The Importance Of The Gospel To The Believer
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“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.” ― Mark Twain
“Procrastination always gives you something to look forward to.” ― Joan Konner
“Procrastination is the thief of time” ― Edward Young
We are all guilty of some procrastination. However, the Gospel should be the last thing we procrastinate about.
Historical/Cultural Context -
Historical/Cultural Context -
Sometime afterward (c. A.D. 55), Paul left Ephesus, traveling north to Troas (a port city). There he had arranged to meet Titus and hear how the Corinthians had responded to the severe letter (2:12). Not finding Titus there, Paul crossed over to Macedonia to await him in that location. Eventually Titus arrived, reporting the Corinthians’ response to the recent letter and bringing news of other developments in Corinth (7:5–7). The book of 2 Corinthians (actually his fourth letter to that church) was Paul’s response to the news brought by Titus.
Biblical Text -
Biblical Text -
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So then death is working in us, but life in you.
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,
knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
-[Prayer]-
-[Prayer]-
Life Principle - For The Believer, The Gospel Is Life, It Must Be Shared & It Is Forever.
Life Principle - For The Believer, The Gospel Is Life, It Must Be Shared & It Is Forever.
Life Point- The Gospel Is Life (The Main Thing)
Life Point- The Gospel Is Life (The Main Thing)
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
What is the treasure that is being spoken about?
It is the treasure that we talked about last week. Namely, The ministry of the Gospel. The good news, which is the only thing that can change hearts, lives, and thoughts. The Gospel is the only thing that can pierce the soul of a dead man and bring them to life.
How great and powerful the Gospel has turned out to be in history and will continue to be far into eternity itself.
You see the Gospel has all the power of God behind it, but not the vessel which brings it. We are compared to jars of clay. Have you ever had a child bring you their arts & Crafts home from school?
of course you have. Have you noticed how fragile some of those clay things can be? Even if you treat them with some kind of clear protective coating, if you drop it on the floor it shatters.
This is why Paul compares us to that fragile vessel so that we can know without a shadow of a doubt that it is God’s Word that makes the difference not the vessel that delivers it.
I am nothing, you are nothing. It is the power of the life giving water that we bring that is everything.
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
It is the Holy Spirit working with us and through us that is everything.
Sometimes as humans we can get, what I like to call, “The big head”
Where we start to make things all about us and not about God. We begin to think that we are something and that God couldn’t replace us. When in fact the opposite is true.
We are nothing, the Gospel and The Holy Spirit is everything and we can be replaced in a heart beat.
Because of the power of God, which leads to repentance and salvation, and the gift of peace that He often bestows on us we can endure many things for the sake of the Gospel and if we are struck down, it is the Gospel in that act that will flourish. So Paul in verses 8 & 9 says the following:
We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Jesus said:
Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Throughout history there has always been Christian martyrs. Throughout history the believer’s bodies still die, though they have the life of the Gospel within them. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our promise. The seal of God’s promise to us, within us. This does not mean, however, that this body is not perishing day by day.
Nor does it mean that Christians who spread the Gospel are not persecuted. Every day around the world not only are Christians rights being curtailed, but many a Christian today is martyred for their beliefs. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t read something in the Christian Post about a pastor or parishioner in another country who is martyred for their beliefs.
Not only are Christians to be ready to die physically, but we are to die to our wants and desires daily in order that the Gospel may go forward.
We are promised that we will face persecution. Don’t think it won’t or isn’t happening here. True Christians and Christianity here in the states is being marginalized and persecuted.
The new thing is that if you don’t accept the LGBTQ lifestyle in your church, well then your a bigot. But I say to everyone here, truth is truth and we will stand on the truth of scripture and if that means we are persecuted, then so be it. If that means that they come in here and martyr us, then so be it. For I know what Paul said in:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
“For Your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Life Point - The Gospel Is Mandatory
Life Point - The Gospel Is Mandatory
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
You cannot truly believe the Gospel and not want to share it with others. We believe and therefore we must speak.
Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
We know that the one who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us up from the dead, and on that day we will be presented before Him with all the people we shared the Gospel with that became Christians and so we as Christians are to share the Gospel, knowing that it is not a matter of just wanting to share it, but a matter of having to share it for “woe to me if I do not share the Gospel.”
It is our mandate to share the Gospel. In its’ sharing we find that grace is extending to more and more people. As more and more people come to Christ it is God who is glorified.
To not share the Gospel is, in reality, a feeble act of rebellion toward God. In your sin of omission you are trying to take away God’s glory. If you haven’t been sharing the Gospel, then today you need to repent and start doing so immediately.
You see, you have the power of life and death in your tongue you may be the very las chance someone has to repent and come to Christ. This brings life. Buy if you abstain you have exercised an authority that is not yours. You have a part in that person’s eternal death. In Ezekiel we find a similar warning when God called him to be a prophet.
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.
Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.
But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
Life Point - The Gospel Is Forever
Life Point - The Gospel Is Forever
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
Because we still have a sinful nature and are still under the curse we know that our flesh is wasting away daily. However, as a Christian in fellowship with God the Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit our inner being our mind, will, emotions, and our spirit should be renewed day by day.
Because of this we can truly feel and consider that persecutions and martyrdom are light and momentary problems and afflictions when we compare it with the eternal glory that we will experience when we leave this life.
So what do we do when we are persecuted, maybe even tortured both mentally and physically?
Do we give up? Do we give in?
No. We do what we are told to do. We fix our eyes not on this temporary world, but on eternity. The things which are unseen. The things that eternal and we continue to spread the Gospel day-in and day-out.
As we move through our daily work, chores, and some days drudgery. We are to share the Gospel. Share Jesus. You can’t share the church until you share the reason for the church. Which is, Jesus our savior.
Life Principle– For The Believer, The Gospel Is Life, It Must Be Shared & It Is Forever.
Life Principle– For The Believer, The Gospel Is Life, It Must Be Shared & It Is Forever.
Call to Action – altar call….
Call to Action – altar call….