Christ-Centred Priorities

Thanks very much, Ben. Good morning, everyone. It's lovely to see so many here in the church

and to know there are lots more watching on the live stream or listening to the recording.

You will find it helpful if you're trying to follow me. If you have a Bible in front of you,

open to 2 Corinthians 10, or if you can get it on your phone. If you were here last Sunday,

you may remember that during the service, I gave an update on our church's finances

and encourage everyone to think about their giving to the Lord's work here.

Thank you. A number of people have responded positively to that. Really grateful.

If you still want to give, there is information in the foyer.

But I want you to imagine just now, if last week, having asked for your money,

I stood up this morning and said, you think you're good Christians, but actually you're really unspiritual.

You're self-satisfied, you're proud of yourselves, and you're a bunch of troublemakers.

And unless you change pretty quickly, I'm going to get tough with you.

Now, imagine if I said that, you might say, well, if he's looking for our money, he can forget it now.

There's no need to insult us. Now, let's be clear, I'm not going to do that.

But it is very much what Paul does in 2 Corinthians.

Last week, we were looking at chapter 9, before that chapter 8 with Graham,

and Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to give to help the churches in Judea during a time of famine.

And then in chapter 10, there's a really dramatic change of tone.

And Paul starts by saying, well, you think I'm timid when I'm with you and both when I'm in writing.

Just wait till I come. If you haven't sorted yourselves out, you'll see how tough I can be.

There really is a strong change in the letter.

And we might ask, well, why is that?

Why does Paul go from being very ingratiating, if that's right words, to the Corinthians,

to suddenly slamming them and saying he's going to come and to condemn those who oppose him?

One quite attractive theory of that is perhaps Paul wrote 2 Corinthians,

having a good report from Titus about what is happening in the church at Corinth.

And perhaps when he was writing the first part of the letter,

he received more word from Corinth that said, actually, Titus was maybe a bit premature.

There are still huge problems in the church.

And at that point, he thought, well, I'm going to need to change a bit and be a bit tougher with them.

It's possible that's what was the case, but I don't think we need to assume it was something like that.

If we look a little bit differently at 2 Corinthians, I think there is a natural flow to it.

So the first seven chapters are largely looking backwards.

There have been big problems in the church.

We'll come back to them.

Paul had written to the church and told them they needed to sort themselves out.

Titus was able to come back and say, yes, they have largely repented of what they've done.

And Paul was really encouraged.

And the first seven chapters, on the whole, are quite upbeat.

And Paul talks about everything that we have in Lord Jesus.

He talks about the future, a glory for the Christians that awaits us.

And it's a rejoicing by Paul that the Corinthians have repented, or most of them at least have.

That was looking backwards.

Chapter 8 and 9 were more looking at the present.

So I was saying to the Corinthians, if you really have changed, and I believe you have,

why don't you demonstrate that through your generosity to Christians elsewhere who are going through a time of great difficulty?

Now is your chance to do that.

And Paul expresses confidence that indeed they will.

And then in chapters 10 through 13, he is looking forward.

He's thinking, I'm going to be visiting Corinth again.

And when I do, I want to make sure the church is in good shape.

I don't want to be going there and having to judge them and to put things right.

And chapters 10 to 13 are Paul preparing the way in advance and saying to the Christians in Corinth,

if you can sort things out, it will be a good visit that I'll come with.

If you're still following those who oppose me and are not preaching the right message,

well, then I'm going to have to come and be tough and sort things out.

So although the juxtaposition of chapters 9 and 10 might slightly jar us in 21st century Scotland,

there is a logic to them.

And I think in first century Greece, they wouldn't have come across in quite the same way.

But we definitely are now in a different part of the letter.

And for the next four chapters, Paul is going to be defending himself.

He's going to be defending himself against those who say he's not really a true apostle,

that the people shouldn't follow him.

And he's going to be saying to the church, they have to get rid of these people.

And he uses lots of different ways of doing that.

There's quite a lot of irony in the chapters.

You may notice he go through a little bit of sarcasm.

