So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ… 2 Corinthians 5:9-10
(4) Godly fear will foster your pursuit of holiness
We make it our aim to please the Lord because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
One day we will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will give an account of the way we have lived our lives. There’s no avoiding this. We cannot live to please ourselves, and we cannot live to please other people, so we must make it our aim to please Him.
We make it our aim to please Him because we love Him, because we are thankful to Him, and because we find joy in Him. These are higher motives, but there will be times when your love burns low, times when you struggle for joy, so don’t despise this motive that the Lord gives us.
(5) Godly fear will sustain you in faithful service
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others (5:11).
Paul experienced tremendous opposition in his work as an apostle. How did he keep going? He knew that something of overwhelming consequence lies ahead of every person: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” So how can I sit back and do nothing? How can I remain silent when I know this to be true?
Now, there are other motives. Paul says, “The love of Christ controls us” (5:14). We are sustained in ministry by the love of Christ, by joy in Christ, and by our desire to see people receive the blessing of Christ. But godly fear will keep you faithful in serving the Lord.
On a scale of 1 (very little) to 10 (very much), how is godly fear doing at fostering your pursuit of holiness? How about sustaining you in service?
