1067. Courageous Christian Ministry

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville South Carolina today on The Daily Platform were continuing a study series called ministry according to second Corinthians today speaker is seminary professor, Dr. Eric Newton, the title of his message is courageous Christian ministry from second Corinthians 56 through 10.

As you can see from our banner that were talking about ministry. According to Paul in second Corinthians, and specifically today. Consideration from these five verses of courageous Christian ministry three versus 6010. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith not by sight. We are of good courage, I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body and be home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have is our ambition, whether at home or absent to be pleasing to him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he is done, whether good or bad, they can be helpful just to scan our eyes over chapters 4 and five and notice a feature that is fairly typical of Paul's letters but that I think particularly stands out in this section of second Corinthians, and those are out connecting words of conjunctions he he gives us an ongoing series of reasons and consequences and inferences and logical connections between the statements that he's making so will just look at four and five.

Although it's true of the passage before then as well. Chapter 4 verse 20 says.

Therefore, linking back to chapter 3 in verse five, chapter 4. For we do not preach verse six for God, who said light shall shine out of darkness, verse 11 for we who live verse 12. So death works in us, but life in new verse 15 for all things are for your sakes.

In verse 16.

Therefore, in we see it continuing here in chapter 5, verse one. For we know verse two.

For indeed in this house we groan, verse four for indeed while we are in this tent and we see this feature a couple more times in the verses we just read starting with that first word in our English text here in verse six. Therefore, so Paul is giving us sort of a stairstep series of reasons and implications for the dog breathe words that he's writing out it's been a while. I guess perhaps five months or so since Dr. Tauber preached our first message in this series can give except giving us an overview of the letter itself and of this passage in particular and he taught us, showed us how that in chapters 2 through seven really what were looking at is an authentication of true ministers we are authenticating ourselves as true ministers of the glorious gospel in the face of suffering.

There's adversity vision. The depression is a context for this pressures as we know we know this intellectually were coming to know it experientially pressures refinements right are you facing any pressure you facing any adversity right now some of you literally are are suffering you know people that are dear to you who are suffering we are the powerful testimony two weeks ago of someone who between his wife and him and lost three parents that had a stroke on the last 18 months that there's there's a there's a suffering there's an adversity, physically and otherwise that we often experience what those pressures seem like obstacles that thought and you had that thought this morning already. Like if it weren't for ANB than I could really have a successful day right and perhaps when you think of obstacles and pressures like people spaces like mine come to mind like a bit if at all, were only to dispense with Dr. Newton or whomever and the assignments he is giving the life be a little easier. Seriously we think of pressures as obstacles. We look at the scaffolding around our lives in and we want to get rid of that scaffolding as quickly as possible. It doesn't look nice.

It gets in the way.

It's unpleasant we realize biblically speaking, that that we want to have good riddance with these pressures they actually are. The divine master plan to authenticate week but sincere messengers of the gospel to.

We are we have this treasure but it's it's in earthen vessels.

It's in clay pots.

We are weak were but dust and perhaps one of the takeaways last 12 months is that we realize that work dust year than we knew before. It's the divine master plan to authenticate week but sincere messengers of the gospel of the only good news there is of the of the best news there could possibly be. So when Paul is speaking here of the we and it's connecting it by that word. Therefore, to the preceding context means talking about groaning in in this body, longing to be close going to be resurrected, longing to have a perfection as a creature saved by God's grace in his presence forever when he says in these next few verses certainly is true of all Christians. The we applies to all of us. We are of good courage, we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ will come back to that. But in this context, he is speaking as a minister of the gospel and so it seems that it is helpful to understand the application of this to apply to everybody but to be specifically related to ministers, ministers, I'm using that term today in a broad sense, not just pastors, not just mend anyone who was ministering the truth to others.

We are representative of all other believers and that is when we need courage we do have confidence we need to embrace this kind of outlook in our ministry so notice what he says. He says therefore being always of good courage should be ever been in a situation and your thinking you know what I really want to help this guy, but I'm really glad I'm not him, and I'm really glad that I can say something nice and get on to whatever is in store for me. Whatever is next in my calendar so you can get. You got a wishing well good luck with that.

