2 Corinthians 5:11-7:1, What’s Your Relationship Status?

The Fear of the Lord and the Ministry of Reconciliation

2nd Corinthians chapter 5 starting verse 11 all the way to chapter 7 verse 1.

Hear the word of the Lord.

Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade others. But what we are is known to God and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again. But giving you cause to boast about us so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance.

And not about what is in the heart for if we are beside ourselves It is for God. If we are in our right mind It is for you for the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this. That one has died for all therefore all have died and he died for all.

That those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh we regard him thus no longer.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away behold. The new has come. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin. So that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him then we have appealed to you not to receive the grace of God in vain for he says in a favorable Time I listened to you and in a day of salvation I have helped you.

Behold now is the favorable time behold now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry. But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance and afflictions hardships calamities beatings Imprisonments riots labors sleepless nights hunger by purity knowledge patience kindness the Holy Spirit.

Genuine love by truthful speech and the power of God with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left. Through honor and dishonor through slander and praise. We are treated as imposters and yet are true as unknown and yet well known as dying and behold.

We live as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful yet Always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing everything. We have spoken freely to you Corinthians. Our heart is wide open.

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections in return. I speak as to children widen your hearts also.

Do.

Not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

What agreement has the temple of God with idols for we are the temple of the Living God. As God said I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people.

Therefore go out from their midst and be separate from them says the Lord and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty.

Since we have these promises beloved. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. May the Lord had his blessings. The reading of his Holy Word.

What Relationship Means in a Culture Obsessed with “Status”

One of the newest and most prominent words today knew at least in the way it's used now is Relationship. The word wasn't even invented until 1744 and it was used then to describe any way something is related to Something or someone else it only started to be used about romantic relationships in 1944 and just in my lifetime people have started to use simply a if they say a relationship.

They just talk about the relationship. They mean a romantic or intimate relationship. Now Facebook following the common use simply has Relationship status to mean are you single or married or is it complicated?

The movie The Social Network portrays a single young man asking if a certain girl was it was available and he's told you know I don't know. People don't have single or married stamped on their foreheads at which Mark Zuckerberg gets the idea that we should have basically that.

Thus the relationship status was born now relationship is one of the most used Maybe even overused terms. But for all the awareness of relationships, there seems to be fewer real relationships. In 2000 a man named Robert Putnam published a book entitled bowling alone the collapse and revival of American community in which he described the reduction Of all forms of in-person Social interaction of its relationships.

He used bowling as an example, and he found that the number of people who bowl Had increased in the previous 20 years on those bowling had become more popular, but the number of people who bowl in leagues Has decreased that is there is more.

Bowling alone.

Fewer relationships. The advent of the smartphone and social media seems to have further destroyed real relationships Often Encouraging and citing perhaps Depression even suicides apparently increased increasing because of the the isolation that those things inadvertently Cause and now the so-called lockdown over the past six months or so has probably increased the Deterioration of relationships with technology proving that it is although it's great for communication It is incapable of replacing real in-person Relationships, although some churches have been the worst and trying to tell people that we can quote meet online well, the result is that people are people yearn for relationships.

But they don't know what they are. They don't even know what the relationship is leaving people confused and often Desperate they will grasp at the opportunity to have a relationship. They will practically think that they're married after a few dates.

They will change colleges or churches or even move to a different city to be near there Not a fiance or spouse but near a boy or girlfriend, even though there's no understanding. There's no covenant. There's no no agreement that they are in a committed relationship yet.

There's just feelings. So the category is Complicated in their mind though the feeling. The feeling is the relationship. The feeling is the commitment. And so the same confusion spills over into all this Recent talk the past generation or so about a Relationship with God.

We're not about religion. We're about a relationship. Well, that's good. And that's right. But if you don't know what a relationship is You won't know what it means to be in a relationship with God here in 2nd Corinthians chapter Chapters 5 and 6 we see three kinds of relationships first relationships with God reconcile.

