2 Corinthians - Lesson 6E

•  Good morning and welcome back to our study of 2 Corinthians. When we last left off, we were in the process of studying, and or breaking down and rightly dividing - God's word of truth.

  • And we were specifically focused on 2 Cor. 6:11-18. And so, as I often do, before moving forward I want to back up and re-read these verses for context this morning and here is what Paul said,

2 Cor. 6:11 Our mouth has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
2 Cor. 6:12 You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. (Self-awareness)
2 Cor. 6:13 Now in the same way in exchange—I am speaking as to children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.
2 Cor. 6:14 Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness? (a hawk and a dove)
2 Cor. 6:15 Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial (bee-lee-el), or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? 
2 Cor. 6:16 Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
2 Cor. 6:17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. (Your choice)
“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you.
2 Cor. 6:18 “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

• In the first section of these verses – verses 11-12 – Paul said we have spoken freely to you, and our hearts are opened wide, and you are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.

  • What Paul was saying was, we have spoken the truth, we’ve done all we can do to straighten out your beliefs, your poor behavior and or your theology and the only thing holding you back from getting back on track with God - is you

    • It’s - you!

    • You’re the problem – btw – this is the way it always is.

• We are the problem – in one way, shape, form, fashion or the other, we (us), you and I are always the problem. Especially as it relates to our spiritual growth, and overall spiritual health and maturity.

  • This message is simple, yet a difficult one for most people to grasp. Do not let your emotions override the truth of Gods word!

    • Instead obey and do what God requires you to do.

  • That was true for the Church at Corinth - and that is true for us as well.

• But what if I don’t know what to do? You do know what to do, you're just not doing it – because your emotions are getting in the way. Because we have access to God's word we know what God expects, therefore we know what to do.

  • And so the only thing holding us back is our own affections/emotions.

• Moving on, in the next set of verses – verses 14-16 – Paul says, "Do not be mismatched with unbelievers". The word in the Greek actually says “do not be unequally yoked”.

  • The picture being painted here is that of one being tied to together or connected permanently, conjoined with unbelievers. Which is disturbing when you think about it. And why?

    • Because, as we know Paul is writing this letter to the Church of Corinth, a church he founded.

    • Which means when he told this church not to be unequally yoke with unbelievers he was speaking about people inside this fellowship. Which is pretty sobering when you stop to think about it.

• Last week I explained why this happens, why unbelievers end up deeply rooted inside the church. It's all because of the gradual, and slow abandonment of the teaching of God’s Word but just exactly how did that happen. Or better yet, why has it happened?

  • It’s happened because of Thematic or Topical Teaching preaching approach. A teaching style that was supposed to lend itself to a better understanding of God's Holy Manuscript.

    • And although it did (in a sense), over time the continued dumbing down of the scriptures slowly diluted or watered down the central context the Bible was trying to convey of what we were supposed to learn.

    • Which is ironic because God's word is the mechanism that God uses to save people. And we know this because of verses like Romans 10:17, which tells us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ or God”.

  • And so once again the reason for this shift from Bible Teaching to Topical or Thematic Teaching was to bring a more “life applicable”, or easy to understand message to God's people.

    • And so, that’s what happened and it makes sense on the surface. Problem is it's only through God's word that people become convicted and it's through that conviction that people repent and are saved.

  • But why is that? Why is it, that people are convicted from God's word. It's because they are hearing directly from God. Where in the Old Testament, God spoke through the Law and the Prophets.

  • Once Jesus came, all that changed and today He speaks to you and I through His word, specifically through the situations and circumstances fleshed out in His Word.

• The concept is a simple one: When we read and study and meditate on His word God reveals His character to us. This happens when we see how God deals with individuals and situations that in turn convicts us about our own lives – and that conviction leads to Salvation.

  • And so if Salvation comes directly from my conviction that comes through His word.

  • And if my Sanctification (Spiritual Maturity) comes from studying His Word as well, then wouldn’t it make sense for me to get as close to God as I can possibly get? Yep.

    • And to do that I need to receive His word in purest possible form. Which means I don’t want a man/a preacher/a pastor to come up with some topic or theme or sermon series trying to simplify the message on my behalf. God doesn’t need the preachers help delivering His message.

• Now, let me say as previously stated, the shift in teaching from Bible Teaching to Topical or Thematic Preaching was done with the purest of intentions. All in an effort to reach more people for Christ – which was a good thing.

