Faith That Produces Results

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

Paul’s Defense of His Apostleship and the Gospel as Treasure

Good afternoon. It's good to be here. Yeah, today we're in 2 Corinthians 4 -7 -5 -10. And, you know, one big thing that we can see the apostle Paul does in this second letter to the Corinthians is defend his legitimacy as an apostle.

Paul wants the Corinthians to be convinced of the fact that he was sent by God, that he is a true apostle. Paul, as we know, established that church and then left it, wrote them a letter. And as it was often sadly the case with Paul, once again he was followed by false apostles, false teachers, false brothers.

Certain men who like to make great and wonderful, unverifiable claims about themselves. It wasn't so with Paul. His claims could be verified because he truly was an apostle. And that's what Paul preaches, not preaches, but proves to the Corinthians in this second letter.

He proves it to them in many ways. One of the ways is by telling the Corinthians that they themselves were a proof of the fact that he was an apostle. He says to them in chapter 3, verses 1, 2, and 3, he says, Are we, we meaning he and Timothy, beginning to commend ourselves again, or do we need like some people letters of recommendation to you or from you?

You yourselves are our letter written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry. The Corinthians had to be convinced of the fact and realized that God was at work through Paul and that they themselves were a proof of that.

And, you know, when you think about it in the exact same way, the life of any true believer must produce a certain result, must show the proof that God is at work. Paul was a true apostle and it showed.

And in the same way, if I'm a true Christian, somehow it has to make a difference in my life. And that's what I want to focus on this afternoon. I want to focus on the fact that when the gospel is understood and believed, it produces a result in our lives that God wants to use to touch the lives of others.

Believing the gospel produces results. First of all, it produces the proof that God can work with power and in frail human beings. Chapter four, verse seven. The key word is show. God wants to show something.

Secondly, we can see that it produces that proof through the God given capacity and strength to keep going when things get difficult. Verses eight and nine. Thirdly, we can see in verses 10 to 12 that the believed gospel, when persecuted, produces the revelation of Jesus's life.

It reveals the life of Jesus through the believer. Number four, we can see in verse 13 that believing the gospel somehow must have an impact on what comes out of the mouth of a Christian. Number five, we can see in verse 14 that believing produces in us the hope of our resurrection with those that we brought to Christ.

Number six, we can see in verse 15 that when we believe and act accordingly, the lives of others end up being touched by that and it brings glory to God. Number seven, we can see from verse 16 to verse 18 that believing encourages us in our temporary weaknesses.

Number eight, we can see in chapter five, verse one to verse five, that receiving the gospel brings certainty in the midst of pain. The key word is no, not think or wish or hope, but no, certainty. Number nine, we can see in chapter five, verse six to verse 10, that believing, or if you want, receiving the gospel, produces constants of perseverance.

The key word is always. And finally, number 10, is that faith brings a sense of responsibility. The fact that faith is highly practical is kind of reinforced in verse 10 by the idea of the judgment seat of Christ.

Faith produces results. Now, of course, I think that you know and maybe hope that I will obviously not have the time to speak about all of these things in great detail. And you're right, I will not have the time.

And I can't also I cannot speak about this passage in great depth because I'm just like all of us. I don't understand the depth of this passage. We're talking here about God's word. It's totally amazing.

It's just too profound. I will obviously not have the time also to speak about all of these things. But I wanted to underline all of these things because they are in the passage. And I believe that it's important to see them.

I will not focus on every verse, every word. Obviously, I will only emphasize a few things. And we'll actually kind of group all of those 10 things under four main ideas. Four, I should say, sub points.

The Gospel Treasure in Jars of Clay

So starting with chapter 4, verse 7, Paul says, Now, what is the treasure that verse 7 talks about? What do we think it is? I think that we can all agree on the fact that the treasure is actually the gospel.

That's what we see in the verses that come before. And it's also obvious that the treasure is all of the good that the gospel brings in the life of a believer. The treasure is the gospel. The ministry, Paul's ministry was to share the gospel.

