The Fellowship of the Trustworthy

Good morning again. Good to be with you all today. Isn't it nice to have the sun out? Isn't it good? Streaming through the stained glass today. It's a good morning. Good to be with you.

And we are ready for another installment in 2 Corinthians. So if you want to find that in your Bibles, while you do, I'm going to talk a little bit about the Lord of the Rings.

How's that? For those of you who are fans of the Lord of the Rings, I think maybe one of the most memorable scenes, if you haven't seen the movie, go home today and after you read your Bible for three hours, you can watch the first movie.

There's this memorable scene in the first movie that unfolds in the elven city of Rivendell. It's after the Ring of Power has come to Frodo and he and his hobbit friends have formed, or have survived, I should say,

their journey and made it to this elven haven. And it's here that the group that you see on the screen is formed, the fellowship, the fellowship of the ring. They will deliver a highly valuable but evil item for destruction,

the Ring of Power. Well, it's not a company of nine that we have in our passage today, and there are certainly no wizards, dwarves, or elves. At least I'm pretty sure.

But in our passage this morning, I would like you to try to see it like that. What we have today is the beginning of a different kind of fellowship, you might call it.

Not of a ring, and they're not going to destroy something, but it's a fellowship to deliver something that will save. What are we talking about? We're talking about a group of what will be three trusted men,

who will later be joined by others, and they will travel for the purpose of delivering a life-saving gift, a relief gift, a financial gift brought over land and sea to alleviate the suffering of many poor believers

living in the land of Judea, which is where Jesus lived. And as we listen to Paul talk about the inner core of this team he's assembling, we're going to find that there is one quality, really, one overarching quality, I should say, that summarizes each of these three members.

And that quality is trustworthiness. To be trustworthy. Not particularly intelligent or articulate, although we're going to find that one member of this company is just that.

Not necessarily especially well known to the Corinthian church to whom he's sending them. Although again, we're going to find another member of the company is just that.

But the key quality Paul knows this fellowship needs is to be trustworthy. Men who can be counted on, men who are firm and true, men who are above reproach, the kind of fellowship of the trustworthy.

So let me read for us. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 8. I'm going to begin reading in verse 16. We're picking up after Paul has brought up this subject of the collection for the saints in Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

So pick up with me as we read now in verse 16.

But thanks be to God who put it into the heart of Titus, the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord.

With him, we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us for the glory of the Lord himself

and to show our goodwill. We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us. For we aim at what is honorable, not only in the Lord's sight, but also in the sight of man.

And with them, we are sending our brother, whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you.

And as for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

So, give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. Would you pray with me once more? Let's ask for the Lord's help as we look at this together.

Father, we come together to worship you today. We come together in the midst of a winter that's given us a little break, and we are thankful for that.

So, Lord, as the temperatures warm today, as we go about our lives, will you form in us your word? Lord, will you help us, Lord, to grow and to change in the ways that only by the power of your Holy Spirit can we do.

And Father, we pray that you would make clear my words now this morning. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, again, if you have not been with us in a while, if the winter has kept you away, the cold, the Arctic temps, or if you're new with us here this morning, we've been walking through this letter, 2 Corinthians, for quite a while now.

And it's about a church, or written to a church, I should say, that the apostle Paul himself founded. He founded it, then moved on to do further mission, but we know that lately the relationship between this church and Paul has been kind of rocky.

There was a painful visit, followed by a severe letter Paul had to write. And only recently, with the recent return of Titus, the one tasked with delivering the letter, who's recently come back to Paul, has Paul finally learned that there's been much improvement.

The church seems to be making a turnaround. And all in good time, because there are some fellow believers far away in the land of Judea. I've got a map you can see.

Far away in Judea, who are really suffering. Judea would be the part that's like right behind Paul's chest. Judea. They're suffering, because a famine has left them, many of these Christian brothers and sisters, in great need, and in a desire to get them help.

But also, partly from a desire that Paul has, to build a stronger bridge between Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian, Gentile being non-Jew, Paul has organized this collection effort.

Money from those who have abundance, believers, that would be the Corinthians. Also, we learned last week, money from some believers who don't have an abundance, who are actually pretty poor themselves.