Second a relationship with God's people real and third finally relationships with the world restricted so relationships reconciled real and restricted. First reconciled this passage begins in chapter 5 verse 11 with a therefore and so you ask what's the therefore?

Therefore and it points back to the previous verse Where we ended up last week where we're told that we all we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ now that fact Should produce in us The fear of the Lord we should tremble at the idea of having our lives examined by a perfectly holy judge.

If we think that's an unchristian thought we shouldn't have to fear God, you know, we're in a relationship. We have nothing to fear. Well, then frankly, I don't think. Someone who would think that way knows God very well.

The Lord Jesus himself told us not to fear those who can kill only the body but in Matthew chapter 10 verse 28 to fear him to fear God who can kill the body and and torment the soul in Hell, so we fear not in the sense of a repulse dread something, you know, like is that we want nothing to do with him.

But in the sense that we fear Electricity. We respect it. We handle it properly, right? We put whatever conduits and things around the wires. So that's not just bare in case we accidentally touch it. We know it can be good for us.

It can give us light you can give us amplification PowerPoints slides, but we also know that if we mess with it It can kill us. So we in the same way we fear the Lord. Because we know both that he is the judge and that we are sinners.

He's a perfect judge whom we have offended with our sins. How are we to be then in a relationship? With him. Well first our sins must be dealt with. They are a relationship breaker. Of course something.

Well, why can't God just wink at our sins? You know, I forgive people who in my relationships who offend me and relationship goes on. Why can't God just be the same way? Just let it slide one popular preacher today likes to say God is not mad at you.

He's mad about you. You're so great. That is he wants to be in a relationship with you. And the only obstacle is that you do not yet allow him to be in that relationship. He feels good about you. So now won't you feel good about him return to him the good feelings that he already has Toward you and that after that then will make for a relationship after all that's what relationships are, right?

Mutual good feelings. He has it already for you. And that today in many people's minds many Christians might they think well that is the gospel. Telling people God has good feelings toward them and and invite people to have good feelings back that is how you get in a relationship with God they think but.

As Mark Zuckerberg might say It's complicated. The Bible tells us is here that he is the judge that he is holy who all stand before the judgment seat of Christ therefore fear him because We're not holy.

What is interfering with us having a relationship with God is not only that we have it yet chosen to have good feelings toward God. It's that our sins justly offend God. Some will say oh, but I forgive people who offend me, you know, like let's we're in relationships.

They offend me and I let it go and then we're still in relationship. And then am I more mature than God? Well, first of all, you're not perfect in case you don't know that and you aren't the judge. Oh, but say back.

Oh, but I try to be good. I try to do what is right most of the time and maybe you do it. Maybe 90 of the time you keep God's law. But the 10 of the time that you don't shows the root of the problem.

That your heart is sinful and that by nature you are in rebellion against God. You don't really love God that you may have you may have been convinced that. Keeping his law following his ways, you know, not committing adultery and not stealing and not killing.

Is it's better for you in the long term keeps you out of prison keeps you out of divorce court. But but you may have convinced that God's law is best for you. But deep in your heart because sometimes you don't keep his law.

Deep in your heart. You don't really want to be in a relationship with him. The sin in your heart. That's in has to be dealt with. Even if you have successfully dealt with all the sin in but your behavior.

No, how are we to do that? No, we can't. The penalty is death. Our only hope is God the very one that we have offended. We've offended him with our sins. He's a holy judge. And now how are we to get him to do what he has to do to make us right because we can't do it.

The very one whom we have offended must choose to do something for us. And that's why Paul begins to describe in verse 14. One has died for all in verse 18. God is the one God was in Christ reconciling us to himself.

God was in Christ Reconciling us making us right with himself. We broke the relationship. God decided to fix it and verse 21 Describes it brilliantly. I think that's where everything that the other thing is heading in that chapter in that paragraph comes down to verse 21.

