Transcript

A Lifestyle That Adorns The Gospel

2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Pastor Randy Smith

As I mentioned last week, from the very beginning we made a radical change on the fly in our recent family vacation plans. Days of unceasing rain with weather in the thirties is not exactly the ideal condition for camping in a tent. We had to avoid a wicked storm front that had stalled over the northern Rockies. The only hope was to head fourteen hours south. For us that was southern Utah.

Since we were in the vicinity, I couldn't help suggesting a trip to the Grand Canyon. And when we arrived at the Grand Canyon, I could help suggesting a hike to the bottom. Originally I had no takers, but eventually with some arm twisting and persuasive reasoning and deals too hard to refuse, Natalie and Kayla agreed to accompany me.

The park service does not recommend a trip to the bottom and back up on the same day. For me, that only added to the challenge. Seven miles down, roughly 5,000 feet in elevation change and then nearly ten miles back up. People die on this hike. Sadly on the day we hiked we witnessed a helicopter medevac out one sick hiker.

It doesn't take much to derail your Grand Canyon experience. One missing ingredient can quickly turn the day from pleasure to tragedy. Even those in optimum physical conditioning fall prey to elevation sickness, heat stroke and dehydration. Hikers will tell you that beyond the right attire, the three ingredients of water, electrolytes and the proper food are all necessary to be successful.

Presenting the Gospel of our Lord and Savior also works in the same way. There are many ingredients not only to the Gospel itself, but ingredients that must be included for the presentation of the Gospel to be successful. I am not implying that we can save anybody ourselves, but there are many things we can or cannot do that can discredit or render ineffective even the most well-intended Gospel presentation. All the ingredients are necessary and like a Grand Canyon hike, the three the ingredients will be presented in this morning's message.

1. THE MESSAGE

First, it is essential that we not only believe, but also understand the message itself so we can present it accurately. We have covered this in detail as were worked through 2 Corinthians chapter 5 so I will keep my comments brief.

We learned in verse 18 that the Gospel is a message of reconciliation. Sinful humans have rejected God and turned to their own selfish ways. Their hearts are spiritually dead. They want nothing to do with submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord. They think they can appease God through their deeds, but they fall far short of His holiness. God's wrath abides on them. They are separated from God, enemies, with no ability to mend the relationship.

Yet God while we were yet sinners made reconciliation possible. Verse 19, "Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." He created a way whereby, verse 19, He would not count our trespasses against us. He would devise a plan at His own cost that would bring complete forgiveness while retaining His holiness and satisfying all justice.

The plan? Verse 21 can't be any clearer. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The Son (fully God and fully man) would live the perfect life and go to the cross as our substitute. All of our sin would be placed upon Him and in return all of His righteousness would be placed upon us. Is this for all people? Yes, it is offered to all people, but only effective for those who believe, those who accept this message of love and grace and mercy on the basis of faith.

So the first ingredient to a successful Gospel presentation is that we must rightly know and have received the message ourselves.

2. THE MANDATE

That takes us to our second point. We can rightly know the Gospel inside and out, but unless we present it to others nobody will ever be saved. I suppose there are a million ways God could have chosen to get this message into the hearts of others, but the way He decreed is that His people would share it with those who need it. Listen to Paul from Romans 10: "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14). It's called the Great Commission!

As God has reconciled us to Himself, He has, verse 19, "committed to us the word of reconciliation." Verse 20, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." Now what I get out of that verse is not only the command upon all of us to share our faith, but also the imperative to do so with passion and urgency. Paul says, "We beg you." He was begging people to trust Jesus.

I'm convicted by that! I understand the need to share Jesus, and though I feel I do it too infrequently, I think I too often when I do share, I do it more out of a spirit of obligation than genuine love for the lost. I mean I can be more passionate about persuading my children to join me on a Grand Canyon hike than I can in persuading my neighbor to receive Christ!

Why is that? Possibly because it's an incorrect view of my own theology. Do I assume that because it's God's job to change the heart that heartless pleas on my part are either unnecessary or even contradictory? Perhaps. Yet I believe the primary reason, which is more humbling, is because I simply do not love those without Christ as much as I should.

So, are you sharing the Gospel? And if so, are you found pleading with sinners to receive Christ?

The great preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, a man not ashamed to call himself a Calvinist said, "If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled with the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

If we still have any doubt let's turn the page to 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and continue to explore biblical thought on this one.