That would be the Macedonians. All brought together, and delivered to Jerusalem, to help a group of believers in great need. In our Corinthians here, we learned that they had made an initial commitment, a year prior.

And yet somehow, in all this relational mess, that had kind of fallen by the wayside. And so finally, Paul comes now to this point in the letter, where he's turning his attention to this subject.

And so what Paul wants to do, is send a core team on ahead. He wants the Corinthians organized and ready, because he knows that if he, and the other Macedonian believers, who are also going to join this company later, he knows that if they come, and the Corinthians are not ready, that will not be a good look.

He even says it will be humiliating, for you Corinthians, and also for me, Paul, and neither of us want that. And so he pauses right here, and what he does here in the middle of chapter 8, is he essentially gives our three men that he's sending, kind of a mini letter of commendation.

It's like, here's who these guys are, and I want you to know, this is why I've selected them. So this morning, what we're going to do, we're going to dig in, but I think the best way for us to walk through this passage, is if we structure it in a way, where I just give you the points, right up front,

or at least start with the points, and we're going to get right into it, we're not going to wait around, because in these nine verses here, Paul introduces Titus first, and then he goes on to introduce, two unnamed brothers.

And get this, these three guys, this company of three, they are very likely standing right in front of the Corinthians, delivering this very letter.

But in the way that Paul introduces them, in the way that he commends them, we hear revealing things about their character. Yes, they are trustworthy, but not just any garden variety old trustworthiness, it's a particular kind of trustworthiness.

It's what I would call a gospel trustworthiness. In fact, I think Paul gives us something you could call a profile of gospel trustworthiness, that is set apart by these distinct qualities.

And I want to highlight those with us. There will be seven of them. So if you're running out of room on the page, make some room. Seven of them.

Our organizing question is going to be this, what are the features, or what are the qualities of a gospel trustworthy person? And as we walk through these verses, we're going to hear Paul lay out seven of them, beginning with this quality number one.

Quality number one, they have a heart that earnestly cares. A heart that cares earnestly. Take a look at verse 16. But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus,

the same earnest care I have for you. Same earnest care, Paul says, that I myself have for all of you. In other words, I think of it like this.

It's like Paul saying, you know, who loves you like Uncle Paul does, right? Who loves you like the Apostle Paul? And of course, everybody's like, nobody does.

And he's saying, Titus does. Titus loves you like that. His heart earnestly cares for you guys, and he has proven it by the fact that he wants to come back to be with you again.

You say, well, why would that prove anything? Let's not forget that this Corinthian church isn't exactly pleasant. Let's not forget that they are not really the most healthy or functional church in all of the Mediterranean.

They got problems. The Corinthian church is full of difficult people. Have you ever known some difficult people in your life that you have to love?

And you're like, they're difficult. I have to love them. Do I have to like them? Well, I have to love them, and Jesus, that's what they were like.

For starters, I mean, Paul, they had a zillion questions for Paul. Paul wrote a couple, three, four letters, we think, to them, trying to answer all their questions.

You know, after a while, the questions get annoying, don't they? A zillion questions, and they had all these questions despite the fact that Paul himself founded their church, and he stayed on, not for a couple of days, like in Philippi, not for a few weeks, as he did in other places.

He stayed here for 18 months. He gave them a year and a half of his apostolic ministry, living right here in Corinth, and working with them, and teaching them, and pouring into them, and it's like, really guys?

Still so many problems? And we learned about them in the first letter. They were in fightings, there were rivalries, they were rejecting Paul, we know, with these super apostles showing up, they were suing each other in court, there was ongoing sexual immorality, all kinds of problems.

And the situation, when it was at its worst, and most tenuous, when the relationship was so fragile, Paul had to write them that severe letter, and guess who had the honor of delivering it?

Titus. Titus was the one sent. You ever heard the phrase, don't kill the messenger? Imagine how Titus would have been received. It's one of those times where Titus is introduced to them at their very worst.

I don't know, I imagine, and it's speculation, I imagine when Titus first showed up and read that severe letter, there was probably some boos, some hissing, some shouting, probably some tears, but Titus endured with them.

He endured with them long enough to see God do something special and wonderful that only God can do, and that's bring about some change. And Titus, get this, he has just returned to be with Paul.