So let's take it apart phrase by phrase. I'll go in the order of the original Greek. It's a little different than the order of the English translation. But it begins the one not knowing sin. That's the first word the one who was sinless.

Who did nothing to break his relationship with the Father as Jesus and he's introduced to us first. For emphasis. Oh is he's the most important who is Jesus? Is he just the one he feels good about you.

It's waiting for you to return. Good feelings toward him. No, he's the one who knew no sin. He was perfect. So there was nothing about him that deserved condemnation and death. He is the direct object of the sentence something is done to him.

It's the one who knew no sin on behalf of us.

For our sake.

That's the reason. What is done to him is done to him on our behalf? So that God could fix the relationship we broke and he says at the beginning of verse 19 in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.

Now why. Because of what Paul calls in verse 14 the love of Christ. It's the love that loves. Because God chooses to love not because there's something about us that is lovable. All this is from God. Paul says at the beginning of verse 18 now that God is the subject of the sentence.

He's the one doing the action. Christ sinless one who knew no sin is the one to whom on whom the action is done. But God is the one Acting. God did the work he continuing in verse 21. He made that's the action that is done.

He made Christ the one who knew no sin. Made is the verb the action that was taken. He was Christ was made into Sin, our sins deserve death. So the father made the one having no sin of his own. To be sin for us that is the father chose to see the son as If he had committed all our sins and he punished him.

For those sins with death the father made the son. From someone who deserved no condemnation because he knew no sin into someone. Who was condemned?

In order that.

That's the purpose. Why the father did this. Why he made him to be sin. The purpose of seeing the son of sinful so that those He took the sins of might become. He made him to be sinned. But he did that so that we might.

The purpose we might become. We might be something different. We might be transformed into something different than we were before. We might be the new creature that he mentioned in verse 17. The new has come.

We were people who offended God. But because the offenses were taken by the son the father made the son into sin. Now we can come into a right relationship with him. We do come into that relationship.

That's what the righteousness of God means. Into a right with him. We have a right standing before God. We have become.

Right.

Justified. Just if I never sinned and so the father relates to us as if we had never sinned and. Then the final phrase to emphasize the point in.

Him.

That is if we are seen by the father as in Christ. We're covered by his perfect life.

If.

Then we are right with him. We have right standing. We have a relationship a good relationship with him if we're seen by ourselves.

We're not in him.

We're we're biased in our sins. Then we need to fear God Because God is mad at us. He's mad about the son that cute saying God's not mad at you. He's mad about you. That's all wrong. He is mad at us in our sins when we're not in Christ, but if he sees us as in him as If we were the one who knew no sin Dressed in his perfect life.

Then.

We are in a right relationship with God. The sins that we broke the relationship with. Have been dealt with by him. So then now having that relationship and now knowing what the father did so that we could have it.

That has an enormous impact on us at the beginning of verse 14 the love of Christ controls us. We're so overwhelmed by by the love that he showed for us. That that same love takes takes us over. It is amazing grace.

We're just amazed and it controls us. It takes us over. He died in verse 15 not just so that we could feel Satisfied. Well, that's how much he loves us. That's because that's how much we're worth. No, he he did it.

Because he loves us not because of what we're worth but but that those who live That's us might no longer live for themselves. But for him who for their sake. Was died and was raised there in verse 15.

Think about that what it took to make this relationship possible. Changes us so that we now want to live in that relationship. We understand we have some understanding maybe probably not fully of his love for us and that Amazes us that controls us and so that we live for him now and not just for ourselves.

It's not that we live for him in order to get him to accept us. It's it's that now that we see what he did. So that he could accept us. Now we live for him. You cannot be in a real relationship with him without living for him.

So the main problem of so many people today is not well, you need to just start living for God. And so many people want to kind of control us and to nag us to do live for God. That's really not the main problem.

Sure. She should live for God. It's that we need what we need is to see what he did for us. We need to be transformed people. Made it to something that we were not before. The new creatures the righteousness of God.