Verse 1, "And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain." The Greek word translated "working together" is the verb "sunergeo." It is where we get our English word, "synergy" - the process whereby things work together to produce an effect that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. What amazing condescension from the Creator! In the salvation of souls, God does all the work to make it possible and then works together with us to discharge this message to the lost. You beloved, are an ambassador. You are an integral component to make sure this message gets proclaimed. You are a coworker with God!

And how is it proclaimed? Accurately, that goes without the need to be stated, but also passionately. As Paul says in verse 1, "We also urge you." So the Arminian tends to think he or she needs to use passion to get people saved. And the Calvinist thinks he or she can be passionless because salvation is all of the Lord. Both are wrong.

Only God can save by regenerating a dead heart, but He expects us to discharge the message with passion and urgency! That is how the Gospel should be delivered because that should be the reflection of our heart. This is a heart that shows not only has it been overwhelmed and stunned and captivated by God's amazing grace, but also it knows how essential it is for another to accept this message.

And when should they accept it? When they are good and ready? No, verse 2, "For [God] says, "'At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.' Behold, now is 'the acceptable time,' behold, now is 'the day of salvation.'"

My friends, for the unbeliever, there is not a better message of hope that will ever arrive! There is not a whole lot of joy and peace in living without Christ! There is not a promise that a person's heart will not harden beyond hope! There is not a guarantee that such a person will even be alive tomorrow! We are talking about living eternally either in heaven or hell! There is no greater gift that a person can receive! If you are sharing the message, now is the acceptable time for such a person to receive Jesus Christ! As Paul said, now is the day of salvation!

Maybe today is the "day of salvation" for one of you this morning!

Charles Simeon, the great preacher born in 1759 is often hailed as something of an ancestor of the evangelical movement in the Church of England. The man was known for his passion for Christ and love for people so much so that when he died one of his obituaries read as follows: "And after having urged all his hearers to accept the proffered mercy, he reminded them that there were those present to whom he had preached Christ for more than thirty years, but they continued indifferent to the Savior's love; and pursuing this train of expostulation for some time, he at length became quite overpowered by his feeling, and he sank down in the pulpit and burst into a flood of tears."

So in faithful Gospel presentation we need to proclaim the right message with the right mandate, and lastly, we need to be sure that we ourselves, point 3, are the right messenger.

3. THE MESSENGER

Listen to how Paul put it in verses 3-4 of chapter 6. "Giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God."

So here we see another necessary ingredient to be effective for God. This is something very interesting to consider. We know the Gospel in and of itself is offensive. Identifying people as sinners and enemies of God. Claiming God's wrath abides on them and they have no hope of saving themselves. Declaring that their good deeds are filthy rags and total repentance from their former life is necessary. That is offensive indeed! Remember the you are smell of life or the stench of death when you share this message (2 Cor. 2:15-16). As a matter of fact we are told not to remove that offense lest we compromise the truth.

But Paul here is concerned not about the offense of the Gospel, but that his life might be an offense in presenting the Gospel. He was concerned that he might "discredit" the ministry. "Discredited" - the word is a verb related to the Greek noun "momus," the Greek god of ridicule and mockery. We know people will reject God's grace; Paul just wanted to be sure they weren't rejecting God's grace because of him!

Now when we hear this we immediately think of the need to pursue holy lives. Practicing what we preach. Modeling grace in our treatment of others. Living without hypocrisy. Contending for the Gospel without being contentious. You know where I'm going and all of this is totally true. But interestingly this is not ultimately where Paul will now go with his thoughts. According to the upcoming verses, the best messenger of the Gospel is not only one who lives a holy life, but also one, here it is, that lives a suffering life and while suffering can still proclaims the greatness of Jesus Christ.

Think about it, what does the world need to see that will bring for them the greatest attraction to Christ? Health and wealth? No, that's just getting more of what their selfish heart always desired, but now using Jesus as a tool to get it becoming idolatry! Holiness? Yes, we can't contradict what we claim to proclaim. Yet according to this test there is more.

