The Letter Kills But The Spirit Gives Life - Part 1

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. All right, once again, turn in your Bibles to the book of 2 Corinthians. This week, it'll be 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

And as you're turning there, you know, most people don't like having to defend themselves. Especially if you're innocent, you're not going to feel a need. And especially when the people accusing you, they're the ones who are guilty.

Well, that's basically what's going on here in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. The false teachers are accusing the apostle Paul, and this is basically his defense here. So, in responding to the accusations from the false teachers, Paul says, starting in verse 1, Do we begin again to commend ourselves?

Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you? Or letters of commendation from you? And you may remember in the last chapter, how Paul reminded the church. He said, don't let Satan take advantage of you.

We are not ignorant of his devices. So, what did Satan, what was he trying to do? He was trying to sow seeds of discord in the church. And he was using the false teachers to do it. And who were the false teachers?

These would have been prominent men in the church, who when the apostle Paul said something or taught something, they would come along and say, hey, don't listen to Paul. Paul's wrong, don't listen to him.

Then last week, we read about Paul's comments about those who did what? They peddled the word of God. So, they corrupted the message of scripture. They corrupted the gospel. They were not sincere. They would basically say or do anything to undermine the church leadership to gain a following for themselves, all of this to serve their own interests.

And apparently, based on Paul's words here in chapter 3, the false teachers were undermining the apostle Paul because Paul didn't have these letters of commendation. So, look at it again, verse 1. Paul says, do we begin again to commend ourselves?

Or do we need as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? So, what does this tell us? The false teachers, they must have had these letters to say, hey, he doesn't have them, we do.

And if false teachers have letters of commendation, what does that tell you? They were either forged or they were obtained under false pretenses. So, before we get into the text, I just want you to think about this.

Think about who Paul was and his background. The man had credentials, right? He received the laying on. I mean, forget the Jerusalem or the Damascus Road experience where he met Christ. We're not even going to mention that.

I guess I just did. But what did he do? He received the laying on of hands. He was sent out by a legitimate local church. He was trained and he was educated, being knowledgeable of the scriptures. He even received affirmation by Peter, James, and John.

So, Paul had all the credentials that he needed and then some. But to his critics, none of that mattered. So, how does Paul respond? Well, again, in verse 1, do we begin again to commend ourselves or do we need as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?

Maybe a little bit of sarcasm there. But notice Paul, he doesn't start out by bragging. Let me tell you all the reasons you should listen to me. I have this, I've done this. He doesn't do that. Instead, he's asking a rhetorical question and he's letting the Corinthians decide on their own.

Now, the Greek word translated commend can also be translated introduce. So, in other words, Paul is saying to the church, do I need to reintroduce myself to you? Don't you know who I am? You received and you accepted me once.

Do we have to go through all of this again? You know my character. You know my doctrine. Why is this even an issue? So, all of those things and more probably can be implied based on his statements. But what does he say?

Do we need as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters from you? What's an epistle? A letter. Okay, so we see that the two terms are used interchangeably. So, the answer, because it's a rhetorical question, what's the obvious answer?

The answer is no. So, number two, the false teachers apparently had some of these letters. And more important, number three, he says in the next verse, you are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.

Isn't that an amazing statement? Again, in verse two, you are our letter. You, the members of the church, you are my letter of commendation. So, Paul, I think his attitude, if someone asked me to defend myself, no thanks, I'll just point to you guys.

I'll just point to the church. And they can see your faith. They can see your love for one another. And remember, the Corinthian church was not perfect. Far from it. But Paul was proud of them. They had come a long way.

They had righted many of their wrongs. And Paul's attitude was, you guys, you're all the defense I need. I think that's a wonderful statement. Now, I want to use an illustration, okay? And there's obviously some major differences here, because Paul was the founder of the Corinthian church.

But just to use an illustration regarding this fellowship. And I'm not the founder of the church, and I'm not trying to take credit for anything. So it's different. But several years ago, a woman who, and I don't know how to describe her, except to say that she's somewhat of a mover and shaker in regards to religion and churches here in Franklin County.

