Authenticity in Christ

Good morning folks, great to see you today. Please do have those verses in 2 Corinthians open in front of you.

We are really excited to get into this series together, we've got so much to learn this morning.

But here's maybe a joke, an age-old joke, to kick us off and maybe just to kind of point us in the right direction.

Here's the joke, how many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?

Three. So one to climb the ladder, one to shake the ladder, and another one to work out how they're going to sue the ladder company.

Now just in case you think I'm singling out lawyers, used to be one.

But if you go on Google you'll find similar jokes all over the place about estate agents, car mechanics, football players, traffic wardens,

trades people, builders, bankers, people in investments, people in telesales, and owners of budget airlines.

In fact it was really hard today to try and think of a list of people who maybe aren't represented in this room.

And it's interesting isn't it, what those jokes kind of convey to us is that there's certain people in our lives, everyday lives,

who we instinctively have a really hard time taking them at their words.

And my question to you to think about is who would you add to that list?

Because many of us will know the pain of being burnt by broken and empty words.

There'll be others of us in this room who will know the shame, the crushing shame,

of being those who didn't follow through on our words.

And so into our lives and into our world where we're all desperate for someone and something that we can be all in on,

the good news of this passage is that it shows us the one person in this life whose words is absolutely rock solid.

And today we're going to take in one of the most famous and the most cherished verses in all of the Bible.

So maybe if you're new to the Bible today, maybe you're new to church,

you have picked a cracking Sunday to come and be with us because this really is,

this passage contains one of the most loved verses in all of the Bible and it's utterly wonderful.

But all of this comes in the context of changed travel plans.

Now we all know that feeling, don't we, of tangible disappointment when somebody cancels on you.

And those thoughts that run through our heads when we get that text, when we get that call,

did they get a better offer?

Do they really care? Maybe there's something I've done wrong.

Do they really want to spend time with me?

Do you know those kind of feelings when somebody cancels on you?

Do you know those kind of feelings when somebody cancels on you?

Those are the precise feelings and emotions that are hanging in the air in the backdrop of this passage

to this church in Corinth.

Track with me, we've got to get the backstory here for to understand both the depth and the glory of this passage.

So Paul has spent time with these Christians in Corinth

and they've developed this real loving bond between them.

Paul had originally told them, when he was with them,

that his plan, his travel plans,

his plan was to spend time, you see it on the map there, in Ephesus,

travel through and round Macedonia

and end up back in Corinth to spend the winter with them.

That was plan A.

And everybody was really excited about plan A.

We get to spend Christmas with Paul.

What a great deal.

But Paul rejigged his plans a bit,

meaning that he would visit Corinth not once but twice.

You see him refer to that in these verses

and that's what he's rehearsing from verse 15 onwards,

if you want to look at it there in the text.

It's what's making sense of this, right?

However, when Paul heard how things had got really tough in Corinth,

what he did is he changed his travel plans once again

and he just makes a beeline to go back to Corinth.

And that is what he's referring to at verse 1 of chapter 2

when he talks about, do you see it there, that painful visit.

So that's the visit he's talking about.

He's gone to Ephesus and he's changed his plans

and gone back to Corinth to deal with the situation there.

Probably likely that he's challenging some really bad behaviour,

some confused thinking.

But whatever's going on in that painful visit,

do you hear it in his voice?

Everybody's left that encounter really bruised.

And so what Paul has done is that instead,

he's left Corinth, but instead of going back again in person,

what he's done is he's wrote them a letter,

pouring out his heart to them, telling them how he feels.

That's likely what he's referring to at verse 3 of chapter 2.

It's a letter that we don't have,

but we trust that if God wanted us to have it,

in our Bibles we would have it.

But that visit, whatever happened there,

has caused quite the stir.

Now why would you write a letter instead of going in person?

You ever faced this conundrum before?

Answer, to give people time and space

to process what you're trying to say to them.

I do that all the time with my friends and my family

when I don't want them to put them on the spot

about a particular question I've got.

