Sermon Summary: This sermon from 2 Corinthians 5 explores the tension Christians experience living in temporary, earthly bodies while awaiting their eternal dwelling with God. The pastor emphasizes that believers can have confidence and certainty about eternity through the guarantee of the Holy Spirit. The message challenges Christians to shift their focus from the seen realm to the unseen realm, walking by faith rather than sight. Central themes include the fear of the Lord as proper reverence and submission rather than mere respect, the importance of pleasing God as our primary aim, and the transformative power of being "in Christ" as a new creation. The sermon culminates in explaining double imputation—Christ's righteousness credited to believers while their sin was imputed to Him—and emphasizes that salvation must be received by faith, not earned through works.

Key Points:

-Life in this world is like living in a tent while waiting for a permanent home in eternity

-Christians can know with certainty about their eternal future through the Holy Spirit as God's guarantee

-We must walk by faith, not by sight, trusting in what we cannot see rather than what we can control

-The fear of the Lord is genuine fear and submission to God's authority, not merely respect or honor

-Our primary aim should be to please God in everything we do

-All people will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be evaluated for what was done in the body

-Who we fear is who we aim to please—fearing God leads to worshiping Him, fearing anything else is idolatry

-God evaluates the condition of the heart, not outward appearances or achievements

-The love of Christ should control us, not fear of man, pursuit of power, or self-preservation

-Being "in Christ" makes us new creations—the emphasis is on being IN CHRIST specifically, not any other religious system

-Double imputation means Christ's righteousness is credited to our account while our sin was imputed to Him

-Salvation must be received by faith, like receiving a gift, not earned through works

Scripture Reference:

-2 Corinthians 5:1-21 (primary passage)

-2 Corinthians 4:18

-Hebrews (reference to faith pleasing God)

-1 Samuel 15-16 (God looking at the heart when choosing David as king)