She encountered some of the things that I believed and had taught. And let's just say she comes from a very different theological background. All right? And I think that she was surprised that someone like me exists here in Franklin County.

You know, someone who's just, who believes every word of scripture, doesn't want to apologize for any of it, and sometimes tells it like it is. Well, she said to me, she said, I was taken aback by something that you had said.

And I don't know what she thought exactly. She certainly didn't agree with what I said. But here's the thing. I know, I just know, if I could deliver to her a letter of commendation from, you know, a degree from the Harvard School of Divinity, or if I could show her that I graduated from the Yale Divinity School.

I like to call it the Yale Divination School, but that's another story. But if I could produce to her a degree or a letter saying I graduated from one of these schools, she'd be impressed, wouldn't she?

And I don't have any of those letters, obviously. But is that what matters? A letter, a piece of paper? Is that what matters? Call me crazy. I thought that what matters is being saved. I thought what matters is being born again.

I thought what matters is believing in God, trusting in every word of God, and loving others. I thought that is what matters. I didn't say any of that, but I was as gracious as I could be. And I invited her to church some Sunday morning.

So she came and she visited our church. And after she had attended the service, I thanked her for coming. And I thought, you know, that was really nice that she came. Later on that evening, she sent me an email.

And to my surprise, she told me how much she enjoyed the service. But here's the point. She was just amazed by how friendly everybody was. And she spoke of everyone seemed so genuine and sincere. She said that this, and she's attended a lot of churches.

She said this was the friendliest church she had ever attended. It's like a letter of commendation written on people's heart. So the people are what matter. People's love for God and love for one another.

That is more valuable than any letter, than any degree, than any license from a denomination to preach. The people and how God is working in their heart. That is what matters. Paul says in verse 3, clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us.

Written not with ink, but by the spirit of the living God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh. That is of the heart. So the church itself, the Corinthians themselves, they were an epistle of Christ.

A letter, not written with ink. Rather they were crafted by the Holy Ghost. Now turn to Jeremiah chapter 31 if you would. Jeremiah 31 is a key Old Testament passage where the Lord tells Israel of the new covenant.

That was coming. And Paul is going to continue and speak about the new covenant. Lord willing we will cover that next Sunday. And as you're turning there, let me read again what Paul said. He said that the church was an epistle of Christ, written not with ink, but by the Holy Spirit.

Written not on tablets of stone. And you think, what does that bring to mind? Obviously the Ten Commandments. Written not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh. So that's the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

This is one of the major differences between Old Testament and New Testament. The Ten Commandments were written on what? Stone. And they told people what to do and what not to do. And along with the penalties for breaking the commandments, this may restrain people's behavior, but it is powerless to change a person's heart.

Only the Spirit of the living God can do that. So the Ten Commandments tell you what to do and what not to do. But in the New Testament with the working of the Holy Spirit, God's law is put in our hearts to where now Christians want to do the right thing.

Many of the Israelites were doing the right thing because they had to. They were afraid of the consequences. Of course there were good and regenerate men and women in Israel obviously, but now Christians, it's that we want to do it.

Not because, well God just says so and I'm afraid of what He's going to do if I don't. Now that's still a legitimate reason in some regard, but we want to do the right thing. Amen? Amen. So the Corinthians, they had transformed lives.

And they were, according to Paul, a New Testament epistle of Christ. Look at Jeremiah 31 verse 31. The prophet Jeremiah writes, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people.

No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.

I will remember no more. Just one quick thing about this passage. It's interesting, people will say about modern Jews, they will say that Jews don't believe in the new covenant. They're still under the old covenant.

Who's ever heard someone say that? Or maybe you've said that. The Jews, they reject the new covenant, but they're still under the old covenant. Well, first of all, Jesus said 2 ,000 years ago, even back then, he said they were not obeying Moses, but that's another story.

If the Jews believed in the Old Testament scriptures, they would believe in the new covenant because the new covenant is mentioned, first mentioned in the writings of the old covenant. The Jewish prophet Jeremiah prophesied of the new covenant, which was to come.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.