Welcome to the defender bible study. A weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children Services, where we believe that defending the fatherless begins by being rooted in God's word.

It's Monday, June 24, 2024, and I'm coming to you from Birmingham, Alabama. Well, this week, we are continuing our study on the book of 2nd Corinthians. And specifically, we're looking at chapter 6 verses 1 through 10. Our culture has lost its conscience. We have truly forgotten how to blush.

We are following in line with the people of Jeremiah's age. Jeremiah 6:15 says, were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No. They were not at all ashamed. They did not know how to blush.

We are prideful and arrogant people who rarely apologize or seek forgiveness. Instead, we are quick to accept another sin because it justifies our own sin. Our culture mirrors what we read in the introduction of the book of Romans. Romans 1 28 to 32 says, and since they did not see fit to acknowledge god, god gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.

They were full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossipers, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. You see Paul was greatly concerned about the church in Corinth. They were missing opportunities for service and allowing the flesh to have its way.

Beloved, we see this all around us in the church and tragically especially among leaders and public Christian figures. Our lives so many times are not reflecting the marks of the commendable believer who understands the grace, the gospel, the goodness, and the glory of almighty God who surrendered himself as a ransom while we were yet sinners. And even this past week, we've seen over and over examples of Christian leaders, of pastors that have succumbed to to moral deplorability. Beloved, we we are reminded of of what Paul says, oh, wretch that I am. Why do I do the things I don't wanna do and I don't do the things I want to do?

But he also says, don't take the grace of God in vain and keep sinning. We are to be concerned and we are to allow the the spirit to overcome our flesh. We cannot allow the flesh to have its way. And so with that, let's look at our passage, 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verses 1 through 10. Paul says this, working together with him then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

For he says, in a favorable time, I listen 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 another's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry. But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by grateful endurance in 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, to honor and dishonor, to slander and praise.

We are treated as impostors and yet 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 always making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing everything. Remember the context of this passage flowing out of 2nd Corinthians 5 20 to 21 when Paul says, 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.

You see, beloved, we are Christ ambassadors. And as an ambassador, we work with Christ to make the kingdom known. We want all people not to receive mere knowledge or cultural Christianity, but true life changing and life altering faith. We're ambassadors similar to an ambassador of the US who is representing the US in foreign matters. We're ambassadors similar to an ambassador in college.

My my oldest daughter is has been going on these college visits. And when you go on a college visit, you meet the ambassadors of that university who are imploring you to come to their university. They put their best foot forward. But, beloved, we are not Christ ambassadors because we are the best students or we've been elected as such. We are Christ ambassadors because we are the ones who've experienced the transformation power of his grace.

And so we, as his ambassadors, we make Christ known. We make his kingdom known. And in so doing, Paul says in verse 1, so we work together with him as his ambassadors. And verse 1 says, too, we we don't receive the gospel in vain. This means we don't receive the good news in emptiness as it were nothing.

It means to be in vain means to miss the power to sustain us through every situation of life that we face. And, beloved, I am I am scared to believe that many have received the gospel in vain. It is cultural Christianity. It is religion not a relationship with the almighty. When we receive the gospel in vain, it means we don't really understand what gospel power is that we were wretched sinners and have been saved by miraculous grace.

When we realize what we have been saved from, we're not talking about we're no longer talking about legalism, We're talking about holiness. And then, beloved, Paul goes on in in verse 2, quoting from Isaiah 498, he says, this is an acceptable time. This is the day of salvation. Today is a favorable time where god is not withholding his judgment so that another person may repent and come to saving faith. We are not enduring hardships for sport, but we are enduring hardships to follow the example of our savior in laying down our lives for the salvation of another.

We endure hardships as we preach the word in order to give an unbelieving world a correct view and estimation as to the grandeur and glory of our god. Oh, but this day of salvation will not last forever. We must be bold in making the gospel known and never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ Jesus. After this day of salvation will come a day of real judgment. Paul is asking the Corinthians and by extension us here today, do you believe in Jesus Christ's mighty name to save and transform?

Do you believe he is the Messiah and that there is no name under heaven and earth by which men must be saved? Do you believe that there is a day of judgment and that king Jesus will come and judge the quick and the dead? If so, beloved, Paul commands us, put no obstacle in the way of someone coming to know and trusting king Jesus. We guard our hearts, our minds, and our actions, and our ministry. Paul says that in every aspect of our lives, in every single thing that we do, in every way that we respond, we're to give no cause for offense in anything but to commend ourselves as servants of God.

In Greek, the word for obstacle is which means to cause stumbling or an occasion to sin because of the way we behave. Beloved, I pray that the heartbeat of our ministry individually and corporately is that we would never be an obstacle to the gospel, but that we would be an instrument of God's grace and glory to shine bright among the nations at home and abroad. And Paul moves on through this passage to give illustration of the gospel commending life, a life which commends the gospel. And so I want us to see 7 aspects of the life which commends the gospel to the world. And the first the first aspect is endurance.