And Paul uses the word boast a lot.

You'll see this in today's passage.

And we get again and again as we go through.

Said with some embarrassment, Paul doesn't want to boast,

but feels that he needs to just to highlight how much better he is

than these people who are opposing him.

Let's just take a minute before we dig into the passage to remind ourselves of who it is that Paul's talking about.

They're probably Jews encouraging the Corinthians to follow more of the Jewish religion

rather than just rely on faith in Jesus alone for their salvation.

They were people who came with oratory, who had a bit of presence to them,

and who came to the church expecting to be supported financially by it and to be looked up to in it.

They would talk of mystical experiences they had of the Lord.

They would try to show works of power, miracles,

and they would present themselves as what Paul will call in a couple of chapters later, super apostles.

We are the real deal.

We are the people who are really spiritual.

You need to follow us.

And they looked at Paul and said,

he's a little man.

He's not very imposing.

He's not the greatest of speakers.

He even is a manual laborer.

He makes tents for a living.

Why should people listen to him?

We are much more positive in our preaching,

and we are the ones that you should follow.

Follow.

But crucially for Paul,

they weren't bringing the right gospel to the church.

They weren't building the church up.

They were just there for their own good,

so that people would think a lot of them,

and would give them lots of money.

They didn't have any real interest in the Christians in Corinth.

And so Paul in these chapters will defend himself against a number of accusations.

I'll just give an idea of where we're going this morning.

There are a couple of particular criticisms that Paul deals with.

The chapter divides itself quite neatly into two sections,

from verse 1 to 11,

and then from verse 12 to verse 18.

And in the first section,

the people who oppose Paul are saying,

he's bold when he writes.

He's willing to have a go at us in writing.

When he's actually with us,

he's very timid.

He doesn't follow up what he says he will when he's writing.

He is really not a person who has great confidence in himself,

or who's someone that you should listen to.

Paul responds to that in these verses.

And then verses 12 through to 18,

the people are saying,

well, he's not got any commendation with them.

We come with our letters,

saying how great we are,

and all the wonderful things we've done.

Where does Paul have that?

And so Paul has to deal with that

in the second part of the chapter.

Now, below that, there are a number of sub-themes.

Now, the questions here aren't quite too clear-cut,

but let me just suggest the kind of things

that the people might have been saying.

So they were saying,

Paul's worldly.

He's not spiritual.

We are super-Christians.

We are super-apostles.

Paul's not like that.

He just doesn't have the spiritual power that we do.

They also question Paul's authority.

They're saying,

Paul's constantly criticising you.

He's putting you down.

What kind of authority does he have to do that?

And then they're saying,

he's encroaching on our patch.

We are the people in Corinth now.

What right has Paul got to come

and to tell you what to do?

And it's that kind of criticism

that we'll be thinking about.

Paul, though, turns it around

and he presents things much more positively.

And I want to focus more this morning

rather than the criticism

on the priorities that Paul presents to us.

So when they talk about him being hard

or being soft,

Paul says,

I want to appeal to you

with the gentleness of Christ.

When they say that they're spiritual

and he's worldly,

Paul says,

what I really want

is to have the mind of Christ.

When they say he's only interested

in criticising,

that he's not really helping the church,

Paul says,

my concern is the body of Christ

in building up,

not in bringing down.

When they say he's got no commendation,

he didn't come with all these letters,

Paul says,

what really matters to me

is the commendation of Christ,

that the Lord Jesus is happy

with what I do.

And when the question is right

to encroach on where they are,

Paul says,

I was sent to you

with the gospel of Christ

and that is what I'm going to bring to you.

So that's where we're going.

We'll briefly talk about each of these

and then at the end,

we'll pull it together.

So let's begin

with the Corinthians saying about Paul

that he's timid when he's with them,

but he's bold when he writes to them

and Paul countering that.

So this little picture

I put up on the screen

is a brief summary

of Paul's dealings with the Corinthians.

So his first visit

we read about in the book of Acts.

He went to Corinth

after he'd been to Athens

and he had a fairly difficult time there,

but he established a church.

