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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published weekly on Friday
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
2 Corinthians (6:1-10) (Lesson 15)
Greetings; and
welcome to HBS.
Since our Apostle
Paul tells us in verse 1 what chapter six is about, I think we can skip the lengthy
introduction. God offers His gift of
grace and salvation freely to all (Ephesians
2:8). Paul urges the Corinthians (and the unsaved people today) not to ignore
God’s grace or its benefits (2 Corinthians 5:20; 6:1). To simply hear the gospel and not act upon it would be like learning of a cure for
your terminal illness and do nothing about it or to receive the grace of God in vain.
********
Please
open your Bible at 2 Corinthians 6:1.
The Ministry Commended
2 Corinthians 6
1: And working
together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain – There are a couple
of things worth mentioning here. Each
Believer is actually working together
with Him. Paul writes something similar in 1 Corinthians
3:9a: For we are God’s fellow workers.
I don’t know if anyone has made you aware of this fact before, but
there it is. Paul’s saying Believers are
co-laborers with God in His
ministry. Think about that each time you
head out the door in the morning on your way to work or whatever. It certainly adds something significant to
the phrase, “God be with you” -doesn’t
it?”
This
brings us to Paul’s point which is people are not to receive the grace of God in vain. What does this mean? Permit me to start by
saying Paul wrote most of his letters to the churches, to Believers, but there
were unbelievers in their midst just as there are unsaved people sitting in our
churches today. You see, these letters
were actually read in those churches to those congregations and Believers and
unbelievers alike heard the same message.
Not only was Paul aware of this, he meant for this to happen.
When
you read verse 5:20 and 6:1 you ought to pick up a sense of urgency in these
passages because that’s the emotion Paul is expressing to his audience. Why?
Paul expected the Lord to return at any time and he expected to be alive
when this occurred (1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17).
Now he wasn’t aware of the hour or the day for only God knows when the
fullness of the Gentiles will be completed (Romans 11:25), this is why he
preached the gospel to the unsaved with
a sense of urgency: “We beg you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
I
think it’s obvious he wasn’t speaking to Believers, but to show you the
difference
please
follow me in your Bible to Colossians 1:22-23.
Here Paul says Believers have been reconciled to God; he’s not pleading for them to be reconciled,
as in verse 5:20: yet He has
now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to
present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you
continue in faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away
from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all
creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
There’s
a big difference folks and faith is
the key. Faith is the conduit by which God’s grace and mercy flows to an
individual and this has always has been the case dating back to the Garden of
Eden experience. Hebrews 11:6 is one of
the two absolutes I point out frequently in Scripture: And
without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he (or she) who comes to God
must (do what) believe that
He is and that He is a rewarder of
those who seek Him. Verses 5:20 and
Colossians 1:22-23 underline this truth.
Jesus
Christ’s substitutionary death paid the sin debt for all. Therefore, the word all includes an unbeliever’s sins as
well. However, the unbeliever has not been
reconciled to God – not yet. It’s quite possible they’ve heard the good news about Jesus Christ dying for
their sins, but they’ve either ignored God’s invitation or scorned the message,
which means they’ve received the grace
of God in vain. Faith in the gospel is the requirement to be
saved and to be reconciled to God
(5:20). It isn’t automatic or universal
as some people believe and teach.
Do
the Unsaved Die in Their Sins?
Some
people believe in Limited Atonement and some believe in Unlimited
Atonement. Atonement means: the
making of reparation for a sin or a mistake.
Those who hold to the Doctrine of Limited Atonement teach Jesus
Christ died only for Believers. The
Doctrine of Unlimited Atonement states Christ Jesus died for the sins of all, whether or not they would ever
believe in Him. When you apply this to
Jesus Christ’s finished work of the Cross, atonement concerns the reconciliation of God with mankind, as
accomplished through the suffering and death of His Son. Paul highlighted this truth with this
statement: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for (who) us (Romans 5:8-10).
But
here’s the thing, people can’t come to an agreement; imagine that… This subject has been debated by theologians,
and others, for centuries with no less than 9 separate positions on the atonement
of Christ. Most people wind up in one of
the two categories above and this is where the debate concerning Jesus Christ’s
atonement is centered. However, if one
studies this book, rightly divided, it supplies the answer to the answer to the
lead-in question.
