The Light of the Gospel
2 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Jesus is the Light and He is the Light of the Gospel. Because Jesus is the Light of the Gospel…
1. We Are Not Afraid
1. We Are Not Afraid
1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,
This is the ministry of the Spirit (which is the new covenant) as apposed to the ministry of death.
Paul knew that he was called to this ministry only by the mercy of God.
13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;
Lose heart = give in to fear. Paul did not give into fear because he had seen the glory of Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus. We have all seen His glory as he just mentioned in the verse before.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
We don’t see Christ’s glory as Paul did or as Peter James and John did. His glory is seen in their eye-witness testimony of Him in the pages of Scripture.
2. We Share Him Boldly
2. We Share Him Boldly
2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
To renounce to disown or give up our sin. Whatever you were before you came to Jesus Christ and whatever you did before you came to Jesus Christ, you disown it and give it up. If you were a lier, you disown lying. if you were a thief, you disown stealing. If you were a blasphemer, you deny your blasphemy. This is repentance.
Not that you won’t ever sin again, but when you do, you hate it and you mortify your flesh because you desire to be like Christ.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Repentance is the spiritually natural response to seeing the glory of Jesus.
He was not cleverly twisting the Scriptures in order to justify his sinful desires as the false apostles were doing.
News and Citizen Guest Perspective | Rev. Devon Thomas Jun 20, 2024
In my pastoral opinion, the lawsuit filed against the Vermont Department of Children and Families by the Alliance Defending Freedom does not represent Christian values. This suit is a symptom of a very harmful historical alliance between conservative faith and political power.
As a person of faith, I would not want the actions of Alliance to be confused with traditional Christian values. The way Christian faith has been used over the years to repress individual freedom and to ignore the pain and struggle of LGBTQ people is not representative of the gospel at all.
I fully support religious freedom in this country, but there is a difference between having the freedom to express religious beliefs and imposing them upon others. This is the reason the Vermont Department of Children and Families has chosen to revoke the foster care license of a Vermont couple who, by their own admission, hold religious beliefs that keep them from recognizing the difficulties many LGBTQ youth struggle with in Vermont.
I don’t want to argue the department’s case, which should be left to the courts, but rather to challenge the Alliance Defending Freedom’s position that traditional Christianity sees LGBTQ people as sinners. I would put forward a counterargument that the gospel condemns that very type of dogmatism as a sin against God.
Matthew 19:1-5 is a passage of scripture many dogmatic Christians use to justify heterosexual-only marriage. It is also the passage where Jesus challenges the social stigma against eunuchs and affirms their place in God’s realm.
In this passage, Jesus rebukes his disciples for discouraging children from hearing him. He tells them, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
Here, Jesus does not distinguish between who God’s children are. Jesus warns against sin but is always aware that what is wrong and right is circumstantial. He tells us the law does not define sin; hate defines sin. Jesus clearly warns his followers to avoid dogmatic beliefs, telling them not to get so hung up on laws and codes that they cannot love other people. Doing so is a greater sin.
I accept there are many interpretations of how best to love God and neighbor. However, I reject, with full faith, that any human being or written document can communicate the fullness of God’s will. Good and evil will always be circumstantial. The idea that the Bible condemns LGBTQ people as sinful is rooted in uncompromising belief that keeps Christians from seeing they are wrong.
That hardness of heart keeps the children of God from the love of God. It kills when we are told to heal (Mark 3:4). It is not traditional Christianity.
Christians do not need to agree with individuals to love and support them. If a person’s beliefs disallow them to support all types of children, then it is the Department of Children and Families’ responsibility to deny their foster status. The department’s primary responsibility is the well-being of the children in its care.
I do not believe the Alliance Defending Freedom case reflects the message of Jesus Christ. I would further argue that the dogmatic teachings they believe to be traditionally Christian are a deviation from the message we see in the gospel. We are all entitled to our beliefs and opinions, and I would hope those who choose to inform themselves on what traditional Christianity has to say about our LGBTQ sisters and brothers, choose to read the gospel message for themselves.
Rev. Devon Thomas, former pastor for several congregations in Lamoille County, serves the Ascension Lutheran Church in South Burlington.
Paul also wasn’t trying to help Jesus by making him cool, or modern, socially acceptable.
Instead he was presenting the straight forward truth of the gospel to the consciences of men, women, boys and girls so that they have the opportunity to repent.
You can’t force the gospel on anyone. You lay it out for them, answer their questions, and then model it for them so that they can make their own decision.
3. We Are Concerned
3. We Are Concerned
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Our most effective tool after sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is prayer. At our conference this year, Pastor Keith Merriman shared about his mom. She had been religious all her life, a devout Roman Catholic who was trusting in the church and Mary to save her. Keith is one of the most effective evangelists I have ever met and faithfully shared the gospel with her every time that he could. She was always resistant. I remember growing up in the Orrville GBC where Pastor Keith was my pastor and we would pray for his mom to come to know Christ. People have been praying for her for over 40 years now. Now into her nineties, she just recieved Jesus as her only Savior. I don’t understand completely how prayer works, but I do know that salvation is impossible with out it.
4. We Are Humbled
4. We Are Humbled
5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
This wasn’t about Paul. It wasn’t about Timothy., Titus, Peter, or Appollos. They weren’t getting rich or getting notoriety, unlike the false apostles who were speaking badly about Paul.
It was all about Jesus. Paul loved Jesus more than his own life, or reputation, or fame, or even comfort. Paul said over and over again that he was a bondservant for Jesus.
It is not about us either. May we have the same attitude and motive that Paul had. May we have the same love for Jesus that Paul
Paul Washer said, “There is no such thing as a great man of God, only weak, pitiful, faithless men of a great and merciful God.”
5. We Let Jesus Shine
5. We Let Jesus Shine
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Jesus is glorious One. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the Light of the World, He is the Way the Truth and the Life. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the Great I Am. He is the Saviour. We need to let Him shine! I think too often I block his light. I get in the way thinking that I am trying to help Jesus, when what I really need to do is get out of the way of the Way and let Him shine! Our job is simple. Share the good news that our marvelous Jesus is risen from the dead. Who can you share with this week? Will you begin to pray for them? Will you bring their name with you on Wednesday night so that we can beg God for their soul?