Well, it's one thing to wish somebody well it's one thing to say to somebody else. Hey it's it's gonna be okay. Be encouraged. It's another thing, of course, to be in that seat yourself and to endure. By God's grace to stick out the situation courageously courage, confidence is a recurring theme it's it's something that God speaks of frequently in his word. In fact, the phrase be strong and courageous, shows up at several key points in Israel's history the Old Testament Moses exhorts Israel this way in anticipation of their entering Canaan. Deuteronomy 31 Lord reiterates this exhortation to Joshua several times in Joshua one effect of the people say this, they respond and repeat this exhortation to Joshua later in the chapter, David uses these words charge Solomon as he builds the temple and Hezekiah encourages the people of Jerusalem with these words as they face the siege of's inaccurate and is a Syrian army. It's no secret ministry requires courage, a certainty that that fortifies your resolution and purpose of firmness in the face of opposition and that's what Paul testifies twice in these verses. He says being always a good courage in any kind of trails off with the thought and in spirit brings him back and he says, verse eight we are of good courage, I say back to the point this term is translated twice, be of good courage, or being of good courage in the septage and often is paired with an imperative. Don't fear it's it's an exhortation like a knight in Exodus 1413 when Moses says to the people of Israel were sandwiched between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea says don't fear that's that's this work-family group. So what's the reason for this courage. Why can Paul say we are always of the church always of I have courage. Sometimes he says being always of good courage, where does that come from well. Paul and his apostolic cohorts in his missionary team. They they had confidence and he speaks of this competence in several ways. In these opening chapters will take time to look at that. If you go back it's it's a variety of words. Now, the same Greek word, but but he emphasizes confidence in various ways. In these first four chapters here, he's just coming off of this explanation of why he is longing for and expectant of the resurrection of being clothed forever and the down payment of that the surety of that is that the Holy Spirit has resurrected us to new life spiritually, and he indwells us and that will become full in the eschaton and so there is this confidence.

I think that comes specifically here at this stage of Paul's letter from the resurrection itself. Remember, this is the congregation to whom Paul wrote previously, and what we know is first Corinthians, this quintessential theology of the resurrection verse begins 15 fact it if our chronology a typical conservative chronology is correct in terms of dating the letters it's it's really the first record. Historically that we have an a in our Canon of the Lord's resurrected appearances she could put it this way true gospel ministry looks a lot like the sacrifice of the cross and it thinks a lot about the certainty of the resurrection. So this is our first four points ministers have confidence in the Lord's resurrection.

We don't look for courage internally.

Jibber cannot talk to yourself and what we actually talked her solo time. Some people do it audibly. We think they're weird actually. They're just doing out loud what's going on in everyone's mind any sort of have this okay you know prepare yourself mentally.

Step up to the plate for difficult conversation. Whatever situation might be looking with in for assurance were looking away were looking ahead were looking to the certainty of the resurrection, and there are a lot of unknowns like okay so I'm gonna die, but Christ hasn't come back yet. So what's that intermediate state, or whatever you want to call it, what what's I cannot be like We have those kinds of questions those kinds of uncertainties but but policy are focusing on what we don't know, those might be legitimate questions present focusing on what is focusing on is what we do know he supremely confident in the resurrection soap while being at home in our physical bodies, which is where we are right now on earth where we live, we are simultaneously absent from where we rightfully belong with the Lord.

With the glorified Lord. So what lies ahead. Even in that. In between someone's death and the Lord's return even that. Where we don't yet have a resurrected body that is a closer communion with the Lord.

So when when I am confidence in the Lord's resurrection that's that's shaping my Outlook right now and it's driving what I what I long for. It's a closer experience of fellowship and is possible now in this life and frail body were distant from distance from the Lord. Nice.

He's quick to add this in in in. I'm reading the new American Standard this morning and it's it's like this parenthetical statement it's inserted for we walk by faith not by sight and that is by far the most familiar section out of these five verses that statement. We walk by faith not by sight. I think with this well-known statement Paul is explaining that Christ is present as we currently walk in the realm of faith for him to say in verse seven were at home in the body were absent from the Lord is is not to say that there is no fellowship right now with the Lord that were just sort of pining away that that we have we have no actual experience of the Lord's presence know he's quick to qualify, yes, were not walking by sight. But what we are walking by faith and we do have the presence of the Lord. With this by faith we are.