  • And I get it, the Church needs to reach more people and so, let’s try something different. Something that might be more moving, something that would really draw them in, get their attention. Leave them saying "Man, I really get a lot out of today's message"

  • Problem is – as previously stated – the only way people are saved is by and through God's word.

• But honestly, this new style did draw more people in. Matter a fact it drew in hundreds and thousands of people and continues to do so.

  • But the truth is, in many cases, the reason more people came or were drawn into the church had less to do with God and more to do with the preacher’s charisma, and presentation, and or speaking ability.

    • Or the energized “rock concert” service which created the appearance of growth.

    • Problem was and still is, it was external and not internal growth. Meaning, people came, the church grew. But in many respects it was simply surface and superficial. It had no real substance.

    • People were a mile wide and an inch deep in their walk with God. But it worked, and once this all got going, there was no stopping it or slowing it down.

• Now, last week I told you I was going to expound a little more on this topic of Topical Preaching versus Expository Bible Teaching, and I want to do that by giving you some examples of what I am trying to convey – more specifically the differences in the two especially as it relates to context.

  • And from these examples you will see how the misrepresentation of the context of scripture takes people down the wrong path, especially as it relates to knowing and understanding God.

• Now, the difference in the two types of  styles - Topical or Thematic versus Bible Teaching - lies primarily in the difference of exegeting the scriptures versus eisegeting the scriptures.

  • And let me give you the definitions of both - so you can better understand what I am saying:

  • Exegeting scripture means to expound.Iit starts with the Bible as the basis and context for the message and expounds on what the text says.

    • The Bible Teacher sets the stage, begins the book or letter/epistle by letting us (the hearer) know who the writer was, who he was speaking to, what the setting was (geographical), the time frame that it was written in along with all pertinent historical background etc..

    • This is what it means when we say the preacher or teacher is exegeting the scriptures.

• On the other hand, there is what we call eisegeting the scriptures.

  • This style starts with man’s thought, or theory, theme or idea and then uses the Bible as a basis for backing up what he is trying to convey.

  • Generally, the preacher jumps all over the Bible from one verse to another, right to the middle of a book or letter, and uses them to back up his narrative, or agenda.

    • As I said last week, a preacher can do this. He can preach topically or thematically. But they must stay in context, which is hard to do when you’re the one trying to tell the Bible what the context is, or what the context should be!

• So, as I said last week I wanted to give you some examples of what I am talking about to give you some perspective of why it’s so important to stay in context. and I want to start with John 10:10.

  • John 10:10 is a favorite go-to scripture for the Topical and or Thematic or Charismatic preachers. And here is what John 10:10 says,

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

• As I said, this is one of the signature verses of the prosperity gospel. John 10:10 is used to suggest that God loves his followers and wants them to have every good thing.

  • The problem is - interpreting this verse to promise physical gain neglects the depth suggested by its context. And why?

  • Because the preceding verses clearly illustrate the parable of the sheep and their good shepherd, Jesus, who calls them by name.

    • That’s what John says - that Jesus sheep know the good shepherd’s voice and follow Him.

  • Verse 10 then contrasts Jesus with false shepherds who steal and kill and destroy. The abundance of life suggested here has to do with knowing and being known by Jesus, not material things.

    • The Tyndale Commentary explains, “He does not offer them an extension of physical life nor an increase of material possessions, but the possibility, nay the certainty, of a life lived as a higher level of obedience to God’s will and reflecting his glory.”

• Next, we move to James 4:2

James 4:2 You do not have because you do not ask God.

• This verse is often used to bolster the “name it and claim it” part of the prosperity gospel — if you don’t “have,” it’s because you haven’t prayed enough.

  • This interpretation ignores the verse that follows, in which James says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives - which is so that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

    • Creflo Dollar says this of prayer: “When we pray, believing that we have already received what we are praying, God has no choice but to make our prayers come to pass.”

• While prayer (including intercessory prayer) is crucial to the life of a Christian, using it to force God into appeasing the believer’s desires also goes against the very prayer Jesus prayed on the eve of his crucifixion: Which said, “Yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42) 

Mark 10:29-30 No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age.

• Prosperity preachers are known for their emphasis on giving, which on its face seems to line up with scripture. However, the motivation they teach — this giving in order to get concept — distorts the biblical tradition.

  • In God’s Will Is Prosperity, Gloria Copeland writes of this verse, “Give $10 and receive $1,000; give $1,000 and receive $100,000 . . . in short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal.”

