2 Corinthians Ch11v1-15 - Pure Devotion To Christ

Chapter 11, 1-15.

2 Corinthians 11, 1-15.

Page 1165 if you have the church Bible.

It's titled Paul and the False Apostles.

I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness.

Yes, please put up with me.

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.

I promised you to one husband to Christ

so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.

But I'm afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the snake's cunning,

your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached,

or if you receive a different spirit from the spirit you received,

or a different gospel from the one you accepted,

you put up with it easily enough.

I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super apostles.

I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge.

We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you

by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?

I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.

And when I was with you and needed something,

I was not a burden to anyone,

for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed.

I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way and will continue to do so.

As surely as the truth of Christ is in me,

nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine.

Why?

Because I do not love you?

God knows I do.

And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground

from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal widows

in the things they boast about.

For such people are false apostles,

deceitful workers,

masquerading as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

It is not surprising then,

if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Thank you, Connor.

Let's keep our Bibles open.

Thanks, Rob.

As we pray this morning,

before we hear God's word,

I don't know if you know that,

on Tuesday, this coming Tuesday,

it will be four years since the war started in Ukraine.

I sent a message this morning to somebody who we know through Radstock,

Yaroslav, who's a pastor,

and just said that we would pray for them today

as they mark another year of much violence and death and hardship.

So let's pray for them as we look at God's word.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for our brothers and sisters in Christ,

in Ukraine,

and those who are also in Russia.

We pray, Father,

for Yaroslav and his church,

that you would give them great courage,

as in the midst of such violence

and such sadness and pain,

they would continue to hold out the hope

that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Please encourage them as they meet as we are meeting today.

Father, love them

and pour out your compassion upon them

and keep them strong,

always following you,

not turning to a different Jesus,

but holding to the truth of the gospel.

Father, as we pray for them,

we pray for ourselves this morning.

We thank you that you know us.

You know what is in our hearts.

You know what is on our minds.

And we need to hear from you today.

And you have given us your word so that we can hear.

And so we ask, Father,

that by your spirit,

that you would take the word that we have listened to

and the words that I speak,

may they be as your words,

speaking hope and encouragement

into each of our lives

and together as your people.

we ask this for our good

and for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

So complete the sentence.

I'm afraid of

doing exams,

losing my soccer match,

the dark,

spiders.

I'm afraid of

I'm afraid of

getting sick

or dying.

Well, I'm afraid

of being led

astray.

That's the fear

that Paul has

for the church in Corinth.

Look at verse 3.

But I am afraid

that just as Eve

was deceived

by the snakes

or the serpents cunning,

your minds

may somehow

be led astray

from your sincere

and pure devotion

to Christ.

You remember how

Eve listened to the serpent

and believed his lies?

We just had it read

to us a moment ago.

The serpent said,

you will not

certainly die.

For God knows

that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened

and you will be like God

knowing good and evil.

Well, Eve was deceived

and was led astray

from her pure devotion

to God.

And that's Paul's

fear.

He's afraid

that the church

will do the same thing

that Eve

and Adam did.

Look at the end

of verse 3.

That somehow

they would be

led astray

from their sincere

and pure devotion

to Christ.

I wonder if that's

your fear

today.

Do you fear

for those

around you

who you're

sitting beside?

Do you fear

for those

who you haven't

seen for months

and used to come along?

You see,

fear

can be a healthy

emotion

because it can

express

genuine

love

and care.

Look at verse 11.

Why?

Why is

Paul talking

like this?

Because I do

not love you?

God knows

that I do.

I do

love you.

It shows

that if we

fear for one

another,

we are deeply

concerned

about their

relationship

to Christ.

Christ.

But not

only is there

a fear

of being

led astray,

there is a

connected and

related fear.

I'm afraid

of false

teachers.

I'm afraid

of those

who deceive

and lead

people astray.

Look at

verse 5.

Paul says,

I do

not think

I am in

the least

inferior

to those

super

apostles.

Well,

who are

they?

Who are

these

super

apostles?

Do they

have magic

powers?

Well,

they were

the movers

and shakers

of the day.

They were

visiting

preachers

who would

come into

town

and they

really

didn't

have much

time for

the

apostle

Paul.

They

claimed

he was

unimpressive

and untrained.

Look at

chapter 10

verse 10.

For some

say his

letters,

speaking of

Paul,

are weighty

and forceful

but in

person

he is

unimpressive

and his

speaking

amounts to

nothing.

