The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 42; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 "The Corinthians at the Crossroads"

The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 42; 2 Corinthians 6.1-13 The Corinthians at the Crossroads A question for you this morning as we begin. When you hear "Parable" what comes to mind? The usual answer is Jesus telling stories about the kingdom of heaven. There's another way we can look at "Parable". In 1974--an eternity ago--a trio known as Chuck, Pat & Joy brought their down-to-earth music to auditoriums, coffee houses, churches, and campuses in Southern California with a touch of heaven that got them introduced one night at an Inland Empire concert as "Parable". They had toyed with several names, but that night, the name stuck. Over the next several years the band produced 2 albums, the second one called, appropriately, "Illustrations." On their website, even today, they describe their music this way: "diverse in style, timeless in lyric, and fit for edification, exhortation, and evangelism." And for me, what a refreshing, far cry from what often passes for CCM today--Contemporary Christian Music and the commercialism and often watered down messages that go with it. The first time I heard Parable I was on Guam before Kitty and I got married--that long ago. It was their album "Illustrations." The last song on their album is called, "Got to Decide." The energy and sense of urgency and utmost seriousness of this song has served to place it deep within me for decades. It is an evangelistic song and some of the lyrics go like this: "So many roads to follow. He said there's one. So many make believers. He said, "I've come". You can close your heart and say, "I just don't want to hear." But turning off the word of God, won't make it disapper. You've got to decide, if it's real or he's lyin', and it goes on. Great music. Simple, powerful words. And I can't think of a better way to begin this message than with Parable's challenging statement, addressed to the Corinthians. "You've got to decide if it's real or he's lyin'." Corinthians, will you believe the false teachers--these new kids on the block? Or will you stick with the eternal gospel truth that Paul preached? He proclaimed "Christ Crucified." The false teachers did not. In our passage for today, 2 Corinthians 6.1-13 we gain further insight into Paul's pleading with those in the church in Corinth. Indeed, they are at a crossroads in their spiritual journey to use that somewhat PC, worn out phrase. The Corinthians began well. In what we call 1 Corinthians, the apostle reminds them of all that God offered them in Christ in 1 Corinthians. 1.4-8. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge- even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you- so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, a great beginning. The church in Corinth was the place to be! I'm sure that things were such that when they got together for worship, they could not wait until they got back together again--they never knew what would happen next. Though they had all those great experiences, the Corinthians set themselves up for disaster. Great experiences, but seemingly not much interest in developing a mature walk with the Lord. And it didn't take too long til their real enemy, the devil, prompted his servants--the false teachers-to attack and bring the Corinthians to the brink of actually walking away from the Lord. We call that apostasy. I coined it, "Getting a divorce from Jesus." If you were not able to catch the message last week, and you are unsure of what I'm talking about, go back and give a listen. Today we will see the Corinthians at the crossroads in vv.1-2 and 12-13. We will also see Paul and his fellow workers in the gospel tell the Corinthians about what happened to them because they chose the path of Jesus when they, themselves faced spiritual crossroads. How applicable to us as well, for all of us come to the crossroads many times in our lives. Every time we encounter spiritual crossroads, we've got to decide, if it's real or He's lying. And how we live our lives going forward reveals our answer. So, let's turn in our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6.1-2, and then skip down to v.12: Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 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. Then v.12: You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. These 3 verses come on the heels of 2 Corinthians 5.20, where Paul just told the Corinthians: "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." God is using the mouth of his apostle and his friends in calling back the Corinthians to himself. "Warning! You're out of sorts with me. Come back!" Then immediately the Corinthians hear it again, only worded a bit differently, this time in the form of an appeal. This urging, imploring was done by Paul and company this time. The first time it was God speaking through Paul. The second time it was Paul doing the talking. Now this appeal, this imploring must have been difficult to hear: "Don't receive God's grace in vain." I can imagine the Corinthians doing a double take. "Wait. What?" What do you mean, not receive the grace of God in vain? We received God's grace, Paul! We remember when you came to us with the gospel." And to make matters more interesting, Paul even couples this appeal in v.1 to words that are normally used in evangelism! At the end of v.2: "Now is the day of salvation." I think if I was in the church in