He's just shown up. We don't even think he's got his, you know, baggage, his luggage unpacked yet, or whatever it was that he carried. He just got back, and now, he hears Paul suggesting, what?

Paul says, I'm putting together a little advance team for the collection, it needs a captain, Titus, I was wondering about you. But check out Titus' actual response in verse 17.

What's it say? Paul says, Titus, he not only accepted our appeal, and it wasn't a command, it was an appeal, but being himself very earnest, he is going to you of his own accord.

He actually wants to come back to be with you guys, because he loves you. I suggested, very soft appeal, but he has such a heart for you guys, such a heart of earnest care, that he was ready and willing and even eager to go.

You know, he's not showing up, Titus, as some kind of resentful, well, somebody had to do it, sullen guy, who's just going to bark some orders.

You Corinthians, better get busy, you're so wealthy and you made this pledge and you need to fulfill it and you don't want to be embarrassed, do you?

He doesn't show up and act like that at all. Titus was a tender man into whose heart, Paul says, God had put earnest care. The same thing that, obviously, God had done for Paul, too.

In fact, their hearts are very much alike. I like how author and pastor Kent Hughes describes it. He says this, Paul's heart was virtually cloned in Titus.

That's the first quality of a gospel trustworthy person. They have a heart that cares earnestly. Let's go on to verse 18. We're going to find a second quality.

Verse 18. The second quality is this, number two, they are gospel saturated. Gospel saturated. Check it out. Verse 18. With Titus, with him, we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching

of the gospel. Famous for his preaching. And this is before the internet, right? Wow, this is something. What a thing to be famous for. Now, of course, the question on all of our minds, or at least the question on my mind, is who is this guy?

And the reality is we don't know. He's not named by Paul. We have some theories. One leading contender in the early church was Luke, as in Luke the evangelist.

We know he traveled with Paul. The doctor, Luke, clearly someone who could communicate the gospel. I mean, he wrote one of the four that we have.

Maybe he was a good preacher too, not just a writer. Other suggestions of who this unnamed brother range from Barnabas to Tychicus to the one I personally favor, the one I like the most, Apollos.

Apollos was very famous as an effective preacher, an apologist for the gospel. In fact, over in the book of Acts, chapter 18, he's introduced in that book as an eloquent man, Luke writing about him, eloquent man who was competent in the scriptures.

Acts 18 · chapter mention

Listen to this in Acts 18, verse 25. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, Luke writes, and being fervent in spirit, Apollos spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus.

Acts 18:25

And we go on to read how there was a little theological deficiency in him and Aquila and Priscilla showed up and they helped him and then we're told after that that he greatly helped these new believers by powerfully refuting the Jews in public.

You know, Paul even mentions Apollos in his first letter to the Corinthians. He tells the Corinthians that, hey, I tried to persuade Apollos to come back and visit you.

Apollos had also spent time in Corinth. I tried to get Apollos to come back but he apparently wasn't willing, Paul says, not yet. And maybe that's because there had been a rival group that had sprung up like a fan club of Apollos.

Fighting with other fan groups as we read about in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Maybe that's why Apollos was reticent to come. Here's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 12.

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention 1 Corinthians 16:12

Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

Could this be our famous unnamed preacher? Well, we can't say for sure. But what we do know is that whoever it is, this unnamed preacher was universally recognized and praised for his gospel ministry.

And in verse 19, Paul even says he was selected. Not by me, Paul says. He was selected. Literally the Greek word is he was voted on like by a show of hands by the churches of Macedonia.

They picked this guy. And it was a member of the team meant to do something to carry out this act of grace, Paul says in that verse, in verse 19.

To carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us for the Lord's glory. When you hear those terms, this act of grace, I don't know about you but sometimes I read words like that and I'm like, oh, church words, act of grace, okay, that's fine.

What's he really saying? These are not just church words. Act of grace. Paul means that literally. He means that delivering money to people was an act of grace.

Unmerited favor. And it reminds us that this collection is about more than just the money. It's more than just relief and food as important as they are.

Paul knows that this is about the gospel. Paul knows that this church started here in Jerusalem and Judea where the famine is. It was mostly if not entirely all Jews.