His

preaching

is awful.

Or have

a look at

11

verse 6.

the

accusation

there,

I may

indeed

be

untrained

that he

is an

untrained

speaker.

But far

from being

super

apostles,

these

people

are

actually

super

dangerous.

Verse

13.

Speaking

about them

he puts

it like

this.

Verse

13.

for such

people

are

false

apostles,

deceitful

workers,

masquerading

as apostles

of Christ

and no

wonder for

Satan

himself

masquerades

as an

angel of

light.

It is not

surprising

then if his

servants

also

masquerade

as servants

of righteousness.

their

satanic

tentacles

have gone

deep into

their church.

They present

themselves to

everybody as

Bible

believing,

Christ

loving,

church

serving

people but

they are

deceivers.

Verse

15.

they

masquerade

as an

angel

of

light,

servants

of

righteousness.

Now

we

shouldn't

be

surprised

that

there

are

people

like

this.

Jesus

himself

warned,

watch

out

for

false

prophets.

They

come to

you in

sheep's

clothing

but

inwardly

they

are

ferocious

wolves.

You

see

a false

teacher

can look

just like

me.

They

can

sound

like

me.

They

can

use

the

Bible

like

me.

They

can

sing

songs

of

worship

like

me.

They

can

even

be

baptized

and

be

members

of

a

local

church.

But

here's

the

subtle

difference.

Rather

than

lead

people

to

Christ

they

will

lead

you

astray

from

your

sincere

pure

devotion

to

Christ.

Just

as it

was

for

Eve

in

the

garden

where

the

serpent's

words

sounded

right

and

felt

right

but

it

was

super

dangerous.

So

how can

we

today

guard

our

pure

devotion

to

Christ?

How can

we be

prepared

for

when

false

teachers

scheme

their

way in

and want

to lead

you away

from your

pure

devotion

to

Christ?

How can

we be

prepared

and guard

ourselves?

Well we're

going to look

at two

things.

Remember

your true

love

and

remember

the free

gospel.

So here's

the first

one.

Remember

your

true

love.

Look at

verse 2

of

chapter

11.

I hope

you will

put up

with

sorry

verse 2

I am

jealous

for you

with a

godly

jealousy.

I promised

you to

one husband

to Christ

so that

I might

present

you

as a

pure

virgin

to

him.

the

picture

here is

beautiful

and

intimate.

It's

saying

that the

Christian

life

is like

one

long

engagement.

On the

one hand

Christ

is the

husband

and the

church

is the

bride

or the

wife

to be.

And this

relationship

will be

celebrated

in a

marriage

feast

when

Christ

the

true

husband

comes

again

for

his

bride

the

church.

This

will

happen

at

the

end

of

time.

The

engagement

period

will be

over

and the

marriage

between

Christ

and his

church

will

begin.

You

see

Christ

is

our

husband

who

is

full

of

love

for

his

bride

the

church.

In

fact

the

Bible

uses

this

imagery

to

describe

God's

relationship

to

his

people.

This

comes

from

Hosea

Hosea 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2.

Look

at the

words

that are

used.

In

that

day

declares

the

Lord

you

will

call

me

my

husband.

You

will

no

longer

call

me

my

master.

I

will

betroth

you

to

me

forever.

I

will

betroth

you

in

righteousness

and

justice

in

love

and

compassion.

I

will

betroth

you

in

faithfulness

and

you

will

acknowledge

the

Lord.

You

see

God

is

saying

my

love

for

you

is

steadfast

and

loyal.

I

am

committed

to

you

in

a

marriage

relationship.

Now

if

Christ

on the

one

hand

is

the

husband

and

the

church

on the

other

side

is

the

bride

then

Paul

in

some

ways

has

been

the

matchmaker

hasn't

he?

Because

through

the

gospel

Paul

has

introduced

the

Corinthians

to

Christ.