He established a church

that really flourished.

It was supremely gifted.

They had lots of spiritual gifts

and they were able to grow

and to develop.

But they also developed lots of issues.

That was 1 Corinthians.

Paul's first letter is in our Bible

is about lots of issues

that Corinthians had

because they just thought

a little too much of themselves

and they didn't deal

with some of the sin and issues

that they had in the church.

So 1 Corinthians is in our Bible.

Paul then found that things were going

or heard that things were getting worse

in Corinth

and he went back again.

What's sometimes called

his painful visit.

He went and essentially

he was rejected by the church.

These people who'd come in

and were trying to present themselves

as superior to Paul

had wormed their way in

and they had taken a lot of control

within the church.

And Paul then had a very difficult

decision to make.

He could have been

very confrontational.

He could have said

no they're all wrong

and I'm the true apostle

and you've got to listen to me

and got into a bit of a slanging match.

But he decided not to do that.

Out of love and consideration

for the church

he didn't want to split it completely.

He decided at that point

not to bring judgment on them

but to leave fairly quietly.

But what he did after that

was he wrote them

what's known as

his severe letter.

Now that's not in our Bible

but it's referred to

in 2 Corinthians.

What he didn't feel able

to say to them

face to face

he put in a letter

and sent to them

via Titus.

And that's why the Corinthians

are saying

or those who've come to Corinth

are saying

he's bold when he writes

and he's timid

when he's with us.

It was Paul

out of consideration

for the church

not wanting to split it

by getting to a slanging match

with them

but to write them

his considered views

and warnings

of what might happen

if they didn't change.

So that last letter

as I said

was sent with Titus.

The church responded

well to it

didn't become perfect

by any means

responded well

and Titus came back

with the good report

and that's when Paul

wrote 2 Corinthians.

And as I said

he looks forward

in that to his third visit

and hopes that

that will be

more positive.

So if we go back

to our thing

about Paul's priorities

what do we learn

then in these

opening verses

about Paul's

approach?

Paul almost says

in these verses

I'm going to do

the opposite

of what you said

I'd do.

You said

I would be bold

in writing

and I would be timid

when I come to you

actually in my writing

I'm going to be gentle

I'm going to plead

with you

I'm not going

to force you

but if you don't change

when I come to you

things will be

very different.

Paul wanted

them to change

he was desperate

for them to change

without him having

to come

and to force it

on them.

And he says

in verse 1

by the humility

and gentleness

of Christ

I appeal

to you.

Very measured

very calm

but also

very compelling.

And he says

in doing this

I'm following

the example

of Jesus.

Now of course

we know

if we read

the gospels

that Jesus says

Matthew chapter 11

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

take my yoke

upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and humble

in heart

and you will

find rest

for your souls.

And in some ways

that is exactly

what Paul is trying

to do here

being humble

and gentle

but enabling

the Corinthians

to learn

from him.

But I think

it's maybe a bit

more in what

Paul says

than that.

If we think

back to the life

of Jesus

now Jesus

could be very firm

when he chose

to be.

When it was

the money changes

in the temple

or when it was

exposing the hypocrisy

of the Pharisees

Jesus didn't

hold back.

But when he came

to earth

the first time

he didn't come

in judgment.

John 3 17 says

God did not send

his son

to condemn

the world

but to save

the world

through him.

He gave plenty

of opportunities

for people

to repent

and change

their ways.

But when ultimately

he was rejected

by his own people

when he was nailed

to the cross

he didn't bring

down condemnation

and judgment

on them

he says

Father forgive them

for they don't

know what they do.

His first coming

was not to judge.

And similarly

Paul's saying

when I came first

and found all

these problems

I didn't come

in judgment

I came to give

you a chance

to change.

Over the last

2,000 years

we've lived

in a period

of God's grace.

And we have

God's word

that tells us

about how

our God

is

about his

holiness

and also

about his

love

and that

urges us

to repent

and to turn

away

from our sins.

And many

millions

over the years

have done

that

and come

to faith

in Jesus.