Jewish people becoming Christ followers. And then of course we read in the book of Acts how you had apostles like Paul with a special call to go to the non-Jewish world, to go to the Gentiles and that's what he did.

He planted churches all across the Mediterranean. And we know that at least initially from the book of Acts, from the book of Galatians, we know there was some tension between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.

There were a lot of Jewish Christians that thought, you know, the Gentiles need to kind of become Jews first. They need to proselytize to Jewish Judaism and then they can properly follow Christ because they'll be obeying the law.

Paul, of course, strongly disagreed with that and the real gospel resists that. But in this moment, please understand with this incredible need in Judea among Jewish Christians and with this incredible act of grace Paul describes where you had almost entirely Gentile churches in Macedonia

and Achaia meeting the needs of their Jewish brothers and sisters, Paul was looking to see them unified in the gospel through it. Listen, this collection was a tangible expression of grace.

It was supposed to be a tangible demonstration of goodwill, he says, that would prove to be a major bridge built between Jew and Gentile in Christ.

It would help every Christian to see and fully appreciate that in Christ, as Paul says in Galatians 3.28, yes, there really is neither Jew nor Greek.

We really are all one in Christ Jesus. And so, if your aim is really a gospel aim, what better team member than a guy like this? A guy totally steeped in all things gospel.

A guy who is gifted at sharing the gospel, teaching the gospel, preaching and proclaiming the gospel, showing the Corinthians, showing the Macedonians, showing the Jewish, Judean Christians, that this kind of shared generosity is a symbol of our oneness in Christ.

So, what's another trusted quality of a trustworthy team member? They are gospel-saturated. Gospel-saturated. Keep moving. Let's go on to our third quality, number three.

They are above reproach and take steps to be accountable. They are above reproach and take steps to be accountable. We don't know how much money this was.

Was it the modern-day equivalent of $100,000, $500,000, a million dollars? We don't know. We know it was sizable. Again, the original language Paul uses when he says this immense gift is it's a word that connotes the fatness of the gift.

It's rich. You need trustworthy people to handle the money. It was true back then. It's true today. It's always true. And one, Paul knows, one really important way to guard this is by having checks and balances.

No one person is going to have the money and sail off by themselves. Check it out down in verse 20. He says, We take this course, the course that we're taking, assembling a team, so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that's being administered by us.

So that no one should blame us. What Paul means, it's so that nobody can level an accusation. Because you know, sometimes that happens even when people are innocent.

Accusations. historians tell us of the day, they tell us that there was a little bit of suspicion and hesitation about Jerusalem and money right now.

Why? Well, very sensitive issue. Josephus writes about this. He says that in Rome, there was a crooked Jewish businessman and he got together with some shady partners and they preyed upon a group of Roman citizens who were proselytizing to Judaism.

The Romans were kind of fascinated with the Jewish faith and many of them wanted to become proselytes. So that's what this Jewish businessman did and he said to them, I know what would really be good for your faith to take a great step would be if you would donate some money and me and my friends will take it

to the Jerusalem temple. Well, they collected the money and nobody ever saw them again. They collected it under the pretense of making an offering in Jerusalem for the temple and nothing ever got there.

And once the emperor found out, the Roman emperor Claudius, he was so upset that he banned every Jew from the city of Rome. This had just happened.

Listen, Paul would have been well aware of this. As every church today should be wary of the reality that sometimes, sometimes, yeah, a church leader, even a pastor will abscond with the money, right?

This is why we at Redeemer don't have people like me counting the money. I'm up here preaching while they count it. I don't deposit the money.

I don't withdraw the money. I don't sign checks. I don't have checks. I don't deal with it. We have people who do, trustworthy people, and there are multiple, and there are checks and balances.

We have multiple eyes and hands. It's for your protection. It's for my protection. For Paul here, he's saying, yeah, impeccable standards are really important to avoid even accusations.

And the fact that, again, two of these three team members appear to be selected by the churches and not just handpicked by Paul, that was to refute any accusation that Paul is in on it with them in some kind of wild scheme.

You say, well, who would ever accuse Paul of that? We know that that's exactly what was happening. I want you to understand this. Get this. The outrageous irony is that there were some bad players in Corinth who were accusing Paul of trying to get over on the Corinthians financially.