Corinth, I might have a question or 2. Whatever happened to the grace of God, Paul? What about some of the other things you wrote to other churches? Like Romans 8:38-39, where you tell them, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us from Christ. Isn't that what you wrote, Paul? Is this a contradiction? Or are you giving the Christians in Rome sort of special treatment? Why are you so hard on us, Paul? Well, let's go to that little word Paul used in v.1 of 2 Corinthians 6: "vain." It literally means, "To no purpose" or "to have no effect or results." This puts things in a strange light doesn't it? Especially in our day. We hear words like, "for by grace are you saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast." We understand that when we receive God's grace, we are saved now and forever. But we hear Paul telling the Corinthians that it is possible to receive the grace of God in vain--that it would have no effect, that grace would yield no results. What this does is highlight the vast difference between the way we view salvation in 21st Century America and the way those in the 1st Century viewed it. How often do people say something like this when sharing the gospel: "this guy Jesus loves you so much that he died on a cross to pay for your mistakes. If you ask him to be your savior then you go to heaven when you die." One would hope that these kinds of presentations are getting fewer and farther between, making room for the real gospel. This kind of understanding will not prepare anyone for difficult times that we are about to embark. And it will not withstand the wrath of God that is coming. My point here is that in our brand of Christianity, we sort of "front load" the benefits of God's grace, get them to pray a prayer, then later on we give them the fine print. There are many people who believe that we simply believe in Christ as our savior and later on make a "lordship decision" to make him our Lord. But I have a theological word for that. Baloney! This is wrong on 2 counts. First, the gospel itself--the one that Jesus preached--began with getting the pecking order straight. I've said it before but it bears repeating. There was very little that Jesus that was original with him. The vast majority of what he said had its roots in the Scripture, as in what we call the Old Testament. Isaiah 52:7 is one of the places where the gospel was recorded and went like this: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." The good news is the true and living God reigns! In the midst of all the chaos and sin and the wickedness of this world--in the First Century and in the 21st Century, how wonderful to know that "our God reigns!" Always has, always will. As Lord, the true and living God provided salvation for sinners through the sending of His Messiah. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, rose again from the dead, is now at the right hand of the Father and will come one day to destroy his enemies and reign in righteousness. We will all give an account of our lives to him. This is the flow of salvation-the true gospel. The second reason why this notion is wrong is that no one makes Jesus Lord. He is Lord! When a person becomes a Christian he or she is only acknowledging who he already is. What this means for us on a practical level is that we are either obedient or disobedient to our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Indeed. A far cry from a simple "believe in this Jesus guy and you will go to heaven." But the Corinthians were at a crossroads in their spiritual lives. That's why Paul implored them to not treat the grace of God as something that will not produce salvation. How can that be? Simply this. Permanently following false teachers and their teaching renders the grace of God to have no effect in our lives. In essence, Paul was giving a warning in words similar to what he gave when he wrote to the church in Galatia in 5:4: You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. See, the true gospel brings with it eternal life. The power that raised Jesus from the dead invades the life of a disciple of Christ. That person is changed. His or her allegiance is now pledged to Jesus, and as a result 2 things that go with their followership of Him. First is the correct teaching about Christ; and second, living out the grace of God as Scripture describes it. The apostle John said this about all who would follow Christ and consider themselves Christians in 2 John 9-11: Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. That seems kind of harsh, especially coming from the pen of who everybody referred to as the apostle of love. Because he loved people, he spoke the truth. Jesus is the truth and it absolutely crucial we believe, in childlike faith, everything the Scripture says about Messiah Jesus. Let's not be guilty of selective hearing when it comes to him. It is the same way with grace as well. A true Christian will loyally live out what grace really is in his or her life as Paul tells us Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Did you catch it? This is the grace of God! The one who has received God's grace automatically signs up for life-long discipleship training. Notice I said training. Not perfection. Training. The Christian practices righteousness in that he or she renounces ungodliness and worldly passions. The true Christian is in training to live a self-controlled upright and godly life in the here and now. One who is born again has oriented his or life around the anticipation of Christ's return-and his