It was to share the word of God. It was to expose divine truth. It was to share the gospel, which in some cases was veiled, even though it's so glorious. And glorious it is. Chapter 4, verse 4 talks about the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

And chapter 4, verse 6 says that the gospel is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. And that's the treasure that Paul had and that we also have. And what a glorious treasure it is.

The glorious good news of Jesus' death and resurrection. Like the song says, it's not good news. It's the best news ever. For those of you who listen to Shine FM, it's not good news. I'm not going to sing the song.

Don't worry. But I can tell you what the words of the song say. It's not good news. It's the best news ever. That the second person of the Holy Trinity, that God the Son, would want to take a human body, live a perfect life on my behalf, and then die on my behalf because of my sins in order to pay the penalty that I deserve and make it possible to freely forgive us if we want to, even though He is a God who is righteous, holy, just, who cannot leave sin unpunished.

It's totally amazing. And that's the good news that Paul had and that we also have. And that is also fully confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus. Sorry, from the dead. It's a glorious treasure. But in contrast, we're not glorious.

Like, I'm not glorious. Let's not pretend that any of us are glorious. We're like jars of clay, the passage says. We break easily. We're fragile. We're frail. We're like cracked pots, all of us. I have a lot of cracks.

But that's okay because God wants to shine His light through our cracks. I know that it sounds a little strange. But what I mean is that God wants to shine His light through our human weakness, through our weak spots.

And He knows exactly how to do it. I think that one of the things that glorifies God the most in this life is when a Christian ends up going through something very difficult but somehow manages to keep a godly attitude and then comes out victorious.

It's a total miracle. And we've seen it. We've seen it many times. God will sometimes put us through difficult things in order to glorify Himself and show us and others that He is present but also able to keep us in one piece even when things get very, very tough.

When you think about it, in Paul's case, it also provided the proof that Paul truly was an apostle who understood the importance of the gospel. If someone would have said to Paul, why do you put yourself through so much trouble, so much misery?

I think that Paul would have said, the answer is easy. It's because I know that I have the most important message in the universe. And so, God used the trials of life and ministry to highlight how important the gospel was for Paul and by that, validate the fact that Paul truly was an apostle who knew that God sent him.

And God, of course, also used trials to show Paul and others what divine strength means. Some people believe that by writing about jars of clay, Paul might have had in mind Judges 7, verse 16 to verse 20.

It says that dividing the 300 men into three companies, Gideon placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside. So that's kind of an interesting detail. It talks about torches inside of the jars.

I suppose that those jars were jars of clay. Watch me, he told them, follow my lead when I get to the edge of the camp. That's about the enemy camp. Do exactly as I do when I and all who are with me blow our trumpets.

Then from all around the camp, blow yours and shout for the Lord and for Gideon. Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had changed the guard.

They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars, grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow.

They shouted a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. Like I said, some people believe that Paul might have had this passage in mind. I'm not sure. The text in 2 Corinthians doesn't really tell us, but it is possible.

There is a clear parallel in this passage. Some believe that the idea that we find in 2 Corinthians 4 is that the more a Christian is willing to yield or to be broken, the more the light can shine. They may be right to think that it's possible.

We often think that Christ has to do all of the dying. We are right as far as salvation is concerned, but as far as sanctification is concerned and also the advancement of the church, the advancement of the gospel, it is clear that we also have to die to self.

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 10, says, For Christ's sake, I delight, I delight. That's a strong word. He says, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul, of course, could feel God's power and providence in his trials. But I think that we need to realize that the trials also gave power to his ministry by convincing others of how he himself was convinced.

That man meant business. He really saw something on the road to Damascus. And those who knew him could really see that by how convinced he was and by how much he was willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.

You know, we see the trials of life as a curse, and they are definitely part of the curse. But for the Christian, the trials of life have to be looked at in a different way. The Word of God throws a total and complete spin on the concept of pain.

Pain for the Christian is often and actually an opportunity that God gives us to shine and for which he will reward us. I know that it's kind of easy to say, but it's true. And we need to remember that.

I need to remember that. We all go through difficult things. And when we go through tough things, our first tendency is to snap or to freak out and things like that. But it's important to keep the eternal perspective.

