he faced incredible hostility, persecution, and challenge. In fact, when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, that letter to the Corinthian church, he wrote it right after Acts 19, probably in just the first few verses of Acts 20,
[6:18]while he is in Macedonia, he's writing this letter to the church in Corinth. And if you were to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11, just a little bit later in this epistle, you would see Paul recount some of the things that he has faced for the sake of the gospel. Affliction and suffering, dangers on the roads and dangers in cities, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers from the Jews.
[6:46]He has been beaten many times. He's been scourged on multiple occasions with whips. He's found himself shipwrecked at least three times, spending a day and a night in the deep.
[7:07]He's gone hungry, he's had sleepless nights. He's been imprisoned at one point, he was stoned and left for dead. Paul has suffered greatly for the sake of the gospel. And not only that, but Paul will go on to explain that his greatest challenge, his greatest burden is not the physical suffering that he's endured, but the weight of the care that he feels for the churches. And in particular, the church at Corinth. In fact, he'll go on in chapter 12 to talk about a thorn in the flesh, some sort of affliction, probably a person, likely a false teacher in Corinth, who was turning the Corinthians against Paul. And Paul has prayed that the Lord would remove this thorn and Jesus says to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you. The point is this, though, that Paul, when he writes this letter to the Corinthians, arguably his most personal of all of his epistles, his most vulnerable, his most transparent, his most emotional, he's writing at a time when he has experienced great physical suffering and also he's heartbroken because the Corinthian church seems to be turning against him. He had been involved in establishing and planting that church in Corinth. You can read about that in Acts 17. He'd spent almost two years with these dear people. And now he's hearing reports that because of the influence of false teachers, this church is turning on him. And so he feels the pain of betrayal, combined with all of this adversity. And from a human perspective, Paul's life is one of pain and suffering and hardship and trial and tribulation and affliction.
[9:16]And oh, by the way, this as I mentioned, 2 Corinthians, written right at the beginning of Acts chapter 20, that list of persecutions and hardships that Paul endures there and lists in 2 Corinthians 11, that doesn't even include the beating and imprisonment that takes place in Jerusalem in the subsequent chapters in Acts, and then his imprisonment in Caesaria, and then his shipwreck in Acts 27, and then his second arrest in Rome, leading to a dark, dismal dungeon in Rome, where he will be executed as a common criminal by a crazy emperor named Nero. So Paul knows what it's like to suffer. He knows what it's like to face hostility and hardship. And so, anyone in that kind of situation, any person in that circumstance, we would rightly expect to be discouraged, to be downcast, to be melancholy, to be depressed. But what is Paul's response? Well, we find that response in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 16-18, the three verses that precede the passage that we're going to focus on this morning. And notice what Paul says. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16. Therefore, we do not lose heart.
[10:39]And then he goes on, but though our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. And then in verse 18, we're looking not to the things which are seen, but the things which are unseen, because the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. Well, this is a familiar passage, so I know you're not surprised, but if we're honest, this is a very surprising response to Paul's circumstances. Paul has every reason to be downcast, to be disheartened, to be dismayed. And yet his response in verse 16 is we do not lose heart. And so my question for us this morning is, how is it possible for the Apostle Paul, and by extension, for us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, how is it possible for us to have this kind of counterintuitive composure, when life around us is in chaos. I mean, even the comparisons and the contrasts, the claims that Paul makes in verses 16-18 are counterintuitive. Paul's like, yeah, I, I know my physical body is wasting away. I, I know I'm facing affliction, and it's real affliction.
[12:39]And I know that if you were to look at the things that are seen, it doesn't look good. But we do not lose heart, because the inner man is being renewed. And because that light affliction, by comparison to eternity, is producing an everlasting weight of glory. And because we are looking at things that are not seen. That doesn't even make sense. Paul, what, what do you mean you're looking at the invisible? No, we're looking at that which is only perceived through the eyes of faith. And so, we do not lose heart. Our title for the message this morning is why we don't lose heart. Why we don't lose heart. Because again, the question that I think verse 16, 17, and 18, the question those verses cause us to ask is, how is it possible, given Paul's circumstance that he can say we do not lose heart?
[13:37]I believe the answer to that question comes in chapter 5 verses 1-10. And really, it's a twofold answer. Verses 1-5 is where Paul articulates his certain confidence for the future. And then verses 6-10, he lists his compelling convictions for the present. So we have this counterintuitive composure that characterizes Paul. He keeps calm and carries on. And how can he do that? It's because of his certain confidence in the future and his compelling convictions in the present.
