06PM September 3 2 Corinthians 11 2

September 3, 2006—Evening Worship

Upright Living in a Downright Wicked World

The Essentials for an Excellent Christian Walk

2 Corinthians 11:2-3 & Various Verses

Intro:  READ 2 Corinthians 11:2-4

When you hear the word chastity, what comes to mind? Often we think of sexual purity or abstinence. The Greek word for “chaste” in v. 3 can be translated "cleanness, blamelessness, pureness, uprightness of life, w/o moral defect, or chastity." It actually deals w/the way we live toward God.

Paul said in vv. 3-4 that he feared the church would be deceived & thus lose its purity. By purity, he meant their singular their love for Jesus, strictly adhering to Him & Him only. He was talking about their standing in relation to Jesus. Paul wanted them to remain pure in the principles of faith, sincere & upright in their worship, & holy in their lives & conversations. Nothing was more desirable to him than that he might present them to Christ at the great day; where they would prove that his labor was not in vain in the Lord.

But, having been concerned about them b/c of their conduct, Paul entertained a godly jealousy over them, lest the false apostles should draw them aside in any way from their love to Christ & faith in Him.

We too can become victims of false teachers & false teachings if we take our eyes off Christ & His word. So, let's look at how we can live a consistent life of chastity or purity before the Lord.

1. We Must Have a Proper Love for the Lord & Others (Matt. 22:34­40).

Let’s 1st examine…

   A. The Types of Love.

1. 3 types of love are mentioned in the NT

2. The 1st is concerned only w/the sexual side of life.

3. The 2nd type of love is one involving the emotions & the mind.

4. The 3rd type of love is called “agape.”

5. This type of love involves the emotions, mind, & will of the person.

6. This type of love loves people who hurt us.

7. God loves us this way. God wants us to “agape” Him & one another.

   B. The Teachings of Love.

1. 2 commandments deal w/love

2. Christ told the Pharisees & Sadducees that there are 2 commandments that all the law & the prophets hang on (Matt. 22:34­40).

3. The 1st commandment is that we are to “agape” the Lord our God w/all our heart, & w/all our soul, & w/all our mind.

4. The 2nd commandment is that we are to “agape” our neighbors as ourselves.

   C. The Testimonies of Love.

1. In the book of Genesis we find a man named Enoch who is said to have walked w/God & then simply was no more, "for God took him" (5:24).

2. Enoch was so close to the Lord that he never died b/c his life was one that manifested the love of God.

3. Think of Noah: the whole world he lived in was only happy when they were eating, drinking, & partying.

4. Noah was not like that. He was one who found grace in the eyes of the Lord b/c he walked w/God (6:8­9).

5. Both of these men were sinners, but they made choices that honored God & that God honored.

6. He recognized that they loved Him w/all their hearts, souls, & minds.

Not only must we have a proper love for the Lord & others, but…

2. We Must Have a Proper Hatred of Sin (1 John 2:15-16).

The Bible tells us that we are not to “agape” the world. There are 3 areas where we are not to love the world. These ideas are found in 1 John 2:16, Genesis 3:6, & in Matthew 4:3­10.

We will concentrate on 1 John 2:16 & there find that the world holds…

   A. The Lust of the Flesh.

1. This is the one sin where we usually associate chastity.

2. We must not desire people of the opposite sex or of the same sex as we would our spouses.

3. A person's spouse should be the only object of his or her sexual love.

   B. The Lust of the Eyes.

1. We must remember that we start our wrong thoughts w/our eyes.

2. We see something that we want, & then we dwell on that lust until it affects other areas of our lives.

3. The old children’s song is so helpful here: O be careful little eyes what you see; O be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love so be careful little eyes what you see!

4. Don’t put yourself in tempting situations & you will simply avoid many sins!

   C. The Pride of Life.

1. If we love ourselves more than we love God, we are in trouble.

2. This is a real problem when we are confronted by others about sin in our lives.

3. We need to lose the pride if we are to have an upright life in the eyes of the Lord.

4. READ 1 Peter 5:5-6

What are we talking about? We’re talking about the essentials for an excellent Christian walk. What are they? 1) a proper love the Lord & others, 2) a proper hatred of sin &…

3. We Must Have a Proper Daily Commitment.

1. Each day we have a new choice to make about what thoughts we will follow.

2. In order to live a life of purity, we need to realize that choices come on a daily basis.

3. There are many verses that deal w/this daily choice: We must take up our crosses daily (Luke 9:23; Matt. 10:39); we must ask for daily bread (Matt. 6:11); we must choose to serve daily (Josh. 24:15); we must search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11); we must exhort one another daily (Heb. 3:13).

4. Many choices that we make will be made b/c of prior commitments to follow Christ, but those commitments must be renewed daily!

Conclusion:  To truly live a life of chastity & purity before God, we must love the Lord our God w/all our hearts, minds, & souls. We must hate the lust that is found in the world, & w/the Lord's help we can overcome temptation. We must be people who choose daily to walk w/God.

Invitation:  You can make the commitment tonight to stand for Jesus Christ. You can make that commitment as God draws you through His Spirit to come to Him w/all you are & all you have. But that’s not a one time commitment! Your salvation is a one time commitment. You come to Him in repentance & faith & God graciously saves you & keeps you saved by His power alone.

          But your commitment to walk w/God is made every day! It must be renewed everyday b/c we live in the weakness of this flesh. The desires of the body can pull us away if we allow it.

          Tonight, I want to encourage you to make a fresh commitment to follow the Lord & that you would make it every morning as you rise from sleep. Simply say a little prayer that says something like this: “Lord, w/all of my abilities, I give myself to You to be used of You today. Help me stand for You & to reveal You to others today. For Your glory I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

          If you’ve been challenged by this message to walk more closely w/God in your personal relationship w/Him – or to begin that relationship tonight, would you come & make that known so that we may rejoice w/you & encourage you to be faithful to your daily walk w/God?

Hymn 448 Just a Closer Walk with Thee