Grace Community Church, Arlington, TX

We’ve looked at The Apostle Paul’s conversion, his ministry, his life’s pursuit, his mission, and today we want us to look at how he finished.

Finishing well matters! It matters a lot more than you might think.

Paul finished well.

Paul was confident he had endured to the end and had finished well. Sadly, however, just a few sentences later he had to write of one of his co-workers:

Here we have two men who had ministered together, Paul and Demas, mentor and mentoree. One endured and finished the race and looked forward to the crown of righteousness. The other man drifted off, deserted the Lord and his mentor, and was never heard from again.

In Philemon 24, Paul calls Demas a fellow worker along with Mark and Aristarchus and Luke. Demas was apparently a promising young man with a promising future; yet he quit. Demas didn’t just wake up one day and make a 180 degree turn. That doesn’t happen. Demas drifted little by little away from the Lord and toward the attractions of the world.

We are all living in a culture that is a drift. And not only is our culture drifting away from God, so also is much of the church. And if we are not deliberate about fighting that drift, it will detrimentally impact us. How will that drift impact us? The same way it impacted Demas.

There is a mission drift that we must resist. In fact, I believe that Paul was suspecting that it was beginning to happen to his young son in the faith, Timothy.

Remember that Paul had trained Timothy from the time he was probably a teenager. And now Timothy is the pastor of the church in Ephesus. And Paul writes two letters to Timothy, 1st and 2nd Timothy. And in these letters, it is apparent that Paul is concerned that Timothy is getting caught up in mission drift.

As the Apostle Paul is in that Roman dungeon about to face execution, he has one last urgent plea to young Timothy. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Fulfill Your Ministry! That is the big main imperative of this passage.

Paul is saying, “I have fulfilled my ministry, and as I stand at death’s door, I want you to know; It’s worth it!! The reward I am about to receive is incomparable. So, Timothy, endure whatever difficulties come your way, and fulfill the ministry Christ has given you.

And Timothy, in order for you to fulfill your calling… There is a fight you must fight! There is a race you must finish! And there is a faith you must keep!

You have been created by Christ, and you exist for Christ. You never have to wonder what your purpose in life is. You never have to wonder why you are here. You exist for the glory of Jesus Christ. It is all about Him, it is not all about you. You exist for Him. You are here to glorify Christ.

But there is a real enemy who wants to stop you from bringing glory to Christ. That enemy is the devil and his minions. The devil knows that he can’t stop the message, but he can stop the messenger. So, he will bring different pressures on you to try to stop you.

He will bring pressure on the outside to try to intimidate you. He will bring pressure on the inside to try to get you to fold up morally. He will bring distraction after distraction your way to get you off course.

The devil will do everything that he can to try to stop us. You must resist him. You must not give in to the pressures. You must fight the good fight and fulfill your purpose on the earth for the glory of Christ.

If you do not resist him, he will prevail. You must fight! Don’t give into the pressures. Don’t fold. Stand firm! Fulfill your mission and fulfill your God given calling!

Do you know that most of the biblical characters did not finish well. Finishing well matters! Finish your race! Don’t quit!

Never let go of the truth and power of the Word of God. Keep the Faith!!

But Paul knows how hard it is going to be for Timothy to hang in there and resist the flow, resist the hardship, resist the constant rejection; so, Paul gives him the eternal perspective that kept him motivated through it all (and will keep us motivated through it all.)

There is an event coming when Christ comes in the clouds, and we meet Him in the air. An event that we need to know about and look forward to. Because our knowledge of this event will motivate us to stay faithful to the Lord no matter what comes. And that event is called the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Paul writes to the Corinthians, a very sports minded society. Almost as much as ours. He likely had the Isthmian games in mind when he wrote about the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Isthmian games of the Greek peninsula were a forerunner of our modern Olympic games. The umpire of the games presided from a raised platform called the Judgment Seat. From there he watched the events, and from there he ultimately rewarded the winners.

Paul is saying that the Christian life is much like those Pre-Olympic games. The judge is Jesus Christ and He is watching all Christians from a raised platform. And He will reward us for “deeds in the body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad.”

The Judgment Seat of Christ is for believers, not non-believers. Non-believers are judged at the Great White Throne Judgment talked about in Rev 20.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, punishment will not be the issue since what we deserve was already borne by Christ on the cross.

The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ is not to punish sin, but to reward the saints.

Why are we told about the Judgment Seat of Christ? So, we will be motivated to live in light of that day.

Paul was motivated like that. He talked about it to the Corinthians too.

Paul is saying that these Athletes were willing to go into strict training to get a perishable crown. They were motivated to live disciplined lives and sacrifice for a lettuce leaf wrapped around their head that dried up and blows away. But we have a different motivation, our crown is imperishable. How much more should we be motivated to discipline ourselves? How much more should we be willing to forgo a life of selfcenteredness and comfort and ease?

There are commendations, crowns given out, eternal rewards and riches, and future assignments in the Kingdom of Come. How well we live now has everything to do with how well we will live forever. Fulfilling your calling, your ministry is huge at the Judgment seat of Christ.

The Judgment Seat should motivate us to fight the good fight, to finish the race, and to keep the faith.

Are you living in light of that day? Are you fulfilling your ministry? Are you fulfilling your calling?

As we see the signs of the times emblazoned across the headlines of the news on almost a daily basis, realize that that day is coming soon. No day will matter as much as that day will matter.

Don’t Quit! Fight on! Finish your race! Keep the Faith! It is going to matter a million times more than you think!