Take a Look

As you have noticed already, we're not going to be in John's Gospel this morning. The Spirit made it clear to me that I need to preach from a different text. And as I thought about the text and worked on the sermon I could see why. So, I'm going to read the text and then hopefully, as we work through the sermon, you will also see why the Spirit guided me in the way he did. The text is 2 Corinthians 13.5.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

In today’s text Paul explains some of what he has gone through as God’s servant. Part of his list includes some pairs that follow the pattern, ‘on the one hand this but then on the other hand that’. One of those pairs stood out to me recently. I found it a helpful point of view on living well, and I thought that it might be helpful for you also. There is still so much for us to learn about living well. It is my hope that today’s sermon will be used by the Spirit so that we all will make some more progress.

Our text is 2 Corinthians 6.3-10. Though I will be focusing on one small phrase, I think that it will be good to read the larger context. Please listen as I read.

Repentance

As you know, the call to repentance and faith is a common theme in my preaching. I often remind you of this at the end of a sermon. I do that for a good reason. You will not live well without this dynamic being a regular part of your life. Repentance and faith is basic to a good life. It has occurred to me that it might be good if I spent a little time exploring and explaining this. What am I calling you to do when I tell you to repent and believe? So, this week we’ll look at repentance and next week at faith.  

Please listen as I read the text for this morning, 2 Corinthians 7.8-11. There will be other Scriptures, but we’re going to start here.

War

2 Corinthians 10.3-5

I find some of Paul's letters a little challenging to understand. I'm sure that I've missed some subtle things going on in places. But even apart from that, there is the problem of trying to understand a conversation when all you can hear is what one person is saying. So many questions would be cleared away if only we had just a little more information, if we had something that the Corinthians wrote or said to Paul. There are all these problems - and more - in what Paul writes in our text. But there is one thing that stands out pretty clearly for anyone to see. Paul is talking about war. It really is hard to miss. He talks about weapons, destroying strongholds and taking captives. And it's all under the banner of waging war. Whatever else might be going on in the text, whatever subtleties we might be missing, this much is clear. Paul is talking about war. Now, some might say, 'Such language seems a bit much. But I suppose that hyperbole is a legitimate literary device. I know that it's sometimes good to overstate things to make your point.' I'm going to have to differ with this opinion. I think that Paul is doing anything but overstating the situation. The language of warfare is exactly what's needed here, and I'd like to tell you why.

Consider the Old Testament. When you read through the historical sections what do you find? It seems that every other page has some battle or other. If it's not David fighting Goliath, it's Saul fighting the Philistines or Joshua invading Canaan. And that's just a short list of possibilities. I'm going to guess that when people read these accounts, one common assumption goes something like this. 'Oh well, I guess they're just into fighting a lot. It was a violent age.' And then they find a nice gentle Psalm to cuddle up to. But is that why God wrote about these wars? Was it just about being historically accurate? I don't think so. From another of Paul's letters: 'For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.' That 'whatever' includes the wars. They were included to instruct us and to give us hope. There is something more than geo‑political intrigue going on in these Old Testament battles. To see this, we need to look at something from Genesis.

Genesis 3.15 may well be the most important verse in all the Bible. I say that because it explains everything else that has happened. Listen. 'The Lord God said to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."' This is a prophecy without the use of a prophet. God, Himself, defines all of the history that follows from that point on as a conflict, a war, between two groups: the children of the woman versus the children of the serpent. This is the war between Jesus and those with Him, and Satan and those with him. And this prophecy states that at the end of it all Jesus will defeat Satan, crush his head, in fact, though at a cost. Satan will bruise His heal. The prophesy finds its climax at the cross.

In a recent sermon I told you that the Church in the Old Testament was immature, a minor. As a result, God spoke to her as to a child. So much of what He did and talked about was physical and material. And that included her wars. The reality of this conflict between Jesus and Satan was pictured in the wars of Israel. The people of God, the children of the woman, fought against the nations, the children of the serpent. And it's that theme of the war between these two groups that explains David and Goliath, Saul and the Philistines, Joshua and Canaan. The most important perspective on the history of the world is not its political history but the history of this warfare between Jesus and Satan, and how it plays out in the different arenas of this world, whether we're talking about ancient Israel, the Roman empire, Attila the Hun, World War II or Al Qaeda and modern Iraq.