And we see in verse 4, it says that we endure by great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots. To endure means to stay under pressure, to stay with it, to stick to it, to not quit, but instead to persevere. Paul is talking here about enduring even when it's easier and more pleasing to just walk away. It means to endure for the sake of the gospel even when we may feel triggered, hurt, wrongly accused, or abandoned. Look at the list again of endurances from verses 45, afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots.

Paul is saying a servant of God doesn't walk away from affliction or remove himself from hardship. We care for a sick loved one or elderly parent knowing that in so doing, we show a pattern and picture of gospel faithfulness. Caring for your elderly parent with grace and patience is an act of gospel witness and evangelism. Bearing graciously with one another and being slow to speak, quick to listen, and forbearing in forgiveness shows the marks of the gospel to a watching world. But we also endure beatings, physical, mental, and emotional.

We endure turmoil and calamities when people wrongly accuse us or mock us for our reliance upon king Jesus. Because, beloved, that's what it means to pick up our cross and follow king Jesus. Disorder is difficult to handle. That's what these words are, situations that bring disorder and confusion. When we are in these situations, it's so easy to react improperly, impatiently, hastily, or to discredit our ministry.

But praise be to god that he gives us the power to resist and ultimately to endure for the sake of the gospel. And so the first aspect of a life which commends the gospel to the world is endurance, but the second aspect is ordinary labor. We see these these three terms in verse 5, labors, sleepless nights, hunger. Don't forget that Paul made tents on the side to support the work so he wouldn't be a burden on any of the churches. Paul understood the laborious nature of daily life, and God wants us to have balance in our lives.

And we cannot think that we are expendable because we are about his business. We cannot misuse our bodies or neglect our health. Through ordinary labor, we also need sleep and exercise and a healthy diet. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And through life's ordinary labor, may we honor God with our time but also with our rest.

In the last week of his life on earth, Jesus prays a beautiful prayer recorded by John in his gospel. John 17:4 says, I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. We must be for the work the Lord has called us to do without neglecting god given rest and restoration. If Jesus the Christ didn't do everything, didn't see everyone, didn't heal everyone, didn't didn't visit everyone, let us be reminded that we cannot be expected as well-to-do everything, but we rely instead upon the Lord. Resting is trusting in God's sovereignty and God's control and God's omnipresence.

And so we look at endurance as an aspect of a life which commends the gospel of the world. We look at ordinary labor. But the third aspect of a life which commends the gospel of the world is purity. And verse 6 says purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech. You see, licentious living is living without moral restraints.

It's a natural consequence of not honoring God as God and keeping his commandments. Beloved, we become what we worship. Our lives reflect the one for whom we bow down to. And our culture speech is polluted with profanity. Our entertainment is crude and overly sexualized.

Our culture teaches that you should cheat and lie to get ahead. We are quick tempered and impatient. The Christian instead is called to imitate Christ. When we worship king Jesus and bow the knee to the father, the fruit of the Holy Spirit begins to come alive in us, showing a purity and a restraint that leads others to explore the gospel. And so we must be pure.

Our purity commends the gospel to the world. But then the 4th aspect of a life which commends the gospel to the world is a life which trusts in the power of god and in god's word. So we trust in god's power and his word. Paul knew that ultimately this wasn't his battle nor his victory. It was the lord's.

Paul proclaimed the gospel in and out of season, never compromising its message and never using it to tickle ears. He proclaimed the gospel with sound doctrine, trusting in the word of God and the power of God to bring forth salvation. That's why what what we see is in verse 7, the power of God with the weapons of righteousness. And what's the weapon of righteousness for the right hand and the left hand? The word of God.

The word of God is the the sword of the armor of God. It is the power of God that we have. We we trust in God's power and we trust in God's word. The world does not need our knowledge. The world does not need our wisdom.

The world needs the trust that we have in the power of God and in his word. And so a life which commends the gospel of the world is ultimately committed to the word of God knowing that it is ultimately true, that it is fallible and that it is inspired by God. But the world also needs to see a people who completely trust in the absolute power of God. And so a life which commends the gospel is committed to the word of God and the power of God, but 5th, a life that commends the gospel to the world treasures Christ. Look again at verses 8 and 9.

It says, through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise, treated as impostors and yet true, unknown and yet well known. It's one thing to serve god in the work of the ministry when glory comes our way, when we are well known, hailed, honored, respected. It's another thing to persevere in ministry when people dishonor us, bring false and evil reports about us, call us deceivers and imposters, and when no one cares about what you do or why you do it. The only way to persevere in ministry is to treasure Christ above all else. We must treasure Christ, his glory, and his gospel.