But there

are warnings

in the Bible

about what

happens

if we don't

do it

just like

Paul does

in his

letter

here.

And when

Jesus comes

again for

the second

time

we don't

know when

that will be

could be

very soon

when Jesus

comes again

for the

second time

he won't

be coming

to save

the world

to take

the sins

of the world

as he did

when he died

on the cross.

Rather he'll

be coming

so that people

can be divided

into two

groups.

Those who

have trusted

Jesus

who have

obeyed

what he

said

who have

their faith

in him

and not

in themselves

and those

who have

rejected

Jesus.

And those

who have

rejected him

will be

judged

and will

be

eternally

condemned.

That's a

really solemn

thought.

It's one

perhaps we

don't talk

about often

enough in

church.

There's a

judgment

coming and

we all

need to

make sure

that our

trust is

in Jesus

so that we

can escape

that judgment

and have

eternal life

through him.

Maybe I

could echo

Paul's

words.

By the

humility

and gentleness

of Christ

I appeal

to you to

make sure

that you

are right

with God

through faith

in Jesus

so that

when he

returns

you will

be saved

and not

condemned.

Something there

for everyone

to think

about.

And if we

are Christians

if we are

following Jesus

to reflect

on that

and to

think how

we can

help others

to understand

their need

of the

Lord Jesus.

That is

the gentleness

of Christ

that Paul

displays.

The second

thing we want

to think about

is the

mind of

Christ.

We're

looking at

verses 3

to 6

here.

And the

accusation

that's been

made against

Paul is

at the

end of

verse 2

where he

talks about

people who

think that

we live

by the

standards

of this

world.

I think

what they're

saying here

is that

they are

strong

Christians

full of

the Holy

Spirit

and they

are able

to say

exactly

what they

think

and to

teach the

people

in exactly

the way

they want.

Paul

lives by

a different

standard.

He's not

got the

spiritual courage

and the

spiritual ability

to deal

with problems

face to face.

He has to

try and do it

in writing.

That's a very

worldly way

of looking at

things,

they say.

Paul says

not at all.

What is

key here

is that we're

in a battle.

The language

of verses

3-5

is very

much the

language

of

warfare.

Paul says

I'm fighting

a battle,

I'm going

to win

that battle

and in

particular

he says

the battle

is for

the mind,

to have

the mind

of

Christ.

Verse 5

he says

we take

captive

every thought

to make

it

obedient

to

Christ.

That's a

great theme

as we go

through the

New Testament.

that the

battle in

our lives

is very

largely a

battle for

our minds.

Paul writes

in Romans

12,

do not

conform to

the pattern

of this

world

but be

transformed

by the

renewing

of your

mind

then you

will be

able to

test and

approve

what God's

good will

is.

His good

pleasing

and perfect

will.

Above

anything else

in our

lives,

if we are

Christians,

if we know

Jesus as

saviour,

we need

to seek

to have

the mind

of Christ

to be

filled with

thoughts of

him and

of his

standards

and to

live by

these and

not the

world's

standards.

That's just

what I've

been doing.

You may

accuse me

of being

worldly.

I've been

trying with

love and

with gentleness

to help you

to get in

the right

path.

But I

have the

mind of

Christ and

if you

don't,

then there

will be

consequences.

Paul says

in Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

set your

mind on

things above,

not on

earthly

things.

Can I

challenge us

this morning?

What do

we do to

make sure

that we

have the

mind of

Christ?

I suggest

the key

things in

that are

reading our

Bibles and

meditating on

God's Word

and spending

time in

prayer,

looking for

God's will

and his

guidance in

our lives.

If we're

Christians,

if we're

followers of

Jesus,

very important

that we

have the

mind of

Christ,

that we

look at

the world

from his

perspective,

not from

the way

the world

looks at

it,

and we

seek to

be

obedient

to it.

Third

point,

then,

is on

the body

of Christ.

So the

troublemakers

in Corinth

seem to be

saying,

Paul is

just someone

who criticizes

constantly,

but he's

not got

the authority

to do

it,

and you

should just

ignore him.