You could say it this way. As one commentator does. We are absent from the Lord were not separated from the Lord our life in the spirit is the guarantee of this day in the future we will enjoy perfect unhindered fellowship with Christ, we see the unseen, namely Christ by faith. So we have confidence in the Lord's resurrection. What about today. Well, that confidence actually is going to cultivate this longing for the Lord's presence longing for the Lord's presence. In other words, to be at home in the body is to be a Pilgrim in a foreign land, but it's up pilgrimage of faith in fellowship with Christ.

Paul doesn't want to be unclothed. He details that a few verses earlier if he doesn't want to be unclothed and meet me who would be, but he does will be with the Lord, and death is the next step in growing communion with the Lord for Paul death was in one person's words neither welcomed nor feared and so he says we walk by faith not by sight is there's a major contrast. Your me think of the Corinthians. Think of the issues that Paul deals with in these Corinthian letters.

The Corinthians were known for walking by sight.

They tended tended to live by what they could see whether it was in relationship to significant Christian leaders.

They align themselves with the thought they were or the prevailing philosophy of their day, or contemporary cultural morals or pagan religious context or the impressiveness of sign, gift or or or supernatural apostolic claims.

All of those things resonate with you if you're investing in what you can see, and that's was determined at 40 so as Paul states early.

First Corinthians. This way if Christianity is his carnal it's it's natural. It's it's not the way the people operate, who are in Christ to have the spirit and who are walking in the spirit know about you, and will impugn you here this morning, I'll just testify of myself that that I so often walk according to what I can see that's what's determinative for me and I would say this, that in 2021. With the technology with the access to information with the immediacy. I mean I can. I'm a book person that might surprise you on I'm a book person and I can order a book and get in a couple of days for free.

The next day for a few dollars immediately if if I wanted on Kindle. There's an immediacy to our lives that I think draws us into this thinking that what I see is pretty much everything.

Or at least, it's the most important thing in the we know with a biphasic not not everything will be clear to us in this life right at me, we don't have omniscience in this creatures actually never will will be perfected. Creatures but still creatures evening evening glorious Paul puts it in verse 2013 12 right now we see dimly as a mere requires faith to see the sublime realities in the midst of challenging circumstances, but we recall that we have evidence for things not seen. We have a resurrected Lord we we we have the record of this resurrected Lord that actually when you look into it and you think about it long enough and and independently enough on the Holy Spirit actually changes you as overt synchrony. 318 says we covered that a few months ago. Then you realize that for Paul to say you know what I would prefer I long to be in the presence of Christ is a death wish some escapism. That's not thinking so much of heaven that year of no earthly good. That's that's the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ radiating in your soul.

It's your longing.

It's a yearning ministers long for the Lord's presence and we have it now by faith and will have it in a greater measure in death were with the Lord, truly and will have it forever with resurrected body. Someday, it's easy for me to say I want to be centered on Christ. I'm all about Jesus Christ. He's at this point is saying is everything to me.

But Paul could actually say it imperfectly, but sincerely, and this is really the longing of a courageous minister, soap, pulse conference, Lord's resurrection cultivates this longing for his presence in this longing, then it fuels an ambition notice verse nine he says therefore, another connecting explanation here. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent to be pleasing to him because Paul would have joy by being in God's presence and because he was walking by faith and experiencing the presence of Christ right now. In that sense he wanted to bring pleasure to God established this as his ambition.

This was a saying this was his honor ministers. Thirdly, strive for the Lord's pleasure is our ambition. It's our goal's theme of being motivated to please the Lord occurs several times in Paul's letters the these are verses that that you recognize Colossians 110 where he says that he's praying for these believers to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects. That would be a good prayer for one another in the seminary community Ephesians 510 Paul describes walking as children of light. In this way in terms of discerning what is pleasing to the Lord takes discernment. It takes the application of Scripture. It takes walking in the spirit it takes one another. It's not a solitary mission, and he describes the fruit of his teaching Thessalonica is the pleasure of the Lord living a life that is pleasing to him. So if someone were to say even sincerely let's can benefit the doubt even sincerely that we as Christians are too sinful to please the Lord, and I thought that I felt that perhaps we said that Paul would've been shocked by that.

Not keep might have heard us out and try to come to understand why we were saying that, but he would've counseled us from Scripture that that actually this is what the Christian life is about. And it is possible in Christ actually God will accomplish it will be curious about what this intermediate time is and and how you know what's gonna be like to be with the Lord before he returns in raptures his own, but we do have clear direction about what life is right now and what it means to please the Lord. That's the focus the pleasure of God is a holy ambition.

