Toward the Mark - 1989 - 3 by T. Austin-Sparks

Author:T. Austin-Sparks [Austin-Sparks, T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

This fear is that which Peter speaks of when he says: "If you call on him as Father, then pass the time of your sojourning in fear" (l Peter 1:17). It is not a fear that He will not accept you, for Peter goes on to say that you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, but it is the fear that goes along with love, fear lest we should be less than pleasing to Him. It is as if Paul said, "When I contemplate standing before the judgment seat of Christ I find in my heart a fear that on that day I shall be found to have built in straw and wood and in the perishable. I therefore have a reverential longing to be one who builds in terms of gold.

Sharing the Gospel

The keynote of the opening verses of this passage is the heart off the evangelist. There is a fear that issues in evangelism, "Knowing, the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." There is that about the judgment seat of Christ which moves us to bring the gospel persuasively into the ears of men. We go out to persuade; we go out to win. There is a fear which issues in proclamation. Paul is not speaking of the speciality of the apostolic function, [51/52] but calling us all to follow the apostolic model. There are things which were special and unique to the apostles, unrepeatable and irreplaceable. But there are many things about apostolic ministry concerning which Paul calls us to be imitators of him. So we must not be put off by such words as "proclamation" and "evangelism" by thinking that it is not our calling to be an evangelist. "I am no Billy Graham!" So let us not allow these words to exclude us from the thrust of this Godly fear. Let us bring the matter down to our level by calling it "gospel sharing". A proper reverential expectation of the judgment seat of Christ calls us to building in gold by sharing the gospel.

Open to God's Scrutiny

"What we are is known to God". In this work of gospel proclamation, Paul's great desire is to appear in his true colours before God, to be as manifest to God's scrutiny now in the work of gospel-sharing, as he will inevitably be open to that scrutiny when he stands before the judgment seat of Christ. "We must all appear" before that judgment seat. It is important to be seen in our true colours now, not letting the task of gospel-sharing be an outward veneer only but something which the searching eye of God sees as belonging to my very heart. He sees us all the time.

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