We’ve
looked at a few Bible verses that express God’s will in this matter such
as: For
the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for (how
many) all, therefore all
died; and He died for all, (2 Corinthians 5:14-15a; 20-21). I don’t care how hard you try; you’ll never
convince me the word all really
means some. Then in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Paul gives
God’s one Church its marching
orders, as opposed to the so called great commission of Matthew 28:16-20: Now
all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ
reconciling the (what) world
to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has
committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Here
our Apostle Paul compares “us” Believers with “them” (unbelievers). He declared God reconciled “us” to Himself through Christ and had given
“us” the ministry of reconciliation
(the preaching of the gospel). Paul then
stated, “God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself, not counting “their”
trespasses against “them.”
The
word “world” can only mean the
entire human race to Himself. Jesus Christ has removed the barrier of sin
and death for all. To us, to Believers, God has committed this good news, the ministry of reconciliation.
Jesus Christ has died, was buried, and rose from the dead for the sins
of all mankind. This is the
gospel that saves today. (See 1
Timothy 2:3-8, 4:10; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:18-20).
There
are only two camps in this world;
one is either a Believer in Christ Jesus or an unbeliever – there is no middle
ground or “fence-sitting.” Satan owns
the fence you’re sitting on, ergo he owns you.
The Apostle John points this out for us:
My little children, I am writing
these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the
propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the (what)
whole world (which
contains Believers and unbelievers alike) - 1 John
2:1-2. Skip
on over to 1 John 4:14, here we read: We have seen and testify that the Father
has sent the Son to be the Savior of the World (and not just some but those who come to believe the gospel and those who do not, i.e.
the unbelievers).
It
couldn’t be any clearer. There is but
one difference between a Believer and an unbeliever and that would be faith in the gospel. Believers
appropriate Christ’s salvation on their behalf while unbelievers do not. Nevertheless, despite a person’s refusal to
accept God’s free gift of grace, Jesus remains the Savior of all, and that biblical truth is
indisputable. You can argue the point
from sunup to sundown and it doesn’t change what God said.
Unless
an unbeliever professes their steadfast faith
in the gospel before they die, their
soul goes to be in hell and not heaven; not because they died in their sins but
because they died in unbelief, i.e. sans faith.
At the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) the unsaved
people will be temporarily released from hell while the legal issue of their
permanent placement is decided by the righteous Judge Jesus Christ (John
5:22). They will first be judged
according to their works in the flesh,
but as we know no one is justified according to their works (Romans 3:20), so
they have a problem. The Judge will then
look for their name in the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5, 20:12-14) because if
it is found there they’re qualified for release because they have eternal
life. But they do not, so they are
permanently placed in the Lake of Fire, separated from the Judge and God for
all of eternity. How long is eternity,
as long as God exists; and God has existed forever!
Getting
back to verse 1b, you’ll get no argument from me as to a great many Believers receiving the grace of God in vain,
i.e. choosing not to serve in some
capacity within the Body of Christ. There
are far too many Christians sitting in their church seats week after week,
letting others carry the work-load. Statistics
show 20% of the congregation serve
while 80% gladly let them. But this isn’t
what Paul is saying here.
Verse
2 actually harkens back to the subject of reconciliation
of the unsaved (5:20) and to verse 1b.
2: for He says, “AT
THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I
HELPED YOU.” Behold, now (not tomorrow, next week, next month, or
next year; this) is “THE
ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION” –
The
thing Paul is trying to impress upon the people who have not been reconciled to God is you don’t own your
next breath or your next heartbeat. Just
because you woke up and saw the sunrise don’t be thinking this somehow
guarantees you’ll be around to see the sunset.
God is in control and you’re not. I can cite examples from my own personal
experiences; and I’m sure you can as well.
I know people in my immediate family and those I worked with every day;
one day they were alive, energetic, enjoying life, the next day they were
gone. One individual in particular left
work one Friday afternoon, intending to take his wife out on a date that night,
and while driving home suffered a massive heart attack at a stop light. He died instantly.
There’s
nothing wrong with personal experiences, but I prefer to let this book do the
talking, as it were, so if you would, let’s all turn to the book of Acts,
chapter 24:24-25. Here Paul is talking
to Felix, an unbeliever, about spiritual matters: But
some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and
sent for Paul and heard him speak about
faith in Christ Jesus. But as he
was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix
became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find (what)
time I will summon you.”
If
you read on you’ll see Felix put Paul off because he had other interests, money
being one of these. Although Felix summoned
Paul several times he was never saved or received
reconciliation from God. People’s hearts and minds haven’t changed much at all over the centuries; something
always comes up that appears to be more important than attending to the gospel or their most urgent need of
salvation. But we’re not to give up or
give in; people still need to hear God’s truth.
We just need to remember this – keep
it between the lines or God’s parameters.
Like Paul, we don’t want to do or say anything to cause offense to
the ministry.
