"For Him" 4-6-25

Overview

For Him: Living the Whole of Life Unto Christ

"Busy" has become the standard answer to "How are you?"—and rightly so, given the demands of work, family, and home. Scripture honors honest labor and even shows us busy saints like Moses, who judged disputes day and night until Jethro wisely helped him build a tiered leadership structure Exodus 18. Scripture also commends rest. Jesus slept through a storm because He was tired Mark 4:38, called His disciples to "come away to a deserted place… and rest a while" Mark 6:31, and sat weary by Jacob's well John 4:6. But rest is not laziness. Rest restores us for service; laziness avoids it. And God is not keen on laziness—Proverbs warns repeatedly against the sluggard (Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 20:4; Proverbs 26:13–15).

Paul addresses a Corinthian church under siege from false teachers attacking his credibility, and he answers not by defending himself but by lifting up the cross. "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" 2 Corinthians 5:14–15. The word "controls" (or "urges") pictures a pressure within that must find expression. The pressure is the love of Christ; the expression is a life poured out for Him. This is the substitutionary atonement: Christ died in our place, bearing the wrath we deserved, so that we might be reconciled to God. Paul's response was total—"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21; see also Galatians 2:20).

A subtle laziness can creep in even amid our busyness: the temptation to compartmentalize our faith. We assign Christ a lane—Sunday morning, devotions, acts of service—while the rest of life rolls on as if it were ours. But the cross frees us from that fragmentation. Every part of life becomes the vehicle for God's glory. The 19th-century pastor Samuel Chadwick recalled how, as a boy, he hated polishing his father's boots—until he heard that John Newton would have shined shoes as if for Christ. He began to ask, "What would these boots look like on Jesus' feet?" That single shift transformed not just a chore but his whole sense of vocation.

We do not live this way to earn salvation, purchase forgiveness, or impress God. In Christ, the Father already looks on you, His baptized child, clothed in the righteousness of His Son. Precisely because the work is finished, we are free to do dishes for Christ, mow the lawn for Christ, encourage a coworker for Christ, speak kindly to the clerk for Christ. All of life—every word, every task, every interaction—lived for Him who died and was raised for us. It's all about Him.

Transcript

Would you open your Bibles, please, with me to second Corinthians the fifth chapter. 3s

If you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find that on page 159. 8s

Second Corinthians the fifth chapter for our study today. 15s

Busy. 22s

Busy. 24s

When you ask someone how they're doing, there are several responses that are common. 26s

Say, how are you doing and the response can be, oh, I'm doing fine. 32s

It may not be telling you the truth, but that is certainly a prevalent response. 39s

And another prevalent response that is given is the response, I'm just busy. 46s

I'm just busy. 54s

Let's understand the book, right? 58s

We can be, we can be, rather busy. 60s

Children work, family, caring for family, responsibilities of the home, running the house, 65s

all the things that just come with life. 75s

We can be a people that are rather busy. 78s

Busy. 83s

Scripture gives us examples of people that were busy. 84s

I think a Moses, for example, Moses was busy. 89s

Bible tells us that day and night, people would come to Moses and Moses would stand and judge their disputes. 94s

This is a long, long line day and night. 100s

The Bible tells us that Moses is, Moses is father and law of Jeff throw. 104s

He noticed this. 108s

And what was communicated to Moses was, this isn't good. 111s

This just isn't good. 114s

You're going to wear yourself out. 116s

And so what Jeff throw offered to Moses was a system. 118s

A tiered leadership system that got out of Moses being their day and night with his long line of 122s

people. 130s

And Moses was humble enough in spirit to take advice and put it in the practice that helped with his business. 133s

Bible gives examples of, of business. 145s

We all can be, all can be busy. 148s

When you ask someone, how are you busy? 152s

Busy. 156s

But the thing is, a midst are busyness, laziness, can work. 158s

God is not keen on laziness. 176s

Bible tells us in Proverbs the 13th chapter. 181s

It says, the appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing. 185s

Proverbs 20, it says, the lazy person does not plow in season. 193s

Harvest comes and there's nothing to be found. 198s

A crazy astute that the 10th chapter says, through sloth the roof sinks in and through 202s

indolence the house leaks. 210s

Proverbs 6. 214s

Go to the ant. 216s

You lazy bones consider its ways in B.Y.'s. 218s

Proverbs 26. 224s

The lazy person says, there's a lion in the road. 226s

There's a lion in the streets and what's being communicated there is fabricating this existence. 229s