And this, they're accusing him, this an apostle who doesn't even take a salary from them. Doesn't even take any money from them. He supports himself through tent making.

And yet here he is a little later in this very letter having to defend the integrity that he has against charges that he's trying to financially abuse people.

Here's what he says in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 16. He says, but granting that I myself did not burden you, that's a reminder, I have not taken any money from you.

2 Corinthians 12:16

I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. I mean, how crazy is this? Paul earns his own money in secular work, completely self-supporting.

And still there are people trying to accuse him. We know you're up to something, Paul. You're playing the long game. And honestly, isn't the New Testament pretty clear about the dangers of money?

Money isn't necessarily evil, but it can be, how does Paul describe it, a root of all kinds of evil?

There's 1 Timothy 6, verse 10. This is what Paul writes to Timothy, warning his young protege. He says, the love of money, not just money, the obsession with money, the love of money, is a root of all kinds of evil.

1 Timothy 6:10

It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. And so what Paul's doing right here is he wants this team to be completely above reproach.

He is taking steps to be completely accountable. And that really connects to a fourth quality that's evident in trustworthy people. And quality number four is this.

They aim for what is honorable in the eyes of both God and man. They aim for what's honorable in both the eyes of God and the eyes of man. This is where Paul goes in the very next verse.

If you're reading verse 21, he says, we want to be blameless in how we handle the money. And here's the deeper reason why. Verse 21, we aim at what's honorable not only in the Lord's sight, not only because God is watching, but also in the sight of man, of everybody, people.

Scholars agree that Paul is alluding to a proverb from the Old Testament here. It's actually Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3 verse 4 says, so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:4

Our aim, Paul says, everything we do, we want to do it honorably before the Lord because we know He's watching. God is always watching. All our ways are before Him.

A chapter later in Proverbs 5 verse 21, for a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord and he ponders all his paths. But, in addition to the eyes of the Lord, Paul also knew that there were the eyes of man.

Proverbs 5:21

And he wanted to be honorable in the sight of man too. And this is probably why, if we haven't noticed, Paul himself does not come right away.

Do you find it interesting that Paul stays back in Macedonia and sends this three first? He sends them to give them the time to collect the collection, round up the collection.

He himself does not come right away. He wants the money collected before he even arrives. This is what I would call Paul being above board extra.

Above board. And he says, the Lord knows I've been above board. But he also says, I've done it this way, I've taken this extra precaution to be above board in the sight of man.

My friends, sometimes in this world we'll find that it's important to take these kinds of extra steps. Take extra precautions. And I would say take extra precautions even when there's not necessarily a particular temptation for you.

But sometimes we do it just to be above reproach. And yeah, sometimes it might seem a little ridiculous to others in matters of money, yes, but you know, also in other matters.

Let me give you an example. This upcoming week, Matt and I are going to have a meeting with our elders. And one of the things that we're going to ask them is to officially pass a policy for us.

And it's going to be a policy that we've actually always followed since both Matt and I went into the ministry. But we'd like to make it official so we don't hurt anybody's feelings.

And that rule, that policy will be that we are never alone in a vehicle with a woman who's not related to us or married to us. We're never going to do it.

I've had some awkward situations in the past. Burned a lot of extra gas money sometimes. Some people might say it's excessive. By the way, it's the so-called infamous Billy Graham rule.

Billy Graham himself followed this rule. But listen, here's the thing. I am not a super smart guy, but I think I figured this out. It's hard to be tempted and it's even harder to be accused if you never allow yourself to be put in a situation.

And if that feels like it's a little bit of bending over backwards to ensure trust and accountability, I think Paul's the one setting the precedent.

And I think it's a good precedent. Quality number four of a trustworthy person is that they aim for what is honorable and that they're above reproach in both the sight of God and the sight of people.

Quality number five comes to us in verse 22. Number five is this. They have been tested and found earnest. Tested and found earnest. Verse 22.

And with them, Titus and famous preacher guy, we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters. Now tested, please don't think of it as Paul's written up a theology test.

He's got a little quiz. He's going to test them. That's not the kind of testing he's talking about. He's talking about life tests, trials, really difficult things, those kinds of tests.