Verse
3:
3: giving no cause for offense in anything, so
that the ministry (of
righteousness and reconciliation) will
not be discredited – Paul himself and his ministry were both being unjustly
dishonored by the Corinthians. So what
Paul means to say here is so that our ministry may not be rightly blamed he was determined, both in his personal
life and in his ministry, not to permit anything
to become an hindrance to his gospel
(1 Corinthians 9:12, 19-23). The
Greek word for hindrance is Egkope’ (pronounced: eng-kop-ay’), Noun, Feminine, Strong’s Greek
#1464, meaning: an impediment, an interruption, i.e. to become a road block or an
obstruction to progress.
Now
who would want to throw up a road block before God’s gospel and why?
If you’ve been following this study, we already know the answer to these
questions. Please turn to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.
As to who, that would be Satan. He
hates the true Believer because God loves them and whatever is loved by God is
sure to be targeted by the devil – that answers the question, why.
You
know I’m fond of saying, “What does this book say,” and for good reason;
there’s so many misconceptions about God and His Word being passed around out
there I want to help y’all zero in on the truth. Here’s one; the devil is not to be
underestimated he’s a powerful enemy with goals: Be
sober-minded and alert. Your adversary
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1
Peter 5:8 – Berean Literal Bible).
Satan
intends to do everything he can to block your attempt to live the Christ-like
life. He definitely doesn’t want you speaking
the gospel to others, so he’ll
do all he can to interrupt that
process too. Based on what I’m seeing
today, I’d say he’s doing better
than just o.k. Satan is successful
because Christians aren’t aware of the devil’s
schemes: our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the
spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places (Ephesians
6:11-12; 2 Corinthians 2:11, 4:3-4, 11:13-14).
The
average churchgoer isn’t receiving the proper instructions about their adversary or how to stand firm against him from their
church leaders, so they’re unaware of these truths. People are waking up every day and heading on
out into Satan’s world, basically
defenseless against his schemes, and
we wonder why the world is in such a
mess… No one is immune to his deceitful
ways. How many times have you picked up
the newspaper and read or turned on the T.V. and seen a church leader hindering God’s ministry of righteousness and
the gospel because they were arrested
for embezzling church funds or they were caught in a sex scandal? If it occurs once, it occurs too often –
that’s what Paul is saying. Rather than
risk hindering the gospel, literally
dragging our Lord and His Cross through the mud, Paul writes: Give
no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God; just as I also
please all men (and women) in all
things, not seeking my own profit but the profit
of the many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:32-33; 1
Thessalonians 5:22).
Paul
ensured no offense remained in his
life and none appeared in his ministry that would cause someone to
stumble. He became all things to all people (within limits) so that by all means he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Let’s
go to verses 4-10:
but in everything
commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in
afflictions, in hardships, in distresses in beatings, in imprisonments, in
tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in
patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of
truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand
and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as
unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put
to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as
having nothing yet possessing all things.
I
haven’t mentioned this in quite a while but since Paul brought it up, it’s
always a good idea for Believers to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing. In everything Paul said and did,
whether for the ministry, or in his private life, he considered himself the
Lord’s servant. The Greek word for this is Doulos (pronounced: doo’-los), Noun, Masculine, Strong’s Greek #
1401, meaning: a male slave; bondslave -
namely, of Believers who willingly live
under Christ’s authority as His devoted followers.
In
Galatians 6:17b Paul said: “…for I bear on my body the brand-marks (scars)
of Jesus. The Greek word for brand-mark or scar is Stigma (pronounced: stig’-mah), Noun, Neuter, Strong’s Greek
#4742, meaning: a brand mark burned into the skin; “holy scars” that go with serving
Jesus Christ, figuratively speaking. These
brand-marks or Stigmas marked Paul as a bondslave
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul
had said, but in everything (he
wanted to) commend ourselves as servants of God. He spoke of his personal circumstances re:
his service for Christ prior to verse 6 and how he dealt with those. But in the next two verses Paul explains how
he copes in the midst of these pressures. He begins with: in
much endurance and if you stop to think about it, this is the key to
persevering in the midst of any trial or in running the race (1 Corinthians 9:24). Patience, fortitude, stamina, however, you choose
to label it, without endurance the
“white flag” of surrender is quickly waved before our enemy; is it not? But Paul waved no such flag… in
afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in
tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger… he persevered.
There
isn’t sufficient time to adequately manage the remaining material, so let’s
place our bookmark here. We’ll pick it
up from this spot next week, until then please be kind to one another and be
busy in the Word. Have a great week.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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