Then.

When we understand that We will live for God The love of Christ will control us. Now, how did we do that? Well, it's not complicated. We don't Christ us the same Christ Paul once regarded as a as a dead teacher.

It's what he says. He used to regard him and you know him in the flesh. Used to think of him as just a normal person. Remember in Paul's day Jesus said was just a few years older than him. So he's thinking of someone who who lived and died just like anyone else that same Jesus today some regard as a historical figure.

He passed away. Sure. He was a good religious teacher something had some good ideas, but like all dead people It's not someone you can relate to. Paul before he was converted and many people today think like that because they can't relate to him.

They are they are dead in their sins and so without the ability to have a relationship with God. That's why they only see the natural person the historical figure according to the flesh in verse 16. But all those for whom Christ died in order to make a life are now in verse 17 a new.

Creation and.

They belong now not to the old creation this passing away. But to the new creation that is coming. Otherwise, they cross that bridge from the old to the new. They're part of the new creation. A new world is coming.

And if you're born again. You're in your heart. You're part of that new world. I'm part of the old world if we are in Christ. It's not because God always and only had good feelings about us. And now we're finally he's now we finally softened our own hearts.

And so we've made the relationship, right? He always had good feelings for us. As soon as we have we return those good feelings. We think well, we've made the relationship, right?

No.

We are in Christ made into the righteousness of God because God made us new Part of the new heavens and the new earth that is coming. He made us that.

Now.

It is an accomplished reality. The old things are passed away.

Behold.

Near the end of verse 17 pay attention to this. Look at this. This is important behold. All things are new behold. They have become new past tense the new is now. We see what Christ has done.

Because.

That's what the therefore is therefore at the beginning of verse 17. God made us new. So that we could be reconciled. You know in a relationship with him. What's your relationship status? Well, there's our relationship with God.

Real Relationships With God's People

Now reconciled and that leads to our relationship with God's people it must be real and. There are two groups of God's people. Paul talks about here those who are not yet in a right relationship to God.

They don't yet know they're God's people because they're not believers yet. And those already in that relationship now first of those outside. We now have the ministry of reconciliation. That's that message of what God has done to people put people right with him at the end of verse 19.

He has entrusted to us that message of Reconciliation that you could be right with God. Therefore at the beginning of verse 20, what's the therefore therefore to show that we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ?

He became sin on our behalf and now we become ambassadors. On his behalf and just as ambassadors don't speak on their own behalf. But on the behalf of those who sent them we represent God to people. Appealing to them get right with God we appeal to people to be reconciled come into a real relationship.

With the father from chapter 6 verse 1 to 10. We see how important is that task of being ambassadors for God and what he will endure what Paul will endure for those For whom Christ has died. And here's Paul's, you know evangelistic heart.

His pastoral burden. What he will bear to bring that that message of reconciliation. Some of us what we have to bear. Maybe coming to a program on the weekends. Some spare time some energy to help with Jim jr.

Our Jim.

Some.

Inconveniences have to be born to get that message out here. He appeals to the carnal Corinthians who appeared to have received the message in the past, you know, have you accepted it for nothing? Paul's asking them having heard the message of God's grace.

But you're unchanged by it and he reminds them that now is the time of salvation. There was that means this is the era.

This.

This time we're still in it from Paul's time to today until Christ returns is the time for people to be saved. So that means for you're appealing to people now is this era now is the opportunity to be saved.

It's not coming later, you know. There's no purgatory in which maybe I have a chance to work out your sins a second chance in hell. It's not gonna work that way. This is the time to be saved this era for both for us probably probably this our life.

This is the time you have for salvation. So don't accept it for nothing. We're gonna come to the judgment seat of Christ when we can be saved. But and now though is the time when we can be saved from from the message of reconciliation.

Be put in a right relationship with a father. Now is the time. Now is the opportunity now. We often remind people other people lost people of that tell them now is the time seize the moment. This is the opportunity you have don't let it slip away and we should but this also has an impact on us.

