Working Together with God

 

“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“‘In a favorable time I listened to you,

    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything” 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 ESV

The apostles were working together with the Lord, and as such they were appealing to (exhorting) the Corinthians, who were part of the gatherings of the church there, to not receive the grace of God in vain. So, what does that mean exactly? Vain means to be ineffective, hopeless, unproductive, empty, and worthless (of no value or profit). And what is God’s grace to us? The Greek word xáris (favor) has to do with God/Christ freely extended to give himself away to us. And Jesus did this by dying on that cross for our sins.

But what does his death on that cross and his resurrection from the dead mean for us who believe in him? If our faith in him is genuine faith, we are crucified and buried with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Thus, we are no longer to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to where we obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey it will lead to death, not to life eternal (Romans 6:1-23).

And how else is grace defined for us in the Scriptures? God’s grace, and even the faith to believe in him, are God’s gifts to us. But God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (see Titus 2:11-14; cf. Ephesians 2:8-10).

So, if we receive God’s grace in vain, then we have not been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), but we just made a pretense of faith in Jesus Christ. And we are not denying self and dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord, as he commands. And we are not zealous to do the works of the Lord which he had planned out in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Yet, since our salvation is progressive (saved, being saved, will be saved), and our salvation will not be complete until the Lord returns for his faithful bride and he takes her to be with him for eternity, biblically it appears possible that those who may have begun well with the Lord can later on fall away beyond recovery and lose their lives. For the Scriptures are very clear that sin must not be our practice, but obedience to our Lord, and that we must continue in these walks of faith unto the very end to be saved.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

And what does it mean to put no obstacle in anyone’s way so that no fault may be found with our ministry? The word translated “obstacle” means “an occasion of stumbling.” And to stumble is to disobey the word of God. So there should be nothing in what we share or teach from God’s word that would be a cause to lead someone into sin. For many preachers today are teaching watered-down and altered gospel messages which are giving their adherents free license to continue in deliberate and habitual sin.

But we should be those who are teaching the truth of the gospel as Jesus and as his NT apostles taught it and not as so many are teaching it today which is giving people permission to keep sinning against God while they claim heaven as their eternal destiny. For the Scriptures are quite clear that if we walk in sin, and not in obedience to our Lord, and not in righteousness, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith our lips have professed. So it is possible to receive God’s grace in vain. Don’t do that!

And we who teach the truth of the gospel must stay the course regardless of how we are treated in return. And we must be diligent to make certain that we are living what we are teaching, and that we are not being hypocritical, but that we are living morally pure, upright, godly, holy, honest, faithful, and obedient lives to the glory and praise of God, and in his power and strength and wisdom, and that we are not leading, by example, in a way of living which is contrary to the will of God and to the teachings of his word.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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