What I'll do is I'll text it in advance

rather than just putting it to them on the spot in person.

And the reason is just to give them time

to think about the answer

so I don't put them awkwardly on the spot.

Yeah?

So we do this kind of thing.

We text ahead before we see them in person.

That's the kind of thing Paul's doing here.

He's written a letter to give them time

to process and to pray and to think

on the things that he's saying.

But what has happened in the rawness of this situation

is that Paul's critics have got the rumour mill started

about Paul.

This guy says he's going to show up in person

always lets you down.

This guy's a flip-flop.

This guy's flaky.

This guy's undependable.

This guy's emotionally unstable.

This guy, and I think this is crucial here,

he's only in it for himself.

He doesn't care about you because if he loved you,

he would show his face.

And what they say is that this guy is just a hypocrite.

You know, I love that that's the words that we get

from the Greek word hypocrites,

which means an actor on a stage during a play.

It is an actor who's one thing behind a mask,

one thing with the mask,

and a totally other thing behind the mask.

That's where we get the word hypocrite from.

One thing on the mask, another thing behind the mask.

And that's what these folks are saying about Paul

in his absence.

He's a hypocrite.

And that's our world, isn't it?

Full of hypocrisy.

Here's a question that we're rightly asking ourselves

all the time.

In our world of, and this has been the last few years,

even the last few months, even the last few days,

in our world of hashtag me too,

in our world of fake news,

in our world of AI,

in our world of fact checking,

in our world where just a few weeks ago,

did you see the guy from Abercrombie and Fitch

exposed as somebody who was just abusing their power?

Does it not seem day after day,

we get another allegation about Mohammed Al-Fayed,

people who were just one thing in public,

but were a completely different thing in private.

And we rightly ask the question,

who can we trust?

And they're saying you can add Paul

to this whole list of people who in life

that you can't trust.

What's up for grabs in these verses

is Paul's authenticity.

Right?

Is he a fake?

Is he a fraud?

Because what they're trying to do,

if you discredit Paul,

then you can totally write off both his message

and his pattern of ministry.

Do you remember we saw this last week

when we thought about weakness as the way?

And that's the thing,

the false teachers in Corinth

because of the city in which they live

are trying to undermine.

You don't want to go that way.

You don't want to follow Paul.

You want to follow us.

Life shouldn't look unimpressive.

Life shouldn't be about suffering.

Life shouldn't be full of questions and hardship.

You undermine Paul.

You undermine his message

and his pattern of life.

So what's up for grabs here

is Paul's integrity.

And he defends his integrity.

We'll see this by making two appeals.

Here's the first one.

It is an appeal to his track record

of godly character.

Now, do you see it?

If you tap in there

at verse 12 of chapter 1,

Paul talks about how his what is clear?

His conscience is clear.

We don't talk much about our consciences these days,

do we?

But Paul's all up for talking about his conscience.

And he's talking about how

my aim is to do the right thing,

not in the eyes of man.

My aim is to do the right thing

in the eyes of God.

Now, we've got to be right here.

A clear conscience doesn't mean sinless.

A clear conscience means that

we're living in the light.

We're living in the light of Jesus.

It means that we live a life

where we're constantly asking God

by his spirit

to be constantly checking our hearts

and our motives.

I take it a clear conscience means

being able to put your hands up

when you got something wrong

and saying,

I own it.

I'm sorry.

It's what Christians in the past

used to refer to as

Coram Deo, right?

Coram,

the Latin meaning face,

Deo meaning God.

It just means living our lives

always before the face of God.

There's nothing off bounds.

There's no areas of our lives

that he doesn't see.

Living our lives in light

of the all-seeing,

all-loving,

and all-knowing God.

And that means that in life,

Jesus is the one

who we always aim to please.

And this is all wrapped up

in how Paul says

that he, Silas, and Timothy,

how they lived

when they were in Corinth.

I want you to see

these two phrases.

And I want you to think about

just how counter-cultural

these are.