or her future redemption. And the Christian rolls up his or her sleeves and actively trains to produce good works with a godly enthusiasm. This is what the grace of God looks like, according to the truth of the gospel. Tragically, whether it's false teaching about the truth of God and the gospel of Christ, or a commitment to a "I've got freedom in Christ, I can do what I want" lifestyle, persons who live this way but claim to follow Jesus have lied to themselves and everybody else. Simply put, being a Christian means by definition we live a whole new way of life. But the Corinthians were getting swayed by false teachers. They were beginning to loosen their grip on the truth of Christ, and the real understanding of grace. Paul had not moved from his preaching Christ and salvation found in God's grace. The Corinthians were at a crossroads. And Paul was telling them, "Come back! Be reconciled to God--and us! Don't receive the grace of God in vain." How do we know that this was indeed the case? How do we know that the false teachers were having an effect on Paul's beloved Corinthians? V.12: You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. It seems as though Paul was saying to the Corinthians: "It looks as though you have begun to follow the false teachers. You are restricted in your own affections toward us. Children, (Paul called them that because he became their father through the gospel) open your affection toward us. There is a wall between us; the false teachers would say, 'a great big beautiful wall'. You Corinthians are holding yourselves aloof from us." Now this wall the Corinthians were building between themselves and Paul would eventually result in broken fellowship between them unless it was dismantled quick, fast and in a hurry. Jesus told us in John 17:23 that unity among his disciples is the most powerful witness we Christians can give to the non-Christian world. Here is what Jesus requested of the Father: I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. And this is a good reminder for us as well in our day. There is a LOT of false teaching about Jesus. And living holy lives--what is that? How many people leave solid church fellowships because of their own sin? Or because another church has more and better programs for the kids? Or the preacher is more to one's liking? Or the building is more beautiful? Or a whole host of other reasons. Again, Jesus told us that the greatest witness we can give the world is our unity. If Christians leave the fellowship for less than good reasons, then how can the world see our unity? As it has been said, our job is not to make the world a better place. We as a part of the local church are to be the better place, to let the world know that there is a better way to live--the way of Jesus. But the world can't see the better way if we refuse to live together in unity. Having seen the Corinthians at the crossroads and the spiritual danger they were in, let's now take a look at what Paul continually did when he came the multiple crossroads in his spiritual life by looking at 2 Corinthians 6.3-10. I find something strange in this section. Paul starts out by giving 2 statements that seem to contradict themselves. First, he and his co-workers are servants of God. And second they commend themselves. Servants and self-commendation don't seem to go together! But Paul has a reason for this. And to further complicate matters, before he actually begins his commendation he tells the Corinthians why he's listing these things in the first place. In v3, Paul tells them that the last thing he want to do is bring discredit upon the ministry in the eyes of the Corinthians. And perhaps in the back of his mind, he was saying something like it was the false teachers who were bringing discredit upon themselves for trying to steal away the hearts and minds of the Corinthians. Paul was in a spiritual wrestling match over the souls of the Corinthians and he was doing anything he could to win them back. As we go through these self-commendations of Paul and his co-laborers as servants of God, we can see them saying something like, "Hey Corinthians. The false teachers have nothing on us." It's almost as if Paul and company were in competition for the job of spiritual leadership of the church in Corinth and they were submitting their resume: which candidate would be best suited to lead the Corinthians: Them? Or the false teachers? In this massive list of experiences and character qualities, Paul and his co-workers pull out all the stops in laying before the Corinthians as to whom would be the most qualified to lead them. But this list isn't a sterile thing as though the Corinthians did not know the apostle or his fellow workers. Paul himself was often at the crossroads, especially when he began to feel the pain of being an early follower of Christ. His Christian experience began with a 3 day episode of blindness. As we remember, Paul was on his way to Damascus to put as many Christians in prison as he could find. When Christ knocked him to the ground, he got back up unable to see. After the Lord used a brother named Ananias to heal him, Paul then began to be like the man born blind. One of the first things he did was to go to the synagogue in Damascus and proclaim the truth about Jesus, that he is the Son of God. Paul was not well received there. After awhile, he caught wind of a plot on his life. So in the dead of night, the brothers helped Paul to escape Damascus. He went to Jerusalem. It took the Christians awhile to accept him--rough reputations