[14:23]Now we'll work through these categories as we go through the text. The first category, verses 1-5, Paul's certain confidence for the future. Now, I'm going to divide these five verses into three subheadings. In verse 1, we have what I'm calling Paul's assertion. Paul's assertion. He uses here an analogy. But look with me at chapter 5 verse 1. For we know. That's the language of assertion. For we know that if this earthly tent is torn down, we have a building from God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Paul, how is it possible that you can stay composed under such traumatic circumstances? Paul begins by answering that question with what he knows. This is what we know. Now he's going to use an analogy here, a word picture of a tent and a house. The tent represents the physical body that Paul possessed in this life, the physical bodies that we possess under the weight of the curse, our fallen, corrupt flesh. The house represents our resurrected, glorified, eternal body, the body that is guaranteed us because Christ our Lord has risen from the dead. And so what is it that Paul knows? He knows that if this temporal, physical body wastes away and gives out, that there is waiting for Paul an eternal, glorified, resurrection body in which he will live forever and ever. I appreciate the metaphor of the tent, because if you've ever worked with tents, you know that tents are temporary, that they are movable, and that they are often not very stable. Compare that to a house, which is permanent, which is not movable, and which is stable and secure. I remember a number of years ago, our Bible study went on a camping trip up to Sequoia National Park. It was a tenting camping trip. And I don't know exactly why. I don't know if the Rangers were just trying to scare us, but in any case, they gave us this long speech about bears. And in particular, there was one bear that they called, at least as I remember it, bear 33.
[17:40]And bear 33 was a true menace and a great threat. Now I had gone camping quite a bit as a kid, tent camping, and as a kid, I never thought much about bears. In fact, to see a bear was really exciting. That's what we were hoping to see. But somehow as a dad with young kids, the thought of Bear 33 became the thing of nightmares. I mean, tents are already uncomfortable, and there I am in the middle of the night, listening to sounds in the forest, wondering if bear 33 was on his way, and thinking, this little layer of Gore-Tex is not going to help me if he comes. You know, it's interesting that Paul would use this metaphor because Paul was, as we know, a tent maker. So if anybody understood how tents could wear out, how they needed to be repaired or replaced, it was Paul. Perhaps even before he wrote this letter, maybe earlier that day, or earlier in the week, he had been mending tents. And as he thought about his own temporal, physical body, he thought, man, this is a lot like these tents that I keep having to fix.
[19:10]I think maybe even more than that, Paul probably had in his mind the distinction between the Tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament. Right? The Tabernacle was temporary, it was movable. It was a place of worship and a place of meeting, but it was not permanent. It anticipated the permanence and beauty and glory and stability and grandeur of the temple. How much better was the temple than the Tabernacle? Way better. How much better is a house than a tent? Way better. No offense to those of you who love camping.
[19:55]And Paul has already described the glory of the resurrected body to the Corinthians. We know that because he wrote a whole chapter about the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15. So he's building on revelation that he's already given them in his previous epistle.
[20:17]The new body, the resurrected body, the hope of resurrection is what Paul anticipates as he makes this assertion. So Paul, why aren't you freaking out in the face of death? Why aren't you coming unglued in light of all of this physical persecution that you've experienced? Because Paul says, I know that one day I'm getting a new body, and the new is going to be far superior to the old. Now that leads us to verses 2-4, Paul's anticipation. We go from Paul's assertion to Paul's anticipation. Look at what Paul says. He says, for indeed, in this house we groan, longing to be longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. Verse 4, For indeed, while we are in this tent, we groan, burdened. He says, being burdened.
[21:33]Because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that that which is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Notice in those verses that Paul reiterates the word groan. That's anticipation. It's both agony and anticipation. And in fact, you'll notice in verse 2 that the anticipation is looking forward to something, and then in verse 4, the anticipation is heightened because it feels burdened by something. And isn't this true when we anticipate something? The anticipation is heightened both by looking forward to the good thing that is coming, and also by realizing that the present circumstance is not ideal. When my kids were younger, we often would take road trips up to the Northwest, that's where my wife's family is from. And it's interesting, if you were to go on to Google Maps and look at the Google directions from Los Angeles to Seattle, you would find that they are very simple. Get on I5, stay on I5, get off I5. That's, that's it.