How did they live among them?

Do you see these two phrases?

Simplicity,

or maybe you've got

holiness,

and godly sincerity.

Do you not love that?

Simplicity

and godly sincerity.

You know,

when I was young,

we used to cut out

photos of football players

and put them on my wall.

Players that I wanted to be like.

You ever do that?

People that you wanted to be like

when you grew up?

I want to be like this guy.

See,

when I get to the end of my life

and they put my gravestone there,

do you know the words

I want to be written on it?

Simplicity

and godly sincerity.

The more I go on in life,

the word I want for my life

is contentment

in Christ.

Do you see what he's saying here?

No hidden agendas.

No putting it on for the cameras.

We were just genuine.

You saw right through us.

We lived our lives in front of you.

You know

that we are the real deal.

I guess this is what we would say

in our culture today.

Our lives were an open book.

And so here's some

quick fire questions for you

just at this point

in this passage.

Friends,

I know many of us

are facing situations

right now,

perhaps at work,

perhaps with our

family and friends

where there's conflict.

Where there's tension.

Can I plead with

all of us

when we go through

times like this

in light of this passage,

above all else

to strive to maintain

our godly integrity.

Where is God calling

you and I to repent?

Is there hidden shame

and is there hidden sin

in our lives

that because of his love

for us

and because of the forgiveness

that's available in Jesus,

he's calling us

out of the darkness

to live our lives

in the light.

What part of your character

and my character

is he moulding

right now?

You know,

in our world

of imposter syndrome,

Jesus frees us

to live a life

of both radical

and liberating

simplicity.

Do you know,

they've got that phrase,

don't they,

that culture eats

strategy for breakfast?

You heard that?

It's so true.

Culture eats strategy

for breakfast.

Can I give you another one?

Character eats gifting

for dinner.

It really does.

Character eats gifting

for dinner.

And just to encourage us

this morning,

if we feel like we're

living our lives

in the world

and no one notices,

just from my short time

in the workplace,

remember,

as a young lawyer,

friends,

people notice

way more than they,

you think they do.

When you live a life

that's godly

in front of people,

they really do notice.

It will come out

on a work night out,

it will come out

on a drinks evening.

People notice

when we live our lives

as walk-in question marks.

What is it that makes them tick?

Why are they not behaving

like us?

What's going on?

In a world

where we so often chase,

and I'm so guilty of this,

the next big thing,

right?

The next big holiday,

the next big house move,

the next big job promotion.

Do you see Paul refer there

at verse 14

about what the next big thing

is on his radar?

And this is why

he acts like he does.

The next big thing

on the mind of the Christian

is the day of the Lord.

Do you see how

in our world

of short-term gains

and short-term goals,

Jesus woos us

to him

and calls us

to a life

of long-term

patient plodding.

In the words

of Martin Luther,

he said this,

there are two days

in my calendar,

this day

and that day.

Love it.

This day,

that day.

So he appeals

to a track record

of godly character.

Secondly,

he appeals

to a diary

driven by gospel motives.

And he does

what he does

because he's following

the Lord.

Get that right?

He does what he does

because he loves

them so dearly.

Do you see

the affectionate language

that Paul uses

to describe

how he feels

about these believers?

As he says,

Dear Corinthians,

you are never,

ever far from my heart.

Verse 4 of chapter 2.

Do you see

what he's saying?

When I picked up

my pen,

probably wasn't a pen,

probably with a quill,

to write,

I did so

with tears

in my eyes.

Yeah?

I did so

with much anguish

in my heart.

Such is,

right at the end there,

such is the depth

of the love

that I have for you.

He is pouring out

his heart

on this page.

You can feel

the tears

smudging the ink

as he writes.

Such is the depth

of his love for them.

Even in the conflict,

even in the chaos,

he's still clinging

to the fact

that he wants

these guys

to progress

in their love

for Jesus.

Now,

here's what I've been

asking myself all week.

What would I have done

in this situation?

