v.11 – Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

Notes:

Terror of the Lord – ‘it denotes that reverential awe that should characterize the believer’s life in view of his appearance before Christ as Judge.’
This should not be taken as a literal terror wrapped in guilt from past sins that produces a fear of eternal punishment. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection as payment for your sins, Romans 8:1 will tell you, ‘therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’

We persuade men – What was Paul trying to persuade men of? Three issues concerned Paul.
1). The coming Judgment (2 Cor. 5:10).
2). His own integrity as a minister.
3). The need of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-21).

We can see the underlying desire, or cause-and-effect, in Paul’s heart for preaching the gospel. Look at the beginning of verse 11: Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord We persuade men

Food for thought:

1).Do we have that similar ‘terror of the Lord?’ Do we live in light of the fact that we will be accountable someday for our actions?
Let us not preach Christ due to fear of eternal punishment. As Jude 23 tells us, ‘snatch others from the fire and save them.’ Who honestly wants to see their loved one in a lake of fire, which is hell, for all eternity? Let us, ‘speak the truth in love,’ when the opportunity arises, and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ boldly.

2). How did Paul know what it was to fear the Lord? What gave him the reverence, awe, and fear of the Lord that turned into a passion for preaching the gospel? We can find the answer in Acts chapter 9:
-- Paul’s conversion: While nearing Damascus on his journey to persecute Christians, Saul was spoken to by the Lord while a bright light flashed around him. This event was so distressing to him that he did not eat or drink for three days following the event. Saul was literally humbled by the glory of Jesus Christ and after His commission to Saul, we see an immediate obedience, receiving of the Holy Spirit and a zeal to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ all over. This conversion experience was not an ineffectual appearance. It was a radical life change.
Reflect on this with your own conversion for a minute. Have you had a similar, not identical, experience? Has God humbled you, or convicted you of your own sin and need for Him in your life. Look at Romans 12:1 and think about how it relates to God’s mercy to us as sinners and our appropriate response as believers: ‘Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.’
Have you experienced God’s mercy in your life through believing in the fact that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, as a substitute for your place and punishment on the cross for sin? If so, I encourage us all to reflect daily on that, and to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice so as to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all those around us who so desperately need it.
If one properly knows how to share his or her own testimony, the Holy Spirit can use that story to help convict someone of their own sin and their need for a Savior through accepting Jesus Christ’s payment for sin.

In verse 11(b), Paul writes: but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

What Paul is saying here is that the motives and desires in their hearts for preaching are well known to God. This is an obvious truth, seeing that God has the ability to search all men’s hearts. Furthermore, Paul is comforting his readers in the fact that just as God sees them inwardly and sees their actions, they will, as well, see the same inward desires, motives, and outward actions. There will be no façade or ‘acting’ from them. Paul is most likely defending his genuineness and sincerity as an apostle.
One strike that Christians have against them sometimes is not living with integrity -- Living one way in church on a Sunday morning and a completely opposite way throughout the week. This lack of integrity seriously downplays the testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Ultimately, it may even be a stumbling block to a person coming to Christ as they may see that there is no change in behavior after someone professes to be a Christian and then has no consistency from their Sunday morning actions to their actions later in the week.
One quote in a song by DC Talk reflects on this issue: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

“The greatest Bible someone may ever read is your life,” my Father once quoted. This is a great truth which needs to be taken into account every day, as other people are watching us to see whether or not we are living up to the standard of life we profess we have in Jesus. Granted, we may stumble sometimes, but overall, is there a general consistency between what we practice and what we preach? I hope there is. I encourage you to reflect on your life and the testimony you may be giving. It may not be a testimony about how you came to Christ or the times when you may quote some Scripture; but it may just be your lifestyle, as this reflects the change that Jesus Christ has made in you. I hope and pray that our lives would be a living testimony and that consistency and integrity would characterize us as disciples of Christ.