In fact,

they seem to

be saying,

he may not

even be a

Christian.

If he's

not got

the spirit

of Jesus

in him

the way

that we

do,

is he

really a

Christian

at all?

Apocryphals

that one

straight away,

that he's

saying they're

judging by

appearance,

or maybe

it could

be better

translated,

you're

missing the

obvious.

If anyone's

confident that

they belong

to Christ,

they should

consider,

again,

that we

belong to

Christ just

as much

as they

do.

The evidence

of belonging

to Christ

is not

having great

confidence in

your speaking,

is not being

able to do

things that

other people

can't do,

not even

being able to

do miracles

or whatever.

All of us

who have our

trust in

Jesus,

we have

Christ,

we are part

of the body

of Christ,

the church.

And Paul

says,

my aim

is to build

up this

church.

Paul

had established

the church

in Corinth,

he loved

it,

he loved

the people

in it,

and his

greatest desire

was that

they should

obey the

Lord and

that they

should follow

him closely

as they

grew in

faith.

Bodybuilding

can be

painful,

and I'm

not a

bodybuilder,

but I know

people who do

it can be

quite a painful

and difficult

process,

but at the

end of the

day,

they end up

stronger,

they end up

physically

in better

shape.

I think Paul

is saying

here,

actually,

building the

body of

Christ at

times can

be painful

too.

It's not

all about

just encouraging

each other

and saying

how wonderful

we are

and pointing

to Jesus,

vital though

that is.

Sometimes in

love we have

to correct

one another

if we're

going wrong,

or we have

to be willing

to accept

correction

if other

people have

seen things

in us

and point

it out.

But the

key thing

is that

together we

build up

the body

of Christ,

that together

we seek to

help one

another to

grow in

our faith

and in

our love

of the

Lord Jesus

and our

devotion to

him.

You and

I are not

apostles,

far less

super apostles,

but all of

us have

spiritual gifts

that God

has given

us,

and all of

us have a

duty,

a responsibility

if we are

Christians and

we are part

of the church

to build

one another

up and

to help

us to

grow in

our faith.

And sometimes

that can

mean saying

things people

don't necessarily

want to

hear,

but that God

would direct

us to help

them to

understand what

they need to

change in

their lives.

We all have

the opportunity

to serve

and to help

others on

our Christian

walk.

So that's

the first half

of the chapter

if you like,

the overall

heading,

the gentleness

of Christ,

but within

that the mind

of Christ

and the body

of Christ

are priorities

for Paul.

For the second

part of the

chapter I

want to take

the gospel

of Christ

first and

we'll come

back to

the commendation

of Christ

later.

Paul was

commissioned

by Jesus

to go

and to

take the

gospel

to the

Gentiles.

There was

later an

agreement

between the

leaders of

the early

church

that that

is what

they would

do.

Peter and

others

would

concentrate

on taking

the gospel

to the

Jews.

Paul would

concentrate

on taking

the gospel

to the

Gentiles.

And as

part of

that,

Paul had

come to

Corinth

with the

gospel

message.

The people

who were

critical of

him had

come in

later.

They'd

kind of

ridden on

his

coattails

and got

into the

church

and led

it astray.

But Paul

was the

one who

had

established,

in human

terms,

established

the

church.

So he

says,

quite

legitimately,

I can

come and

I can

try to

tell it

where it's

going wrong.

I have

that authority,

I've been

given that

authority by

God,

and I am

going to

ensure that

the church

get back

on the

right lines.

Paul wasn't

a fly-by-night

preacher,

come in

today,

preach the

word,

maybe get

paid something

and then go

on and do

something

somewhere else.

Although he

had a

wide

teaching

ministry,

although he

went all

over the

known world

at that

time,

when he

established

a church,

Paul really

wanted to

care for

it and

to nurture

it and

to give

it opportunities

to grow

and to

serve.

You may

have noticed

in the

chapter that

Paul talks

about going

to the

regions

beyond.