I reckon

if I was in a situation

like this,

with conflict like this,

I think I probably

would have been

tapping out.

Probably would have

called it a date.

Probably this were

us in our world.

We would have

cancelled each other.

Yeah?

In our world

that too easily

walks away

when a relationship

gets messy

or costly,

I've been so

profoundly affected

by the fact

that the love

of Christ

by the indwelling

spirit in Paul

causes him

not to withdraw.

It causes him

to press

all the more

in to this

relationship,

persevering in

prayer and affection.

He doesn't

cancel and run.

Paul pours his

heart out

towards them.

Do you see it?

Friends,

I just wonder

if there's a

strained relationship

that the Lord

might be putting

on your heart

right now

to fight

to see right.

And with that

we get a fascinating

little insight

into what makes

Paul tick

and I find this

hugely challenging.

What does he want?

He wants their

joy in the Lord.

Do you see that?

He wants their

joy in the Lord.

That's why he lives.

That's why he does

what he does.

Not for him.

He does it for them.

We make decisions

all the time,

don't we?

When we make decisions

because of the world

that we've grown up in

and the air that

we're breathing every day,

we are used to

making decisions

where we're looking

after number one

first.

Everything and

everyone else

falls in behind that.

And I wonder

if some of us

are facing a big

decision right now.

Can I ask you

to think about

what are the top

three factors

in that

decision making

process?

Here's the challenge

of this passage

as we see

Paul's heart

for them.

Where does

following Jesus

and loving

and serving

his people

fit into

our decision making?

The decisions

that we make,

do we think about

the impact

that they will have

on our fellow

brothers and sisters?

See,

if the Lord

is moving you on

to a different

season of your life,

have you thought

about how you

can finish

as well as you

can?

Does finding

a good local

church where

you can grow

and be a blessing

to other brothers

and sisters

is that feature

in our decision

making?

You know,

one thing I think

that God has

taught me

through his word

over the years

through the things

that I've experienced

is that he's

concerned,

yes,

about what we

decide to do

in our lives,

but equally,

and you could

argue

probably more

so,

he's interested

in the thought

process that we

went through

to get there.

What if instead

of asking ourselves

what should we do,

we asked ourselves

first and foremost

who should we be?

And as we do that,

we pray that God

would shape our

character

so that we will

come to reflect

more of his

priorities

as we see

them in Jesus.

And I think

that's the thing

that takes us

beyond this

being just

a set

of good morals.

Because it would

be the easiest

thing to do

to cut ties

of this passage

here and say

let's go and do it.

But I know my own

heart,

I don't think I'll

last ten minutes

for that thing.

Okay?

Paul tells us

how he came

to be this

kind of person.

And what follows

is the most

wonderful description

of the Bible

story that exists

anywhere in

Scripture.

And the point

is Paul is

saying that

I've come

to be this

kind of person

only because

God is this

kind of God.

If you're new

to the Bible

here,

what Paul writes

at verse 20,

it's on the screen,

I'd love you to

look at it in the

text.

What he writes

here is the

cheat code for

understanding the

Bible.

Right?

It is the key

that unlocks

the whole thing.

And here it is,

he writes it

there,

that Jesus

is the yes

to all of

God's promises.

I think so

often we're

familiar perhaps

as Christians

with the stories

of the Bible,

perhaps to

the neglect

of understanding

the story

of the Bible.

Friends,

to read the

Old Testament

without Jesus

is like watching

a box set

all the way

through and

then realizing

the last one

isn't uploaded

yet.

You ever

heard that

experience?

reading the

Old Testament

without Jesus

is like

persevering with

a jigsaw puzzle

before getting

to the end

and realizing

that there's

a piece

missing.

Every type,

every pattern,

every promise,

every loose

ended question,

every longing,

all roads

lead to

Jesus.

Jesus is the

promised

Genesis 3

serpent

crusher

who will

reverse the

effects of

sin and

death.

He is the

one who

will crush

Satan's

head.