When we treasure Christ above all else, we will truly be able to count it all joy when we are falsely accused to meet trials of various kinds. Oh, beloved, when we treasure Christ and the gift of Christ and the love of Christ and the grace of Christ above everything else in the world, our life begins to commend the gospel to the world. But the 6th aspect of a life which commends the gospel to the world is a life which accepts the Lord's refinement. Jesus tells his followers of Matthew and John that no servant is greater than his master. Jesus says that we must be crucified to Christ and the process of becoming like Christ is difficult.

It means dying to ourselves and that comes very slowly and with much pain. The process of sanctification is a long, messy, hard, and refining process. We see in verse 9 that it says we are dying, and yet behold we live. We are punished and yet we are not killed. We also know that from Hebrews 12 that the Lord disciplines those.

He punishes those whom he loves in order to refine us into the character of Christ. And so we are punished and yet not killed. We die to ourselves, and yet we live. That's what Paul means in verse 7, But we also see the author of Hebrews say it this way in Hebrews 12 verses 3 through 6, consider him who endured such from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted the point of shedding your blood.

And have you not forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and he chastises every son whom he receives. You see Jesus didn't come for religion, but he came for relationship with his creation and this comes with great refinement, where the refinement and discipline of the lord is a mark of sonship, is a mark that we are his children. And that is an aspect of a life which commends the gospel of the world, a life that is constantly being refined.

But last but certainly not least, the 7th aspect of a life which commends the gospel to the world is a life which counts it all joy. And we see in verse 10 that we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing, are full of joy. We are poor yet making many rich. We have nothing, yet we possess everything. Beloved, weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Sorrow is temporal, but the joy of our salvation is eternal. One day, he will wipe away every tear, and there will be no more pain. There will be no more sorrow. But for now, we count it all joy because our sovereign God has it all under his loving and merciful control. The riches we gain may be for others.

Every gift we have comes down from the father above. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and so we hold all things in this life with an open hand. We belong to 1 Jesus Christ. We live for 1 King Jesus, and our passion is to commend ourselves as his faithful servants, enduring no matter the cost, laboring in the ordinary with all purity, trusting in the power and the word of God, treasuring God in his refinement so that ultimately our joy comes to a new life coming to salvation in Christ. Oh beloved, may we not receive the gospel of God in vain, but may we make the gospel known.

Oh, it is a favorable time. It is a day of salvation, so let us preach the gospel. Thanks for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. This week, we are praying for, Lifeline staff, as they do the work of ministry here in the United States and abroad. Would you join me in praying for the over 240 men and women that the lord has assembled at Lifeline for his work to do his work for the orphan, the vulnerable woman, and the vulnerable family.

Let's pray. Lord God, I'm thankful for the team that you have assembled here at Lifeline. I thank you for each and every man and woman who serves women who are going through crisis unplanned pregnancies, Lord, especially for all of those women who serve Lifeline's ministry in the 50 states. Would you grant them wisdom? Would you grant them favor?

Would you help them to live lives that are commendable to the gospel as they meet daily with women who are walking through troubling times, hurtful places, places where they may be abused or tattered or warned? Would you be with the the men and women who are are serving with families that are going through reunification? Oh, god, would you give grace to these men and these women? Would you help them in the difficult situations? Would you help them to be able to trust in you, in your power, in your word as they minister to men and women, boys and girls.

And, Lord, as we care for orphan and vulnerable children here at home and around the world, would you be with our staff? Would you give them wisdom? Would you give them grace? Would you give them energy? Would you give them rest?

Would you help them to to trust in you as you care as they care for making your gospel known around the world. And Lord for all of our staff that serve in administration that do maybe the thankless jobs, the jobs that aren't quite so noteworthy of just making sure that the ministry is able to pay the bills and making sure that we're able to hire the right people and and do the things to keep the ministry going? Like Aaron and Hur, the ones that are holding up the arms of those on the front lines, would you give grace and wisdom? Would you continue to give long suffering to those in administration? Would you give favor even for those who are raising the funds?

Lord, last week we had Giving Day and Lord it was a success but I pray that you would not just make a Giving Day but that you would use our team to help print the hearts and the minds of people who have resource to give to this ministry that you've called us to. Lord, may our staff be firmly devoted to you. May our staff be trusting in you. Lord may you renew us and keep us firm and help us to work as a team commending you and commending your gospel to a watching world. Oh god, we ask all these things in your great name, the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thanks again for joining us for the defender bible study. If you enjoy making this podcast a part of your weekly routine, we'd love for you to take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review the defender bible study to make it easier for more people to find. For more resources and information on how you and your church can partner with Lifeline, please visit us at lifelinechild.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter by searching for Lifeline Child. You can email us directly at info@lifelinechild.org

We look forward to seeing you again next week for the defender bible study.