Exalting Others by Humbling Ourselves

1:01But fewer people are aware of what Eric gave his life to after his athletic career. He was a missionary to China, and he served there for several decades until 1943 when the Japanese invaded China and sent him and all of the other Christian workers and foreign nationals into an internment camp. And the conditions in the internment camp, as you would imagine, were horrific. People were packed together very tightly. Conditions were almost unlivable. They had ripped out all of the plumbing, and so there was no running water. There was no running water for bathroom use.

1:41And all the while, Eric humbled himself. He looked for opportunities to serve these men and women and children who were interned with him. He gave away his food. He even gave away his running shoes, the ones that he used to win the gold medal in 1924, to another person in the camp who had nothing on his feet. And he did this continually until he contracted an inoperable brain tumor and died just two months before the end of the war.

2:15Eric Little humbled himself so that others would be exalted. And, friends, today in chapter 11, Paul is going to explain why he didn't take financial compensation from the Corinthians. He's going to explain why he humbled himself in his ministry to them. And what we're going to see today in this section of chapter 11 is that as servants of Christ, we must be willing to humble ourselves to exalt others. Now, before we get into verses 7 through 15, I just want to give you a little bit of background here. After Paul left the region of Macedonia, which is in today what we would call the northern part of Greece, that was where the cities of Philip. Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea were located. Before he left there, he ministered extensively in that region. He developed a great love for those people and those churches. And then after he left Macedonia, he traveled south and went to the region of Achaea, where the city of Corinth is located.

3:17And I want you to see what Luke records in Acts chapter 18. He says, This: After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tent makers by trade.

3:45And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. Now, as we've discussed throughout the series, the city of Corinth, this port city, was a very important and strategic city. It was wealthy, it was influential, it was large, and so it was a desirable landing spot for a lot of teachers, a lot of philosophers who would come to the city in hopes of getting rich and famous by staying in this influential area. And in Greco-Roman culture, there was a practice known as patronage. And the practice of patronage was basically when wealthy people would pay the salaries of other people to put them under obligation through their gifts and favors.

4:30So, it was just understood that if you were a teacher or a philosopher and you had a patron, your job was to represent the patron well by doing and saying only things that would please the person that was funding your lifestyle. But of course, Paul is the servant of Christ Jesus. He wasn't going to put himself in that situation. So, if receiving financial support was going to handcuff him in terms of what he could preach, what he could teach, what he could say, then he wasn't going to accept that financial support. He decided ahead of time when he came to the region, he wasn't going to accept any money from these people. So, what that meant was that Paul was largely going to have to support himself through working with his hands.

5:18He was going to have to hold down a regular job to pay his expenses, and he would reach out to other churches for help if he didn't have enough funds to meet his needs. But at least some people in the Corinthian church were offended by Paul's decision not to accept financial support from them. And that comes out right away in verse 7. Take a look there. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge?

5:51That's a funny situation to us. They were upset that Paul didn't accept their money. I mean, I've never turned down free services in my life. Except for maybe those like windshield repair things that you see, you know, the pop-up tents. Those look sketchy. I don't know. They say it's free. I can't imagine that it is. Anyway, Paul will explain his financial situation and why he made this choice a little bit later on. But I want to make a couple of observations from verse 7 here first. First, Paul's decision not to accept financial support was a humbling decision, it required a great deal of humility.

6:31Not only did this mean that he had to spend hours every single day working with his hands to support himself, but it also meant that he'd have to endure the disdain of the upper classes. Being a blue-collar worker in Greco-Roman society was something that was looked down upon. It was not any job that any person would want, so it required him humbling himself. This Greek word can also be translated lowering himself. Paul had to lower himself to do this.

7:02But second, Paul's decision not to accept financial support wasn't for his own good, it was for the good of the Corinthians. As he explains in verse 7, surely he didn't sin against them by humbling himself, by lowering himself so that they could be exalted. Paul was willing to put himself through any trouble or hardship that was necessary so that others could hear the Good news of the gospel. And see, in Christian ministry, it's never just one person having to make those decisions. Paul wasn't the only one who was enduring hardship for his ministry.

7:42It was also these churches that supported him. Let's pick up in verse 8. He says, I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. Now, when Paul says that he robbed other churches, he's obviously using hyperbole. But we have to remember: these Macedonian churches that were supporting him financially, they were extremely poor.