Jesus is

the one

through whom

God will

bless the

nations as

God promised

Abraham way

back in

Genesis 12.

Jesus is

the end to

the sacrificial

system that we

see in

Leviticus.

He is the

perfect priest.

Jesus is the

greater Joshua

who will fully

and finally

lead his

people into

the promised

land where

they will

have rest.

He is the

promised Davidic

king who will

defeat his

enemies and

win rest for

his people.

He is the

suffering servant

of Isaiah 53.

He is the

promised mighty

king from

Bethlehem that

Micah spoke

about and on

and on and

on we could

go.

Here's the

point.

God is not

like a jazz

musician who's

taken a

notion to

improvise.

Evil doesn't

have him on

the back foot.

God is not

responding to

world events as

they happen

thinking I

didn't see that

coming.

No, Jesus

is the glorious

climax to

God's plan,

get this,

hatched before

the foundation

of the world

to rescue

guilty, sinful,

clueless and

weary human

beings like

us.

I think so

often we

come to this

book and we

think it's

about us.

Friends, can I

say that's

precisely where

you and I go

wrong with our

Bible reading?

Because we come

to this and we

go looking for

us.

Can I tell you

what's the way

more satisfying

experience?

The way more

eye-opening

experience is to

come to this

and go looking

for him.

The great lover

and the great

pursuer of

souls.

Jesus Christ is

God's yes to

all his promises.

Christianity is

a yes religion.

Right?

There's tons of

stuff that we say

no to that the

world says yes to

but that only

happens because

we've been

captivated by the

life-transforming

message of Jesus

who is the most

significant yes

that you and I

can ever hope

to know.

It's all about

him.

You know,

there's an old

pub down in

Oxford called

the Eagle and

Child and it's

got a plaque

inside that

commemorates it.

It's the place

where C.S.

Lewis and

J.R.R.

Tolkien and a

few others

used to meet

to talk about

life, God and

everything.

You know the

whole, if you

could go back in

time in a time

machine to any

point in history,

where would you

go?

See for me, this

is up there as

one of them.

Imagine eavesdropping

in on those

conversations.

That's where I'd

go in my time

machine.

That and 1924

when Adrian won

the Scottish Cup

because believe me

that ain't happening

again anytime soon.

But one of those

conversations that

happens between

Lewis and Tolkien

apparently goes,

the two of them

are talking about

stories.

And one turns to

the other, I can't

remember who to who,

but he says, do you

know why we love

stories so much?

Because we're in

one.

We're in one.

This is what Paul

is saying here.

His life is caught

up in God's

wonderful story

about his

faithfulness and

his love.

And I think,

friends, we need

to feel the

pressure off us

trying to be the

hero of our own

stories.

We need to feel

the pressure off

trying to always be

winning at life.

Right?

We need to feel

the pressure off

of smashing it

at parenting.

to feel the

pressure off of

acing your

studies.

Feel the

pressure off of

trying to make

every decision

perfectly.

Having it all

together with your

mental health.

Feel the pressure

off.

Or entertaining

that paralyzing

pressure to find

your passion and

your goal in

life.

Feel the

pressure off.

love.

Because this

tells us by

grace that we

have been caught

up in God's

wonderful story.

We're participating

in it.

Where Jesus is

the glorious

yes.

And the only

thing left to

happen, and this

was the kids talk,

wasn't it?

I'd love to tell you

Pete and I plan that

stuff, but we

don't.

Not one of God's

good promises has

ever failed.

The only one yet

to happen in

the story is

for Jesus to

come back and

decisively conquer

evil, justly

judge those who

haven't accepted

him, and make

all things

new.

And that's why

he must refer

here to the

spirit as the

guarantee.

As if to say

the spirit living

inside of every

single believer

testifies to us

that that is

true.

Friends, my

question to you

as we draw to

a close is, do

you know the

story?

Where are your

gaps in your

thinking?

You know, we're

doing this men's

breakfast again on

the 23rd, and it's

free for anybody to

come.

We'll spend some

time eating

together.