are stubborn things to overcome! And eventually, some even in Jerusalem wanted to kill him because of what he preached. Once again, fellow Christians helped Paul escape and he returned to his home town of Tarsus. And on and on. Crossroad after cross road. At every turn perhaps the question, "Is this real or is He lyin'? may have gone through his head. And at every turn, in the face of one episode of opposition after another, he said, "He is real. Absolutely." Like Peter before him when Jesus asked him and the rest of the apostles if they would leave him, Peter said, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." With that said, let me just list the things Paul included here with some occasional descriptions along the way as he gives his self-commendation to the Corinthians in vv.4-10: We commend ourselves, Paul says: By great endurance: the capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances. In afflictions--troubles and suffering in general. In hardships: general problems that Paul and his friends experienced, and now in increasing measure because of this new religion and how it was beginning to affect the empire, and even threaten Caesar. Paul continues down his list with calamities: difficult circumstances that just come with the territory as living life as a human being. Then Paul lists some of the things that happened to him by those who didn't exactly appreciate his proclamation of the gospel, beginning with the beatings: he does not say how many, but certainly there were many. Then there were imprisonments: this went along with the beatings--think Philippi and the jailer. After Paul and Silas were beat and wounded severely, they were placed in the stocks and put in the inner prison. Paul continues: "how about the riots?" Not that Paul participated in them but he and his friends were the cause of them. Paul proclaimed the truth and his ministry was met with violence by the very ones who they proclaimed truth to. Violence done to them was their reward. Labors--another item on Paul's servant leader resume. He not only preached the gospel, but he also had to support himself to earn enough money to supply his needs. But really, who would hire someone who starts riots? There were many sleepless nights for Paul, as well as many days that he simply had to go without eating. This wasn't because he was fasting. He was, as the expression goes, "poor as a church mouse." Paul now begins to share his character qualities, beginning with purity: literally, a clean heart. Not just in the realm of sexual purity. But godly attitudes toward the many who mistreated them. He did not seek revenge but continued to serve up the true gospel even as he heard the hateful things by those who were his enemies. Paul displayed great knowledge: a general understanding of things going on around him. Paul was, shall we say, street smart, and of course, brilliant in the things of the Lord. Patience was another virtue Paul highlighted on his spiritual resume: With all that went on in Paul's life, he was emotionally calm when people tried to provoke him or when circumstances went south over and over again. Patience showed up in his life, as he didn't complain or display irritation. Patience literally means "long fused." Kindness was something Paul did as a matter of course, doing good things for others. He had an others-centered attitude, even when others didn't treat him so kindly. It's like when Paul continued to get beat up and him telling them, "have a nice day" such as what Richard Wurmbrand did when he was in a Romanian prison for 14 years because of his faith in Christ. In his book, "Tortured for Christ", brother Richard wrote: "A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us-so everyone was happy." Paul then lists the Holy Spirit on his resume. Literally, the apostle refers to the things the Holy Spirit produces; here he is proclaiming that the Holy Spirit is alive and well and living in his life. Part of how Paul shows the Holy Spirit living in him is the genuine love, truthful speech and the power of God flowing out of him: as in those times that Paul would refuse to take revenge upon those who hurt him. Then Paul describes the reality of his engagement in spiritual warfare and tells it this way: with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left. Righteousness, Paul says, is a weapon. He wrote about this very thing in Romans 6:12-14-a powerful passage where Paul actually describes presenting the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness. Paul literally used both hands as instruments--weapons to do righteous things. In other words, his actions displayed that his Lord was THE Lord. Truly he was dead to sin and alive to God. And this showed itself in his actions. Now Paul's resume includes several all-encompassing experiences: the first 2, he says is through honor and dishonor, and through slander and praise. Regardless of whether the way he lived for Jesus brought compliments or curses, no matter. He was going to live for the one who died for him and was raised. Paul was a new creature in Christ. He was crucified to the world and the world was crucified to him. He no longer lived for man's applause, nor shrank back from doing God's will due to man's disapproval. Paul list of life experiences includes the reality of feeling the sting of being labeled as an impostor, a purveyor of fake news about the things of God. But Paul knows they speak truth. Paul continues to say that in his estimation they served the Lord in obscurity: "We are treated