No Time To Wait, Respond Today!
Notes
Transcript
The church in Corinth was founded by the Apostle Paul. They received the gospel through him. But there was a broken relationship between the leader and the congregation. Some in Corinth were becoming lukewarm, swayed by super-apostles who were critical of Paul. But this is not just having a bad attitude towards Paul, it creates concern that the growing resistance to him will also trigger a resistance to the message as well. In chapter 5:20, Paul pleads with them to be reconciled to God. They were holding back from Paul and in some cases fully rejecting him. But to reject the one who brought God’s grace to them creates distance from the grace of God as well. Their hardness of heart towards their shepherd and fellow worker revealed a deeper problem of carnality (living in a fleshly way) and a hardness of heart toward God’s grace in salvation.
Main Message:
“Now is the time to respond fully to God’s grace – with open hearts and faithful lives”
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.
1 Now being fellow workers with Him [Christ], we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says,
At a favorable time, I heard you
And on a day of salvation, I came to your aid
Behold now is the favorable time, behold now is the day of salvation.
3 We are giving no one cause for offense in anything so that no fault may found in our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants we try to commend ourselves in every way by our great endurance:
in oppression, in hardship, in difficult troubles,
5 in beatings [many blows], in imprisonments, in mob disturbances,
in hard labor [burdensome work], in sleeplessness, in going hungry [lack of food],
6 by purity, by [godly] knowledge, by patience,
by generosity, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by love without hypocrisy,
7 by the word of truth, by the power that God supplies, through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,
8 through honor [glory] and dishonor, through slander and good report,
regarded as deceivers and yet honest, 9 as being unknown and yet recognized,
as dying and yet behold we live, as punished and yet not being put to death,
10 as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as very poor and yet making others rich,
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
11 Our mouth is open wide to you Corinthians, our heart is enlarged to you. 12 You are not restrained by us, you are restrained by your own affections. 13 Now then, in like exchange, I speak as to children, open wide [your hearts] to us.
Urgency Of God’s Grace
1 Now being fellow workers with Him, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says,
At a favorable time, I heard you
And on a day of salvation, I came to your aid
Behold now is the favorable time, behold now is the day of salvation.
It is possible to waste God’s grace. By grace, God’s power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We have eternal life and are righteous before him because of the cross of Christ. Also, the Holy Spirit is within us renewing our hearts and minds so that we might live a righteous life. Our part is to be faithful in following God’s Word. But holding grudges, dismissing a brother or sister in Christ as inferior or treating them as not worthy of your time or interest is fleshly. This kind of behavior produces hardness of heart and hinders growth in Christ. In other words, God’s grace becomes ineffective in your experience. Not dealing with bad attitudes or unrepentant sin only further hardens a person’s heart.
We should not delay doing what we know to be the right thing to do. The time to deal with a hard heart is now, while the grace of God still reaches out to you. D.L. Moody preached a powerful sermon one night and sent the people home telling them to think about what he said and come back the next day to respond. That night the great Chicago fire broke out and burned for 2 days. 300 people lost their lives and 100,000 were left homeless. Moody never again gave an invitation without urging an immediate response.
In the book of Acts 24:25, Paul spoke to Governor Felix about righteousness, self-control, and judgment. Felix became afraid and said, “Go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you.” But Scripture never records that he did.
It took Noah 100 years to build the Ark. 2 Peter 2:5 says that during this time, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Many people came and saw and mocked him. Then, once the Ark was finished, the door stood open for a time. But no one besides Noah and his family entered the Ark. At the last, the hand of God shut the door, and the judgement of the flood came.
Paul’s Commendation as a True Servant
3 We are giving no one cause for offense in anything so that no fault may found in our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants we try to commend ourselves in every way by our great endurance:
Paul finally commends himself to the Corinthians. He thinks himself worthy of their confidence. He has not given anyone cause to take offense at him. He commends himself as God’s servant. But saying you’re a servant of God isn’t saying much unless you can back it up with proof. Paul commends himself as a servant of God by the great endurance he has shown in his life and character. They can have confidence in Paul because of how he stands up with patient endurance under adversity, hard work, and suffering.
