re-post
The light is shown upon the answer to this question in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Within this chapter you get a glimpse into the mind of someone that has truly accepted Christ as their Savior.
Now you ask, “Why did I word that last sentence as I did?”
I worded in such a manner because someone will come along and say: “Well I am saved and I don’t think that way,” which is exactly why I worded it that manner. Those that can fully relate to this chapter have their minds as I call it “God centered.” While those that do not totally relate are either still growing in their faith or have stagnated in their growth toward God.
But, back on topic.
Let’s look at verses 6-10:
“So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
Here is the first line of distinction, that being that even though we are here upon this earth in this corrupt body we strive daily for that time when we will be in the presence of God. It is something that we wish to share with all humanity, but we reconcile that this may not be achieved when we read the last verse of this group:
“For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
That being the promise of eternal judgment. This is where we get into the next verse and explains why we seek to add to the Body of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:11 – Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
This explains the answer to this question which is the title of this article, but we need to break down points within this group of verse, because something interesting comes to light.
The first thing that come to light is in verse twelve.
“so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry”
This is the challenge to those groups that pride themselves on having a large turnout. It is not how many people you get into the seats, but in their salvation and placement with God that is more important. Thus the finish of this verse which is: “rather than having a sincere heart.”
This is an ongoing issue that is within Christendom. Many ministries start out upon the right path and then somewhere along the line the need to survive in the world takes a hold of them. You see true ministry doesn’t pay well, so people start to compromise the message of God and when they do this two things start to happen. They start to get more people into their seats and they start to want more of the world themselves. At first not for themselves but many have children and they compromise for them.
Now look at verse thirteen for it is the next point that needs light shown more upon it in this section.
“If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.”
Many have called me crazy, a nut job and accused me of having some screws loose in my brain. When they do this I take it as a compliment and this verse explains why. For we are not doing this for our satisfaction, but for everyone else’s salvation.
That last point in this group of verse is the point that it states “we have all died to our old life.” Paul the author of these letters is a perfect example of this statement. For he was a Pharisee and was persecuting the early Christian Church until Jesus chose him to be the apostle to the gentiles. When someone truly becomes saved they no longer wish to live in sin. ANY sin. So if someone continues to live in their sinful lifestyle the exact same way they did before their supposed salvation then they are not truly saved, but are living within a sham of a false salvation that will not only lead them astray but others that see these people living in their lie and think that these people know God when they do not.
Those that truly live a God centered life do not wish any out of love for their fellow humans to suffer a fate that is truly too horrifying to explain to any true satisfaction. What they do know is the pure love of Jesus Christ’s saving grace. They see it so clearly that they do not care if those that reject them call them crazy. For if God’s glorious reconciliation is this wondrous that they do not care what other think of them just how horrible is the opposite side of this image?
Think upon that for a while.