Pain is often and actually an opportunity that God gives us to shine. When the gospel is believed, it produces the proof that God can and wants to work through frail human beings. And it produces that proof through the God-given capacity and strength to keep going when things get difficult.

Chapter 4, verses 7, 8, and 9. And I guess I could also include in this statement verses 10, 11, and 12, which convey the idea that the persecuted gospel produces the revelation of Jesus' life. God works through frail human beings like us.

There is no doubt about that. That's what he wants to do. The second thing that I want to highlight is that believing the gospel should produce an impact on the way we speak. That's what we see in verse 13.

The Gospel’s Impact on What Christians Say

And that's also what happened in the life of the apostle Paul. But is it what happens in our lives? Does the gospel have an impact on what comes out of our mouth? And the idea here is not that a Christian should never talk about the oilers or about work or economics or politics or things like that, but that we should sometimes, and in fact more often than never, share the gospel.

A true Christian will share the gospel. He will. What verses 13 to 15 teach is that those who truly believe share what the resurrection confirms. They share the gospel because they are convinced, but also because they care about others and about the glory of God.

One way to know if you truly believe would be to simply ask yourself if you've ever shared the gospel. And if the answer is no, then I would say that you should be a little concerned about that and perhaps maybe see it as, I guess I could say, a proof maybe that maybe you don't believe.

And I'm saying that because Paul in verses 13, 14, and 15 says, It is written, those who truly believe in what Jesus did so that we can have the forgiveness of our sins share the gospel because they are convinced, but also because they care about others and about the glory of God.

Believing has an impact on what comes out of the mouth of a believer. That's what verses 13, 14, and 15 teach. And even though life is not always easy, the believer will keep in mind the fact that pain is actually temporary and will be rewarded.

That's what the passage shows. And that's the third thing that I want to highlight. Pain is temporary and will be rewarded. Like Paul says in verses 16, 17, and 18, We do not lose heart, he says. Though outwardly we're wasting away, yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. The word, therefore, that we have here at the beginning of verse 16, as we know, kind of links verses 16, 17, and 18 with verses 13, 14, and 15.

I hope that you have your Bibles because it would be hard to follow. But yeah, the word, therefore, links those two sections together. And you know, the things that kept Paul going as an apostle were, first of all, as we can see in some of the passages, his knowledge of the fact that God had been so gracious to him.

Just the same way God has been so gracious to us, Paul knew that God had been gracious to him and it kept him going. But the other things that kept Paul going, as we can see from this passage, secondly, would be that Paul was convinced also that the word of God can be trusted.

Thirdly, we can see that Paul knew that Jesus truly beat death. And then number four, we can see that Paul cared about others and about the glory of God. That's what kept Paul going. But as we can see in verses 16 to 18, Paul mentions something else.

Believing encourages us in our temporary weaknesses. We can see in verses 16 to 18 that from Paul's point of view, in comparison with eternity, the pain of this life is actually light and it's also temporary.

Those who by faith have received the Lord Jesus, the gospel, will soon be completely freed from pain forever. And that's going to be awesome. Paul had the eternal perspective. And that, I believe, is the number one big thing that God will use to keep a Christian going when things get difficult.

The eternal perspective. God uses all kinds of things. We know that. But I would say, you can tell me after if you disagree, but I would say that the number one big thing that God will use is the eternal perspective.

That's what God uses to keep a Christian going when things get difficult. And Paul saw the big picture. You know how in this life everything has an expiry date? Well, I'm glad to say that that also applies to pain.

And keeping that in mind, I think, can really help us see pain as something that is light. It's not light. It's heavy. It's super heavy. But if we keep in mind the fact that it's temporary, that can really help us see pain as something that is light.

The Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 11, verse 28 to 30, talks about the idea of a light burden. He says, He is so amazing. The Lord's burden is light. And Paul in our passage talks about the idea that our troubles are temporary and light.

And we need to keep that in mind. So far, we've had it pretty easy in Canada, but it doesn't look like it's going to stay easy forever. It looks like things may get a little tougher for the Christians.