Now regions

beyond in

that case

would be

places like

Rome and

Spain and

other parts

of the

world which

hadn't

necessarily

been reached

with the

gospel.

And Paul

wants to

partner with

the

Corinthian

church in

going and

taking God's

word to

these places.

They said,

I won't do

that until

the problems

are resolved

in Corinth.

My first

priority is to

sort out the

issues in the

church that I

established.

Then with

your support,

I can go

and take the

word elsewhere.

I think this

illustrates for us

two very

important areas

of gospel

work.

On one

hand, all

Christians

should have a

restless desire

to tell others

the good news

of the gospel.

To reach for

Christ, those

who haven't yet

been saved

and are heading

for judgment

unless they

repent and

turn to Christ.

To die without

Christ is to be

lost forever

and we want to

give everyone

we can the

opportunity to

experience God's

salvation.

salvation.

But Paul

reminds us the

gospel is not

just about making

converts.

It's not enough,

it's essential,

but it's not enough

that people just

become Christians

and then drift on

with their old

life and nothing

changes.

Rather, the

gospel is about

making disciples,

about people

coming to faith

in the Lord

Jesus and then

growing in him

and becoming

more like Jesus

in their daily

lives.

And that's what

we're about as

a church.

We want people

to come and

to trust in

the Lord

Jesus.

But we also

want to see

spiritual growth,

people developing

and flourishing

in their faith

as they draw

closer to the

Lord Jesus

and as they

serve him.

I think there's

a slightly

sobering warning

here as well

that maybe we

need to think

about.

I'm not thinking

about anything

particular when

I say this,

but there is a

danger in churches

that if there are

problems, if there

are people causing

difficulties or

divisions or

troubles, that

takes up an

awful lot of

the time of

church leadership

and it restricts

the ability to

spread the gospel

and to grow the

work of Christ.

We all need to be

sure if we are a

member of a church

that we are people

who are there for

the building up of

others and not

for causing

trouble or to

reduce the time

that the leaders

of the church

have to reach

out and to plan

ahead with the

gospel.

The final one

and then we'll

put things

together.

The commendation

of Christ.

What was

happening here

was that these

people had come

to Corinth with

letters saying

how wonderful

they were.

Paul says

actually they

wrote the letters

themselves.

I don't think

each individual

probably wrote

their own

letter, but

probably a group

of people and

they wrote

glowing reports

of each other.

They had very

little value

because it was

only their

assessment and

they were only

comparing people

with a small

group.

Might have looked

convincing, might

have looked as

if these were

good people and

people you should

listen to.

In practice the

letters that they

brought were

worth almost

nothing.

Back in chapter

three where Paul

faced a similar

challenge about

his letter of

commendation, he

said that actually

his letter was

written on the

heart.

His letter was

the church in

Corinth.

You only had to

look at what

had happened in

the church, at

the change that

had been in

people's lives, and

you could see that

the work that Paul

had done among

them was genuine,

that his gospel

really could bring

changes.

He doesn't repeat

that here, but he

makes a vital point.

Right at the end

of the chapter,

verse 18, he

says,

it is not the one

who commends

himself who is

approved, but the

one whom the

Lord

commends.

Ultimately, when

we get praise from

others, we enjoy

it, let's face

it.

If someone comes

and says, you

did a really good

job on something,

that's good, and

it gives us a

boost, and it's

something that we

should do for one

another, encourage

each other as we

serve the Lord

Jesus.

But ultimately, the

kind of commendation

that we get from

humans has limited

value.

It will give us a

boost, it will

maybe help us,

hopefully doesn't

make us too

proud, but it's

not what we

should be doing

things for.

Paul says what

really matters is

the commendation of

Christ.

What really matters

is serving

faithfully so that

when we face the

Lord Jesus and give

account for our

lives, he's able

to say to us,

well done, good

and faithful

servant.

And that is worth

so much more than

any praise or

commendation we may

get from others.

Let's not look just

at the things that

we think will be

popular with others

that will make them

think highly of us.

