Walking with Jesus at the Graveside sermon teaches us that while we wait for our reward in Heaven, we should be busy working for the Lord.

Key verses:
2 Corinthians 5:1-11

Take your Bible, if you will now, and turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter five, 2 Corinthians chapter five. Some time ago, we looked at this same passage. This is not the same as we did then, but I will tell you this. Years ago, I’d say probably 20 years ago, I did a series here titled “Walking with Jesus.” We’re not going to repeat that entire series, but I wanted to revisit part of it because I think it’d be helpful to us at this time.

2 Corinthians chapter five, let’s begin our reading at verse one. The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, says:

2 Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

2 Corinthians 5:2: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”

2 Corinthians 5:3: “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

2 Corinthians 5:4: “For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

2 Corinthians 5:5: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:6: “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:”

2 Corinthians 5:7: “ (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:9: “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”

2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

2 Corinthians 5:11: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

I call your attention, particularly to the 8th verse, which says, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” I’ll talk to you this morning about walking with Jesus by the graveside.

Being a Christian

I have over the years walked many times by the graveside, and it appears that in a few days, we’ll probably be doing that again. But never have I walked alone, and no one else needs to either. We call ourselves Christians, and that’s a wonderful title.

I met a young person the other day, and I asked him their name. He says, “My name is Christian.” I said, “That’s a wonderful name.” And he said, “Yes. It means follower of Christ.” I said, “It does. In its most literal sense, it means little Christ, one who is like Christ.” We are imitations of Christ. We are to be as His children.

So, it is a wonderful title, but being a Christian is more than just a designation. It’s more than just a name that we give ourselves or accept from someone else, and it’s certainly more than just a religion. Being a Christian means, first of all, that you are, in fact, a follower of the life and teachings of Jesus. But not just that, you have joined a group. It means that you have come to a point in your life where you know that you, like everybody else on this planet, have sinned. That means we violated the will of God and the Word of God, and therefore, we are guilty before God of our sins.

But then you also have come to realize that God loves you, that he gave His only begotten son to pay for your sins on the cross you’ve trusted Him to forgive your sins, and He has. He’s saved your soul, and He’s given you the gift of eternal life. You believe in Him as a living Savior. Buried and risen again on the third day. You’ve trusted Him to forgive you, and He has done so because He promised to do so. It also means that you’re committed to Him. All of this is involved in the word “Christian.”

Direct Access to God

Now, as Christians we are blessed with certain privileges. First of all, we have the privilege of direct access to God’s throne. I you want to come to me and ask me to pray for you or pray with you. I am very happy to do so and try to do it as soon as possible on the spot if we can.

But you do not need to come to me in order to pray. You have direct access to the throne of God yourself. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom, and it signified the opening of direct access to God.

God, prior to that, we had the priesthood, the Old Testament priesthood – not as you would think of priests today, but the Old Testament priesthood. And the definition of a priest is one who goes to God for you on your behalf as your representative. But when the Lord Jesus paid for our sins at the cross, He opened the door so that all of us may go directly to God.

When you pray, your prayers come up before the Throne of God. You can read about that in Revelation chapter five, but your prayers come up directly to God and He hears you. Your prayers are precious to Him.

Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Then we have the privilege of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, we looked at this, I think last Sunday. The Holy Spirit comes to live within the believer when you trust Jesus as your Savior. We often talk about receiving Jesus. What does that mean? It means you have trusted Him to forgive you. He has forgiven you. He saves you, but He comes to take up residence within you.

We believe in the Trinity. Why? Because it’s what the Bible teaches. There’s the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, in trusting Jesus, you trust the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live in you. We’ll see this in this passage that we’re looking at in just a moment, but He comes to live within you, and so you have the very presence of Christ with you. In Romans chapter 8:9, Paul writes:

Romans 8:9: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

What does that mean? It means if you’re saved, you have the Spirit of Christ. “Well, I don’t have the Spirit of Christ.” Then perhaps you’re not saved. “Well, how do I get saved?” Trust Jesus. We’re going to say more about all of this.