  • But of course, that’s not what this verse is promising. The reward indicated here is fellowship with hundreds and thousands of other believers.

  • The following verse (10:31) provides further clarity to this fact, when it says: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

    • This verse clearly encourages ordinary, obedient discipleship, not personal gain.

Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.

• Once again prosperity preachers apply this verse to their misinterpretation of the Abrahamic covenant found in Genesis, which they read as God promising financial blessings to Abraham’s descendants.

  • In Spreading the Flame, Edward Pousson writes, “This Abrahamic inheritance is unpacked primarily in terms of material entitlements.”

    • Again, an entire portion of the verse is neglected. The Apostle Paul concludes in 3:14 by writing that Jesus sacrificed “so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

  • David Jones, author of Health, Wealth and Happiness, writes that Paul is reminding the Galatians of the spiritual blessing that is salvation, not that of wealth in this life.

2 Corinthians 8:9 Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

• Prosperity teachers read this verse to suggest that Jesus’ sacrificial death affords us temporal wealth.

  • Most Christians agree that when Paul says that Jesus was “rich,” he was referring to His status as the Son of God. And His becoming poor was his voluntary act of stepping into humanity — the incarnation.

    • Indeed, Paul was telling early Christians that because of the grace afforded to them, they should empty themselves.

    • The goal was equality, and in verse 15, Paul recalls Exodus 16:18, saying, “as it is written: ‘The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.’”

3 John 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

• In a prosperity gospel context, this verse is read to claim that physical health is inseparable from spiritual growth — if a believer were truly faithful enough, he would be experiencing bodily blessings.

  • However, 3 John 2 is simply a greeting. It’s how John begins his letter to Gaius, similar to how any polite person might begin a letter with well wishes. It was not a promise to Gaius, and certainly is not meant to be taken as a promise that none of God’s people will ever fall ill.

Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse . . . and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

• This verse is a powerful fundraising tool for prosperity preachers, manipulating believers into tithing more by saying God will return the favor exponentially.

  • But as D. A. Horton explains, this verse has nothing to do with individual riches; rather, it arises from a particular historical situation for Israel: “The Israelites were robbing God by not giving enough food to the national storehouse that was used to feed the priests of Israel. So, the priests were having to leave their priestly duties and take up farming to survive (see Neh. 13:10-13). God therefore exhorts Israel to test him by giving obediently. If they did, he would reward them as he did in the past.”

Isaiah 53:5 The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

• Whereas most Christian scholars see this verse as a prophecy that spiritual wounds (sin) are healed (overcome) by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, prosperity gospel preachers interpret it to mean that abundant faith will result in physical healing.

  • Kenneth E. Hagin, one of prosperity gospel’s founders, writes, “It is the plan of Our Father God, in His great love and in His great mercy, that no believer should ever be sick; that every believer should live his full life span down here on this earth.”

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

• This maybe one of the most misunderstood verses by Christians more generally (see “Five Bible Verses You Need to Stop Misusing”), Jeremiah 29:11 is often used to promise good news, suggesting that God works every seemingly bad situation for our benefit in the not-so-distant future.

  • But this verse comes amidst Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon, and it would be 70 more years before they would return home.

  • The verse is not a promise to Christians today who lose jobs or experience heartbreak of any kind. It was a promise to the Israelites that God, on his own timetable and plan, would restore his people.

    • And so what would the message be for us, or what would the current “Life Application” be for us?

    • That God works on His own timetable, not ours, that would should be patient and know that God is doing something (for His Glory), and not for ours.

• Then finally, I will end with John 14:14.

John 14:14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

• Similar to James 4:2, prosperity preachers misinterpret this verse to suggest that God will answer the prayers of the faithful.

  • But Christians praying for financial wealth should consider the words of Jesus from Matthew 19:24: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

  • Jesus speaks the words in John 14:14 as a way of encouraging His disciples to spread the gospel of His kingdom.

    • And once again, if someone is confused about this text of scripture they can become less confused by reading the verses before and after which provides really useful and powerful context. And the preceding verse says:

John 14:12 …Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do…

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”

• Now you may be setting here this morning and thinking to yourself, well Pastor, you have talked a lot about Prosperity Preachers and the misinterpretation of the scriptures as it relates to finances, wealth, and or health or healing, but I don’t really believe that, so I’m good.

  • Well, guess what, you’re not good and let me show you what I mean by dealing with a more mainstream or less controversial misinterpretation of scripture.