Verses 3 – 10 are a res`ume. Paul points to 28 areas that reveal his work and character.
The first three – in oppression, in hardship, in difficult troubles – point out that Paul has remained a faithful servant of God even in trials and tribulations.
The next six identify physical difficulties brought on by others or by various challenges as he ministers the Gospel to others.
5 in beatings [many blows], in imprisonments, in mob disturbances,
in hard labor [burdensome work], in sleeplessness, in going hungry [lack of food],
· Serving God sometimes requires great physical endurance.
The next six begin with the word “by” indicating the type of character required of a servant of God.
6 by purity, by [godly] knowledge, by patience, by generosity,
by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by love without hypocrisy,
7 by the word of truth, by the power that God supplies,
· By Purity
2 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV)
2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
· By Patience, By Generosity (or kindness) – Patience and kindness should characterize all Christians.
The next three begin with the word “through” and indicate that the work we do for Christ is a struggle that comes with ups and downs.
through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,
8 through honor [glory] and dishonor, through slander and good report,
· Weapons for the right hand and the left probably refers to a sword for attack and a shield for defense. They are weapons of righteousness because they are supplied by our righteous God.
· Serving God requires that we take up spiritual weapons to fight against unrighteousness.
· When honored we should remain humble, when dis-honored we should be forgiving. When others slander we should not seek revenge. When praised,we should remember that we are servants of God, not heroes.
The last 7 present the negative view of how some saw Paul according to the flesh in comparison to how God sees him:
regarded as deceivers and yet honest, 9 as being unknown and yet recognized,
as dying and yet behold we live, as punished and yet not being put to death,
10 as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as very poor and yet making others rich,
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
The negative side reflects the worldly view of judging motives based on appearances and human expectations. The positive side reflects the truth of how Paul lives each day before God – as someone who aims to please God in all things.:
Negative (Wordly View) Positive (God’s view)
Deceiving others Being honest in all things
Being unknown, a nobody, insignificant Being recognized, by God, but also the subject of all conversations.
As dying – frequently facing death “I’m still here”
As punished – treated as an evil doer “Not put to death but always delivered”
As always grieving or in sorrow (no one Paul’s motto – rejoice in the Lord always
wants to be around someone who is sad)
As very poor – why else would he go making others rich – offering them the
hungry, in need of clothes, etc. wealth of heaven.
Having nothing – by worldly standards possessing all things – in need of nothing (contentment)
The list in verses 3–10 is a strategic, Spirit-filled rebuttal of the accusations Paul faced. This is his abbreviated res`ume given in defense of his ministry.
· Instead of hiding his weaknesses, he highlights them.
· Instead of retaliating, he appeals with love.
· Instead of worldly credentials, he offers proof of a Spirit-formed life.
· By doing so, Paul teaches that authentic ministry is not marked by power or polish, but by perseverance, purity, and paradox.
This is not a defense for ego’s sake, but an attempt to remove the barriers in the relationship with the congregation.
We learn from this list that:
· Spiritual leadership should be evaluated by character and endurance, not charisma.
· Suffering and misunderstanding are not signs of failure but often are the evidence of faithful, enduring ministry.
An Honest and Vulnerable Appeal
11 Our mouth is open wide to you Corinthians, our heart is enlarged to you. 12 You are not restrained by us, you are restrained by your own affections. 13 Now then, in like exchange, I speak as to children, open wide [your hearts] to us.
“We’ve held nothing back from you. Our love and ministry are genuine. If you feel distant from us, it’s not because of anything we’ve done—it’s because of your closed hearts.”
We should not take God’s grace in vain. If you know your heart is holding on to something that is not right, now is the time to deal with it. This is the time of God’s favor, today is the day he will help you if you acknowledge there is a need and turn away from what is wrong. Don’t withhold your affections from others, you may find that this results in withholding your affections from God as well.
Amen.