Joint Heirs with Christ

Then, we have the privilege of being joint heirs with Christ. What does that mean? It means He is the heir of all the universe and all that is in it. And as part of His family, we are joint heirs with Him. “You mean to tell me I’m going to be wealthy in eternity?” Well, in a sense, yes. Now, perhaps not in the sense that you’re thinking of. If you’re thinking, “Well, I’ll be able to go out and buy cars and jewelry and fancy clothes and all that.” I don’t think you’re going to be interested in all that, I really don’t. Not even sure they’re going to have cars in Heaven. That kind of bothers me a little bit because I like cars. But I think it’ll be all right, I really do. I don’t think we’ll be needing them.

Serving Christ

Then, we have the privilege of serving Christ with the hope of reward. So, we’re going to look through these verses this morning. Before we do, let me just take a moment and read to you from 1 Corinthians 15. You can turn there if you like. It won’t be on your screen, but 1 Corinthians 15, verses 45 to 58, because I think it’ll help you understand part of what we’re going to look at in 2 Corinthians 5. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 45. This entire chapter, by the way, 1 Corinthians 15, that entire chapter is about resurrection. It’s the entire theme of the chapter.

1 Corinthians 15:45: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

Now, what he’s talking about there is Jesus’ coming. He is sometimes called the second or the last Adam, and what that means is that’s the new beginning.

1 Corinthians 15:46: “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”

1 Corinthians 15:47: “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15:48: “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.”

1 Corinthians 15:49: “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

1 Corinthians 15:50: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

1 Corinthians 15:51: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

1 Corinthians 15:52: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

1 Corinthians 15:53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

1 Corinthians 15:54: “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

1 Corinthians 15:56: “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Following Jesus

Now, let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 5. The Lord Jesus wants us to walk with Him. He wants us to follow him. He wants us to serve Him. He walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden and Adam heard His voice calling Him after He had sinned. And the Lord said, “Adam where art thou?”

And can I share something with you that’ll help you? God never asked us a question in order to find out the answer. He knew where Adam was. So, why did He ask where he was? Because he wanted Adam to think about it. He wanted Adam to think, “Yeah, where am I and how did I get here?” See, Adam was hiding from God because he had sinned.

He walked with the disciples on the road to Emaus on the evening of the resurrection. He wants you and I to walk with Him, walk with Him daily. He wants us to walk with Him all through life. And if He shall come while we live, then He wants us to walk with Him through the clouds to be with Him. But if not then, we can walk with Him by the graveside.

From Tabernacle to Temple

I want you to take a look at this passage, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1- 11:

2 Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

What is that talking about? When the people of Israel were rescued from Egypt and they were following Moses in the wilderness, God told Moses to erect a tabernacle, to build a tabernacle. He gave very specific instructions on what the measurements were to be and what kind of material was to be used and how it was to be assembled. It was to be the center of the camp of the Israelites.

So, they would set up the tabernacle. Around it would be a cloth fence, if you will, separating it from everything else. There would be one gate, one way in to access the tabernacle. But the 12 tribes would all encamp around the tabernacle, facing the tabernacle. It was to be the center of all of their life, and it was there that they would meet with God and God would meet with them and they would be His people and He, their God.

So, while they were traveling in the wilderness, they met God in the tabernacle, which was, in fact, a tent made of cloth and animal skins. But they finally came into their inheritance. It didn’t happen right away, it was some years later, actually, the third king of Israel, King Solomon, built a temple. He built it in Jerusalem on the site of Mount Moriah, where Abraham had previously been told to take Isaac up there. He did not sacrifice Isaac, but he was willing to do so in obedience to the Lord. The Lord said no, I’ve got a substitute sacrifice for you, and He did.

It’s interesting that that same mountain, Mount Mariah, where the temple stood, was later, a large section of it dug away to make a road, put a road through there. And that road goes through there to this day. Of course, it’s not the original road. It’s been repaved a number of times, I’m sure, but a part of that same mountain is Calvary or Golgotha, where the Lord was crucified. So, it’s all part of, originally, the same mountain in Jerusalem. So, the temple was built there, and they had this wonderful new temple. They could go there and worship, and that’s where God would meet with them.

