“For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” (2 Corinthians 2:1-4 ESV)
When we share the truth of the gospel, and when we refute the lies of the enemy, not everyone is going to thank us for that, not even all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Many people will ignore us or will refute what we are teaching, for they have been taught a different gospel from what we are teaching. And they have been taught a different God, a different Jesus from the one we profess. And they have accepted a different “church” from the one we proclaim, too.
For they have been taught a God/Jesus Christ who does everything for them and who requires nothing of them, or else they will make his requirements optional as though they are mere suggestions or recommendations, but not requirements (commands). For I hear so many say, “This is how we are supposed to live, but of course, none of us live like that,” or something to that effect, as though that is okay to know the will of God for our lives and to refuse to do the will of God, if just by ignoring it.
But so many are teaching today that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing of us, no works at all, no obedience to the Lord’s commands, and no forsaking of our sins. For again they claim that Jesus does it all and we are not required to do anything other than to “believe,” which is rarely biblically defined. For they forget that belief is persuasion of God and that it is gifted to us by God and that it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we don’t get to define belief. God does. His word does.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
So how does what I am saying here fit with the passage of Scripture quoted? In every way! For Paul was a teacher and a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he taught the people the requirements of God, and he rebuked and corrected and disciplined those who refused to submit to God’s requirements and who chose to go their own path, instead. And that caused the people pain and suffering, because some truth is painful to receive. It does not make us feel good all over and shouting “Yippee!”
And this takes me to another part of this whole thing of teaching what the Scriptures teach with regard to how we are to live. It appears most people who profess faith in Jesus Christ don’t want to be reminded of how they are presently living and of what God requires of them in the way of holy living, and of how they need to change and go with God and not with their flesh. They regard such teachings as negative, judgmental, harsh, unloving, and intolerant, etc., and so they will just tune you out.
But if you read the New Testament, especially the epistles, that is what it largely teaches. And even the encouragements in the Scriptures have conditions attached to them. They are only for specific people who meet particular qualifications, and the qualifications are not just a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, if read in full context. The qualifications are obedience and submission to Christ as Lord and the forsaking of our sins and walking in holiness and in righteousness.
But if you teach what the epistles taught, some of which even the people of Paul’s time considered negative, you might have other professers of faith in Jesus Christ regard you as someone who is generally negative and who gets pleasure out of correcting error and speaking truth. But look at Paul’s words here:
“For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.”
I promise you that is where I am, absolutely! I totally agree with what Paul said here. This is my motivation, too, for why I do what I do – that and obedience to my Lord and to his calling upon my life. I teach the truth of the Scriptures, even the hard truths, because that is what we need to hear, and that is what we need to obey if we are going to see God in eternity. And that is the ultimate in love and sacrifice knowing that we are going to be hated and rejected and ignored, in return, by the majority.
So, what is the gospel? The Scriptures teach us that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for self. They teach that Jesus poured out his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we will now honor God with our bodies. And they teach that God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return.
They teach that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and his righteousness. And Jesus taught that to come after him means denial of self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to his commands. But if we refuse, we will not have eternal life in him. And he taught that not everyone who calls him “Lord” is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God.
[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23]
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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