We're going to continue in our Second Corinthians series this morning. If you have a Bible, we'd love for you to open up to Second Corinthians chapter five, Second Corinthians, chapter five. And as you do that, I just want to again, kind of cast the why behind what we're doing today with baptism, which is ultimately, like I said, because Jesus told us to. He commanded us to make disciples and to baptize. And so maybe you're familiar with this passage, maybe not, but it'll be up on the screen for us. Matthew 28. So this is after Jesus has lived the perfect life, has died a criminal and a sinner's death, and has risen victorious over death itself. And now he is preparing to ascend into heaven. And here's what he tells his 11 disciples says. Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. This passage has been famously called the Great Commission. And maybe you, like me, have had the opportunity to be with someone as they say their last words in life and just gotta say, anytime you get the opportunity to hear someone say their final words in life, they're not just saying nothing, they're saying something that matters, right? And here Jesus, in his parting words before he ascends into heaven, uses those words to give an incredibly important commission, a command to his followers. And ultimately, he gives us this purpose in life. He gives us this purpose statement. It's what we're made for, to know Jesus and to make him known, to go to the nations and to make disciples more followers of Jesus. How? By baptizing them and by teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded of us. And yet, unfortunately, despite this being called the Great Commission, many scholars today have sadly looked at this passage and referred to it as the Great O Mission, the Great Omission today. Because statistics would say that over half of North American Christians self reportedly view sharing their faith is optional. I'm like, wait a second, how does that work? If Jesus is Savior and Lord and he has given us this command and this purpose in life, who are we to say it's optional? Worse yet, though, an overwhelming majority. And I'm not going to put a number on it, because you guys know this, like, 73% of statistics are made up, right? Something like that. The overwhelming majority of North American Christians are passive if not actively disengaged when it comes to missional living, when it comes to sharing their faith or intentionally teaching or discipling others. And if you had to guess the why behind that, like why do you think most Christians are not talking about their faith? Any guesses? Fear. The number one reason? Fear. We're afraid. We're afraid of, number one, rejection or failure. We're afraid of what might happen if we open our mouths and talk about Jesus and the people we're talking to shut us down. Number one, really awkward, number two, really defeating. And number three, potentially damaging to what we would call a friendship or a relationship. We're afraid of rejection. But also many people report not just fear of rejection, but fear of not knowing enough. This idea of, if I open my mouth and I start sharing Jesus, what happens if they ask me a question I don't know the answer to? I'm going to look like a fool. Right? My self image is on the line here. And I think why is a good question to ask when it comes to sharing our faith. Like why are we sharing our faith or why are we not sharing our faith? Because your why determines your what. Your why determines your what. Your motivation is the starting point for every choice you make in life, what you do or what you don't do. And your why also defines what you're most passionate about. So as you define your why, you're able to say, hey, this is what's going to give me purpose, resilience in the midst of opposition, and again, passion within. And if we can just be honest with ourselves when it comes to living missionally, our why, as you just look at that fear component, is often because we care about ourselves. That's why. That's why we're not living missionally. We care too much about ourselves. We care too much about our comfort, our image, our relationships here on earth. And it leaves us quiet and I would say, disobedient to this great commission that Jesus has given us. And so if we want to, number one, be obedient, but I would say much more than that, live out our ultimate purpose in life to know Jesus and to make him known. We need a better why than because we care about ourselves. And thankfully today, in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul is going to talk us through a really good why to cling to when it comes to missional living. And so we just have a few verses. I'm going to read the first few for us here today again, 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. This is Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We're going to start in verse 11, Paul writes, Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God. And I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to boast about us so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are in our right mind, it is for you. So I'm going to give you a little bit of a clue if you're a note taker. There's kind of two whys ultimately in this text, but I'm going to combine them together for one in the end. And so the first why, as we look at this text for why should we live missionally is this. We live on mission to obey God. We live on mission to obey God. And you see that because in verse 11, a good Bible reading trick is if you see the word therefore, you ask the question, what is it? Therefore, right? So Paul starts by using this word, therefore, what he's doing. He's looking back at a couple verses we looked at last week where he had told the believers in Corinth, here is my ultimate aim in