[22:55]But the simplicity of the Google directions doesn't quite compare to the complexity of actually making the trip. And those of you who have kids know this, those of you who don't have kids probably also know this. And that is that when you're on a road trip with children, they tend to ask one question. Are we there yet? That question encompasses both the anticipation of longing and the agony of present circumstance. Longing because we're going to grandma's house, and grandma's house is awesome. Agony because we're not there yet. And in fact, we're still in California. And Google is not helpful at this point because no, not only we're not there yet, but we are still 11 hours away. You see what Paul's doing? Because heaven is far superior to grandma's house.
[24:16]And the suffering we encounter in this life is far more profound than being on a road trip. But it is the anticipation of longing and the agony of being burdened that causes us to groan. To groan for the hope of heaven. And what does Paul reassure his readers of in these verses, but that when we die as Christians, we will not be left unclothed. In other words, God's got us covered. A reference of course, again to the reality of the resurrection body.
[24:58]But why does Paul have such certain confidence? Right? He makes this assertion, we know, and he highlights the anticipation, we groan. But the question that arises at this point is Paul, how do we know for sure? And that leads us to verse 5, Paul's assurance. Paul's assurance, his assertion, his anticipation, his assurance. Look at verse 5. Now he who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the spirit as a pledge. Well, Paul's point is simple. This hope of resurrection glory, this hope of eternity in heaven, this hope of eternal life. How do we know for sure that this hope is real? Because when we talk about hope in the Christian life, we're not talking about a fantasy, or a fairy tale, or a wish or a dream. We're talking about absolute certain truths that await us in the future. How do we know for sure? Because God has promised.
[26:16]And not only has God promised, but if you were to look down at verse 21 of 2 Corinthians 5, you would see Paul emphasizing the reality of the gospel. That God made him who knew no sin, that's Christ, to be sin, a sin offering on our behalf, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, our sin is imputed to Christ at the cross, he pays the penalty for it, and we're forgiven, and his righteousness is imputed to us, so that we stand justified before a holy God. And so, the certainty of your hope is predicated, number one, on the promise of God, and then secondly, on the provision of Christ, and then third, the entire Trinity is involved here, the pledge of the Spirit. And in verse 5, God has given us his spirit as a seal, as a pledge, as proof of purchase. Well, this answers for us half of our question. How is it that Paul can respond to his circumstances without losing heart? How is it that he can demonstrate such composure, such courage in the face of difficult circumstances? It is verses 1-5, because he had certain confidence with regard to the future. That leads us to our second category, the second half of the answer to that question, and it is that Paul, in addition to having an absolute confidence for the future, had compelling convictions for the present. And these compelling convictions flowed out of his hope, because hope is not just revealed to us in terms of the promises of God for our future. Hope is not just revealed to us so that we can know about what's going to happen one day, but so that it will change us here and now. Hope has implications for how we live. Yes, it's a great comfort when we think about what lies beyond the grave, but it also ought to be compelling to us as we seek to live in a way that honors the Lord on this side of death. So what are these compelling convictions? Verses 6-10. Well, again, I have subdivided the text into three sub points.
[28:42]The first of these is found in verse 6, and it's simply this, that when we think about the implications of hope, it changes our attitude towards life and death.
[29:00]Secondly, it changes our ambitions in life and death, and then verse 10, it changes our assessment about life and death. It changes our assessment, it changes our evaluation of what's important and what's not, of what lasts and what doesn't, of what has value and what is worthless.
[29:53]Look at verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one of us may be recompensed for the deeds done in the body according to what has been done, whether good or bad. Now, this is a reference to the Bema Seat Judgment. The Bema Seat Judgment is something where every believer will stand before his heavenly Master to give an account. You can read about the Bema Seat Judgment in Romans 14, and this passage, other passages that talk about the judgment seat of Christ. Now, this is not a judgment for eternal condemnation. This is not the great white throne judgment. This is a judgment for reward. And isn't it amazing that God in his grace rewards his people for acts of faithfulness that he empowers, and yet he does.
[31:16]And when Paul talks about that which is good or bad, the word bad really means worthless. And Paul is referencing back to what he's already told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, which is the reality that there are works which are compared to gold and silver and precious stones. That which has eternal value. And then there is that which is wood, hay and stubble, meaning that which has no eternal value.
[32:00]All of our sins have been paid for by Christ, so that's not what's happening here at the Bema Seat Judgment. But, it nonetheless presents us with the reality that one day we will stand before Christ and we will be evaluated by him.