Now, Paul is telling us here that we have a tabernacle. Our tabernacle is our body, just like the old tabernacle in the Old Testament. It was temporary. It was a place for the people to meet God until they came into the promised land and then they had a temple, a permanent structure.

The difference between a tabernacle and a temple is the difference between being temporary and being permanent. So, we have a tabernacle being our body, our earthly tabernacle. But one day, we’re going to have a temple, our permanent body. The old earthly tent is going to dissolve, decay, and go away, but our new temple, look at it again, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,” – and one day it will, “We have a building of God, an house.” Watch this next phrase, “not made with hands,” – not a man’s building, not made of brick and mortar or any kind of stone or wood material, not made of any metal, but a house made with no hands, “eternal in the heavens.”

Where is it going to be? In the heavens. Where’s that? That’s the dwelling place of God, and we’re going to be there. How long? Eternally. So, we have a house eternal in the heavens. Now, in verse two, it says:

2 Corinthians 5:2: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”

“For in this,” – in this tabernacle in this life, “in this we groan,” – and we do, don’t we? We groan. We have our aches, our pains, our illness. We have our troubles, we have our stress, we have all the things that we have in this life that we will one day have no longer.

I mentioned Bill Shaw going to be with the Lord this morning. I was with him last night, and I read to him from Revelation chapters 20 and 21, where it talks about the new Heaven. It talks about the place where there’ll be no tears, no sorrow, no crying, no sickness, no death. And it doesn’t say this, it says all those things I just said, but it’s also a place where there are no hospitals, and there are no nursing homes, there are no funeral homes, no cemeteries, don’t have need of any of that. It’s a place of eternal life.

“You think that’s really true, preacher?” I do. Why do you think so? Because God said so, and God is He who cannot lie, and God has told us that we have a home forever. And so, in verse two, he says in this, in this tabernacle, this earthly body, “we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.” That’s why I had you read that part in 1 Corinthians 15 because it talks about getting a new body, being changed, and having a new body that can’t get sick, a new body that cannot die, a new body that won’t age, a new body that will live forever. We have to leave the old one behind, but we get a new one. And thank God for that.

A Glorified Body

Now, verse three says:

2 Corinthians 5:3: “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”

What is that talking about? CS Lewis said something. He said a lot of things, of course, and he wrote many books and gave many lectures. He was not a preacher. Actually, he was a college professor and an author, but he said, “You do not have a soul.” Don’t let that shock you. That’s not the end of the statement. If it were that, that should shock you, but it’s not the end of the statement. He said, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul.” You have a body. The soul or the spirit is that part of you that is going to live forever.

But a spirit in this world must have a body in order to function. And so, we have this body. This earth and body are made from the dust of the ground. I don’t have the statistics in front of me, but if you could research this out for yourself, if you analyze the components of the human body, you’re going to find that we really are made from dust and water. That is literally true. This body will dissolve. It will turn to the earth from which it came.

Our spirit will go to be with God, and we will receive a new body, a glorified body, like unto the body of Jesus Christ when He rose from the grave. When He rose from the grave, it was the same body in the sense in which he was crucified, but it was a changed body, a glorified body, and one that could not die. And you and I, in the heavens, will receive a new body. It’s promised to us in the scriptures. So, when he says in verse three, “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked,” it means you’re not going to be some disembodied spirit wandering around, not knowing what to do or being able to touch anything. You get a new body. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that wonderful?

You get a changed body in a moment and the twinkling of an eye. That phrase in 1 Corinthians 15, “a twinkling of an eye,” basically means at the speed of light. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Folks, you’ve never traveled that fast.

Now, I have a sense of humor and it’s not everybody’s sense of humor, but I’ve often asked the question. I’m yet to have anybody give me an answer. But if you could travel faster than the speed of light, would it be dark? That’s just the way I look at things. Folks, don’t waste your time worrying about it. It doesn’t really matter. You can’t do it anyway. But the fact of the matter is, we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, at the speed of light, so fast that you won’t even be able to see the change. And the fact the matter is, that’s our new body: incorruptible, can’t get sick; Immortal, cannot die. A body in which we will live forever. Where? With the Lord.

