2 Corinthians 2:17

2 Corinthians 2:17

Introduction: Read Galatians 1:6-10

Pray

My text this morning is the final verse of 2 Corinthians 2 (v. 17).

No—but at least we don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.

Paul’s life was preaching the gospel; he prided himself that he preached it purely and unadulterated- he preached it in all of its offense and splendor! He once wrote to the Roman Christian that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because, unlike any other message in the universe (psychology, philosophy, science, politics, religion, etc), the gospel alone “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16) and nothing else but the cross of Jesus Christ can save people from hell.

It seems like Paul had to defend his preaching a lot. He once reminded the Ephesians of the integrity of his ministry (Acts 20:18-21, 26b-27) saying,
“You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 26) …I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

His preaching style was very simple, it had Christ violently crucified as its central message (1 Corinthians 2:3). And he preached it in weakness and fear and much trembling.

Why such reverence and awe for the Word of God (ink on paper to some)?

Because the stakes are so high- the eternal destinies of people’s souls are at stake! Heaven and Hell hang in the balance; the final abode of every man women and child who has ever lived will be either glory or torment and the gospel is what makes the difference! The ship is sinking and there’s only one life boat with room enough for all, but they need to know where to find it.

When Paul heard that the church he planted in Galatia was beginning to follow a different gospel than the one he preached; that they were exchanging a gospel of grace for a gospel of works which leads people away from the free gift of salvation towards a self-righteous man-centred soul-damning religion of works- he was indignant. The ship is sinking and certain men are telling them to go in the opposite direction of the life boat. Wouldn’t you be angry?

He even called them foolish Galatians (hillbillies) and demanded to know who had bewitched them (it’s like saying “what have you been smoking?”) that they would exchange the spirit of freedom for one of bondage. He said let anyone who preaches a different than the one I preached be anathema… let them be damned to hell!

Paul’s words might seem too pointed for our contemporary polite avoid-confrontation-at-all-cost face-saving Canadian sensibilities.

You can’t preach that way in a 21st century church Paul; haven’t you read anything on human relations and motivational communications? Don’t you know anything about missiology and church marketing? At least get a copy of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” or Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” –then you can preach an inoffensive gospel and have success!

People want to hear something that can compete with Oprah and Dr Phil or Jay Lenno; they don’t care about ethereal things like justification and propitiation; give them three steps to improving their self-esteem, an acronym to help them remember how special they are, throw in a couple of jokes, be winsome and clever- give ‘em that and you’ll be successful, admired and dare I say, in demand.

I read a funny article this week on ‘what if Paul’s letter to the Galatians had been published in Christianity today?’ You can imagine the letters to the editor in the following issue. Here are some hypothetical yet plausible responses that would likely appear- Phyllis Snodgrass of Ann Arbor MI writes,
Dear Christianity Today: In response to Paul D. Apostle’s article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I’ve ever met.
Ed Bilgeway of Kansas writes,
Dear Editor:
How arrogant of Mr. Apostle to think he has the right to judge these people and label them accursed. Isn’t that God’s job? …it is very Pharisaical to condemn them just because they differ on such a secondary issue. Personally, I don’t want a sharp instrument anywhere near my zipper, but that doesn’t give me the right to judge how someone else follows Christ. Can’t we just focus on our common commitment to Christ and furthering His kingdom, instead of tearing down fellow believers over petty doctrinal matters?
And Ken Groener wrote,
[Paul’s] attitude makes it difficult to fully unify the Church, and gives credence to the opposition’s view that Christians are judgmental, arrogant people who never show God’s love.
Here’s one from Martha Bobitt of Boulder CO
To the Editors:
Paul Apostle says that he hopes the Galatian teachers will cut off their own privates? What kind of Christian attitude is that? Shame on him!

It’s no wonder that the church has lost its edge and is no longer revolutionary and counter cultural in the world (at least not in the West! Thank God they’re still getting arrested and persecuted in China and other parts of the world- it means they haven’t compromised like we have in Canada); we Canadians desire respectability, peace, comfort and acceptance more than we desire the salvation of lost souls!