8:23The churches who supported them, supported Paul and his team, they gave in spite of the fact that they lived in extreme poverty. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 8 again on the screen. He says, We want you to know, brothers, remember, he's speaking to the Corinthians in Achaia, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

9:01Now, right there in that context, Paul is talking about how they gave sacrificially so that the believers in Jerusalem who are suffering could have some of that suffering alleviated. But we also learn right here that they are on top of that giving so that Paul can have all of his needs met while he ministers in Corinth. Now, church, what a challenge. I mean, we talk regularly about sacrificial giving here at New Life because that's the kind of giving that every Christian is called to.

9:36I'm reminded of King David in 2 Samuel 24. And in that chapter, he is offering to buy this threshing floor and animals from this man named Araunah, the Jebusite. And when Arauna learns that King David wants this threshing floor and these animals so that he can sacrifice to God, he's like, David, I will give you that stuff for free. You can take it. But look what David says. But the king said to Araunah, No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver.

10:24Now you might hear that and you say, well, King David was wealthy. You know, no big deal for him. Well, that's fair enough, but he still paid for the threshing floor and the animals. It didn't cost him nothing. Now, when you take a look at the Macedonians, they weren't wealthy at all. They were the opposite of wealthy. These were people who were living in extreme poverty. They were destitute. And yet, they sacrificed to give to support these believers who were struggling even more than they were. And they sacrificed to give so that they could help make up the financial shortfall from Paul's earnings so that he could go on ministering in Corinth without charging them a dime. The Macedonians wanted others to have what they had, they wanted others to have the good news of the gospel.

11:19So, church, I want us to be challenged by the example of David this morning. I want us to be challenged by the example of the Macedonians who gave sacrificially. Their offerings cost them something, but they were glad to give sacrificially because they wanted others to hear the good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection. And so did Paul. That's why he humbled himself and was willing to work with his hands. That's why he humbled himself and wrote to the Macedonians for support. It was a humbling thing in the first century to be a blue. Caller worker. In every century, it is hard to ask other people for money, isn't it? And so Paul humbled himself, and he was willing to do both of these things because he loved them. He loved the Corinthians and he wanted to see them exalted.

12:19Now, in the next few verses, what Paul is going to do is explain why he refused financial support from the Corinthians. So let's pick up in the second half of verse 9. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do. And what I do, I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms as we do.

13:09So in these verses, what Paul is doing is he's explaining his rationale. He's telling them, here's why I did not participate in the well-known and well-established practice of patronage. He says in verse 10, I love you. Paul loved them. He's certainly not saying that he didn't love the Philippians. Or the Thessalonians who gave sacrificially to him. I mean, his love for them comes out on every page of the letters that he wrote to those churches. But what he is saying to the Corinthians is: I'm after your hearts. I'm not after your wallets.

13:51He wants to see them saved and sanctified and glorified by faith. He wants to eliminate any idea, any possible accusation that his motives aren't pure, that maybe he's just preaching and teaching and planting this church in Corinth because it was an easy way to get rich and famous. He clearly states in verses 10 and 11 that it is just out of love for them that he refused compensation, that he humbled himself and worked tirelessly with his hands and asked other churches to make up for his financial shortfall so that he could keep ministering in Corinth for free.

14:31So, friends, a great question to ask ourselves today is: what am I willing to put up with out of love for others? What am I willing to put up with out of love for others? What inconveniences, what hardships, what humiliations are we willing to endure so that other people will be served and exalted? See, these days we hear a lot about boundaries, about getting certain people out of your life who drain you of time and energy and money.

15:13And I want to be clear, there are certain situations where you do need to make some hard choices with respect to relationships. You do need to set boundaries in your life. I mean, even Jesus himself said, don't throw your pearls before swine. So there are situations where you do need to set boundaries and you do need to get difficult people draining people out of your life. But I want to challenge us today that maybe we've gotten so deep into the self-care movement that we are unwilling to be inconvenienced to love difficult people.

15:50That even we're willing to be inconvenienced to love easy people who find themselves in extremely difficult and taxing circumstances. Most of us are willing to humble ourselves to a point. We're willing to inconvenience ourselves to a point to serve others. But ask yourself, do I love the way that Paul did? Do I love the way that Jesus did? Am I willing to serve other people at great cost to myself over a long period of time? See, Paul was willing to do that. He refused to accept financial compensation. Endured so much hardship because he loved the Corinthians.

16:37Second, as you see in verse 12, Paul refused to be paid to distinguish himself from the false teachers. He is very clear. Just take a look at that verse again. He says he's doing what he's doing in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. He's very straightforward. He didn't want any part of his ministry to be confused with the ministry of the false teachers. So the easiest way to do that was to make sure that he couldn't be accused of using the Corinthians in any way. That nobody could say he was indebted to them, which might color what he said or what he did.