I was talking to a man just a matter of days ago and he had quite a different view of what I’m talking to you about. He brought up the passage 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 18, and he said it says this, he says:

1 Thessalonians 4:13: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”

It doesn’t mean you can’t grieve. You’re going to grieve. It’s just saying don’t grieve like someone who has no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:14: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [and we certainly do believe that], even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

One day, He’s coming. He’s coming, and He’s going to bring those who have died in faith with Him. He’s going to resurrect their bodies, and they’ll be reunited with a glorified body. And those of us who are living at that time will be taken up bodily and changed on the way up to be in a glorified body with the Lord in Heaven forever. And this fellow said, “Well, I don’t think that means we’re going to Heaven. I think it means the Lord’s coming to Earth to be with us.” I said, “Well, in the passage, where did the Lord come from?” He says, “Heaven.” I said, “Exactly. Does it say we go to be with Him, or He comes to be with us?” He said, “Well, it says we go to be with Him.” Exactly. We go to be with Him. Folks, that is a great promise that we have and that is a blessed assurance that we have. So, let’s go on. Verse four:

2 Corinthians 5:4: “For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

“For we that are in this tabernacle,” – this earthly body, “do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed,” – we don’t want to wander around, again, as disembodied spirits, “but clothed upon, that mortality,” – death, “might be swallowed up of life.” Isn’t that wonderful? And that’s exactly what it’s saying to us.

Earnest of the Spirit

Now, there’s a great promise here in verse five. We’ve already mentioned it, but I want to show it to you in the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:5: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

“Now he that hath wrought for us the selfsame thing is God,” – isn’t that great? How do you know this is true? God has promised it to us; the one who has promised these things, the one who will work all of this, the one who’s going to make it happen, is God himself, the one who created the universe, the one who is the power that holds the universe together. There is a cohesiveness in the universe. There is a cohesiveness that holds everything together and keeps it working in the right order.

Isaac Newton wrote extensively on that subject. I was talking the other day with a science professor. I don’t do that all the time, but I happened to be the other day, and he showed me exactly Isaac Newton’s words about the cohesiveness of the universe and how God keeps everything in order. Isaac Newton is considered one of the greatest scientists who ever lived, and rightly so. He said definitely this is God who keeps the order of the universe. There’s no other force; it is God himself. So, we’re talking about the same God in verse five:

2 Corinthians 5:5: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”

Let me talk to you about the word “earnest” for a second. That’s somebody’s name. Yeah, I know it’s somebody’s name, but that’s not what’s talking about here. Earnest, here, is something that you do to show that you are in earnest, you’re serious about something.

Let me bring it closer to home. A lot of times these days, it doesn’t always happen this way, but a lot of times these days, if you’re going to buy a major purchase, a house, a piece of property, or a car, you may finance it. Now, you don’t always do that, and again, we’re not talking about situations where you don’t, but in those cases, if you’re going to finance it, you’re actually going to borrow money from somebody to pay for the house or the land or the car.

But you’re going to have to put some money up front and we call that a down payment. But what that really is is to show that you put some money into it. You’re not just saying, “Hey, loan me the money, and I’ll pay it back eventually.” You’re saying here’s my part. I’m going to put this much in right now, and you can keep that to show you that I am serious. I am in earnest to pay the rest of the loan, and that’s the way it works. Well, that’s the idea. That’s the concept here.

In verse five, where it says, “Now he [God] that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit,” – what does that mean? Well, we’re going to be in the presence of the Lord forever. But right now, right now, when you trust the Lord as your Savior, He gives you the Holy Spirit. And that’s His earnest. That’s His down payment. You’re going to get everything else in time to come, but right now, you have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you.

The same writer, Paul, in the previous book, 1 Corinthians chapter 3:16, says:

1 Corinthians 3:16: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

We looked last week at John chapter 14, where Jesus promised that the Comforter is going to come, and the Comforter is the Spirit of Truth and that He shall be with you and shall be in you; that is a promise from God. So, you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you and you live by the grace of God, and you can live by the Spirit of God. We’ll look at more of that in just a moment. That’s the earnest of the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:6: “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:”

“Therefore,” – because of this, because of the promises God has made, because we have the earnest of the Spirit – “Therefore we are always confident,” – and you can always be confident, you can walk in faith, you can walk in belief, you can walk in courage, you can be confident – “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are,” – right now – “we are absent from the Lord.”

