Nini’s Deli
2 Corinthians 5:9-14 - The Value of Accountability
* People don’t do what you
* High achievers welcome these checkups - they want accountability in their life.
* Strong people want
* Knowing you are going to be held accountable for your actions will help keep your actions in alignment with your
* Having no accountability allows you to act in accordance with your
* Key - we are accountable to God for everything we do!
* Vs 9-10 - Tony Evans - “One day every Christian will have to stand before Christ’s bēma to have his or her faithfulness (or lack thereof) evaluated and recompensed. Believers will be granted or denied rewards based on whether or not they have lived for Christ. There will be no hiding on that day. And there will be no actions in your Christian life that will be overlooked. Therefore, knowing that everything “good or evil” will be repaid, how do you want to spend the few days allotted to you?”
* In light of the great inspection, we seek to please Him with the work we do (vs 9).
* Revelation 21:4 shows us what life will be like in the new heaven and new earth.
* God will “wipe away every tear from our eye…”
* Why would we be crying?
* Because we will have already stood before the judgment seat, so we know we don’t deserve what we’re about to get!
* Practically, what do we do until that time?
* Vs 11a - we try to persuade others to make their peace with God.
* How?
* Live the three paradigms:
* You’re a
* You’re on
* Your work is
Galatians 2:11-14 - Faith Over Fear
* The greatest threat to freedom is
* When fear of man is bigger than faith in God you problems become
* Your actions will align with whichever one is
* Peter showed us what this looks like.
* But Pete had first-hand experience with Jesus.
* He certainly remembered what was said of Jesus by His enemies:
* Mark 12:14 - “And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God.”
* Four things about Jesus:
* He
* He
* He wasn’t a people
* He wasn’t a people
* Peter was there when this was said, but he forgot.
* Courage isn’t the absence of fear - it’s doing what’s
* Peter’s life shows us the importance of letting our faith be bigger than our fear.
* Paul’s reaction shows us how a leader should be dealt with whose fear has gotten bigger than their faith and is leading others astray.
* Vs 11-13 - Pete knew God wanted him to go to the Gentiles, and he obeyed.
* Until it got really hard - he was pressured by his Jewish buddies.
* So he distanced himself.
* His fear of people had grown bigger than his faith in God.
* So Paul sprung into action.
* Vs 14 - He rebuked him in front of everyone. Why?
* Because Pete was leading people astray. His action were public.
* The message of grace was extremely unpopular among Jews.
* Paul then explained why Pete was wrong and why Pete’s actions were trampling the grace of God.
* Peter’s reaction? Humility!
* 1 & 2 Peter were written after Galatians.
* 1 Peter 5:5b - “…clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
* 2 Peter 3:15 - “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”