17:28So when these men showed up and said that they were not only Christians, but apostles just like Paul, Paul wanted the way that they handled money to highlight the difference in their message. If they were all compensated financially, then it may not have been very obvious that Paul's message was different. But unlike the false teachers, Paul was not calling them to try harder, to do better. At keeping the Mosaic law, it's not like the choice before these Gentiles was, you guys can become Jewish, that's an acceptable course of action, or not. Paul is saying, listen to me, if you try to become Jewish, if you try to go back to that law again, it cannot save you. The law has not saved anybody. All that it does is show us that we cannot keep God's perfect and righteous standard. We don't match up to it.

18:31So going back to the law is a loss. Paul is preaching the good news that Jesus came and fulfilled the Mosaic law perfectly in his sinless and obedient life. He's calling them to turn from their sin to Christ in faith. That's his message. So, in every way, Paul is trying to show them that their ministry is different, that they don't work on the same terms. And the different methods that they use with respect to money highlighted the differences in their message.

19:12Friends, this is why, when it comes to evangelism, it's not enough that we believe the right things and give the right answers when people ask us. The way we live is either reinforcing or eroding. Our gospel witness. We can't communicate the truth of the gospel through our actions, but we can undermine the truth of the gospel through our actions. Look what Peter writes in 1 Peter 2. He says, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Now, doesn't that sound familiar? Sounds like something that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5.

20:10Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. So, friends, if we aren't seeing people come to faith in Christ in our lives, it might be because we're not sharing the gospel. But it also might be that in spite of the fact that we are sharing the gospel, we are undoing with our lives what we are saying with our mouths. That the way we live is taking the force right out of our words.

20:45Paul wanted to be sure that the gospel message itself was the only stumbling block. And we want to be sure of that as well. So, up to this point, Paul has. Been fairly civil with these false teachers. You may agree or disagree with that, but may change your mind here in just a minute because the gloves are about to come off in verse 13. Let's take a look and see how he deals with them starting there.

21:14He says, For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. He mints no words in this section. He calls them false apostles. He calls them deceitful workmen. In this word apostle, it means messenger or sent one. And in this context, it clearly means a messenger or one who is sent by Christ.

22:04So what Paul says is that these men are false apostles because Jesus did not send them out to preach. And their teaching and their lifestyle prove it. Take a look at what Peter said in 2 Peter. Look at this warning. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. Who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. Now, listen to this. And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is asleep.

23:04Isn't it amazing how the teaching of Scripture all fits together? How Paul and Peter, these two very different men, had very different experiences with Jesus, who are ministering to very different kinds of people in different parts of the world, are all saying the exact same thing. That these false teachers, out of their greed, are going to come in and exploit you to take advantage of you, and their condemnation is hanging over them. God is going to judge them for what they're doing.

23:37I want you to notice as well that Paul calls them in verse 13 deceitful workmen. Now, we last saw this word deceit earlier in the chapter when Paul was talking about who? Satan. He deceived Eve with his cunning, and Paul was worried that Satan was going to deceive the Corinthians. In the same way. And he's now saying that these false teachers are seeking to deceive the Corinthians by doing what? By disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

24:14So, what's the point of a disguise? Well, a disguise fools people into thinking that you are someone that you're not. And that's what these false teachers were doing. They were disguising themselves. They came in with these letters of recommendation. They knew the right words to say. They knew the ways that Paul and the other apostles conducted themselves. And so they did all of these things and then they accepted payment just like other well-known philosophers and teachers of the age. And the disguise was complete.

24:54Any person might have been taken by looking at these guys because they looked just like the other apostles in many ways, and they looked just like what you would expect a preacher or teacher or philosopher to look like in the Greco-Roman world. But, friends, no matter how good of an actor you are, a disguise is still just a disguise. You're not really the person that you're pretending to be. And that points to a greater spiritual reality. Look at verse 14.

25:28And no wonder. For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Paul is saying that Satan knows how to dress himself up like an angel. And we know from the temptation of Adam and Eve, or the temptation of Christ in the Gospels, that Satan also knows how to take God's word and twist it just a bit so that the lie that he tells you contains enough truth to deceive you. He's an expert at that. And that's exactly what Jesus says about him. In John chapter 8, he calls Satan a liar and the father of lies.

26:18But whenever he lies, he is speaking his native language. That's who he is. And when these false teachers are lying, it never looks like a lie at first. Just like Satan, it's always presented in such a nice, palatable, enticing way to where you think, surely this person isn't telling me a lie. Surely this must be true. Friends, there are plenty of false teachers today who are dressed up as angels of light. There are some fit, handsome dudes out there preaching heresy.

