Rogers speaks passionately about the coming judgment seat of Christ, urging believers to consider whether their life’s work will withstand the fiery test of that ultimate examination. With a blend of scriptural insights and personal anecdotes, he emphasizes the spiritual consequences of neglecting soul winning. In a moving recount of eternal stakes and divine love, Rogers inspires listeners to see beyond earthly perceptions, urging them to embrace their role as ambassadors for Christ in the ministry of reconciliation.
Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
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Take your Bibles, please, and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And when you found it, would you look up here for a moment? Let me tell you something. Now, what motivates you, impels you, drives you, and will cause you to be whatever you end up being? I heard of a little boy one time who, a young man really, who was going through the woods, and he heard a growl and looked behind him, and there was a great grizzly bear. And the boy began to run, and the bear began to run. And the boy said, this bear is going to get me and devour me unless I find some way of escape. But there seemed to be no way of escape. And then he saw a tree. And there was a limb that went out. The limb was 15 feet high. He said, nobody has ever jumped 15 feet high straight up. But I’ve got to do it if I save my life. And the bear was right there with his warm, moist breath going. on the nape of that man’s neck. And with a prayer, this youngster gave a leap as hard as he could. Now he missed the limb, but he caught it on his way back down. That’s motivation. I want to speak to you about the soul winner’s mighty motivation. The mightiest soul winner that I’ve known anything about or read about is the Apostle Paul. And in this 2 Corinthians chapter 5, we find out what motivated Paul, what drove Paul, what impelled Paul, what made him the greatest missionary the world has ever known, and we’re going to learn from that. And if you’ve never been a soul winner… I want you to listen today very carefully. If you are a soul winner, you will be blessed and encouraged by this. The very first thing I want you to learn is the soul winner’s compulsion. The soul winner’s compulsion. Paul had a compelling motive that drove him. What was Paul’s compulsion? They said, Paul, why do you work so hard? And here’s his answer. Second Corinthians chapter five, verse nine. Wherefore we labor. Here’s the reason now we work so hard. Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. Now that doesn’t mean that we work to get to heaven. What he’s saying is, I want to be acceptable to God. I want God to be pleased with me. If you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, you are not acceptable to God. I don’t care how much money you give. I don’t care how faithfully you attend. I don’t care how eloquently you may preach. I don’t care how faithfully you may live. I care not how circumspectly you may walk. Listen. If you are not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you are not acceptable Him. You’re not pleasing Him. And no matter whom you may please, if you displease God, You’re a failure. And if you please God, it really doesn’t matter how many people you displease. And the way to please God is to bring souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is your compulsion. Andrew Murray, a great Christian of yesteryear said, there are two classes of Christians, soul winners and backsliders. Now you’re one or the other. Paul said, you want me to tell you why I work so hard? I am compelled, I am compelled to be acceptable to God. That’s the first reason, the soul winner’s compulsion. Number two, I want you to see the soul winner’s compensation. Look, if you will, now in verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. There is a day coming when we will be compensated. The Bible calls that the judgment seat of Christ. Now, this is not the great white throne judgment where the unsaved will appear. The word judgment seat here is the Greek word bima. B-E-M-A. And what it was was a raised platform in the middle of the Olympic field where runners would come and receive their reward or else they would be disgraced and receive no reward. And there would often be a laurel placed on their head that sooner or later would wilt and fade away. But we are going to be compensated as we win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, What is our compensation going to be? Just put in your margin there, 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24 through 26. Know ye not that they which run a race run all? But one receiveth the prize. So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. That is, if you’re going to run a race, you’ve got to train yourself. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. That is just a wreath around the head. But we an incorruptible, therefore so run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. Paul says, look, if you want to get the crown, you’ve got to train yourself. You have got to discipline yourself. You have to run with all of your might. And when you box, it’s not shadow boxing. as one who is beating the air. This is a fight and it is a real fight. Have you ever come to the place where you realize that one of these days you’re going to face the Lord and receive a crown if you’re a soul winner? I am a has-been athlete, but I did play some football. I was the captain of a championship team. And our award was a little gold football, which I gave to my sweetheart, Joyce. A little gold football. And then because we played football, we were called lettermen. That is, we got a sweater with a letter on it. Our letter said PB, Palm Beach High School. And then because God blessed me with some success, I got some loving cups, some trophy cups. Now let me tell you what happened. The thieves came into our house one night and got the golden football. It’s gone. Who has it now? I have no idea. What about the sweater? The moths got the sweater. It’s gone. What about the cups? I have no idea where they are. I don’t know. But I’m going to tell you something, friend. When you win souls to Jesus Christ, you don’t receive a corruptible crown. You receive a crown that fadeth not away, a crown of glory. What is this judgment seat of Christ? Well, it’s going to be a reward for some, and it’s going to be a regret to others. First Corinthians chapter three this time, put this in your margin. Verses 11 through 15, for other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, Gold, silver, precious stones. That’s one category. Wood, hay, stubble. That’s another category. Now listen to this. If you are a Sunday morning bench warmer, listen to this. Every man’s work shall be made manifest. One of these days, the way that you’ve lived is going to be made manifest for the day shall declare it. What day? The day of the judgment seat of Christ. Because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. Not what size it is, but of what sort it is. God is looking for quality, not quantity. Now listen to this. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon on Jesus Christ, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved. yet so as by fire. Now what is this telling us? It tells us why Paul labored. He said there’s a compensation. There’s the judgment seat. Every mother’s child is going to come to the judgment seat of Christ, the bema, if you’ve been saved. One of these days, you’re going to see a replay of that old television program, This Is Your Life. And the life that you lived is going to come into review before the Lord. Now, if you’re a soul winner, your life will be gold and silver and precious stones. If you’re not a soul winner, your life will be wood, hay, and stubble. Gold and silver and precious stones can’t burn. They’ve already been through the fire. Wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed by the fire. Your life will be revealed. It shall be tested by fire. Now what’s it going to be? I want you to imagine yourself right now standing before the judgment seat of Christ. Are you going to be satisfied? There’s going to be a reward for some. Some people say, I don’t believe in rewards. Well, God does. Jot these scriptures down. Revelation chapter 22, verse 12. Jesus said, behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according as his work shall be. What is that? Whether it’s gold, silver, and precious stones or wood, hay, and stubble. Put this down, 1 Corinthians 3 verse eight. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Did you see that? His own reward according to his own labor. Look if you will to Matthew chapter six and verse 20, jot this down. Jesus said, lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt. and where thieves do not break through nor steal. They’re treasures. Don’t get the idea that everybody’s going to be the same in heaven. They’re not. That verse from the Lord Jesus Christ makes absolutely no sense at all if we all have the same treasure. There is treasure that we’re going to lay up. The judgment seat of Christ that Paul is talking about here in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 is a time of reward. But it will also be, listen Christian, listen to me. It’s also going to be a time of regret for some. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. He himself shall be saved, yet so is by fire. What does that mean? You’re going to be singed but saved. You’ll get into heaven with your coattails smoking. Everything that you live for. will go up in flames. Our church this morning is filled with people whose lives are wood, hay, and stubble. And I’m telling you, as surely as I stand here, one of these days and much sooner than you may realize, you’re going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the things done in your body, whether it be good or evil. There’s not going to be any soul winning in heaven. You’re going to come to the judgment seat and receive the things done in your body while you’re here now, living, breathing. All the soul winning you’re ever going to do for all eternity, you must do now. How sad it will be to go to heaven and not have won souls and brought souls to Jesus. Must I go and empty hand it? Must I meet my Savior’s soul without one soul with which to greet Him? Must I empty-handed go? Don’t you want to bring somebody to heaven with you? I had a denominational worker work for the entire Southern Baptist Convention. Call upon me. I went to visit him. He was on his deathbed. I shall never forget what he said to me. He said, Pastor, I am saved and I’m going to heaven. He said, I am not afraid to die. But now listen to this. He said, I am ashamed to die because I’ve not been a soul winner. I’ve not been a soul winner. I’m ashamed to die. Can you imagine facing the Lord Jesus Christ and never ever even really trying to bring a soul to Christ? To go empty handed to heaven? Oh, my friend, you say, well, if I just get to heaven, it’ll be fine with me. Just build me a cabin in the corner of glory land. Friend, I don’t know how, I cannot explain it, but the Bible says clearly and plainly and unmistakably, if any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. One of these days in the clear light of eternity, you will say, oh God, why was I not a soul winner? Now you don’t win souls in order to get to heaven. You get to heaven by the grace of God. I cannot work my soul to save. That work my Lord has done, but I will work like any slave for the love of God’s dear son. Paul said, you want to know what motivates me? What is my compulsion to please him? What is my compensation? I am going to the judgment seat of Christ. Here’s the third thing that motivated Paul. The soul winneth conviction. Look if you will now in verse 11. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Knowing the terror of the Lord. But we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also made manifest in your conscience. I want you to underscore that phrase if you don’t mind writing in your Bible. The terror of the Lord. We persuade men. Paul didn’t have a take it or leave it attitude. This is a motivation. Paul knew there was a death to die, a judgment to face. And he said, knowing the terror of the Lord, knowing what it means for a soul to die unredeemed and to die and go to hell, the terror of the Lord. And I realize today that you don’t hear hell from many pulpits, but I want to tell you as surely as I stand here, there is a place of everlasting fire. that the Bible calls hell. And when you lead a soul to Jesus Christ, no longer are they facing an eternity in hell. No longer must they face the terror of the Lord, but they can know the grace of the Lord. Now, you say, I don’t believe in hell. Well, if you don’t believe in hell, let me ask you some questions. If there is no hell, is not the Bible a bundle of blunders? Because the Bible itself warns us over and over about hell. Now, if you don’t believe in hell, just jettison your Bible. Just announce to God that you’re smarter than God. You don’t need the Word of God. The Bible is a blunder. If there is no hell, is not Jesus Christ a deceiver? Do you know who the greatest hellfire preacher in the Bible was? Not some backwoods preacher, but Jesus Christ himself was. Mark 9, verses 43 and 44. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. If there’s no hell, is not the Bible a bundle of blunders? If there is no hell, was not Jesus Christ a deceiver? If there is no hell, was not Calvary a mistake? Why did Jesus die on the cross? To save us. To save us. I want to tell you, by every mouthful of spit they put on the Savior’s face. By every handful of beard they jerked from his cheeks. By every stripe the lash marked his back with. by every bruise that the rods put upon him, by the searing nails that were driven into his quivering hands, by the blackness, the utter midnight of his heart as he cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? With all of that, do you mean to tell me that Jesus died to save souls from hell that doesn’t exist? Was not Calvary a blunderer? If there’s no hell, now I want to ask you another question. If there’s no hell, how can there be any heaven? The same Bible that tells us about heaven tells us about hell. You can say, well, I’ll only believe the part that tells us about heaven. Paul said, let me tell you what motivates me. The terror of the Lord. Now this is a generation that has failed to understand the terror of the Lord. The Bible speaks of people living in the last days, and it says there’s no fear of God before their eyes. You say, well, isn’t God a God of love? Yes, he is, and we’ll get to that in a moment. But if you preach the love of God and the exclusion of the judgment of God, you haven’t given a whole picture. You’ve only given half the truth, and when half the truth becomes the only truth, then that half the truth is an untruth. Now, let me give you another motivation that the Apostle Paul had. The Apostle Paul… His motivation was compassion. Notice the soul when it’s compassion. Look if you will now in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 13 and 15. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God. Now what does that mean beside ourselves? Whether we be schizoid, whether we’ve lost our mind, whether we be insane. There were people who were saying the Apostle Paul was not mentally stable. He is beside himself. He says, well, if so, it is to God. Or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us. That’s another motivation. The love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we’re all dead and that he died for all. By the way, if you’re a five-point Calvinist, how do you explain this? He died for all, not for just some. Then we’re all dead. And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live under themselves, but under him which died for them and rose again. Paul’s compassion is driving him. He’s speaking of the love of Christ. The love of Christ that was shown to him. And now the love of Christ that is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. How can you say you love Jesus and not be concerned for souls that he died for? Or you say, well, I just don’t have a love for souls. I’m going to tell you something. It’s not a love of souls or a love for souls that motivates you. Jesus Christ said to Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Then feed my sheep because we love Jesus. Now what drives me? What motivates me is not my love for people. It is my love for Jesus. Yes, I love people. But the chief motivation of my life is his love for me and therefore his love through me. I asked Bill Gaither, what are the greatest song lyrics ever written? He said, beyond any shadow of a doubt, these are the greatest lyrics ever written. Could we with ink the ocean fill and were every sky of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry. nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. Oh, listen, God loves you, but he loves those all around you. He wants them to be saved, and Paul is moved with compassion. Now I want you to notice next the soul winner’s confidence. 2 Corinthians 5, verses 16 and 17 says, Wherefore, now he’s still talking about what motivates him. Wherefore, henceforth know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. That is after the flesh. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now here’s his confidence. That if I lead a soul to Christ, if I bring a man to Christ, he will be a new creature. God will put a new man in that suit without even unbuttoning the coat. He becomes brand new in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he says, henceforth, know we no man after the flesh. What does he mean? He said, I don’t look at people as to whether they’re big shots or little shots, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, weak or strong, famous or non-famous. That’s all of the flesh. I see them as a soul for whom Jesus died. There was a man out there working in the front. And I was going to go out and say hello to him. God the Holy Spirit seemed to say to my heart, speak to him about his soul. I… very calmly talked to him about how he could know he could go to heaven when he died and how he could have power and peace in his life right now by receiving christ as his personal savior he bowed and prayed with me and gave his heart to christ and i thought to myself how easily i could have passed that man by how easily i could have just given him a good morning and passed him by. Jerry Parker’s sitting out here. Jerry told me a story. Jerry, I may not get all the details correct, but Jerry received a phone call, and this person said, I have your number on my telephone. Did you call me? Jerry said, no, I didn’t call you. Said, well, this number was there. You must have