On our relationships with people if now is the age of evangelism. When we can invite people to come to a right relationship with God. You know, we had better seize the day. That means in verse 3 we put no obstacle in anyone's way.

We take advantage of our opportunities we have now. We have a building that attracts youth to this. That's building and we can take advantage of that to share the gospel with them. Look for the opportunities take advantage of them.

We give up our rights and personal preferences to help the unreconciled to become Reconciled create a an atmosphere here that appeals to people that we can reach out to. Maybe that means playing music.

You don't like I don't particularly like rap music, but the guys that come here do so we play it. Because my rights my taste don't matter what helps the ministry of reconciliation. That's what matters.

Give up your own personal preferences. Now. Someone once told me that we have a dress code for Jim on Sunday afternoons. So the guys come dress properly, you know pull up their pants and so forth, but that's putting an obstacle in their way.

Their need is it to learn how to dress properly? That may be good for learning to go to Job interviews so how they could get hired and that's great. The school should be teaching on than that. We have the ministry of reconciliation.

We don't need to be putting obstacles in their way. So we do what we can that what he says no fault may be found with our ministry for Paul. That meant not taking money from the Corinthians so that the skeptics couldn't claim that well He is just in it for the money for us.

It could mean doing away doing it without your pews and traditional surroundings in our building makes to make it more useful. For ministry not just useful for our own. Convenience our own comfort. That's what we grew up with.

It doesn't matter what we grew up with. That's appealing to our. Sentimentality is not what we're called to do. We have an opportunity now to bring that message of reconciliation to those around us. What helps with that?

Don't distract from the ministry of reconciliation. So now is the time of salvation and that means we do what we can. To serve God in the way that we relate to others that we don't see ourselves. We don't see our lives as existing primarily for our comfort for.

For you know, what reminds me of the good old days, whatever it may be but for representing him who gave up his life. That our lives would be in verse four that they would commend The gospel and we do that he says.

Painfully.

Poetically and powerfully beginning in verse four by great endurance and Affliction. Hardships calamities beatings imprisonments riots labors. Sleepless nights hunger. Okay. I have to endure rap music.

That's not nearly as bad as enduring all this stuff. Verse six by purity knowledge patience kindness the Holy Spirit genuine love They truthful speech and the power of God with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left.

Through honor and dishonor through slander and praise We are treated as impostors and yet are true as unknown and yet well known as dying and behold We live as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich is having nothing Yet possessing everything.

I don't know how I can add to that. I Don't know how I can draw out much more meaning than From that than what's already there. I can't do to that while like we did with chapter chapter 5 verse 21. This is such.

Poignant words.

This was a life of the great apostle Paul what he just described.

Enduring.

Afflicted beaten imprisoned. Rioted against working night and day sleepless hungry denying himself studying waiting. But experiencing the kindness and the love of the Spirit through his people speaking the truth in love.

Seeing the power of God spreading the truth of God's Word. Defending the truth with a shield of faith honored by some scorned by others praised and slandered. That's what it means to bear the cross. Going out with a message of reconciliation maybe going to a local college and and brilliantly and compassionately sharing the gospel with a homosexual young man as we had a member of this church do here once and then being slandered as a hater opening the doors to the kids who come in here and so they can hear the gospel and then.

Then we are insulted by some uninvolved religious hypocrite. That is just chaos and there were insult. We're just all wasting our time. So we think well why do this? But first for God because the love of Christ member Controls us because we're in a relationship with God and that makes us live for him.

Second for others that we want them to have a relationship with God. We want Ourselves to seize the moment to tell them the gospel and we want them to seize the moment to believe. We endure all those things for verses 4 to 10 because of our real relationships.

With God's people. Oh, I've heard some quotes sweetly those words from the great song. We sang, you know, lead me to the cross. Take bring me to my knees. Asking God to bring them to their knees that they but they won't endure.