    • Such as someone saying, "I found Jesus", or they found Jesus or I lead them to Jesus.

  • Christians have used these phrases for years and although for the most part when someone says it it's harmless, because they are just trying to convey what happened to a person when they were saved it’s actually an incorrect statement.

    • Matter a fact, it’s a completely inaccurate statement because we don’t find God or Jesus – that’s not how it works.

• First of all, remember God isn’t hiding and second, Romans 3:9-11 says,

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 
Romans 3:10 as it is written:
“THERE IS NO RIGHTEOUS PERSON, NOT EVEN ONE;
Romans 3:11 THERE IS NO ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NO ONE WHO SEEKS OUT GOD;

• Now why is this important? It is important because what you believe about our role, as it relates to God, is extremely important. And why?

  • Because of the expectation it creates as it relates to an individual. Meaning when you understand who’s in control of what, it changes your expectation of the individual!

• Follow me here:

  • If we (the individual) aren’t doing the finding as it relates to God. Instead, if it’s God whose doing the finding then how does that change the preacher’s approach to Preaching and Teaching.

    • Hang in here with me for a minute.

  • If I (The Preacher), believe a person is lost, and they are searching, trying to find God, then isn’t it my job to help them be found?

  • And if it’s my job to provide them with directions, specifically help them get to their ultimate destination (a destination by the way that they are not even aware of), wouldn’t my thoughts of how all this works affect the way I craft my message?

    • Wouldn’t I be tempted to slant my message toward solving their perceived problem?

    • The answer is yes – of course I would.

• Because of this line of thinking, which was derived from a misunderstanding of God's Word, there emerged a style of preaching called “Seeker Sensitive”.

  • Problem is, there is no such thing because "Seeker sensitive" assumes someone is seeking, and according to Paul in Romans that isn’t the case.

    • Now, could someone be having a hard time in their life and maybe be seeking relief from their situation? Absolutely. It happens everyday.

  • But to say, “They are seeking, or searching for God” is simply not a true statement, and we know this to be the case, because once again Romans 3 tells us exactly that – “No one seeks God”.

• Well okay preacher, aren’t we supposed to tell people about Jesus?

  • Yes, but not really. You are supposed to live your life in a way that God uses you, your life (who you are), to draw men to Himself.

    • For example, when someone sees you go through a difficult time, when the storm is raging all around you, what do you do?

    • Do you give honor and glory to God – praising Him in that storm.

    • Or do you say, whoa is me?

  • Does your life represent the great and powerful God you say you serve or to the outside world does it appear you only live out your faith in the good times, or when it’s convenient.

    • You see your life is supposed to create curiosity in the unbeliever. Make them say is this guy or gal for real? Make them say why does this person have so much peace in such difficult times?

    • And when that happens, it will cause a person to inquire which then gives you the opportunity to tell them about your relationship with Jesus. And it's at that point that you have earned the opportunity to invite them to church.

    • And if they visit (because they are curious), it's then that if the preacher is teaching God's Word that God may choose to open the eyes of that individual and prick their hearts (as Peter called it in Acts).

  • Guys that’s how it works, and so our prayer should be everyday:

    • Lord as I go about my life on this earth please grow me and mature me to the point that my life creates curiosity in the unbelieving world around me 

    • Which then will earn me the right to tell them about my relationship with you, which then affords me the opportunity to invite them to church

  • Having said all that though, what happens if they come to church and the preacher is preaching on politics or other controversial topics that have nothing to do with God, or His word but rather have everything to do with the Preacher's personal opinion…

  • Well, if the visitor is offended more than likely they will leave and never return. That’s generally what happens.

• But if the preacher sticks to teaching God's Holy Manuscript by rightly dividing the Word of Truth then it’s between them and God.

  • It’s not my responsibility as the pastor to convict anyone of anything or lead anyone to God – God does that through His Word.

    • Sometimes God deals with an individual and sometimes God didn’t choose to deal with them in that moment.

  • But at the end of the day it’s not my responsibility to prick someone’s heart, only God can do that, it's my responsibility to teach them the truth.

• And so as I close you should be able to see in this little exercise based on Romans 3, how context matters, a whole lot.

  • It changes how we look at things, where one way of thinking is man focused, the other is God focused.

  • One way can lead to a whole lot of false conversions, which creates a bunch of unbelievers sitting in church – The other leads unto real conviction, true repentance, and ultimately salvation.

  • Amen