Today, with the advent of Jesus, the Church has achieved adulthood. Today, we're past children's Bible story books. Today, we don't fight this war against the children of the serpent by using swords or guns or missiles. But that doesn't mean that the warfare is somehow easier or that Satan is now more tame. Remember that the wars of Israel are only dim pictures of the reality. The war against Satan continues and more violently than ever. So, Jesus talks about coming to defeat the strong man in order to take his armor and plunder his house. Paul exhorts the Church to take the whole armor of God. And in Revelation, John pictures Jesus as a warrior on a white charger leading His armies into battle. And we have the words of our text. No, Paul was not using hyperbole to make a point. His words need to be taken at face value. He was talking about reality. He was talking about war.

Let's move on to the next point. To be sure, Paul does not use swords and shields to advance the kingdom. But he does use weapons, and they are so much more powerful than swords and shields and bullets and bombs. 'For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.' This war is not waged with weapons that are earthbound. These are actually quite useless for the kind of battle we face. The weapons used in this war come from Jesus, and, therefore, they really are quite something. Paul is talking about things like prayer, the Word, the sacraments. He's referring to qualities like meekness, humility, sacrificial love. To some, these things look weak. Some actually mock them as useless. But these weapons aren't weak. Oh no, they are quite potent because they are infused with the power of the Spirit. These weapons have power to destroy - not just damage but destroy. They may look feeble and slight, but Satan knows their power, and he fears them. That's why he works so hard to deceive the Church, offering attractive - and worthless - alternatives, so that she doesn't use these powerful weapons. The Church has been given the weapons that will win this war, weapons that have the power of God.

Now, for Paul's third thought. And let's get at it by a question. What is the point of the war? What does victory look like? Failure to correctly answer such questions will result in people being quite busy but accomplishing nothing. Paul is not fooled. He knows what the war is about and what victory looks like. 'We ... take every thought captive to obey Christ...' The war is about the Lordship of Jesus. V ictory arrives when He plants His banner over the last vanquished outpost of the serpent's followers. Victory comes when the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. Victory is defined as the complete obedience of every person to Jesus. The plan is clear. The goal is well-defined. And there is no need for an exit strategy. When the fighting stops, all the territory will belong to Jesus. There will be no enemies left.

So, Paul's three points: He is fighting a war. He uses weapons that are filled with the power of God. And the goal of the war is Jesus' complete and utter victory over all the forces of evil.

Now, for an important question. Why have I told you these things? Why is this sermon important? The answer is not complicated. This notion of war defines your life. It defines your goals, your purpose and the means that you are to use to achieve those goals and fulfill that purpose. This war defines success. That won't make a lot of sense unless you remember that every person alive at this moment has either sided with Jesus or with Satan. The children of the woman or the the children of the serpent. There is no third alternative. There are, on the one side, those who have made their allegiance obvious. You have people like Justin Martyr who earned his last name or John Calvin who labored to teach the Gospel or the saints in China who are suffering even as I speak to you. On the other side, there are likewise those whose allegiance is obvious. Nero, Idi Amin and all those people who set their hearts on a relatively comfortable life. You are in Jesus' army. You were included when you became part of His Church. You are involved in a war, a violent war. Each side is committed to its goals and will pursue them at whatever cost. And each side is armed. The goal for us is for all flesh to bow before Jesus as Lord of heaven and earth. This defines how you live. This is what discipleship is about. We are the reality that Joshua and Israel only pictured as they conquered the Promised Land. We will see fortified walls crumble and armies routed, just as Joshua and Israel did. And when the Church falters in being faithful, we will also taste defeat, just as Joshua and Israel did. But there will be more victories once we repent. Everything about that time was focused on the conquest. Everything about this time is focused on the conquest. That was the picture. This is the reality. That's why I have told you these things.

Now, another question. What's at stake here? There are lots of ways to answer that. Let me answer it this way.