Let me quote from C.S. Lewis' classic as the master demon named Screwtape taught to his less skilled demonic apprentice from C.S. Lewis' classic: "Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of [God] seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

What is one of the great appeals of the world to Christ? When Christians in the midst of trials and suffering and pain can still proclaim, "My God how great Thou art" and "It is well with my soul." The world longs for this unconditional and unceasing peace, and when they see it in us, the Gospel and only the Gospel holds out promise and attractiveness like nothing else they have ever experienced. This shows that Christ is real and infinitely precious. This is how Paul differs from those false teachers. And this is where Paul will go with our remaining verses.

Overarching in the list in verse 4 is Paul's claim that he serves "in much ("great"-NIV) endurance." In the verses to follow Paul will discuss his intense suffering for the Gospel. Many people naturally run from suffering. Yet by God's grace, Paul endured with faith intact and faith unwavering in the midst of such hardship.

Paul lists some examples of his suffering which he faithfully endured. Please follow along in your Bibles. First we see three internal results of external pressures: Afflictions, hardships and distresses. Then we see three external threats from others: Beatings, imprisonments and tumults (riots). Then we see three self-inflicted trials as a result of his ministry: Labors, sleeplessness and hunger. All of this as a result of sharing the Gospel. And through all of this (most of it specifically documented in Scripture), Paul endured, demonstrating that the cause of Jesus Christ is not only worthy to be suffered for, but also worth pursuing even in the midst of situations most of us in this room will never experience. That makes the Gospel attractive.

Now most can endure unfavorable situations, but frequently these trying situations are accompanied with an attitude of complaining or anger (to God or others) or resentment or frustration or self-righteousness or self-pity. Yet despite his suffering, look at the nine more terms Paul used to describe his heart. Beginning in verse 6: purity (he didn't run to the porn or the night club as an outlet), knowledge (he didn't rest in the wisdom of the world), kindness (he didn't treat others harshly), the Holy Spirit (he didn't resort to living by the flesh), genuine love (he didn't use people for his own means), in the word of truth (he didn't stop living by Scripture), in the power of God (he didn't rest in his own strength) and by weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left (he didn't fight a spiritual war through worldly means).

And then Paul expressed his life through nine paradoxes. These paradoxes characterize to some degree all those who will proclaim the Gospel of truth. As I read them, think to yourselves both how they applied to Paul from what we know about his ministry and then how they apply to you.

Beginning in verse 8, Paul says he was received "by glory and dishonor." Are you scorned within your own family because of Christ, but received with great joy when you teach your Sunday school students? He was received "by evil report and good report." Are you slandered by the world, but find others in the church speak highly of you? He was regarded as a deceiver "and yet true." Have people sought to destroy your reputation as being dishonest, but you have believers that trust you as much as they do their spouse? He was "unknown yet well-known." Are you a nobody at school in the neighborhood or at work, but are well-known and highly regarded by God? He was "dying yet behold" he is alive. Are you dying to self, being crucified daily with Christ, even dying physically, but yet in your spirit you feel more alive each day as you grow in Christlikeness (2 Cor. 4:16)? He is "punished yet not put to death." Are you persecuted for your faith, but still alive to serve Christ another day? He is sorrowful yet always rejoicing." Are you broken over your sin, afflicted in your heath, grieved over relational strains, burdened financially, suffering sorrow of any type, but yet rejoicing deep inside that God is in control and He is presently working all things together for your good? He is "poor yet making many rich." Are you poor in spirit, possibly poor in terms of possessions, but in sharing and serving Jesus making many spiritually rich? And he has "nothing yet possesses all things." Do you own very little, but know you are an heir of all things with Christ (Rom. 8:17)?

The way I see it, many Christians are outright disobedient and they simply refuse to share their faith. Others see the need and do seek to bring people to Christ.

But unless we are sharing the right message, the accurate unadulterated Gospel of grace received by faith in Jesus Christ, and we are using the right mandate, the passionate love for sinners and urgency for them to immediately receive Christ, and are in person the right messenger, living a holy life, but also a life willing to suffer for Christ and still proclaim His name with joy, we run the expressed possibility of being an offense to the Gospel and discrediting our ministry.

I have now hiked the Grand Canyon four times in my life. On the third hike I did what is called a "rim-to-rim" hike which required three days. In an effort to lighten the load of my backpack, I went very low on the food I brought along. I definitely felt the effects of being unprepared with the necessary ingredients. For the glory of God and the salvation of the lost, may we not be unprepared with the Gospel. May we know it and share it and live it!