But you know, Paul also was not immune against discouragement. For example, he says in chapter 2, verse 13, that when he went to Troas, he couldn't have the peace of mind because he couldn't find his friend, Titus.

And in our passage in chapter 5, verse 2, he talks about the idea of groaning. You know, when we groan, we don't usually smile.

Maybe you do.

But anyways, I don't. When we groan, we groan because it hurts. And, you know, it's OK not to always be smiling. When we hurt, we hurt. And Paul was just like us. A few years ago, I lived in Whistler, B .C. for three years.

And at some point, I ended up on a finishing crew as a carpenter in a fancy hotel. And one day, we were working at the ceiling level in a reception room. We had to do the prep for some crown molding work.

And one of my fellow workers hit his head on a steel beam, and it really hurt him. Those kinds of beams don't budge too much. You budge, but the beam will not budge. And he said to me, he said, You know, when that happens, we should just sing and just be smiling and joyful.

And I thought, well, that would be a funny-looking smile. And I thought, you know, it's easier said than done. When we hurt, we groan. And Paul was no different and would sometimes experience discouragement.

But at the same time, though, Paul could say, We don't lose hope because his perspective was the eternal perspective. I have in Quebec two Christian brothers and sisters who are a great example of what our passage teaches.

We obviously don't find those kinds of Christians just in Quebec. I know that. But anyways, those two brothers and two sisters have been a great blessing to me and to many others. The name of the one is John Mark, and the name of the other is Dennis, and his wife is Donna.

John Mark was an elder for many, many years in my home church. And these last few years have been very difficult because his wife has had quite a few strokes. And it has resulted in her not being able to keep her balance very much.

And so he has to be with her almost all of the time. He had to resign as an elder. He will still preach once in a while, but he finds it very difficult. But at the same time, though, he has a really, really good attitude, and I have a lot of respect for him.

The other brother, his name is Dennis, and his story is that last summer he had a motorbike accident. He is also an elder in a church, and he is now paralyzed from under his arms in a wheelchair, and it's very, very difficult for them.

But, man, they are amazing. He and his wife look for opportunities to share the gospel all of the time with the caregivers, and they are still very much involved with the church. He is still an elder, and they're just amazing.

He told me that for his entire life, he preached that God is present in the midst of suffering, and he said, now I get to really experience it. It's quite something. Yeah, an outstanding couple who are an example of what our passage teaches.

If you've been taking some notes, or if you remember, so far I've emphasized the fact that God works powerfully through frail human beings and that the proof is given through the God-given capacity and strength to keep going when things get difficult, and those two brothers and sisters are an example of that.

Secondly, I focused on the fact that believing the gospel produces an impact on what comes out of the mouth of a believer, and they're also an example of that. And thirdly, I've emphasized the fact that those who believe know that pain is temporary and will be rewarded, and knowing that can really help us see pain as something that in Christ is to be considered light.

We need to keep our eyes on the big picture. We need to have the eternal perspective, and those two brothers and sisters do that. The last thing now that I want to focus on is that faith produces a sense of responsibility.

The Judgment Seat of Christ and a Life of Responsibility

It's been implied already in most of what I've said, but here I want to focus mainly on verses 9 and 10 of chapter 5. Paul says in verse 9, he says,. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Faith produces a sense of responsibility. You might have noticed that in verse 8, Paul mentions his longing to be with God, which actually implies love for God. And that's why he says, so we make it our goal to please Him.

We want to please Him because we love Him. We also need to realize that the judgment seat of Christ that this verse talks about here is, is not the great white throne of Revelation chapter 20. That judgment is for the dead.

It's for those who did not receive Jesus. If you have received Jesus, you have life and will not be condemned. You have crossed over from death to life. That's chapter 5 of John, verse 24. And we need to realize that we are called to have a sense of responsibility at the same time, though.

And we are called to live a life of gratitude for the one who saved us. Yes, we will not go to damnation. We know that. But that doesn't mean that as believers we can just do whatever we want and not care.

You know, the doctrine that says that once you're saved, you're always saved is something that is sadly sometimes taken as a license to sin. But the Bible doesn't teach that we should do that, obviously.