life. I want to please God. My ultimate aim in life is to please God. And here's why. Verse 10. One day I will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I will give an account to God for how I stewarded all that he entrusted to me. And like I said last week, for believers this last day judgment is not a matter of salvation, but a matter of stewardship. But God will prove himself just to say, I will not reward passivity. I will not reward sin or disobedience. Here's what I'm going to reward. Obedience, faithfulness, worship. And Paul looks at that and he says, wow, Knowing that I will one day stand before Christ and give an account for this life I am living, here's what I must do. I must persuade others this word, the fear of the Lord. Maybe your translation reads terror. And I just want to say there isn't a lost element of the fear of the Lord today. Maybe we've like softened the edge of God to make him a little too approachable, right? I remember in college ministry I had one student who said, you know, when I think of Jesus, he kind of seems like one of my homies in a hot Tub. And I was like, never say that again, right? We need a healthy level of fear of the Lord. This word ultimately means a sense of awe or reverence leading to obedience. Now, I had a great dad, a dad who loved me so much, a dad who I never had to fear would kick me out of the family. But I'm telling you, I wanted to please my dad, right? I did not want to do something that would warrant a level of discipline because I knew my dad loved me, that he would appropriately discipline me for my flourishing. And so I knew if I was out being silly doing something I shouldn't be doing, that there's a healthy sense of fear in coming home to see my dad, right? There is contained here, this father child relationship that says, man, I want to please my Father in heaven. And I should know that because he loves me and because he's for my flourishing, he will discipline me if I'm disobedient. Therefore, I don't want to be disobedient. And Paul is very familiar with Jesus words of the Great Commission, right? And when God showed up to him on the road to Damascus, he commissioned Paul to go and to share the gospel with the Gentiles to help other people encounter the living Christ. And he says, all right, then, here's what I'm going to do. I am not going to waste my life. I am not going to pretend. I'm not going to go through the motions. I want to make the most of the time. And so here's what I'm going to do. I am going to persuade other people. I'm going to persuade. This word means to convince someone of a particular truth or course of action. How many of you guys ever took a speech class where you had to give a persuasive speech? Okay, number one speech class. Most people hate it. Can I get an amen to that? Okay. I was terrified of public speaking until I came to know Jesus. By the way, praise God, Holy Spirit. But when I think about persuasive speeches, if we were to say, hey, guys, we're gonna take a break from preaching on Sunday morning and we're gonna do persuasive speeches, I don't think I'd have a lot of takers. But what I fear may happen as we just take persuasive speeches from the crowd is we might not like what we're so convinced to persuade other people of. I mean, maybe I'm the only one over the course of this last week who has looked at the political climate, and I'm like, Maybe we would have a lot of people writing persuasive speeches on how to vote or how to run a country. Maybe we'd have people giving persuasive speeches on how to take care of your health, what products to have in your home or to not have in your home, what to eat or what not to eat, when to exercise or when you don't need to exercise. Maybe we'd have persuasive speeches on how to work hard. Right, for that flaky next generation. No, I'm just kidding. How to work hard or how to save money, how to be a good steward financially. I think we would have a lot of people giving persuasive speeches about how to flourish in life. But the question I'd be asking is, would anybody be standing up here trying to give a persuasive speech that Jesus really lived the perfect life, that he really died a substitutionary death in our place, and that he really rose again victorious, and that this really warrants a response, a change in life. Because if Jesus really lived, really died, and really rose again, this is the most important truth that this world has ever known or will ever known. And we must become convinced of it. We must become convinced of it. And you would note that as Paul looks to persuade other people, he is not concerned with people pleasing. One of the primary things we are afraid of. What will people think of me? Paul says, that's not even a thought on my mind. Right? As you look at this text, I mean, a couple things are happening. Number one, he's up against opposition. These false teachers in Corinth who know how to put on a pretty good show. They're well spoken, they're wealthy, they're put together, and they're saying, this Paul dude, he is a lunatic. He is weak, he is poor, he is suffering, he's getting thrown in prison. And yet he's still claiming that his Jesus and this gospel that he preaches is real. He is out of his mind. And Paul says, I don't care if people say I'm crazy. You know why? Because I'm not trying to please them. I'm trying to please God ultimately. And he's not even so convinced that he needs to please the Corinthian Church. This is a church that he planted several years ago. And he says, hey, if you would look at me and say I'm of my right mind, fine. My ultimate aim is to please God and yes, to serve you as the church. And I will say, especially today, if you call yourself a follower of Jesus, if you cling to this Bible as the word of truth, as an authoritative measure in your