Motivation for Work for the Lord through His Church

Many different passages in the Bible in several varied places give motivation to live for God and not for yourself or the world. We’re not saved by works, but by grace alone, but the grace of God works in the believer’s life unto good works. Scripture guarantees that a true believer will do good works after he has been converted. Even with the power of God working internally in the life of a believer toward service toward God, so that he will work for the Lord, the Bible provides various motivations. They again are all over scripture, many of which we have seen in the psalms as we have sung through them during this first year of our church. However, an excellent text that provides motivation is 2 Corinthians 4-5. The Apostle Paul gives his motives for doing ministry and serving God faithfully and with diligence. Paul was being attacked by false teachers to harm or ruin his reputation to affect his ministry in a negative way. The eternal souls of men are at stake. Some of how false teachers attacked Paul was in his motives. Paul in part defends himself by providing his motives for the ministry or for doing such a great job for the Lord as he did. In so doing, the Apostle Paul provides motivation. I’m going to start with 2 Corinthians 5 and then write on this here in upcoming weeks to pick our way through all the motives he gives. A first one is in verse 8, where Paul says, “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” Paul labored to be accepted of God, to please Him.