And he gives us another unnamed brother. Again, who is it? We don't know for sure. But again, there are some theories. I mean, it's pretty hard to narrow down because if you're a traveling companion of Paul, you probably have had a rough go at some point.

You've been shipwrecked or beaten or put in jail or almost killed. But one theory is a man named Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus is mentioned over in Paul's letter to the Philippians.

A few scholars think it could be Epaphroditus. We don't know for sure. But I want you to hear what Paul says about what Epaphroditus went through.

He was on a missionary journey with Paul and he got really, really sick, near to death. Here's what Paul writes in Philippians 2, verse 30. For he, Epaphroditus, nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Philippians 2:30

Is this the man, maybe? Is this the brother? Are these some of the tests? Maybe. But he proved his diligence, Paul says. He proved earnest and committed and zealous for the ministry God had for him.

I think about all the ways life tests people. I think about the ways life has tested some of us. Some of us have found ourselves tested by things physically.

We have some people, some families in our church are going through physical trials right now. Disabilities, chronic illness, and injury. others of us have found ourselves tested relationally in a troubling crisis with your family or with your extended family.

But in all of our trials and tests, as the Apostle James reminds us, God means something to happen to us in them. They are meant to produce steadfastness, James says.

To form an endurance in us and character in us. to help you and I grow in maturity and a deeper hope. The kind of hope that is described as an anchor for the soul, Paul says in Romans.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. And that's apparently what happened with this unnamed brother. This third member of the fellowship.

Verse 22. He's been tested and now he's more earnest than ever. More zealous than ever. because he has great confidence in you. And that actually brings us to what I'm going to call a sixth quality that we should not pass over too quickly.

Quality number six is this. They have an appropriate confidence in other Christians. They have confidence but an appropriate confidence in other Christians.

And I'll explain what I mean in just a second. I don't know about you but if you've ever walked through something really difficult and you've had a brother or sister in the faith come along and tell you you're going to get through this.

Try to encourage you. Exhort you. You can do this. You can make it. Doesn't it come with so much more weight and gravitas if it comes from a person who's been through some trials themselves?

Doesn't it carry a lot more weight if somebody saying that to you has been through a dark valley of their own? This is the kind of brother that Paul is sending to the Corinthians.

A guy who has walked in it. A guy who has walked through it. Who's been tested in his life. Maybe if it's Epaphroditus tested with almost death and been found earnest.

And now and now out of that earnestness and that zeal he's going to come to the Corinthians right now and he's going to tell them you guys hey with this collection you can do this.

You can finish what you started. I've got complete confidence in you. Paul sees this as another important quality of a trustworthy person. To be able to have and to be able to instill confidence in fellow believers around you.

Again now it needs to be appropriate. we need to be wise with this. Because sometimes a fellow believer can be so new in the faith or so vulnerable to a particular area of struggle that there's vulnerability.

So that some kinds of confidence are not appropriate. What I mean is that if you're a recovering drug addict you probably should not start doing ministry on skid row.

Right? Or if somebody is a recovering alcoholic and they want to be mentored you don't mentor them at the bar. Right? Make sense? You don't want to say well I have such a confidence Christ saved you I have confidence in you.

It's an appropriate confidence. And clearly this unnamed brother here in verse 22 clearly he knows the Corinthian church he has some acquaintance with them.

Clearly he knows about the potential that this church has to produce beautiful fruit in this ministry opportunity with the collection. And so he could have appropriate confidence in these fellow believers and I think there is something there for us to see.

Well let's wrap it up. One last quality. Number seven. Quality number seven. They work for others' benefit and the Lord's glory. They work for others' benefit and for the Lord's glory.

not their own. Not their own. Either their own personal benefit or their own glory. And I think we need to say that in the church because it's awfully tempting sometimes to forget this.

I'm saying it's possible to do good things in ministry, to do good things to help your fellow believers to serve in key ways and lose sight of both of these things.

It's not about my own benefit and it's surely not about my own glory. And too many times I think if we're honest in the church, we work at things for our own benefit.

Sometimes you say, I'm working on my marriage because I want a really great marriage. I want you to have a really great marriage too, by the way.