And don’t blame the pastors (although they’re largely responsible) can you imagine the amount of pressure that comes not only from the world, but even more from the church itself; pressure to preach a worldly success message full of pointers on how to live a culturally satisfying and comfortable life.

I was at a pastor’s meeting on Friday where the speaker chided the pastors for being satisfied with mediocre and I could feel a collective constriction of guilt on the part of the pastors. I sat with one pastor who wept over that rebuke during the prayer time because he has been struggling so hard in his ministry with little success and it made me angry.

How do you define success? Numbers? Popularity? A large sanctuary? The admiration of our peers and lay people? A big fat bank account?

William Carey preached in India for over 7 years before he saw a single convert. Today he is remembered as the Apostle to India. Could you imagine if in Cary’s 6th year of his ministry he had attended that conference and heard that speaker reduce the value of his ministry to terms of worldly success (how many baptisms this year Carey)? Carey might have walked away from his ministry 1 year before the outbreak of a great revival that shook the earth.

God does not care one iota over our success- mediocre or otherwise! God does not grade us according to our fruitfulness, but our faithfulness.

So let me ask you how do you measure faithfulness? How do we measure the success of this church if not according to our faithfulness to the Word of God? Without this Bible we’re just a country club and get of my way because the one down the road has more programs and privileges than this one does!

“Who is sufficient for these things?” Paul wrote and then his mind raced to the accusations of his accusers, “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God (corrupting it); but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

When Paul says he is not as many, he is talking about the false apostles who have come in among the Corinthians and were accusing Paul. It is not clear if he is answering a specific allegation that Paul was preaching the gospel for gain or was he making an allegation against his accusers (maybe its both). Paul spends a lot of time defending the fact that he never took a dime from Corinthians.

Paul borrows this statement from Socrates (whom the Corinthians knew well); Socrates accused the sophists of peddling philosophy and saying whatever would earn them the greatest income. ‘Peddling’ carries the idea of someone who waters down wine and then sells it cheap on the streets. But Paul is like Jesus at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, he saves the best wine for last.

People peddle the Word of God when they borrow its authority but veil its message. They peddle the Word of God when they preach it procure their own success and fame and wealth. They’re like snake oil salesmen. The usually end up with successful television ministries because they’re so good at what they do. Paul on the other hand preached it in the face of abuse and poverty and rejection and hunger and the fear of imminent death.

Conclusion:
The kind of preaching, preaching with integrity, that God expects from his preachers is to preach without compromise. Yes we make it relevant- Paul did. He drew from the culture and ties our eternal victory into the picture of the Roman Triumph and alluded to his knowledge of Greek history by paraphrasing Socrates and applying his words to opportunistic preachers.

But we never sell out. We never do it for financial gain. That does not mean you do not pay your preacher. The Bible is clear, Jesus said the Labourer is worthy of his wages and Paul says do not muzzle the ox while he treads the field and they were talking about preaching.

But this is no easy life I’ve chosen (or has been chosen for me). Satan focuses his attack on the shepherds. The world is against us! We need the church to be on our side. We need to be supported, not constantly criticized (that does not mean we aren’t open to constructive criticism and being mentored- come along side us if you want to help), we need to be encouraged nor condemned, we need intercession not accusation.

So once in while I preach over your heads and say things that are hard to understand (I confuse myself sometimes, but you try taking these eternal majestic heavenly truths and cram them into ½ hour sound bites and see if you do any better), once in a while you need to raise your heads a bit and think- get a dictionary if you have to.

But don’t ever consider that this is for you. Don’t ever think that you are the object of my preaching- that’s idolatry, I preach before God- “in the sight of God in Christ” -and He is measuring the response of your heart to see if you are glorifying him at the sound of His word- that’s why we call this worship and I will not peddle the God’s Word before God, nor will I feed his people spiritual fast food I will not peddle the exaltation and enjoyment of God for my own success and financial gain.

Will you support me and encourage me in this?

Will you refrain from petty criticisms and instead pray for me in this?

Will you stop expecting the Word to be dumbed down and instead smarten up by becoming a student of the Word too?

Will you encourage others to join us in this?