Sermon 5 of 7 in a series "Centered on Christ" presented July 5, 2009, at Palm Desert Church of Christ by Dale Wells

3. “Centered on Christ - The Theology
of Prepositions”
• Looking at • Through
various • In
facets of the • Under
Christian's • With
relationship • For
to Christ • To
• Like Christ

4. “For Christ” is a common
expression in the English Bible
• Three Gk. prepositions - dia, eis, huper - often
used in the same way: “for the sake of”
• Some close prayers “for Jesus’ sake”
• Christians do not just pray that way
• Christians also live for Jesus’ sake

5. Motivation is important
• What we do as Christians matters
• Why we do it is equally important
• We recognize the significance of motivation:
– Employers offer incentives to motivate employees
– Detectives look for motives behind crimes
– Psychiatrists probe for drives that motivate conduct

6. Most common human motivation is
self-centeredness
• We are driven by a demon called “self”
• Ambition is often selfish ambition
• However, not all are motivated by selfish drives
– Some children work best for their parents
– Some athletes perform best for their coach
– Some teens do their best for their heart-throb

7. Best motivation is to live for Christ
• Christians live for Christ
• Our motivation is to please Christ & to bring
honor & glory to his name
• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV For Christ's love
compels us, because we are convinced that one
died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer
live for themselves but for him who died for them
and was raised again.

8. Christ’s love compels us

9. Look at the words
• “Compels” (Gk. synechei) means “grips”
– Implies pressure that confines, restricts and controls
• “Christ’s love” is literally “the love of Christ”
– Impossible to tell whether Paul means
• “Christ’s love for us”
• “Our love for Christ”

10. Maybe he means some of both
• Christ's love for us compelled him to die for us
– All who are united with Christ have died with him
• Christ rose again
– Those united with Christ have risen with him
• He died & rose so that we should no longer live
for ourselves, but for him
• We need to read, re-read & meditate on our text
until we realize the depth of Christ's love

11. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
• For Christ's love compels us, because we are
convinced that one died for all, and therefore all
died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live
should no longer live for themselves but for him
who died for them and was raised again.
• We owe our new life entirely to the love of Christ
– It is inconceivable that we should live for self
– We must live for Christ because he gave this life to us

12. Our obedience is for Christ

13. Consider Simon Peter
• Luke 5:1-11 NIV One day as Jesus was standing
by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people
crowding around him and listening to the word of
God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left
there by the fishermen, who were washing their
nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one
belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a
little from shore. Then he sat down and taught
the people from the boat.

14. Consider Simon Peter
• 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to
Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down
the nets for a catch." 5 Simon answered,
"Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't
caught anything. But because you say so, I will
let down the nets." 6 When they had done so,
they caught such a large number of fish that
their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled
their partners in the other boat to come and help
them, and they came and filled both boats so full
that they began to sink.

15. Consider Simon Peter
• 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus'
knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a
sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions
were astonished at the catch of fish they had
taken, 10 and so were James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus
said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you
will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up
on shore, left everything and followed him.

16. Simon & companions had fished all
night without any success
• Tired & repairing equipment when Jesus
interrupted them to take him out a little way
• After teaching the crowd from the borrowed
boat, Jesus told Simon to put his nets out again
• Experience & expertise told him it was ridiculous
– If Andrew, James or John had suggested it, he would
have ridiculed them
– But because it was Jesus, Simon did what he would
have done for no one else & he had a huge catch

17. Christian obedience is for Christ
• John 14:15 NIV "If you love me, you will obey
what I command.
• We're tempted to disobey when
– We don't like what he asks
– We don't understand why he asks it
– We think we know better than Jesus
– Obedience is unfashionable
• 1 John 5:2 NIV This is how we know that we
love the children of God: by loving God and
carrying out his commands.

18. Our outreach is for Christ

19. Principle established in our text:
• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV For Christ's love
compels us, because we are convinced that one
died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer
live for themselves but for him who died for them
and was raised again.

20. Point made more powerfully later:
• 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 NIV We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors, as though God were
making his appeal through us. We implore you
on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so
that in him we might become the righteousness
of God.

21. Christ acted for us:
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had
no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.
• In order that we might act for him:
• 2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV We are therefore Christ's
ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's
behalf: Be reconciled to God.

22. Outreach is for Christ:
• Romans 1:5 NIV Through him and for his name's
sake, we received grace and apostleship to call
people from among all the Gentiles to the
obedience that comes from faith.

23. Supporting missionaries for Christ:
• 3 John 1:5-8 NIV Dear friend, you are faithful in
what you are doing for the brothers, even though
they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the
church about your love. You will do well to send
them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7
It was for the sake of the Name that they went
out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We
ought therefore to show hospitality to such men
so that we may work together for the truth.

24. Henry Martyn, 19th Century
missionary to Islam
• Cleric claimed they had
killed so many Christians
that Christ had begged
Mohammed to stop
• “I was cut to the soul at
this blasphemy. I could
not endure existence if
Jesus was not glorified. It
would be hell to me if he
were always thus
dishonored.”

25. Do we feel the same zeal for
Christ?
• When relatives, friends, people we work with, do
not know or honor Christ, how do we feel?
• When they profane and trample his name & will,
do we really care?
• Zeal for the honor of the name of Jesus is the
strongest motivation for outreach

26. Our suffering is for Christ

27. Consider the eighth beatitude:
• Matthew 5:11-12 NIV "Blessed are you when
people insult you, persecute you and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.

28. Consider the apostles’ suffering
• Acts 5:41 NIV The apostles left the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing because they had been counted worthy
of suffering disgrace for the Name.
• Consider Paul's experience:
• Acts 9:15-16 NIV But the Lord said to Ananias,
"Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry
my name before the Gentiles and their kings and
before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him
how much he must suffer for my name."

29. Acts 21:11-14 NIV
• Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his
own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy
Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem
will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him
over to the Gentiles.'" 12 When we heard this,
we and the people there pleaded with Paul not
to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered,
"Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I
am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14
When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up
and said, "The Lord's will be done."

30. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV
• To keep me from becoming conceited because
of these surpassingly great revelations, there
was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger
of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded
with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he
said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I
will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on
me.

31. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NIV
• 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
then I am strong.
• If today’s church compromised less, it would
suffer more
• If we dared confront the world in its sins & talk
plainly & clearly about sin, death & hell, we
would meet opposition, ridicule & contempt

32. What have you done for Christ?

33. 17th Century artist, Dominico Feti –
Ecce Homo – “Behold the Man”
• Depicts Jesus clad in
scarlet, wrists bound,
with a crown of
thorns, about to be
handed over by Pilate
to the mob
• His eyes appear to
search the soul and
say “I did this for you”

34. Our song says it well:
• “I gave, I gave my life for thee. What hast thou
given for me?”
• What can possibly motivate you to obey Christ &
to serve Christ?
• You can only do it when you live your life for
Christ