27:02There are some lovely ladies blogging, tweeting, writing books, telling you to wash your face or whatever, when what you need is to have your heart pressure washed by Jesus Christ. There are false teachers all around us today, and that is exactly what Peter said. We have to be aware because no one comes at us with a lie saying, Be on your guard, be prepared. What I'm about to do is lie to you. What I'm about to do is dilute the truth with some lies. They're never going to give you a heads up, they're just going to present it in a way that looks enticing and respectable.

27:44And so we have to be discerning. Going back to last week, you know, we are in a spiritual war. And the only weapon, the only offensive weapon we have in this war is the sword, the Word of God. So if you don't know the Word of God, you have no weapon. If you don't spend time in the Word regularly, your sword is dull. So, given the state of the American church, can we really be that surprised that people are taken with every new book, every new speaker, every new talk that's on YouTube? Of course not.

28:25Because the false teachers today were just like the false teachers then. They knew how to dress it up. They knew how to make it sound good and true so that we would receive it at face value. So we have to beware. Paul sums all of this up in verse 15. He says, It's no surprise if Satan's servants also disguise themselves as what? As servants of righteousness, their end will correspond to their deeds. Friends, leading people astray is a very big deal. God takes that very seriously. Look at what Jesus said in Luke chapter 17.

29:16And he said to his disciples, Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Look at James chapter 3. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

29:55When Jesus returns, every one of us is going to stand by. Before him to be judged, we are going to give an account, as he says in Matthew 12, for every careless word that we have spoken. But those of us who taught, who took on the responsibility of teaching people what to believe and how to live in light of those beliefs, Paul says we are going to incur, James says we are going to incur a stricter judgment.

30:34And Paul believed this. And he knew that no matter what the Corinthians ultimately concluded about him or his ministry, he was going to have the approval of Christ. And that's all that mattered to him. Friends, Paul told Timothy that in the last days, people were going to look for teachers who would tell them what they wanted to hear. So many teachers, even those who profess to follow Jesus Christ, teach the Bible, but they're using it to just say the things that people want to hear.

31:15The main message that we hear today from many pulpits in our country is: you're fine. You just need to love yourself more. Your biggest problem is that you don't love yourself enough. But, friends, that's not the message that we get from Scripture. The truth is, we are not fine. And the solution to our problem isn't good advice. The solution to our problem is good news. See, good advice only deals with the surface, it only deals with what's on the outside.

31:52We need a solution that goes beneath the surface to the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is that we are born with sinful and rebellious hearts that do not want to submit to God, but who want to tell us that we can and should be God of our own lives. When Paul came and humbled himself, he did so following the example of Jesus, who humbled himself even to the point of death, death on a cross.

32:31He did that because no amount of teaching, no amount of advice was going to fix the root of the problem. He did that because the only way to address our problem of our sin and rebellion against God was for him to live a perfect life, to die in our place, and then to rise from the grave victorious over sin and death. That was the only solution that was going to work. And so, if you're not yet a believer, This morning, I urge you to turn to Christ in faith today. Don't hope any longer in advice that you can maybe clean your life up to the point where God will accept you.

33:16There is salvation in no other name except for Jesus Christ, because He alone is the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin. If you're already following Jesus this morning, I want to encourage you to take Paul's example to heart. Paul, who humbled himself, who lowered himself, who took on all kinds of hardship to love and serve the Corinthians in the name of Jesus. See, Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. He taught that the greatest among us is the one who serves.

33:59So our friends, our family, our co-workers, our classmates, they need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ from our lips. But they also need to see that good news reinforced with our lives. So friends, as servants of Christ, let's be willing to humble ourselves so that others can be exalted. Let's pray. Father, it seems so clear that in every culture, humbling ourselves doesn't come naturally. Serving others doesn't come naturally. In every culture, though we value different things, what is honored and respected and talked about and put on the news, what's celebrated is people who exalt themselves.

35:35But, Jesus, you have commanded us to lower ourselves, to consider what other people need before we ask, what do I need? And there is no greater need than the gospel. So, Paul encourages us today. To follow his example as he follows Christ. And God, we pray that you would teach us, give us power from on high to humble ourselves so that others could be exalted, so that others could come to know the person and work of Jesus Christ and receive him as Lord and Savior.

36:26God, we thank you for Paul. But more than for Paul, we thank you for Jesus, the perfect servant and the perfect sacrifice for our sins. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.