2 Corinthians 4:1-6 NKJV
“1Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
All Ministers of Christ
All of us who are of biblical faith in Jesus Christ are
ministers of Christ, or else we should be. We, as members of the Body of Christ,
have all been given gifts of the Spirit, and we have all been assigned our
specific body parts, our roles within the body of Christ, by God. And we are
not all the same, and we are not all gifted the same, but we are all necessary
to the proper working of the body of Christ to spiritual maturity in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Sadly, this not how so many gatherings of the church operate.
But, in order for us to serve the Lord and the body of
Christ as his ministers, in doing what the Lord has called us to do, we must
first have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor
handling the word of God deceitfully. We must first, by faith in Christ, deny
self, die to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, to walk in his
ways, in truth and in righteousness. And we must be speakers of truth and
righteousness and not those who alter the gospel to make it more attractive to
the world.
Double Dealing
Sadly, we have so many people among us who call themselves “Ministers
of The Gospel” who are teaching lies to the people, probably because they are
not living the truth of God’s Word themselves. Many of them are those who have
not renounced the hidden things of shame, but they are still living in
addiction to certain sinful behaviors. Their hearts and minds are not sold out
to Jesus Christ for they are still given over to the flesh, to do what is evil
in the eyes of God. And so they console themselves by the lies that they teach.
We have many preachers and evangelists who walk in
craftiness and who handle the Word of God deceitfully. And some of them are
very well known and very popular among the people who call themselves “Christians.”
But what they teach is not the gospel taught by Jesus and by his New Testament
apostles, but it is a man-created altered “gospel” which is contrary to the
will of God for his people. For so many are teaching that faith in Jesus does
not require death to sin and obedience to God, but it clearly does, if taught
right.
The Gospel of Christ
So, it is of critical importance that we are students of the
Scriptures, who study them in the appropriate biblical context, and who compare
Scripture with Scripture to make certain that what we are believing is the truth.
And if we do that, we might find that some (or all) things we were taught early
on in our lives is not the truth of what the Scriptures teach on the subject of
the gospel of our salvation. I know I was taught some things wrongly. But the
more I studied the Scriptures in context, the better I understood the truth.
But so many people have been taught the gospel in such a way
as to give them permission to keep on in their sinful practices without
feelings of guilt or remorse. And so the true gospel, taught by Jesus, is
veiled to (hidden from) them. They don’t see it, and they won’t accept it, for
their minds have been blinded to the truth. So they will vehemently deny the
gospel taught by Christ himself while they embrace an altered and cheapened “gospel”
which does not command them to deny self, die to sin, and obey God in practice.
But Christ Jesus
Paul said that he and the other apostles did not preach
themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and themselves as bondservants for Jesus’
sake. In other words, they were not trying to get people to worship them. They
were not trying to build a kingdom for themselves. They were not trying to draw
in large crowds of people from the world into very large gatherings of people
to be followers of them. They were preaching Jesus Christ as Lord, and they
were leading people to worship Jesus and to follow Christ with their lives.
And that is the way that we should be, not people who try to
get tons of followers so that people will believe and do whatever we tell them.
But we should be people who are leading people to faith in Jesus Christ, who
are teaching them the truth, even the hard truths of the Scriptures, so that
the people will put their trust in Jesus Christ, and so that they will follow
Him and obey His teachings, and so they will be those who search the Scriptures
and who study them for themselves so they obey God and not other people.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth
after You
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my
spirit yield
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
Since We Have This Ministry
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