That isn't real of a lion so that the person can simply just stay in bed and be lazy. 236s

As a door turns on, it's hinges so does a lazy person in bed. 243s

The lazy person varies a hand in the dish and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth. 249s

God is not keen on laziness. 258s

Easy. 263s

Now certainly we're told to rest though in Scripture. 266s

Jesus gives examples in his own life and he calls for rest. 271s

Why in Mark the fourth chapter, it says, a great windstorm arose and waves beat into the 278s

swamped but he, Jesus, was in the stern asleep on the cushion. 287s

Jesus was taking a nap. 293s

Why? 295s

Because he was tired. 296s

He was tired. 299s

In Mark the sixth chapter, Jesus said to them, 301s

Gov come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while. 305s

In John 4, it says, Jacob's will was there and Jesus tired out by his journey was sitting by the will. 315s

It was about noon. 323s

Bible calls us to rest. 327s

Jesus gives us examples of himself resting. 330s

But there's a difference, isn't there? 337s

There's a difference between resting and laziness. 339s

Resting is for the purpose of rejuvenation, is for the purpose of restoring, 348s

it's for the purpose of renewing so that we can serve. 354s

Lazy this is avoiding service and work. 361s

Lazy this is to have no part in the Christian walk. 370s

Why? 386s

The Bible tells us that the church at Corinth was just an absolute mess. 391s

It was a mess. 400s

And false teachers had warmed their way into the church. 402s

And they were starting to have an influence with their false teaching. 408s

And they knew the order for them to make greater inroads in order for their false teaching to take greater route. 412s

What they had to do was they had to attack the credibility of Paul. 422s

And if they could have people looking at Paul differently and not listening to what Paul was teaching, 428s

then their false teaching could make inroads. 436s

Well, Paul knew exactly what was going on and Paul knew. 442s

Paul knew that there had to be a defense. 446s

Paul wasn't wild by any means about having to defend himself. 451s

But Paul realized it wasn't about himself. 456s

It was about the word. 458s

It was about the truthfulness of the word and continuing to communicate the truthfulness of the word. 460s

And so Paul moved here to address it. 467s

Take a look, please. 472s

At second Corinthians, the fifth chapter. 473s

Paul writes, 476s

For the love of Christ urges us on that word urges there. 478s

It can be translated controls. 486s

The image of the word is pressure that builds up and then is released in action. 489s

It's this love of Christ that leads to this pressure inside of Paul to servant to it. 498s

To live to the glory of Christ. 507s

He writes in Galatians the second chapter. 511s

He says, 513s

It is no longer I who live, 514s

but it is Christ who lives in me. 517s

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 519s

Verse 14 again, 532s

For the love of Christ, it controls us. 533s

It urges us on. 538s

It's a pressure that then leads to an expression. 541s

He says, 547s

Because we are convinced that one has died for all. 548s

For all there, 558s

the meaning of the word is in place of or for the benefit of. 559s

What Paul is talking about here is the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. 568s

It's an incredible doctrine. 573s

Memorize those two words. 574s

Substitutionary atonement. 578s

Because when Jesus went to the cross, he was our substitute. 580s

When Jesus went to the cross, 584s

He took all of our sin upon him. 585s

He paid the debt of our sin. 589s

The wrath fell on the substitute, 592s

so that what could be affected at one mint with God. 596s

So the relationship could be restored. 602s

The substitutionary atonement of Christ. 606s

Verse 14 again, 611s

For the love of Christ controls us. 613s

It's a pressure that needs expression. 615s

Because we're convinced that one is died for all. 619s

The substitutionary atonement of Christ. 622s

And then he says, 625s

Therefore, all have died. 626s

All have died. 629s

Everyone in the world is connected to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. 630s

Everyone in the world has had their sins attoned for by the Lord Jesus Christ. 638s

That's objective justification of the world. 646s

That's received by faith. 652s

Faith that gift of God through Word and Sacrament. 658s

Then he says, 666s

In verse 15, 668s

And he died for all. 670s

So that, 674s

Okay, here comes the action clause now. 675s

So that those who live might live, 678s

no longer for themselves. 682s

But for him who died and was raised for them. 685s

That was Paul's life. 692s

Paul's life was living for the Lord Jesus Christ. 695s

That's what his life was all about. 701s

His entire being, his entire life here after he was converted, 704s

was living for Christ. 709s

He writes in Philippians the first chapter. 712s

He says, 714s

For to me, 715s

Living is Christ and dying is game. 717s

That all of his life was to bring glory to God. 722s

That's how we conceived, how we understood his life. 726s

Everything he did, everything he said, 730s

He wanted to bring glory to God. 732s

He wanted to live for him. 735s

And Paul knew that when he would die, 737s

it would be game because he would be in the very presence of the one who had shed his blood for him and had redeemed him. 740s