We're going to

interview a man

called Martin about

his life and his

faith and his work

and how he does

all that stuff.

But part of it,

we're going to read

this book called

Enjoying God by

Tim Chester.

You can pick them

up at the back.

We've got a few

still to sell, but

we're going to just

spend 10, 15, 20

minutes talking about

this book together.

If what I'm saying

here is connecting

with you, this is a

great place to go.

Knowing God by

Tim Chester.

Let me ask you,

when was the last

time you saw a

glimpse of Jesus in

the scriptures that

caused your heart to

sing?

You know, my

favorite story last

year was hearing a

story about an

older saint in this

church who will

remain nameless,

although if you

come and badger me

afterwards, I might

let it squeak, who

in one of the many

Bible studies in

this church, when

they saw something

about Jesus that

they hadn't seen

before, they let

out a little sigh of

delight.

We never stop

learning.

Never stop

learning.

There's more of

Jesus here to know

than I think we

will ever get to the

bottom of.

We never stop

learning.

He is God's

glorious yes to

all of his

promises.

And you say,

hang on a minute,

I thought we were

talking about travel

plans.

And I think this is

Paul's point.

I'm faithful.

I'm only faithful

because the story of

God's grace and his

faithfulness, I've been

caught up into that

story.

Do you see how it is

Jesus Christ who

produces in us this

transparency and this

radical simplicity?

A life that's not

trying to impress

people.

A life that's not

trying to be

two-faced.

A life where we

don't talk ourselves

up.

A life where we

don't flatter

others.

A life where we

don't live for the

pleasure of other

people.

A life where we

don't exaggerate our

importance.

A life where we

don't hide our

weakness.

This is what God's

story of grace does

when it burrows its

way down into our

lives and into our

hearts.

So friends, would

our friends say and

families say that we

are people marked by

simplicity and godly

sincerity.

You know, just to

bring us back to the

big thing, I want

just to close by

telling you, and you

can turn around and

look at them if you

want, about the glass

doors in this foyer.

Every single one of us

walked in here today.

Do you see how there's

two glass doors that

you walked in?

So on Monday we had

Michael's funeral.

Something I learned at

this funeral is that

Michael was the

central, one of the

central drivers of the

team that designed that

glass foyer.

Now previously, before

my time, but Pete tells

me this, there were two

brown partition doors,

two brown partition doors

that went all the way

along that people had to

pass through to get into

this hall.

And a generation before

us sensed that our

neighbours and people who

walked past this building

thought of this church as

a mysterious place where

no one could see what

happened inside.

So what they did is they

raised the money wanting

to change that perception

and they drew up plans,

they put in the graph to

take out those brown

partition walls and put

in all that glass.

And what they wanted to

show outsiders, passers-by,

you can see straight in

here.

Now of course it's to let

light in, isn't it, as

well?

It's another reason.

But you can see straight in

here.

There's nothing to hide and

there's everything to see.

You see, authentic lives

of simplicity and godly

sincerity, that is how we

will make the real Jesus

non-ignorable in Edinburgh

and beyond.

Simplicity and godly

sincerity.

This is love.

Not that we loved God, but

that he loved us and sent

his son as an atoning

sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God

so loved us, we also

ought to love one

another.

No one has ever seen

God, but if we love one

another, God lives in us

and his love is made

complete in us.

And so Father, we thank

you so much this morning

for each other.

And we thank you for the

relationships of love that

exist between us.

And Lord, I pray that you

would be helping us this

morning.

Lord, in all the different

things that are going on in

our lives, I pray that your

spirit would help, Lord,

both comfort and challenge

and just convince us of your

wonderful, heartfelt love

towards us and your

faithfulness in Jesus.

So Lord, I thank you for this

morning and I pray you'd be

with us now, Lord, particularly

as we move to a time of

communion and as we remember

who Jesus is, that glorious

yes.

Father, that you would fill our

hearts with greater affection

towards him.

And it's in his wonderful name

that we pray.

Amen.