You know, the true believer will find in the doctrine of salvation a stimulation for holy living. But those who fake it, the actors, those who are not true believers, who just say that they are, will find in the doctrine of salvation a license to sin.

And that is so wrong, as we know. A true Christian will have a sense of responsibility. The judgment seat of Christ is what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 14 and 15, where Paul says that Christians will be either rewarded or not rewarded.

And the judgment seat of Christ is not about damnation or salvation. It's about rewards, where Paul says that those who don't get any rewards will still be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

God wants to reward every single one of us. We need to keep that in mind. And it should also be our will. We know that we are not saved by works. We're not saved from hell by good deeds. We know that.

But we're saved from hell so that we would do the good works that God prepared in advance for us to do. That's Ephesians 2, verses 9 and 10. And we need to remember that. And like I said, God will also reward us for the good things that we will have done, for his glory out of love for him and for others.

And that's why Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 58, My dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

So God wants us to know about the fact that there is a reward, but at the same time, God wants us to have a sense of responsibility that is stimulated by the fact that he loves us so much, and we need to remember that.

Now, the church, as we know, has made some huge mistakes since its birth. For example, at some point, there were some dudes who decided that only some Christians would be called priests, even though the Bible is clear on the fact that every believer is a priest.

So some guys thought, no, no, just a few of us can be called priests. How arrogant is that? Today, when you think about it, the evangelicals have kind of replaced that by the term preacher or pastor, and we think that those men are the only ones responsible for the work.

We're wrong to think like that. We'll say things like, yeah, yeah, that guy is a full-time worker. He has a full-time ministry, and I guess it's okay to speak like that. We know what we mean. But at the same time, though, it seems like we've completely lost, maybe not completely, but we've lost track of the fact that we're all called to have a sense of responsibility, all of us.

We have to have a sense of responsibility. From God's point of view, there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. That doesn't exist. If you're a Christian, God calls you to act like a Christian in all situations everywhere.

We're all in the full-time ministry in that sense. For many years, I felt guilty for not being in a full-time ministry, but one day, God made me realize that I am in a full-time ministry. Like, what are you talking about?

You're not in a full-time ministry. Our lives are ministries, and we need to realize that and not feel guilty for not being in what we call a full-time ministry. We need to see our lives as a ministry.

Paul, in Colossians 3, verse 17, says something very interesting. He says, So, we're all in a full-time ministry. God wants us to shine in everything that we do. If I'm a Christian, it has to make a difference in my life.

It did in the life of the apostle Paul. Somewhere, somehow, the tire has to hit the road. Faith, when real, will produce something. You know, sometimes we hear the expression, my body, my choice. Well, our choice should be to shine for Christ.

Are you a stay-at-home mom? Shine. You have an extremely important ministry. Are you an elder in the church? Shine. Are you a preacher? Shine. Are you an elder? I already mentioned that one. Shine. Do you have a job that results in you getting stuck in traffic all day?

Not all day, every day. Shine. Well, all day would be tough, but yeah, shine. Do you often have to deal with a lot of nonsense at work? Shine. Are you a Christian garbage man? Shine. You have an extremely important ministry.

Are you sick? Shine. Is your life changing as you get older? Not too many of you are too old. Shane is getting there, but we should shine. You know, this list could go on for a long time. God wants us to shine.

He wants us to see our lives as ministry, and He doesn't want us to think that, yeah, yeah, that's the job of the pastor. Come on. No, God wants us to shine. God wants to work powerfully through our weaknesses, for sure in the way we act, but also in the way we speak.

And He will reward us for the temporary pain that we sometimes have to endure for His glory. And so God wants us to keep these things in mind and be responsible. And now to finish, I just want to read again verses 16, 17, and 18.

Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Let's pray.

Thank you for listening to another sermon from Grace Fellowship Church. If you would like to keep up with us, you can find us at Facebook at Grace Fellowship Church or our Instagram at Grace Church, Y-E-G, all one word.

Finally, you can visit us at our website, graceedmonton .ca. We pray that you have been blessed by this recording. God bless you, and we hope to see you soon.