We’re not in our eternal home. We’re not in the dwelling place of God. We’re not there yet, but we have the Holy Spirit, and while we’re at home in the body we’re absent from the Lord.

Present With the Lord

Verse seven:

2 Corinthians 5:7: “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

Things I’ve told you about, things eternal that I’ve told you about, and yes, it does talk about streets of gold and gates of pearl. Perhaps not the way you’ve seen it portrayed maybe in a movie or a cartoon or a painting or something like that. Usually, you see golden gates and there are pearls all in it. It’s not what it says. It says there are 12 gates, and each one is made of one pearl. How does that work? I don’t know, folks. Find out when we get there. But each one is made of one pearl. Isn’t that an amazing thought? The city itself is four squares, which means it’s exactly squared, with no difference in any side of the length.

The fact of the matter is, it’s high, and so you have to come in through the gate. You won’t tunnel under, you won’t climb over. You have to come in at the gate. There’s only one way to get in. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And so, we trust Him by faith, and until the day of our final redemption, until the day that we’re called to be home with Him, until the day that we enter into His heavenly home, we walk by faith, not by sight.

We don’t see these things; we read about them. I’ve told you about them. I encourage you later on today to read Revelation chapters 20 and 21 and 22. You see more of what we’re talking about. But the fact of the matter is, you, right now, we, still live.

Old Dr. Bob Jones senior used to say this. He said, “We sing about the sweet by and by, but we live in the nasty now and now.” And that’s so very true, isn’t it? Very true. This whole world can be beautiful. Parts of it are very beautiful. As we, brother Chris and I, were traveling most of the day yesterday, much of Northern Florida is still just woodland. It’s beautiful to drive through it, see all the forest and the trees and the plants and all of that. Wonderful.

The truth is, though, there’s no beauty on Earth that’s going to match the beauty of eternity. And the Lord himself will be there, and we shall be like Him. Paul says because we’ll see Him as He is. We’ve not ever seen Him as He is, but we will, we will. But in the meantime, we are confident knowing that while we’re at home in the body, we’re absent from the Lord. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

To leave this old earthly tabernacle behind, as we one day will, and to be present with the Lord. Never alone, never alone. He’s promised that we’d never be alone, but will live with Him forever.

I love Handel’s Messiah. I do, and I listen to it usually around Christmastime, sometimes again around Eastertime, and I listen to the entire performance. It’s so beautiful, more than I think we could pull off here, but if you get a chance to hear it by a great choir, it’s wonderful. And I love the part where the chorus repeats, “And He shall reign forever and ever. He shall reign forever and ever.” What does that mean? It means He’s going to be our King, but He’s going to be our Lord. He’s still our Savior, and we’re going to be with Him forever and ever. So, in verse eight again:

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

And that’s our goal, that’s what we want and one day we will be.

Being Accepted of Him

2 Corinthians 5:9: “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”

In verse nine, it says, “wherefore,” – because of all this, “we labour,” – we work, “that whether present or absent,” – whether present with the Lord or absent from the Lord, “we may be accepted of him.” That’s not talking about being saved. These words are written to those who are saved. It’s talking about living our life in a way that’s acceptable to Him. “How do you know that?” Well, I read on.

2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Now, this is the judgment seat of Christ, as it says here. This is not a judgment to find out whether you get to go to Heaven or not; that’s already decided. When you leave this Earth, you’ve made your decision. You’ve either trusted the Lord, or you haven’t. Therefore, when you leave this Earth, you either go to Heaven or you don’t. This is for those who are in Heaven. And one day, we’ll stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Why? He’ll judge us according to our works. For more of that, more information on that, read 1 Corinthians chapter three, and you’ll get a better understanding of it. We don’t have time to go back and look at that this morning, but 1 Corinthians chapter three.

But here, we have a time when we’ll stand before the Lord, and He will judge us according to our works. If you remember the parable that Jesus gave about how He gave talents to different people and then He called them to give account of their talents. That’s a great illustration of what the judgment seat of Christ is all about. Each person received a reward according to what they did with what the Lord gave them.