life, you better believe you're going to get called crazy. Because when Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, in his first letter, First Corinthians 1, he actually tells us that the wisdom of God is foolishness to this world. So as we take a stand on biblical truth, as we're willing to suffer for that which we actually believe in, the world around us is going to say, oh, you're one of those crazy Jesus people. And our answer ought to be, yeah, I am. Because I am convinced of this truth, right, that Jesus really lived, Jesus really died, Jesus really resurrected. And it is my aim, verse nine, to please him. And Paul knows, and we ought to know here, that God does not look at our outward appearance. He looks at the heart. That's good news. The good news is God knows your heart. He knows what's going on inside of you. And if you're not living to please him, that can also be terrifying news, right? That God knows your heart. But when you consider, hey, it's not about people pleasing, because I serve a God who is already pleased in me because of the person work of Jesus, you are then set free from what other people think of you. I mean, I've heard it said before, if you live by other people's acceptance, you will die by their rejection. And we're set free from that. We don't have to please people. Why? Because we serve a God who is pleased in us because of the person and work of Jesus. And he doesn't look at our outward performance. He looks at our heart. And so step one, we live on mission to obey God. And I would say obedience ought to be a pretty good motivator. John from in his last letter, First John 5, you know, he writes this, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And so if we're people who say, hey, I love God, then obedience should say, hey, we should be obedient. But just about everything I've already covered with you so far, if you've been around the church long enough, you've already heard this before. I should share my faith. I'm called to make disciples, right? Like, obedience oftentimes is not a good enough motivator. I've heard one pastor say, like, we can't should people into obedience because should oftentimes is not motivating enough. But as you look at how this verse finishes, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are burdensome. The question we should be asking is what if it's not just obedience for the sake of doing the right thing, but what if we could obey not just because it's right, but because it's sweet? Wouldn't you want that like a deeper heart level shift that says, okay, this is not just something I should to do, but something that I get to do, that I want to do, that I cannot help but do. How do we get that? That's where Paul goes next. Look back with me at 2 Corinthians 5. In verse 14 he says, for the love of Christ controls us. Because we have concluded this, that one has died for all. Therefore all have died. And he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. That should warrant an Amen church. Here's the second why we live on mission out of the overflow of God's love for us. We live on mission out of the overflow of God's love for us. Because when you look at verse 14, what he doesn't say is for my love for Christ controls me, but rather he says, for the love of Christ controls me. Again, I want to look back at one John, Chapter four. This is what John writes to us. He says in this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And before you get too caught up on that P word, I want to just get really clear here. Our fear of not knowing enough oftentimes is rooted in this underlying cause of saying, man, maybe if I just loved Jesus more, I would know what to say. And Paul is blowing that up. He's saying, it's not fundamentally about your love for God that should motivate you, but God's love for you that should motivate you, that should compel you, constrain you to live on mission for him, right? 1st John 4 what is this great love? Not that we loved him, but that he loved us and sent Christ to be here's that P word, the propitiation for our sins. That word is really encapsulating what Paul is talking about in Second Corinthians, chapter 5 in verses 14 and 15. It is this doctrine of what we would call another big churchy word, substitutionary atonement. Or I would give you a more simple word, the Gospel. The word gospel means good news. And here is the good news contained in verses 14 and 15, that which we are Convinced of he, Jesus really died. He really died and he really was raised. He really resurrected. And what is contained in these verses is something profound. Paul is not unpacking some universalist claim that now just because Jesus lived and died, that everybody gets to go to heaven forever. That's not what he's saying, right? If you would read Paul's letter to the Church in Rome, you would understand he knows that God is holy and that God is just, and that he will not allow sin and wickedness and perversion to go unpunished. But you would also note that Paul believes that God so loved his people that he would create a way out of this punishment for us. And so when you look at this word for in verses 14 and 15, he died for all. What Paul is saying is that Jesus did not just die for the benefit of those who would trust in him, but rather in the place of those who would trust in him. That's what this word propitiation in First John 4 means, that we serve a holy God who requires a perfect standard, a morally perfect standard. And as we look at Romans, we know all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None of us are perfect. And so there are therefore two options when it comes to how the wrath of God can be satisfied. Number one, you can try and measure up on your own behalf, and you can try and be perfect. And here's what is waiting for