But really, fundamentally, your motivation should be, I want to work on my marriage because I want my spouse to have a good marriage. Or, if you've got kids, it's like, I'm trying to raise them right.

I want to raise my kids right because I want a family that looks good. Well, I mean, that's good. But look at what Paul says down in verse 19.

Verse 19, again, he says, we carry out this act of grace. These brothers are coming to you for the glory of the Lord himself. Not for their own glory.

For the glory of the Lord himself. And then again, a few verses later, down in verse 23, verse 23, he says, hey, by the way, as for Titus, if you have any questions about Titus, I want you to know, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit.

And as for our brothers, Paul goes on in that same verse, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. Not the glory of themselves.

They're there to glorify Christ. He means that these men so represent Christ, that Paul can literally refer to them as the glory of Christ. So, and he finally comes to it in verse 24, and this is where we'll stop today.

So here's what you Corinthians can do. Here's what you should do. Give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.

Make good the confidence that we have in you. Make good on your earlier commitment. Prove your love by sharing in this collection with your hurting brothers and sisters.

Qualities of a gospel trustworthy person. Maybe in closing, I would just ask you to look over this list. I would say, take this list home, or at least the passage, and maybe reflect on it.

Maybe pray over one or two of these qualities. Maybe ask yourself, how are these qualities reflected in me? First, do I have a heart that earnestly cares?

Notice that Paul says it took God to put this into hearts. God put this into the heart of Titus. And he can put earnest care in your heart too.

Do you need to pray about that? Do you need to ask him for that? Secondly, how about being gospel saturated? What's that going to take? For you to be able to see your world and the problems and challenges and opportunities with all of their exciting things, with all the frustrations and setbacks

that come with them, to be able to see them through the lens of God reconciling the world through Christ? Can you saturate your life with the gospel by your words, by your example, by the way you interact with people, the way you respond to things, with the hope that you have in the crucified

and risen Christ? Can you be gospel saturated? Thirdly, will you seek to be above board, to be above reproach and accountable? Ask yourself, are there some steps I maybe need to think about taking?

Are there some practical safeguards I can introduce into my life to be stronger here? And connected to that, again, will you strive to be honorable?

Fourth, be honorable in both the sight of God and the sight of man.

You say, I don't care what people think about me, but the scripture does tell us that our reputation with outsiders is important. Are you living at peace with others as far as it depends on you?

Are you walking uprightly in the sight of God? Do others see you this way? Fifth, when you're tested, when life tests you, will you be found earnest?

Life will have more than its fair share of tests. Seems like it's not a matter of if we'll be tested, but when?

Spiritually tested, emotionally tested, physically tested, tested in your relationships, be found earnest, be found diligent, show proven character.

Sixth, maybe for some of us here today, we're having trouble having confidence in other believers. believers. Is there a time to have an appropriate confidence in someone around you?

To remember that you and I can't do it all and we shouldn't try to do it all and that yes, the Lord actually works through other people too.

Let's be confident about that work. Let's encourage appropriately someone today. And then lastly, of course, will you do the work that God gives you for the benefit of others?

The benefit of others and ultimately for the Lord's glory. So that someone can look at you and look at your life and say, I see the glory of Christ as was said about these men, this small company that's going to grow.

These are the qualities I think that Paul highlights of a few trustworthy people today. So I would say surround yourself with these kinds of trustworthy people.

They'll be good for you. And I would also say, church, strive to be this kind of a trustworthy person. Let's pray. Would you stand with me? Heavenly Father, what a list.

Lord, even though we don't know the names of all these men, Father, just to hear the ways that you were so carefully orchestrating this movement to bless people in great need.

How, Lord, you were taking a financial situation of great need and doing really powerful spiritual gospel work. And so, Lord, that's what we want to see happening in our lives, in our church, and our families even today.

To see you work for your glory. To see the gospel go forth. So will you help us? Will you fill our hearts with what we need? Lord, for many of us here this morning, we have slipped and we have fallen and we have tried and failed.

And we know that because of the gospel, Lord, we know that you forgive and you make a way and there are second chances, third chances, and an infinite number of chances because of the blood of Christ.

We thank you for that. And so, Lord, hear our hearts now as we sing. We pray this in the name of our Savior, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.