Eldon was an older gentleman. I did not have the chance to get to know him much, but he seemed the quiet, gentle type. He came to my door one day to share his faith with me. We had a very pleasant conversation. I remember how his face showed a growing interest when I talked about the grace of Jesus, and how He saves quite apart from our doings. That's when the other person with Eldon, his trainer, said that it was time to move on to the next door. Eldon and this other man were from the local kingdom hall. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. I never saw Eldon again, but from time to time I prayed for him. I could see that the thought of salvation by grace was new and very attractive to him. This happened so long ago that I'm pretty sure that Eldon is now dead. And unless the Spirit nurtured that little seed of truth, he is now in hell.

When I met Michelle, she must have been somewhere around twenty. She was kind of cute and seemed shy in that innocent way. Linda had brought her home one night. She told me that Michelle was a prostitute. As I chatted briefly with her, I thought about what she must have suffered at the hands of different men in her short life. We had invited her to stay the night with our family, but she declined. That was the only time I ever saw her. I suspect that if that little taste of mercy in my home did not result in her being drawn to Jesus, then she is no longer cute nor shy, and that many more men have done much more evil to her.

Peanut's real name is Mark, but everyone called him by that nickname. One day his father accused him of stealing one of his tools, a pair of pliers. Peanut said that he didn't do it. As a result, Peanut was kicked out of his house with only the clothes on his back. He was fourteen. I don't remember how we met him. He was one of the kids that roamed the small town that we were living in. He stayed with us for a couple of years. He was a nice kid. Street smart, but still a nice kid. Linda got close to him. But then, he left. I may have been because he was finally able to drop out of school. We saw him a couple of years later at the local mall. He had a girlfriend and a baby.

Sue made it up the corporate ladder and was able to make lots of money. She really was quite successful. But she was never happy. She slept around a bit. Got married. Got divorced. She quit her job, realizing that money can't buy happiness, and moved to another part of the country. She married again. She is stable, but she still isn't happy.

Nothing of what I've just told you is made up. These are all people whom I have known and spoken to. And there are lots more like them. And this is what the war is about. The war is about all the people out there, all the children of the serpent, most of whom are unwittingly so, who are so utterly lost. Jesus leads His Church and conquers so that He might rescue some from the hell that they live in now and the one they are headed toward. That's why Paul fought, becoming all things to all people that he might save some. And that's why we need to fight also.

Upon Reading 2 Corinthians 4

Why does God use letters - which are, in essence, only half of a conversation - as His revelation? Any modern American would have published a hefty manual with two parts.

Part A: There would be a list of all the different situations that we might face and a matching list of the possible ways that we might respond to each.

Part B: This would be a different list of all the doctrines that we are supposed to believe.

The first of these would be designed for the pragmatic among us, while the second would be for the intellectual. And those who really get it would be flipping back and forth comparing the two.

But God is wiser. My guess is that it isn't enough if the truth is simply transferred from one mind to another. It also needs to be seen. We see the Gospel at work in Paul's life. And we need to see it. It is made that much more real to us as we see him deal with a difficult church. We see the Gospel bear fruit in his life and that shows us, especially pastors like me, what we need to do. And thus, '...always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.' 2 Corinthians 4:10

Get Rid of Your Sin

2 Corinthians 7.1

I think that I’m safe grounds if I say that this section of Scripture isn’t so terribly hard to understand. Paul appeals to the saints in Corinth with a very basic thought: ‘Get rid of your sin.’ It’s a simple, straightforward idea. Yet, there are depths here. Paul says more than just, ‘Get rid of your sin’, and it’s the ‘more’ that drives home his appeal and that gives hope and encouragement to those saints. So, this morning we’re going to look at the ‘more’ of this bit of Scripture. And we’ll do this by using a method that is very useful when it comes to understanding Scripture. We’re going to ask questions of the text. Actually, we’re going to ask one question of the text and see several different ways that this text answers that question. The question is this: ‘Why?’ That is, why should you get rid of your sin? The answers of the text will, I hope, prove helpful to you as you work at believing what it has to say.