Verse

2

he says

I

promised

you

to

one

husband

as

they

trusted

Christ

so

they

were

committing

themselves

to

Christ.

so

he

was

the

one

who

introduced

them

to

one

another

but

that's

not

the

end

of

Paul's

role

look

what

it

says

at

the

end

of

verse

2

so

that

I

might

present

you

as

a

pure

virgin

to

him

as

Paul

continues

to

teach

the

word

and

encourage

the

church

so

he

wants

them

to

be

clean

and

pure

one

day

Christ

the

husband

will

come

again

for

his

bride

one

day

that

wedding

feast

is

going

to

take

place

but

until

that

time

through

the

engagement

period

he

is

saying

I

want

you

to

be

ready

like

a

pure

virgin

his

concern

is that

they

would

not

be

led

astray

from

their

pure

devotion

to

Christ

Christ

now

if

you're

a

Christian

here

today

that's

how

we

should

see

our

relationship

to

Christ

I

wonder

what

image

comes

to

mind

when

you

say

yes

I

am

in

Christ

well

here's

the

image

we're

to

have

we're

in

a

long

engagement

waiting

for our

true

husband

to

come

so

that

the

marriage

can

begin

for

all

eternity

and as

we

wait

we

seek

to

become

pure

and

more

beautiful

and

more

righteous

ready

for

Christ

when

he

comes

but

we're

not

only

waiting

for

our

husband

we

are

to

be

watchful

of

those

deceiving

teachers

or

deceitful

lovers

look

at

verse

four

for

if

someone

comes

to

you

and

preaches

a

Jesus

other

than

the

Jesus

we

preached

or

if

you

receive

a

different

spirit

from

the

spirit

you

received

or

a

different

gospel

from

the

one

you

accepted

you

put

up

with

it

easily

enough

here

he's

speaking

to

the

church

they've

believed

the

true

gospel

they've

received

the

true

spirit

they've

accepted

the

true

Jesus

but

it's

now

their

heads

are

turned

or

literally

their

hearts

are

beginning

to

drift

away

they've

been

deceived

or

seduced

by

different

Jesus

or a

different

gospel

and look

at the

end of

verse

four

they don't

seem

to be

bothered

they just

put up

with it

now the

picture here

is really

quite

striking

it's

like a

bride

who

is

pledged

to be

married

carrying

on with

every

man

that

makes

eyes

at her

in

and out

of

every

bed

being

deceived

by the

promise

of false

love

despite

the fact

that she's

engaged

and has

a faithful

groom

waiting

for her

she just

carries

on as

she

pleases

well that's

what Paul

is presenting

here to the

church

he's

saying

you're

engaged

to

Christ

he's

your

true

husband

but look

at you

you're

messing

about

with

false

lovers

I

wonder

if that's

true of

you

or me

promised

to one

husband

who is

Christ

but flirting

with other

loves

and passions

being

deceived

by a

different

gospel

and a

different

Jesus

the

message

that says

something

like this

Jesus

wants you

to be

happy

so choose

the way

you want

to live

or as

long as

you're

following

Jesus

you don't

have to

bother

with the

church

or

listen to

what

Jesus

is saying

to your

heart

today

and

don't

worry

about

the

Bible

oh I

like that

kind of

Jesus

I like

that gospel

that sounds

good

like Eve

we can

become so

easily

deceived

and led

astray

from our

sincere

and pure

devotion

to Christ

or are we

becoming more

beautiful

and pure

and falling

in deeper

love

with our

true

lover

you see

we all

need to

come back

to

our

true

love

look at

verse 2

do you see

the way

Paul presents

himself

verse 2

I am

jealous

for you

with a

godly

jealousy

jealousy

can be

healthy

in the

right

context

especially

when it

comes to

relationships

so you

could imagine

a father

who has

an only

daughter

who's

engaged

to be

married

to a

good

man

well how

does he

respond

when other

admirers

come knocking

at the

door

out of

jealousy

for his

daughter

he will

kick

them out

and protect

her

well Paul

is

jealous

for the

church

he's

like a

father

to them

the church

is like

his

only

daughter

and he

loves her

so much

that he

will do

whatever

it takes

to keep

her

for her

true

love

now that's

a beautiful

picture

of the

jealousy

that we

can have

for one

another

not wanting

anyone

to come

between

our pure

devotion

to Christ

that's why

we here

at this

church

have a

membership

we're giving

permission

to one

another

to watch

out for

each other

so if

I'm

going

astray

I expect

you to

come alongside

me

because you

love me

and you're

jealous for

me

Johnny

remember

your true

love

you have

one husband

Christ

don't be

led astray

come back

to your

true love

well how

do we do

this

practically

how do we

come back

to our

true love

how do we

remain

and not

be pulled

away

well second

we remember

the free

gospel