called. He said, no, I didn’t call you. I don’t know, the mistake has been made, but while I have you on the phone, I want to ask you a question. If you died today, would you go to heaven? The man said, well, I really don’t know. Jerry said, let me tell you how you can know. Led him to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, right there on the phone. Some days later, the phone rang again. This time it was a woman. Said, did you call my house? He said, no. Said, well, I have a number here that you call my house. Jerry said, is your husband so-and-so? Yes, he is. Well, let me ask you a question. Are you sure if you die today, you’d go to heaven? She said, well, not really. Would you like to know? Yes, I would. And he led her to Christ also. I want to submit to you that wasn’t the wrong number. That’s the providence of God. But the providence of God is all around you. We have this conviction that if any man is in Christ Jesus, this confidence that if any man is in Christ Jesus, you know our trouble? We see people after the flesh. We think, you know, if I could win somebody important to Christ, that would be great. But friend, all people are important to Christ. And you need to stop seeing them according to the flesh. The up and out are just as lost as the down and out. And don’t call any man common if Jesus Christ died for him. We need to stop seeing people through the flesh. Years ago, I heard a story that moved me greatly. Down in Tampa, Florida, a man was driving a high-powered boat and he was going under a bridge. He hit a bridge pylon, was thrown out of the boat and nearly drowned. They fished him out of the water and they had him there on the bridge giving artificial respiration to him. trying to do what they could do. A man stopped. He thought, that’s interesting. I want to see what is happening. There it is. There’s the boat. He hid here. Now look at the people. They’re giving artificial respiration. That’s interesting. What an epic this is that I get to see. And then they turned the man’s face this way. And the man who’d been crossing the bridge said, my God. That’s my brother. That man is my brother. When he saw the face of his brother, he was transformed. He said, hey, call the ambulance. Listen, give him artificial respiration. You people pray. That’s my brother. Do you know what he did? He saw him after the flesh. Before then, he was another man. You need to see every man as your potential brother. You need to see every woman as your potential sister. You need to have this confidence that if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. When we fish for fish, we take a fish out of a beautiful life into death. But when we fish for men, we take men out of a horrible life. INTO HEAVEN, INTO A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. NOW LISTEN, THE SIXTH THING OF THESE SIX THINGS THAT I WANT TO MENTION TO YOU IS WHAT I WANT TO CALL THE SOUL WINNER’S COMMISSION. AND ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD WHO HATH RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF BY JESUS CHRIST, THAT IS HE SAVED US, AND HATH GIVEN TO US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION. You have been called to the ministry. Say amen. You have been called to the ministry. And what is the ministry? It’s the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, that is in Christ’s place, be ye reconciled to God. Now we’ve been reconciled and we’ve been reconciled by Calvary. God has brought us to himself. But God did not save you simply to sit, to sour, but to serve. We have been reconciled. Therefore, it follows as night follows day that we have been given a ministry of reconciliation. That is to get people reconciled to God. And in this verse, Paul says, we are appointed ambassadors. Heaven’s ambassadors. What is an ambassador? An ambassador is somebody who represents the person of a king in the court of another. I was in Washington. I’d been there for a presidential inauguration. I caught a cab and I was dressed fairly nicely. Cab driver looked back at me and said, what do you do? I said, I am an ambassador. He said, you are? From where? I said, very important place. I said, I serve a king, a king. I said, yes, I’m his ambassador. I told that cabbie about Jesus Christ. I want to tell you something, friend. You are an ambassador. You say, well, I don’t have much education. I don’t have any money. You are an ambassador. Can you get any higher than being an ambassador to the King of Kings? You are somebody. You’re not a fifth wheel. God has appointed you, God has anointed you. And if you’re not interested in being an ambassador, when you have been appointed an ambassador, you are guilty of treason against heaven’s king. To refuse is not only to be ineffective, it is to be in revolt. If you’re not interested in evangelism, to some degree you are in apostasy. Friend, let me tell you something. These people stumbling in darkness can walk in light if you will only open the word of God and share with them how to be saved. Well, pastor, I’m not trained. Well, number one, you don’t have to be trained. You share what Jesus has done for you. You’d be surprised how your testimony will have effect. And then you need to get trained. I want to ask you a question. If you received $1,000 cash for every soul you led to Christ, would it make a difference in your life? You think about that. If you received $1,000 cash for every soul that you led to Christ. It’s really a matter of motivation. These are six mighty motivations. And I want to start with the first one again. That is, Paul said, look, I do this that I might be acceptable to him, to please him. I’ve read of a concert violinist who stood before a vast audience and played his violin in a masterful way. When he finished the concert, he turned and left the stage. The people were still standing, applauding, applauding, and applauding. And behind the stage, they said, go back out there. They are applauding for you. Go back out there. They’re all standing. He said, no, they’re not all standing. He said, do you see that man on the third row? He’s not standing. And he is my teacher. My friend, I don’t care how many people applaud you. If you don’t please Jesus, what difference does it make?
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