In our service for

the Lord Jesus, let

us do it for him,

and much of it may

be unseen, but he,

our Father, our

Heavenly Father, sees

what is done in

secret, and he will

reward us.

If we do things

deliberately for the

praise of humans and

we get that, Jesus

tells us we'll have

had our reward in

full at that point.

So let's serve with

the right motives, and

let's have all the

right priorities that

Paul talks about.

Now just very

quickly, let me bring

things together.

This is my favourite

book on 2 Corinthians,

written by Jonathan

Lamb, who's preached

several times at this

church, and it's

called integrity.

It's not a

commentary as such.

Jonathan has

written a great

commentary.

It isn't a

commentary as such,

but it's taking the

theme of integrity,

particularly integrity

and leadership, and

exploring how that

is brought out in

2 Corinthians.

And Jonathan

identifies three

marks of integrity.

I think there's

three marks that

Paul's bringing

before us in our

passage this morning.

The first of these

is sincerity.

It is about our

motivation.

Are we doing

things to build up

the church and for

the benefit of

others, or are we

doing them for

ourselves?

Are we doing

things so that we

win the praise of

humans, or are we

doing things so that

we win the

commendation of

God?

Paul's motivation

were to develop the

mind and character of

Christ and to build

up the body of

Christ.

His motives were

sincere.

The second part of

integrity is

consistency, what

Lamb calls living

life as a whole.

Paul's opponents

accused him of

inconsistency between

his writings and

his visits.

But Paul says,

no, in verse 11,

what we are in our

letters when we are

absent, we will be in

our actions when we're

present.

Paul says, by

taking every thought

captive, he's able

constantly to be

obedient to Christ and

to live a consistent

Christian life.

And then the third

thing is reliability,

reflecting God's

faithfulness.

It would have been

very easy for Paul to

turn his back on the

church in Corinth and

to say, I'm having

nothing more to do

with it.

He could move on to

other churches that

might be a bit more

receptive to what he

had to say.

But no, he'd committed

himself to the church,

to boarding it up, and

he was going to see

it through.

He was faithful not

just to God, but to

the church as well, and

even willing to change

his plans to meet its

needs.

So can I challenge us?

Are we people of

integrity, of

sincerity, of

consistency, of

reliability?

And let me end with

two American

presidents.

Barack Obama and

Jimmy Carter.

Whatever you think of

their politics, I

think these two are

widely regarded as

men who had

integrity, who had

compassion.

As you probably know,

Jimmy Carter died

towards the end of

last year.

He drove her 100.

And I think the best

tribute I saw to him

came from Barack

Obama.

Obama's tribute

highlighted the fact

that Jimmy Carter

was a Christian,

indeed, that he

preached quite

regularly in the

Baptist church that

he attended.

As an aside, Jimmy

Carter a few weeks

ago won his fourth

Grammy for some of

his sermons that he

preached at that

church.

Barack Obama said

this about Carter.

He believed some

things were more

important than

re-election.

Things like

integrity, respect,

and compassion.

Jimmy Carter

believed that we

are all created in

God's image.

He didn't just

profess these

values.

He embodied

them.

And in doing so,

he taught all of

us what it means

to live a life of

grace, dignity,

justice, and

service.

That's a wonderful

tribute, isn't it?

I wonder if it

could be said of

us.

Do we have

integrity in our

lives?

Are our priorities

the gentleness of

Christ, the mind of

Christ, the body of

Christ, the gospel of

Christ, and the

commendation of

Christ?

And I need to ask

the question again,

do we all have

Christ in our lives?

Is our faith in

him?

Let me pray, and

then we're going to

look at some

questions.

Father, we thank you

for your word.

We thank you for the

power with which

Paul writes as he

counters his

critics, but yet

highlights to us

how we should live

our lives.

Help us to be

people who are

marked by our love

of the Lord Jesus

and our love

of the church.

Help all of us

too to be sure

that our faith is

in Jesus, that we

are following him

and living for him.

Thank you for your

presence this morning,

we pray you'll be

with us now as we

continue together.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

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