Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences [2 Cor. 5:11].

I think the word terror could better be translated “fear.” There is a great deal said in the Bible about the fear of the Lord. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see Prov. 9:10).

One of the tenets of liberalism is that we don’t need to be afraid of God. They characterize God as a sweet, indulgent old man whom you can treat most any way. Liberalism teaches the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, which is one of the most damnable doctrines abroad today. Do you know that the Word of God says: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31)? Let us not give ersatz bread to the people. Let us not preach a watered-down, sunshiny gospel. Our God is a holy God, a righteous God. It is this holy God who loves you. It is this holy God who wants to save you. But, my friend, if you don’t come to God His way, you will have to come before Him in judgment. “Knowing therefore the terror [fear] of the Lord, we persuade men.” There is many a pulpit from which is never preached a sermon on hell. There are few sermons on punishment, few sermons on judgment. As a result, God’s judgment is almost a lost note in Protestantism today. The Lord Jesus said that He had come to seek and to save that which was lost. My friend, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We need to fear the judgment of God. We need to recognize that we are going to be held accountable to Him.

5:11-12. Though Paul knew that his salvation and eternal destiny were obtained by faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9), the thought of one day standing before his Savior (2 Cor. 5:10) awed him. It was the contemplation of that moment that moved Paul to fear the Lord and impelled him on in His service (cf. Matt. 10:28). The purpose of his ministry was to persuade men to “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).

The personal defense which follows (vv. 11-12) indicates that Paul met opposition in carrying out that commission. Understandably, a Christian’s message is intimately bound up with his life and ministry (1 Thes. 1:5); the two are hardly separable. Since this is so, Paul had to justify and defend his conduct in order to win a hearing for his message. He followed the tactic used earlier in the letter, affirming before God the sincerity of his motives (cf. 2 Cor. 1:12, 23) and calling on the Corinthians to confirm this by their own experiences with him (cf. 1:14; 4:2).

The apostle, unlike his opponents, put no stock in external credentials or associations (3:1-2; cf. 5:16a). It was not the externality of the Law but the internality of the Spirit that authenticated his ministry (3:3; cf. Rom. 2:28-29). Nor was he concerned simply about his own reputation among the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor. 3:21; Gal. 1:10; 1 Thes. 2:6). What did concern him was the reception of his message. He needed to be regarded as a servant of Christ so that his message would be regarded as the message of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1). If they took pride (“exulted”) in him, the messenger, then they could answer his and their opponents, who looked on the outward appearance (what is seen) rather than what one is like inwardly (in the heart; cf. 1 Sam. 16:7).