Living for him. 752s

A mid-star business, 763s

laziness can lurk. 769s

And the laziness is expressed in not living all of our life for Christ. 774s

You see the temptation that all of us have is to compartmentalize our life. 796s

The put things in their silos, the put things in their lanes. 804s

And we can compartmentalize our walk with the Lord. 810s

We can compartmentalize that to Sunday morning. 814s

We're Sunday morning. 818s

We gather for worship. 819s

We gather for study. 820s

We minister to each other. 821s

And then we go. 823s

And it's in that lane instead of seeing all of life as the vehicle to give glory to God. 824s

We can compartmentalize our faith life. 835s

In compartmentalize it to where we understand that a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ is during those times where we're having our quiet time of devotions and study and prayer. 841s

And there's the lane there that we compartmentalize or we can compartmentalize it to understanding that when we when we serve someone else. 854s

That that's when we're living for Christ. 864s

And we can compartmentalize everything of our life. 870s

We can compartmentalize our faith walk and laziness. 876s

Can learn where our faith is in these lanes instead of the whole swath of life. 883s

And are laziness? 896s

Are laziness? 899s

It can become one of those acceptable sins that we've talked about. 902s

For instead of living for him. 909s

We live for him during these periods of our day. 914s

His name was Samuel Chadwick. 928s

He was a pastor in the 19th century. 931s

One day when he was in Sunday school, the teacher was talking about John Newton, the pastor, the him writer. 936s

He was the one that composed amazing grace. 943s

And the teacher was saying that if Newton, if he were to shine shoes, he would have the shiniest shoes in the entire village. 946s

The teacher said the reason for that is because he would do it for Christ. 961s

Well, that really that was a struck Chadwick here. 970s

Because one of the chores that he was given on a weekly basis was to shine his father's boots. 974s

He hated it. 979s

All the chores, that was the one he hated most. 981s

But when after that lesson he started the shine his father's boots. 986s

He thought to himself, 992s

I wonder what these boots would look like if they were on Jesus' feet. 996s

And so he just kept shining until those boots. 1007s

Look the best that they had ever loved. 1013s

He said that was life changing for him because it was more than just the boots. 1017s

It was seeing all of his life. 1024s

All of his life. 1026s

As an offering for Christ. 1030s

Now that doesn't mean here that we're that we're earning our salvation by doing that. 1038s

No, our salvation has already been earned by the Lord Jesus Christ. 1047s

It doesn't mean that we're trying to buy forgiveness from God when we live our life unto Christ. 1051s

No, we've already been purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1062s

It doesn't mean that we're somehow trying to impress God. 1067s

No, God looks upon us and he has the most favorable impression that he can have upon us because he looks at you baptized child. 1071s

And he sees the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ that you are enveloped in. 1081s

No, we don't do that to earn salvation or forgiveness or favorable impression. 1090s

We do it because of the cross because of what Jesus has done on the cross that frees us to see our lives and the purpose of our lives. 1096s

And the actions and words in our lives to see them in a whole new way to see the totality of our life being lived for him. 1111s

For the love of Christ urges us on because we're convinced that one's died for all. 1128s

Therefore, all have died and he died for all so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 1133s

Jason Holopolis puts it this way. 1154s

He says, do dishes for Christ. 1158s

Move the lawn for Christ. 1162s

File the papers for Christ. 1167s

And let's just let's just play off of that a little bit, huh? 1171s

In the interactions, then with the clerk at the grocery store. 1175s

That's for Christ. 1180s

In the words of encouragement that you give to someone that's for Christ. 1183s

In your acts of service with the person at work, that's for Christ. 1189s

That's all of life for Christ. 1196s

That's what the cross does for us. 1201s

It frees us. 1205s

It frees us to live for him. 1208s

He died for all. 1220s

So those who live might live no longer for themselves. 1223s

But for him who died and was raised for them. 1229s

For him. 1240s

It's all about him. 1244s