as we've

read

there were

false

teachers

lurking

around the

corner

but Paul

reminds the

church

what he

has to

offer

verse 6

I may

indeed

he says

be an

untrained

as a

speaker

or preacher

but you

know what

I've got

knowledge

he's not

particularly

impressive

he's not

sophisticated

he's nothing

special

but he

does have

knowledge

and what's

the knowledge

that he

has

what's

this

information

what

does he

have

well we're

told at

the end

of verse

7

the

knowledge

is

the

preaching

of the

gospel

of God

the

knowledge

is

beginning

at verse

10

the truth

of Christ

that is

in me

the

knowledge

that Paul

has been

given

is

the

gospel

the

good

news

the

truth

about

Christ

you see

it's

through

the

gospel

that we

are

introduced

to Christ

as our

true love

and in

Christ

we

experience

the truth

of the

gospel

that in

Christ

we find

life

not

death

reconciliation

not

condemnation

forgiveness

not fear

eternal

glory

not just

temporary

joy

we have

been made

righteous

and we

have become

rich

our

true

love

has

committed

himself

to us

and we

find it

all

contained

in the

knowledge

of the

gospel

as we

believe it

and trust

it

and the

good news

is

this

gospel

truth

is

absolutely

free

you see

the false

teachers

that were

around about

the church

were

charging

a sum

of money

and the

larger

the price

you put

on your

ticket

well the

better the

speaker

you were

so you

could imagine

we put a

sign outside

Johnny Grant

preaching today

only 50

euro

would people

come

well in

those days

if you

fixed a

high price

well people

came to

hear you

but Paul

isn't going

to do that

is he

look at

verse 7

was it a

sin for

me to

lower

myself

in order

to elevate

you by

preaching

the gospel

of God

to you

free of

charge

verse 9

and when I

was with

you and

needed

something

I was

not a

burden

to anyone

for the

brothers who

came from

Macedonia

supplied

what I

needed

I have

kept

myself

from being

a burden

to you

in any

way

and I'm

going to

continue

to do

this

I'm

going to

keep

preaching

this

true

gospel

free

of

charge

so that

you will

not be

led

astray

from your

pure

devotion

to

Christ

but there's

something else

about this

free gospel

this free

gospel

is a

picture

of the

gospel

itself

Paul

preaching

without

putting

any

charge

on it

was also

a

demonstration

to show

that the

gospel

is free

that the

love of

Christ

our true

love

has given

his life

to us

freely

Martin

Luther

from the

reformation

explained it

like this

he said

Christ

speaking

of

Christ

Christ

is like

a rich

king

who marries

a wicked

harlot

and in that

marriage

a wonderful

exchange

takes place

whereby

the rich

king

takes

all the

shame

and debt

of his

bride

and the

harlot

receives

all the

wealth

and royal

status

of her

bridegroom

commenting

on the

picture

Luther

says

for if

Christ

is a

bridegroom

he must

take upon

himself

the things

which are

his bride

and bestow

upon her

the things

that are

his

and so

the bride

can say

all that

is his

is mine

and all

that is

mine

is his

what a

beautiful

picture

of the

gospel

that Christ

would take

all our

mess

and all

our sin

and all

our shame

and all

our debt

and give

us

the riches

of himself

remember

what

the gospel

is

look back

to chapter

8 verse

9

this is how

Paul puts

it

chapter 8

verse 9

for you

know the

grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

that though

he was

rich

yet for

your sake

he became

poor

so that

you

through

his

poverty

might

become

rich

the

great

king

who

was

rich

took

our

poverty

of sin

and gave

us

his

riches

you see

here

by coming

to the

gospel

by remembering

the free

gospel

we guard

ourselves

against

false

teachers

by reminding

one another

of our

true love

that in

Christ

we have

been

eternally

loved

and we

will be

loved

for an

eternity

and that

love is

steadfast

and that

love will

never end

and will

never break

we have

been promised

to one

husband

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

who gave

his life

so that we

can share

in his

life

by bringing

us back

to our

true love

we will

not be

led astray

from our

sincere

and pure

devotion

to Christ

let us

always

be reminding

ourselves

of the

gospel

so that we

are firm

in the love

of Christ

forever

let's

pray

Lord God

we asked

at the

beginning of

this sermon

that you

would speak

to our

hearts

according

to our

need

I pray

that

each of

us

would

understand

something

afresh

of your

unfaithful

your faithful

steadfast

love

who never

lets us

go

would you

keep us

looking

unto

Christ

so that

we would

never

drift

away

but remain

firmly

devoted

to Jesus

thank you

that you

have us