They won't endure a rebuke. They won't they won't take correction. They won't sacrifice in order to keep their commitments that their covenant relationships with God's people like like the Corinthians.

They love the sound of the words makes him feel spiritual to sing them. They just can't endure the actual sacrifice. And Paul lays himself out before them from verses 4 to 10 as we just read as Paul is bearing himself before them.

This is my life Corinthians. He's being real and then he says in verse 11. We have spoken freely to you. Our heart is wide open. But they were closed to him. Maybe their egos were still hurting from from remember.

We mentioned last time his painful visit to them when he knocked some heads together and wagged his finger in their faces. Maybe they're feeling feelings were still smarting from his Harsh letter remember that he wrote to them.

So they were closed to him like there wasn't like there was no relationship and surely day. We would understand the Corinthians reaction when we if a relationship is what we have mutual good feelings.

That's the definition of a relationship then when Paul scoffed at scars to say scolded them. When he disciplined them sent them harsh letters. When he expressed bad feelings that means doesn't it that there is no more relationship.

Would that be what it means? Maybe he's a baby's a possible. Maybe he's a boss to be obeyed. But he's not a friend to be in a relationship with. Isn't that exactly how we'd react today. If someone made a painful visit to us or send us a harsh letter the relationship is over we think I Believe that one of the reasons the church generally is so weak today, and there's there is usually no no.

Because there's usually no sense or even allowance for authority. No real relationships. This is chaos. People doing their own thing and if you try to have a try to correct them the thing things just fall apart.

It's just superficial pretending that we get along that passes for. For a relationship that we have mutual good feelings about each other, but there's no real commitment. This kind of acquaintances who sit smile and say hi and do small talk.

Certainly no willingness to endure these kinds of things for each other. But healthy relationships are built on the foundation of a secure attachment here this church. We seek to nurture that with a meaningful church membership with the church covenant that we take seriously.

We didn't invent that ourselves. That's a habit of Baptist times past and that covenant defines for us the authority of God's Word and for our relationships. That's that it's more this relationship is more than just mutual good feelings that may evaporate over time.

But it is a true tie that binds. What's your relationship status? Is it reconciled to God? Is it real with God's people?

Restricted Relationships With the World

I.

Leave the relationship with with the world from chapter 6 verse 14 to chapter 7 verse 1. With the with God the relationship is reconciled by him with other of God's people. Relationship is real. At least it should be over the world the relationship is.

Restricted.

To us it sounds abrupt. It's like suddenly Paul just blurts out in chapter 6 verse 14 that there simply are some kinds of relationships with the world. That we can't have. Now this shouldn't surprise us.

Any real relationship. We will have requires us to sacrifice. Something often other kinds of relationships real relationships bring restrictions. When we enter into the covenant of marriage, we vow to you know, forsake all others.

You can't do. And how I have some kind of relationships that you used to have could have before you can't go on a date with another person. I'm not supposed to do anyway, you can't do that anymore. One relationship has restricted another so here now our relationships with the world are Restricted here in this passage.

We see that they are restricted. That is we cannot be he says unequally yoked with with unbelievers. Now he's referring to to putting the yoke on two different kinds of animals for the plow. Like don't put a horse and a mule together to pull your plow.

The yoke then becomes the symbol in this analogy of a committed relationship to what ties them together. Well, we would call a covenantal relationship. There are acquaintances. There really aren't real relationships at all contractual relationships agreements between two people to work together.

This is in business on the job for a project or whatever and there are covenantal relationships the most prominent of which course is marriage. Church membership should be another a. Problem with some believers today is that they are not equally yoked with believers.

That is that they aren't in a they are part of a church that they're not committed members of a church in a real covenant relationship with other believers. Now here this don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a contractual relationship with an unbeliever having unbelieving plumber work in your house. An unbelieving mechanic work on your car. Maybe some kind of business arrangement where you work with an unbeliever or something.