Basically, it’s a time when God’s going to say to us regarding our life, “I gave it to you. What did you do with it? Did you live for self? Did you live for the world? Or did you live for me?” And then we’ll be rewarded accordingly, or we may lose reward. “Where do you get that?” Again, 1 Corinthians 3, but you will have reward in Heaven forever.

Our rewards are going to vary depending on the faithfulness of our service. It’s not so much about length of service as it is about faithfulness. And so, we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But this is, again, not to be judged whether you’re going to Heaven or not, this is already in Heaven. It’s to be judged according to what your reward will be for eternity. “Well, what if I’m there and I don’t have any reward?” I don’t think that’s likely, but if that were the case, let me share something with you. You’re still going to be with the Lord. You’re still going to be in Heaven. It won’t be a misery. It won’t be a drudgery too. You will not be unhappy.

Representatives of Christ

Finally, in verse 11, he says:

2 Corinthians 5:11: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men,” – what does that mean? It means we know that not everybody is saved. We know that not everybody is going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ. Some will stand at what Revelation chapter 20 calls the great white throne judgment, and that, again, is not a judgment of salvation. That question was already settled by the time death comes is a judgment as to how we lived.

So, somebody said, and I was thinking about this earlier this morning, somebody said, “Well, I can’t believe that some sweet little old lady, who just never trusted Jesus, gets punished the same way as Adolf Hitler.” I don’t believe that either. “Oh, good, you don’t believe that sweet little old lady – you believe she goes to Heaven.” I didn’t say that. She will be separated from God for all eternity if she has rejected the Lord Jesus. “But will she receive the same punishment as someone like Hitler, who is responsible for the death of millions of people?” No. “What do you mean?” I mean, his punishment would be far worse, but it’s still, at the very, very least, eternal separation from God, eternal separation from that place we call Heaven. Eternal separation. Is there more to it than that? There is. There is more than that, again, in Revelation chapter 20. But I want to take you back to the thinking of verse 11:

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men,” – what are we persuading men? to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. We want to persuade men. The old hymn says, “I’ve decided to follow Jesus. Tho’ no one join, me still I will follow.” But the implication is: would you come? Would you come? I’m going, will you come with me?

When a Christian tries to share the Gospel, the story of Jesus, with somebody else, we’re not condemning that person. We’re not trying to make them feel bad about themselves. We’re not trying to hurt them in any way. We’re trying to say, “Look, I found the Savior. He’s forgiven me. He’ll forgive you. He’s given me eternal life. He’ll give you eternal life. It’s yours if you’ll but trust Him.” And that’s really all He asks you to do: put your faith and trust in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:11: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

The word “manifest” there means made visible. God sees us. He sees all about us. He sees everything good about us, and He sees everything that’s not good about us. But then, Paul says, “I trust also we are made manifest in your consciences.” Paul wasn’t there at Corinth when he wrote this. He wrote this as a letter to the people there, but he had been there. He said, “I hope that my life has been lived in such a way that in your conscience, I’m a good representation of the Lord.” And that should be the goal for all of us. We’re not perfect, and we won’t be until we get to our new home.

But the truth of the matter is, folks, we need to be representatives of Christ. We need to try to live our best, and with His help, to be like Him. So, we are sometimes burdened with this body. We’re sometimes wanting to be clothed in our new body. But that time will come. You don’t need to hurry it up.

Mortality is swallowed up in life. We’re given the earnest of the spirit, and therefore, we have hope. And when we’re at home in the body right now, we’re absent from the Lord. But we still have the earnest of His presence, the Spirit in us. But we are willing. We’re willing to be absent from this body, from this world, and be at home with Him. So, we should work for Him while we’re waiting to be taken to our reward. It’s not working in order to be saved. It’s working because we have been saved.

The same writer, Paul, writes to Ephesians in Chapter 2 beginning at verse 8, and he says:

Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Ephesians 2:9: “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,” – not something you conjured up on your own – “it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

In other words, you don’t work in order to get to Heaven, you work because your soul has been saved, your sins are forgiven, and you want to live for Christ, and you want others to join you and go to Heaven. You work because you’ve been saved. Now, we will all be judged according to how we’ve lived.