as unknown, and yet well known." We look at Paul now as this giant of a man in the things of the Lord, and rightly so. But in his day, who was Paul? Cast aside by the general populous. Thrown into prison. Beaten up numerous times. Certainly, there were pockets of people he affected. And through his writings he has affected millions down through the ages. But he did not have empire-wide notoriety. Even when he was martyred, there was no fanfare. He didn't die as a national hero. But he was well-known to God and to those whom he had the privilege of serving for Jesus' sake. Paul's realistic portrait of himself continues. "We are treated as those who are as dying, and behold, we live." Paul's perception of the world and how they treat him is that because of all his troubles and scars that he could just lay down and die at any moment. But "behold!" Paul says, "we live!" "We are treated as those who are as punished, and yet not killed: Paul's many enemies brought about great punishment because he dared to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. But he was, as it has often said, "God's servants are indestructible till He calls them home." Paul walked in that assurance. Paul's next item on his spiritual leadership resume to present to the Corinthians is, "We are treated as those who are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." Paul certainly hears the voices of those who marvel at him, wondering how he can rejoice, with all that he goes through. If anyone had cause to be sorrowful it would be Paul. Of course, Paul lived out his own advice that he wrote to the Philippians in 4.4, to "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, 'rejoice.'" Close to the end of his resume, Paul declares his physical poverty but spiritual richness: "We are treated as those who are poor, yet making many rich." This reminds me of what Peter told the lame man at the Gate Beautiful: "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give you." Paul was materially poor but possessed, and freely gave away, eternal riches. And finally, Paul says, "We are treated as those having nothing, yet possessing everything." No possessions that others would be envious of. But what else would Paul want? This reminds me of Corrie Ten Boom's description of her experiences, especially of those in the concentration camp: "You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have." Paul said that he suffered the loss of all things and counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. He counted everything he once had as rubbish, in order to gain Christ. Truly Christ was to Paul the priceless pearl that he gladly traded everything he had to gain. Quite the list, don't you think? You tell me, how could anybody's resume stack up against Paul's? But as with anything, a resume takes time, little by little, right decision after right decision. One episode of denying self after another. And all that, together, made up Paul's incredible list of life experiences, to the glory of God. Then Paul lays his heart on the line. Though he gave his list of strengths, achievements, character qualities and all the rest, forged through affliction's fires and brought to the crossroads time after time, in essence, Paul seems to say, "All of that means nothing Corinthians, if you remain closed to us. Our heart is wide open to you. In return, children, open wide your heart to us. We are unashamedly asking you to return to us." As we know, with any relationship we highly value, there are times when we have to become vulnerable. We must run the risk of being rejected. Paul's appeal to the Corinthians is his moment of vulnerability. What will the Corinthians choose? Will they reopen their hearts to those who truly loved them? It is open ended at this point. The Scripture leaves us hanging. But we don't have to be left hanging when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, with his people and with the truth. See, with us, just like the Corinthians, just like Paul, we come to many spiritual crossroads. And every time we do, we have to decide: "is it real or is he lying?" Think of the devastating things that come into our lives. Is Christ enough or is he not? During those times, is the Lord trustworthy? Think of the good times. The things you consider as good, are they gifts from the Lord or did you get them because of your abilities and skill or charm? What about the big questions, such as how did I get here? Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? The Lord tells us the answers to these questions and much more in his word. Is it real or is He lying, even when the whole world loudly shouts things that are exactly 180 degrees out of phase with his word? Funny thing about crossroads. We have to make a choice when we come to them. And when we do, we take all of ourselves with us, did you ever notice that? We can't physically go on one path while we mentally and emotionally go the other way. We travel down the road we have decided to take as complete persons, to include our mind, will and emotions. As Christians, God has called us to swim upstream, like salmon. See, anybody can go with the current, even dead fish! Parable's song "Got to Decide" applies to all of us. Let the lyrics challenge us as I close this message: The river is high. The water is flowing. Along for the ride. Which way are you going - today? You know there aint no halfway hearted compromise. You're giving all to either one or the other side. You've got to decide. So many roads to follow. He said, "there's one."