2Cor022 Heavenly Reward for Earthly Service

In 5:9 Paul sets forth the general form of his moral conduct as he explains that he makes it his ambition to please the Lord in everything. Then, in 5:10, Paul discloses his motive for earthly service when he says, “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” In other words, when Paul reaches for the deepest motive of Christian action, we see that what grips him is the thought of appearing before the judgment seat of Christ and the prospect of heavenly reward for earthly service.