[32:41]And isn't it interesting to consider that reality, knowing that that reality is only a short time away. For some of us, it's measured in decades, for others of us, maybe measured only in years or in months. But every believer will experience death, or rapture, so the only two options. And then you will stand before Christ to give an account. In fact, as surely as I'm standing before you this morning, you will stand before your heavenly master. And you will give an account, as Paul talks about here, and knowing that, knowing that reality, it changes how we assess what's important, how we spend our time, what we put our energy into, what we pursue, our priorities. I mean, think about your life, think about the future. And I don't just mean your life in the next 10 years, 20 years, 50 years.
[34:01]But think about your life 100 years from now. A thousand years from today, what will you be doing? 10,000 years from today, 100,000 years from today, a million years from this moment, what will you be doing? You say, well, Nate, I'll be dead. Okay, we just covered that, either death or rapture, right? Yes, you will have experienced one of those two realities. But you will not be dead. You will be very much alive. And the question that I would ask you, and that I ask myself when I think about the reality of the Bema Seat Judgment, is a million years from now, as I think back on what I'm doing today, with my time, my effort, my energy, my finances, am I going to think a million years from now that I was being a good steward or a bad steward? But more important than what you will think, as you reflect, is what will Christ think when he evaluates? And don't we all long to hear him say, well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.
[35:40]So we come back to our question, our fundamental question this morning. The question we started with, which is, how is it possible for Paul to not lose heart? How is it possible for Paul to not be discouraged or depressed in the face of such daunting circumstances?
[36:11]How can he make these incredible statements about the inner man being renewed and an imperishable greater weight of eternal reward and glory, and walking by faith and not by sight? Paul, what are you talking about? How, how can you say these things? Don't you see what's going on?
[36:50]Paul had a counterintuitive composure, because he had a certain confidence in the future, a confidence where he knew what would happen, and he longed for what would happen, because it's what God had promised would happen and what Christ provided.
[37:16]And not only that, Paul's hope didn't stop there. It motivated him into action, into these compelling convictions where he understood that his attitude towards life and death had to be conformed to the reality of who Christ is.
[37:40]And his ambitions in life and death had to be conformed to what pleases and honors Christ. And finally, his assessment of life and death had to be evaluated in comparison to that which pleases the Lord. Such that when Paul stood before Christ, he heard those words, well done. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, I've finished the race. I've finished the fight. I've completed the course. I'm being poured out like a drink offering, and yet I don't lose heart because I'm looking for the crown of righteousness that awaits all those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ and love his appearing. Well, I've used this illustration before, so forgive me for the redundancy, but I just find it so compelling. In the year 1860, there was a man named Charles Thomas Studd, who was born in England, and he grew up to become one of the most famous cricket players in at least his generation. He was a cricket player at Cambridge University, so a college athlete. And cricket is like the English version of baseball. I know you know that. I've now just offended everyone from Britain, and also all of you who are sports fans here in America.
[39:31]He had a promising career as a professional athlete. He could have gone on to make a lot of money and have a great deal of fame, a comfortable, easy life as this well-known celebrity. But Studd said when asked that he knew the fame wouldn't last, and he knew the accolades wouldn't last, and he knew the honor wouldn't last, and that only that which is done for Christ and for the life to come will last.
[40:19]And so instead of becoming a professional athlete, he chose to go to the mission field. He served for 10 years in China and then as a pastor for seven years in India and then another almost two decades in Africa.
[40:59]He talked about how there are some who want to live within the sound of a church bell, but he wanted to run a mission a yard from the gates of hell. He's just kind of an epic missionary spirit. Well, the reason I love his testimony so much is because he wrote a poem, and it's a poem that I'm sure is familiar to you. But it's a poem that resonates with me every time that I think about it. So I want to conclude this morning with this poem. Two little lines, I read one day. A long life's busy way. They brought conviction to my heart and from my mind would not depart. Only one life, 'twill soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last.
[42:01]Father, thank you for the truth of your word, for the example of the Apostle Paul.
[42:15]More than that, thank you for the hope that we have in Christ. Hope that is guaranteed because of your promise, because of the provision of your son, because of the pledge of your spirit.
[42:39]Father, my prayer is that if there's anyone here today who does not have that hope, that today would be the day of salvation. That they would settle their eternal account with you, even today, that they would find forgiveness through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And the hope of a resurrection, because he rose from the dead. And may all of us who know and love you, walk in that hope even today. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.