And we’ve said that already, but right now, we’re present in this body but we’re going to be with the Lord. Our time on Earth will one day end. It does for all of us. I talked about a moment ago, I’ve gone to the cemetery many times. I’ve prayed and read the scriptures as the body was being laid in the ground or placed in a vault.

One day, it’s going to be my turn. My wife and I know that. We already have our cemetery plots and we’ve already paid for the opening and closing of the grave and all of that. Have the arrangements made and provided for it, so it would not be a burden on our children. Now, if you can do that, that’s wonderful. Not everybody can, but if you can, that’s a wonderful thing to leave behind. By the way, I don’t sell any of that, so don’t think that’s a commercial, it’s not.

But the truth of the matter is, folks, we know that that time will come, and one day, it’ll be my turn. Somebody else will stand there. Somebody else will read the scripture. Somebody else will pray, but I’ll be at home with the Lord, absent from the body is present with the Lord. So, as we’re walking with Jesus by the graveside, you keep that in mind and know that this is not the end. This is not all there is. There’s more, much more, an eternity more if you’ve trusted the Lord as your Savior.

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Let’s pray together. Father, thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you for this time we’ve had together. Thank you for the joyful news that we can be forgiven, our souls saved, given a home in Heaven forever, and a new home, and a new body that can’t get sick and cannot die. Lord, we look forward to that time, but we live now in this time, and we thank you for that earnest to the Spirit, that indwelling Spirit, whereby we have your presence with us always, to help us and to guide us each step of the way.

Now, our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. I’m going to interrupt my prayer. I’m going to talk to you just for a second. It may be that everybody in this room has already come to the point where they realized, as we said earlier, that, like everyone else on the planet, we’ve sinned. And they realize that they don’t deserve this new home in Heaven. But they also understand that God still loves them and that He gave Jesus, His only begotten Son, on the cross to pay for our sins. He was buried as we’ve talked about, but He rose again, and He said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” And He does. He will give you eternal life if you will open your heart and trust Him to save you, to forgive your sins, to give you eternal life. He’s promised to do it. He said, “He that believeth on me has everlasting life.” Put your faith and trust in Him.

“Preacher, how do I do that?” Why don’t you pray like this and say, “Lord Jesus, I believe. I believe that you love me. And even though I have sinned, I’ve done that which is not pleasant in your sight, I’ve done that which I knew was wrong, I understand that you paid for my sins at the cross, and I’m trusting you to forgive me to save my soul and to give me everlasting life. Thank you, Lord Jesus.”

Now, maybe you prayed that, maybe you didn’t. Those aren’t magic words you have to say, but the point is you do need to trust the Lord Jesus to save you and to forgive you, believing that He paid for your sins at the cross, believing He’s alive today. He will hear you, He will forgive you, He will save you, He will give you that eternal home. You’ll trust Him, won’t you? Why not now?

We’re going to sing a hymn of invitation. As we sing, I’m going to leave the platform and stand down on the main floor. If anybody’s here and you’re not sure that you’re saved, I’m going to invite you to come.

“Well, what’ll happen?” You come and tell me that you want to be saved. We’ll have somebody sit down with a Bible and show you in just a few moments how to be saved. You’ll make your own decision. Nobody’s forcing you to do anything. You’re not signing anything, you’re not joining anything. You’re just coming and wanting to know how to be saved. We’ll have someone take a Bible and show you.

Maybe you’re here this morning and say, “Preacher, I’m already saved.” And I suspect that’s the case with many, if not most, and if that is the case, thank God for you. But perhaps the Lord’s spoken to you in another way, and you need prayer. You want somebody to pray with you. Come. Maybe you just want to come and pray on your own, that’s perfectly fine to do that. Maybe you need a word of counsel. Tell us that. That’s why we’re here.

However the Lord is speaking to you, however he is dealing with your heart, this is your time to respond. You come while we sing. Don’t wait. Don’t wait to see what somebody else is doing. You just follow the Lord’s leading and come. Father, bless and move now in this invitation time. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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