you on the final day. God will punish your sin. You will be separated from God forever because you deserve it. Or the good news of the gospel wrapped up in this word propitiation is that. Or rather than you taking the punishment of God, you can look back 2000 years ago to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life you could not, and who died in your place. And rather than the wrath of God falling on your head, it can now fall on Jesus head. And you can on your last day, stand before God accepted, not because of a righteousness of your own, but because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is the good news of the gospel. That is the love of Christ. And I think what's so profound is as we consider that Jesus would step out of heaven, be born as a baby, live as a servant, die a criminal's death, take our sin and our wrath on his own head, and rise again victoriously. You would think, yeah, he probably does that for people that are pretty good. That would make a lot of sense, right? He dies for good people. No, that's what's perhaps what's Most profound about the Gospel is that Jesus does not die for a quote unquote good people, but a dead people, a sinful people, people who wanted nothing to do with Him. Here's what Ephesians 2 says. It says, and you, y'all were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience, among whom we all, all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. Here's what Ephesians 2 is telling you. Your very nature is subject to three things. Number one, your own sinful, selfish desires that does not want to follow God. Number two, you live in a world that does not want to obey God either. Number three, we have a spiritual enemy, Satan, who does not want us to follow God. Theologians have called that the terrible triad. Your own desires are against you. The world is against you. The spiritual enemy, Satan, is against you. And your verdict, your condition is dead. You were dead. You could not approach God in your own merit, in your own standing, in your own energy, which is why verse four is necessary. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love, not with which we loved him, but because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. This is the good news of the gospel. This is the great love of God, that when you were dead, when you wanted nothing to do with him, that is the very place that Jesus said, I love them, they belong to me. That he showed his great mercy. This word mercy means not getting what you do deserve. That he would spare you of your punishment, that he would extend great grace to you, that you would grace get what you don't deserve, which is fullness of joy and life forever in Jesus. Paul is saying this in these two verses in Second Corinthians. This is the great love of Christ. And when you understand the good news of the gospel, you cannot live for yourself. This whole what about me thing, that narrative goes out the window. I mean, we're about to celebrate baptisms here in a few minutes. One of the keynote texts of baptism, Romans 6. Paul is writing to a church in Rome that's struggling with this idea of being saved by grace. Wait, so you're saying we don't have to do anything because Jesus did it all. He says yes, and he anticipates this question. So then, can we just keep living in our sins? Here's what Paul writes. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Baptism is this picture right as a person is pushed under the water that they are proclaiming. Here is what is true. Because I am in Christ, the old me is dead and gone. The sin that used to be killing me, I now have the power to kill. The old me is dead and gone. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, I too am a new creation. I can walk in newness of life. I am no longer dead in my sin. I am dead to my sin because of this gospel statement over my life. It warrants a change. This extravagant, incredible love of God in Christ Jesus, Paul says controls him. It controls him, compels him, drives him out, is his motivation, you could even say forces him. He is so wrapped up in the good news of the gospel that he says, everything I do is because Jesus loves me. How many of you have ever fallen in love before? Yeah, all you spouses better be raising your hand. I remember when I first fell in love. Don't cry. Don't cry. 2014 is when Ellie and I fell in love. I had just graduated college, was working three part time jobs and she was in school at uni. I was not in Cedar Falls. I was in Northwest Iowa, about a two hour drive away. And love makes you do crazy things. Can I get an amen to that? Okay. I'm working three part time jobs, literally just trying to not be the broke college alumni who's still paying off student loans, right? Probably working 70 hours a week. Ellie is a student athlete at uni. Very busy schedule. But we were in love. And I would get to the point where I was like, I am so sick of trying to text or talk on the phone. Those of you who text me know I'm not very good at that anyways, that we would find times where it's like, oh, you have a two hour gap in your schedule. Okay, I will drive to Cedar Falls, we will eat at PETA Pit and we will talk about everything, or we will talk about nothing for two hours and then I will drive home sacrificing money, sacrificing sleep, sacrificing other plans. Do you think that that was ever a hard decision for me? Never. It was never a hard decision because it was rooted in, compelled by. You could say my actions were so forced by the love that was there that any sacrifice for the sake of this relationship was an easy decision. And that's what Paul is saying here to the church in Corinth. Hey, this idea of missional living, of talking about my faith, of making disciples, of teaching others to follow Jesus, this is not hard for me. This is easy because I'm not wrapped up in having all the right answers. I'm wrapped up in sharing people the love of Christ that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him will not perish but will have eternal life. That is what compelled and controlled his life. And when you have experienced this love of Christ, his command to love on mission is not burdensome. It comes naturally to you. It's rooted in your identity. I love how Peter says this one last passage for you. First Peter 2 this identity statement over your life. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. Why that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. And so here's what your natural response is to do. To go and proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous lies. Who is that to proclaim Christ, the love of Christ to other people? I love how 19th century preacher and author Charles Spurgeon said this. He says, I will not believe that thou has tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou can eat it all to thyself. Wow. He says, man, if I have tasted of the goodness of the sweetness of Christ, there is literally no way that I can keep this to myself. That makes no sense. I must tell other people about Him. And so here is our why statement veritas. When it comes to missional living, we live on mission to obey God out of the overflow of his love for us. We live on mission to obey God out of the overflow of his love for us. This is what we fundamentally need to believe and be motivated by as people who want to live out our purpose in Life, to know Christ and to make him known. Yes, it is a matter of obedience, but it's so much more than that. To be controlled, compelled, motivated by the very love of Christ. And so the application, really simple this morning, and yet very costly. I would ask you this question. Do you believe. Do you trust that Jesus really lived, he lived the perfect life you could not. Do you really believe that Jesus died, he took on a criminal's death, a sinner's death, though he himself knew no sin, so that those who would trust in him would be credited with his righteousness? Do you believe that Jesus really rose again, victorious, is alive today and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and that one day you will stand before him and give an account for your life? If so, I would say the simple response is, be satisfied in Jesus. Be satisfied in Jesus. Run back time and time again to the good news of the Gospel. Never get sick of Ephesians 2. Never get sick of texts like Romans 3 or Titus 3 that outline this clear gospel message that you were a sinner, dead in your sin. God so loved you that he sent Jesus in your place. And because of that, you can be made new, satisfied in him forever. Never get sick of that. And I trust that as you are satisfied in Jesus, you will share Jesus. That is the natural overflow. We share what we're satisfied in. We will persuade other people when we are so persuaded of God's love for us. And that's my prayer for this church. That we would be a church that is so marked by the love of Christ that we wouldn't care if people ever called us crazy, so long as it's for the right reason, right? People said, man, those veritas people are crazy. I'm like, okay, crazy about what? Let me ask that they are crazy in love with this Jesus guy. Wouldn't that be awesome? Wouldn't you love that to be the testimony of this church? Man, that church loves Jesus. And would our love for Jesus never be hoarded on a Sunday morning, but shared all throughout the week, no matter where we go, no matter what we're doing, that we would be so compelled or controlled by the love of Christ? And one of the natural overflows, Taylor kind of stole my thunder on the front end. I'm coming for you, bro. That one of the natural overflows of that would be. The next time that this tank is full, there would be more people in that tank saying, I believe in the love of Christ. Why? Because Drew told me about the love of Jesus. Because Chelsea told me about the love of Jesus because Sue told me about the love of Jesus because Michael told me about the love of Jesus. And that they would then be in the tank weeks, months from now, saying, the love of Christ controls me because I now, who once was dead in my sin, am dead to my sin because of Jesus. I, who once was without life, am raised to new life because Jesus is really alive. And that we wouldn't fundamentally celebrate a statistic or a single story of a person that is being baptized. Though it is great to celebrate alongside those who are being baptized, we would fundamentally say we are here to worship the God who saves Jesus, who is alive, who is seated on the throne, and who is coming back for his church. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the great love with which you've loved us, that while we were dead in our sin, while we were without hope, that is exactly where you met us. That Jesus, you did not wait for us to clean up our act and come to you, but rather you put on flesh. You lived perfectly in a way that we could not. You died a substitutionary death, not just for our benefit, but in our place. And you rose again victorious. You declared sin Satan and even death itself powerless. And it is because of this good news of the gospel God that we stand alive in Christ, credited with righteousness, compelled by the great love with which you have loved us. Not the love with which we have loved you, but your love for us, Jesus. And we pray that we would be a people that live in light of it, that we would no longer live for ourselves, but that we would live for you, who for our sake, died and was raised. We love you, Jesus. We can only pray that because you've loved us first, it's in your great and precious and holy name we pray. Amen.