Common Ground

2 Corinthians 12:11–21 NASB95

I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit. Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps? All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved. For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.

INTRO: Have you noticed how divided our nation has become? It’s all the rage these days. It actually seems like people are actively looking for reasons to be divided; reasons to fight. When I was a kid, we would say that such a person was walking around with a chip on their shoulder.

Nevertheless, it’s common these days to see division being sown in political parties, workplaces, schools, and even in the church.

This is nothing new, however. 2000 years ago, in the FBC of Corinth, false teachers had risen up within the congregation and sowed discord. They not only brought strange doctrines, but they also bashed the apostles, namely Paul. Now, I want you to put yourself in Paul’s shoes for a moment:

Have you ever had folks talk bad about you? Have you ever had people twist your words or flat-out lie about you? Paul was hurt by these accusations against him, but also was hurt (and perhaps more so) because his accusers had been deceived.

We’ve seen him respond to these false teachers over the past few chapters in various ways- warnings, rebuke, pointing them to true Godly leadership, appealing to them in regards to Christ’s strength… Today, we are going to see Paul attempt to pull the Corinthians to the truth.

In verses 11-13, Paul essentially tells the Corinthians, “Shame on you. You know that I am a true apostle of Jesus Christ. You saw the signs, you experienced God’s grace. Yet you have chosen to entertain these false teachers and now have adopted their attitude and are mimicking their criticisms.”

You see, Paul was planning another trip to Corinth. This trip had the potential of being filled with conflict, hard conversations, and even some hurt feelings. Sounds like a fun trip, huh? Have you ever faced a situation like that?

In readying them for his return, Paul points them to common ground. This is done in love.

You know, sometimes leaders have to redirect folks because they have latched onto people or ideas that are unhealthy. After all, as Jesus said to the Pharisees,

Matthew 12:25 NASB95

And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.

So, whether we are talking about our nation or our church, we must come to realize what areas are of most importance, and ensure these are our common ground. In other words, we must be certain about what is primary. In our country, it’s things like virtue and freedom. In our church, it’s essential doctrines like salvation, truth, God’s identity, etc.

And there are things that we can disagree on and still be united as a church - things like end times views, music style, and bible translation.

We won’t exhaust this today- our passage does not deal with specific doctrines so much since Paul’s done so elsewhere.

But it does deal with worldview. A Worldview is a comprehensive understanding of the universe and how we operate within it. Christians share a worldview. And that is what Paul teaches the Corinthians in this latter half of 2 Corinthians 12.

You and I have much to consider here as well. As God’s church in Little River, we must have a common ground from which to grow and serve.

So, if you picked up a bulletin, I invite you to make use of the sermon guide as we learn together. The sermon is entitled “Common Ground.” My hope is that God will affirm our place in this body and that wherever division is sown, the all-sufficient Word of God will supplant it with truth.

Let us begin. The first worldview consideration for us is:

Christians Have a Common Contribution (14-15)

Look with me again at v. 14 (READ)

When I say that Christians have a common contribution, I’m not talking about tithing. Hopefully, you already understand that the Christian life is not one where you simply pay in dues or membership fees… it’s not an HOA or Costco.

Yet in Corinth, there were some who were trying to pervert the Gospel and actually accused Paul of trying to swindle the Corinthians out of their wealth. They moved the focus from doctrine to dollar bills.

ILL: This still happens today. I’ve actually heard people accuse the church of being a place that “just wants your money”

But that’s not it. Paul says I am not looking for your money, I am looking for YOU. IOW, I am not calling you to be involved in the church just so you will give your money or resources!

I don’t want you to be here to just fill in the gaps in our volunteer ministries. The reason I want you here and plugged in is because I want YOU-

I want you to know Jesus like I know Him; to be transformed BY Him!

I want you to love God’s Word and His Church.

I want you to love one another like Jesus commanded

I want you to see the value of His Kingdom and Kingdom work.

Look what Paul says in verse 15 (READ)

He essentially says, “As for me, I’m all in! I care more about your eternity than I do any of this temporary stuff! I am glad to give what I have and even to suffer persecution if it means that the Gospel will go forth and lives will be transformed.”

Here is the common ground: Our Common Contribution is OURSELVES

As believers, when we give ourselves to Christ, we aren’t agonizing over the offering plate or the volunteer schedule.

We aren’t consumed over whether or not others are are giving the same as us - It’s not a competition.