So, why should you get rid of your sin? Here’s the first answer of our text: because it’s filthy. ‘Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness…’ What an apt word for our sin. Imagine yourself on a hot summer day, working at some project. This is one of those large projects that you have been putting off, and on this day you’re finally getting to it. After a full day of going at it you get a passing glance at yourself in a mirror. Ugh! You’re covered with sweat and dirt – and you smell too. When I find myself in a situation like that there is only one word that comes to mind: shower. Oh to feel the hot water and to lather up! One of the true pleasures of modern living! But now imagine someone in a third-world country, stuck in a tiny, smelly cell where the bathroom is a bucket in the corner – just a bucket and nothing else. Think of living there week after week and never leaving. Filth. Paul chose this word well. We need to be careful lest we adopt the attitude of our neighbors when it comes to our sin: ‘an unfortunate infraction of some religious rules.’ Instead, remember how the Apostle labeled sin: filthiness. We will not need to ask our question twice if we see our sin for the filth that it is.

That leads to the next answer of our text: ‘perfecting holiness’. We work at getting rid of sin so that we can become holy. Sadly, ‘holiness’ is not an attractive word in our day. Most people associate being holy with negative notions. So, being holy means that you don’t do certain things, like that famous list of ten. Some also associate being holy with a God who gets angry at people who do, in fact, do those certain things. This so misses the point. When you think about holiness, think about Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God to us and that includes God’s holiness. Now, Jesus’ holiness does include not doing certain things, and it does include His being angry. But you need to put those in the right context. Jesus refused to do some things so that He could accomplish other things. Jesus refused to give in to Satan’s temptations so that He could rescue you. And Jesus did get angry at people. He tossed tables and whipped people because they made the Temple into a flea market. He was angry because of their insults to the God of that Temple and because of the obstacles that they placed in the way of people who wanted to worship God in that Temple. There is, to be sure, a negative side to holiness, but it always leads to a positive.

There are times, though, when holiness shows only as a positive. Recall the time when Jesus told the Twelve that they all needed a break. They had been ministering to people and were really drained. As a result, they sought out some desolate place just to catch their breath. But what did they find when they arrived at that desolate place? Lots of needy people. Jesus was tired. He needed a break. But He wasn’t going to get one here. So, what did He do? Did He have a fit that He never got any time for Himself? Did He get back into the boat and look for another place where He would be sure not to find any people? Did He respond to the people by ministering to them but with a bad attitude? No. He was compassionate to the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He cared. That’s holiness. So, why get rid of your sin? You work at that so that you can be holy. That is, you work at getting rid of your sin so that you can become like Jesus.

Let’s move on to the next answer to our question, ‘Why?’ We get rid of our sin because of the promises of God. ‘Therefore, having these promises, beloved…’ Now, we need to pause here because some of you are thinking, ‘What promises?’ Well, our text, 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1, though it’s the beginning of a new chapter isn’t the beginning of a new thought. Actually, it’s the end of a thought begun back in chapter six. So, the English fellow who broke the Bible down into chapters a couple of centuries ago goofed. Our text really would be better labeled 2 Corinthians 6.19. Oh well. What this means is that the promises Paul referred to are in chapter 6. There are three. Let’s take this one first. ‘I will be their God and they shall be My people.’ This is the language of covenant which means that it is the language of commitment. This isn’t as clear as it might be because we understand the word ‘God’ as a name. It’s not. Consider vows that are made on a wedding day. The man says, ‘I will be your husband’ and the woman says, ‘I will be your wife.’ What does it mean to be a husband or a wife? The Scriptures are clear in describing these roles. And so when a man and a woman make these vows, they are filled with content. God has filled these roles with His content. In effect, the man is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a husband, that’s what I will be to you’; the woman is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be a wife, that’s what I will be to you.’ When our God says, ‘I will be your God’, He is saying, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And the Bible is clear what it means to be God. It provides images of power, rule and control. And it provides those images within a context, the context of His love for you. Being God to you shows as His mercy, kindness and great patience. It shows as His creating in you a sense of satisfaction, and peace and joy. This is what it means to be God – or at least part of it. So, our God, whose name is Jehovah, says to us, ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be to you.’ And while the false gods make the same claims, only one God comes through. And here’s the best proof of that. Jesus gathered up what it means to be God – the power and control, the mercy, kindness, the desire to create peace and joy in you – and out of love for you, He went to the cross to suffer your hell. He is determined to rescue you from the filth of your sin. ‘Whatever it means to be God, that’s what I will be for you.’ So, back to our question. ‘Why get rid of sin? Why go through the hard work to be rid of all of that? Why even try?’ Your God answers: ‘I am your God. I am here to guarantee that you succeed in your efforts to get rid of your sin. I will make it happen.’