It's the only pursuit that really makes sense. Anything else would be idolatrous. After all, God acts according to his own pleasure. Some 135 success whatever the Lord pleases. He does in heaven and earth and the seas and all the depths.

So if it is supremely good for our holy God to do as he pleases, than it is our high calling to do what pleases him to how crucial this is in ministry were were frail people with flesh living in an antagonistic world and that was true before March 2020 is not something new that is. And with the pandemic of politics. This is the world we live in.

This is the flesh we live with and so our tendency in this present age masterminded by a devilish ruler is going to be to view success in terms of numbers and profit and popularity. We want to be the best to the glory of God. With these, God breathed words Paul calls us to this example to a singular ambition of God's pleasure that has to drive us that has to calibrate us when we think things are going well and we think things are not going so well when we think you know what that that was that. That sermon turned out pretty well and we realize was using my experience we get down we say you know what that that didn't turn up that instinct, the pleasure is not in terms of the seeming success. The pleasure isn't in terms of how many people are sitting in the pew is that the success is actually in the pleasure of God and in this is driven home by a final point explanations paragraph he says in verse 10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

These are sobering words is seen a pocketing vision because he actually appeared before the bema seat and he did in Corinth courting acts 1812. So finally we see that ministers anticipate the Lord's appraisal is fixates our gaze on the significance of what we do, day by day. It matters to walk by faith is the aim of the Lord's pleasure and the judgment that's entailed our member conversation. The 14-year-old is into my eighth and ninth grade year and the boss of the painting crew several guys my church were on it. He he raised this question when Davison is a like a 3040 minute commute. He raises question about how can we as believers who are justified and are under no condemnation. How can there be it that there be a judgment. How can there be any evaluation of us. I don't know that that man actually knew the Lord in retrospect, and I know that I didn't know the Lord is a 14-year-old son was in a real good position to evaluate that. But there's an important quality in ministry that I'm trying to learn honestly and that is a faithful willingness to hold scriptural truths even when they seem to be in theological tension.

There are many errant resolutions of the sun that even redefine justifications of your studying those in some of your classes. We are justified by God's grace through faith in Christ alone and we will also give an account for how we built our lives on the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage does not convey terror. He's not paralyzed by this, but there is neither indifference were mindful of this future appraisal by fear the Lord were in a position to persuade others is on the talk about in the next section. In verse 11.

How we do this but it just just one thought. This is from Thomas Watson.

He said set up a judgment seat in your own souls be as much afraid of a painted holiness as you would be afraid of going to a painted heaven don't think yourselves good because others think so. Let the word be the touchstone by which you try your hearts, but the word of the looking glass which you judge the complexion of your souls.

For want of the self searching. Many live known to others and die. Unknown to themselves.

Pulse focus is not on the particulars of what's ahead.

That's not something we can control, but he is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ.

His presence makes all the difference. And so that's the assurance we have, that's what drives us to want to please Christ, and we do that in a personal way.

This isn't just the judgment of somebody whom we don't know and who's at a great distance. All right, according to some impersonal law. This is our Savior. This is our Lord is the one who died for us and has been raised in newness of life. We will give an account to him that shapes our motivation reminders is Ephesians 210 says that there are works prepared beforehand in the sovereign will of God for us to walk in today by his grace were saved to this and so weak, walk by faith, with appropriate confidence and we start with the end in view, we walked back and say okay Lord please you today on live by faith in your presence today walk by sight. In order to caught up in the world's estimation of what is success. Ultimately, I want to glorify you and him and when Christ is. This is the center of this it doesn't become moralistic, it does become the kind of thing that we sort of are wary of me. We hear words like this about a future evaluation, even for just five brothers and sisters, you're not looking at a courageous person. What Paul is talking about here has nothing to do with natural characteristics. That's actually how the Corinthians lived and how they view things he's talking about a risen Lord.

He's talking about a confidence in his resurrection is talking about living by faith in him and longing for his full presence and he's talking about the kind of ambition that makes his pleasure everything for us and welcomes the chance to lay on the foundation of Jesus Christ things that that will matter for eternity. Taking the little piece of time that God gives us a day and investing them for the sake of our Savior for all eternity you been listening to a message preached in seminary chapel by Dr. Eric Newton, which was part of the series ministry according to second Corinthians. Join us again tomorrow as we continue this series on The Daily Platform