We are not calculating and criticizing how much work we are doing or how much others are doing because we are all on common ground!

You see, Our lives are not our own, we’ve been bought with a price, so we give ourselves as living sacrifices to God, which is the only acceptable offering. That might look different for each person at different points in life.

As a bonus, when we have given ourselves, our wealth and resources will be tools that we will gladly use to live out our worldview- Jesus Christ as King! We are His Church!

Discuss: What is your ‘worldview’ regarding the church?

As Christians, we share in the worldview that the church is a body of believers who have given themselves fully to Christ and His kingdom. Seeds of division can cause believers to focus more on what we give and do than whether or not we are genuinely “all-in” for Christ. But our Common Contribution is our lives given in surrender to our King!

The second worldview consideration for us as believer is.

Christians Have a Common Cause (19)

There is an assumption that it’s always ‘US vs. THEM’

This is an effective tool in division. It’s not hard to see the sinful tendencies of mankind. We can easily assume that one group is looking out for their interests against another group.

ILL: If you noticed any of the political ads this year, they were all about “They (whatever part is not theirs) want to take away your rights…” or “They are liars, hypocrites, etc.”

And you know what? we believe them. We believe them because our hearts are sinful too and we want to wage war against an enemy we can see and call by name.

But Scripture tells us that we battle not against flesh and blood.

Let’s read v.19 again. (READ)

Paul was not defending himself against the Corinthians. It was not Paul vs. the Corinthians or even Paul vs. the false teachers. The reality is that we are simply for the cause of Christ.

Because we belong to God, our cause is His cause. Jesus came to shed light into the darkness of this world. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

As Jesus preached, he often offended people with the truth, saying things like:

Luke 13:24 NASB95

“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Paul wasn’t trying to pick a fight, he was simply speaking the truth.

And so it is with us. As believers, we must speak and seek truth.

Paul wasn’t picking fights with his critics, though I am sure to some it may have felt like it. You may feel like I am picking at you when I preach too; if you feel attacked or offended, then I simply ask you to consider why you feel that way.

Paul used this reasoning in v. 16-18. “Did we take advantage of you? Did we deceive you? Did we act hypocritical?” The Corinthians were offended because they had latched onto the worldview of the false teachers who stirred up outrage through lies and mis-characterizations. They were offended because Paul’s words were true.

Again, we go back to our common ground- our common cause. We speak the truth of God’s Word because this is His world. We are His church. And it is through truth that we are built up.

Jesus prayed for our sanctification in John 17, saying

John 17:17 NASB95

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

How are we to be built up except through the truth of God’s Word?

As Christians, we have a common contribution, ourselves, and a common cause - the Kingdom of Christ.

Discuss: How does the truth counter division?

The final worldview consideration I want to show you is

Christians Have a Common Concern (20-21)

This division that Paul was speaking against was evidence of sin. That is not to say we won’t ever disagree on things, but the kind of back-handed, conniving that divides an organization always points to sin.

And the thing about sin is, people tend to want to wallow in it. Jesus remarked

John 3:19 NASB95

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

Paul understood this danger and thus expressed a concern that all believers should share.

Lets look to v. 20-21 here again (READ)

Conflict seemed inevitable… indeed it was necessary. Not because Paul desired a fight, but because he was willing to fight for their eternity!

When Paul returned to Corinth, he dreaded an ugliness that would bring him to his knees in mourning over this church.

Why? Because sin continued without repentance. True believers cannot continue in sin because they experience discipline and conviction from the Holy Spirit. This persistence in sin should be a concern for every believer.

Jesus, speaking in Matthew 7 gives us a sobering warning:

Matthew 7:21–23 NASB95

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Brothers and sisters, this is our common concern. Sin will corrupt and corrode the fellowship of God’s people. Lack of repentance testifies to the true lord of one’s life. Our common concern ought bring us to a willingness to encounter conflict for the sake of those we love.

Let me just ask: Are you willing to have difficult conversations for the sake of another’s soul?

Discuss: What should you do about ungodly division in the church?

So, what? What are we to do with all this?

Let me give you a few suggestions:

Adopt an ‘all-in’ for Jesus worldview.

Always speak truth.

Be more concerned over eternity than avoiding conflict.

Christians, we are on common ground when we are in God’s Kingdom. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please come speak to me and allow me to show you the truth of the Gospel.

[Pray]