Second promise from chapter 6: ‘I will dwell in them’. What is this about? This is about the Spirit and His ministry among us. After the resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. Then, as He promised, He sent the Spirit to His church. Pentecost. Our God isn’t committed to us from a distance. He doesn’t cheer His team from some skybox. He is right there with us. In fact, He is in each one of us. Now, remember how the Spirit is described. ‘God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’ The Spirit is within His people and by His power and love He is changing lives with the goal of making each one into a disciplined follower of Jesus. Can any sin thwart Him in this? Is there some filthiness that can resist His cleansing? Is there any doubt of success? You work at ridding yourself of sin because of the Spirit who lives within you.

Now the third promise of chapter six. While the first two promises dealt with God’s commitment, presence and power, this promise deals with His affection. ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ For some, ‘commitment’ is a cold word, something like signing a contract. There are husbands who would never think of divorcing their wives because of this notion of commitment. And yet, there is no warmth, no real affection. The commitment of your God to you is nothing like that. He is a Father to His sons and daughters. Some of you have not experienced what it means to have a father who is affectionate to you. And so, this way of understanding God doesn’t really click. But consider this. The God who busies Himself overseeing every little thing in this universe, the God who can be so terrifying, the God who hates sin – this God has a soft spot in His heart for you. So, why get rid of your sin? Your Father wants to see you thrive. He has set His heart on it. So, He will gently encourage you to that goal and assuredly get you there.

The promises of your God – Father, Son, and Spirit – lie behind your efforts at ridding yourself of your sin.

There is one last answer to our question. We work to rid ourselves of our sin because of the fear of God. We’re back again to this persistent Scripture theme of ‘the fear of the Lord’. How does that theme fit here? Let me take just one slice of it. The fear of the Lord is the acknowledgement that your God will one day evaluate your life. One day, your God will take a good, long look at your life and decide how you’ve done. And then He will say, ‘Well done! You did a good job. Welcome home.’ As you work at ridding yourself of sin’s filth, your goal is not to try to satisfy anyone other than your God. No one else will be your judge. No one else will evaluate how you’ve done. And that’s because no one else could possibly understand how hard it has been for you to deal with your particular sins in your particular situation. But your God knows. So, as you work to purge yourself of your sin, your eye is not to be on others and what they might think. Your eye should be on your God who will wisely evaluate you on that Last Day. And you already know what He will say. ‘Good job!’

Now, I know that some of you have a hard time believing what I just said. You’re thinking. ‘Surely, He will respond differently, at least with some people. Surely, He will be a bit unsatisfied with some and tell them that they did only so-so. Surely.’ What you’re really getting at is this. ‘You can’t be right. You can’t be talking about me. I know that I should be worried about how I fare on that Last Day.’ Is that the Gospel? Is that being saved by grace alone? Or let me put it another way. Do you really think that some will hear, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ because they have impressed Jesus with the quality of their lives, because they have impressed Jesus with how well they have done? Are you thinking that some will actually earn His approval when it comes time for evaluation? Again, where is the grace in that? So, remember, when it’s your turn to be examined by your God, this is what you will hear: ‘You did well. I’m proud of you.’ Your labors at getting rid of your sin will be worth it. How can that not be so?

One last thought. I should follow all of this up with a new question, ‘What do I do to get rid of my sin? There must be things that I am to do.’ This must wait for another time – except to say this. If you would deal with your sin you must pray. Let me urge you to focus on two requests. First, ask the Spirit to open your eyes more and more to the utter filthiness of your sin. You need to see your sin more like God does. Second, ask that as the Spirit grants that first request He would also enable you to believe the Gospel more and more. Without greater belief in the Gospel, a clearer view of the filth of your sin will only crush you. But with a growing belief in the Gospel your life will shine and that to the glory of Jesus.