The Final Test

1:15But then when you have to do it on your own, you realize you don't really know what you're doing and you fail the test. Friends, I think something similar to that happens all the time in churches and parachurch ministries. Just in people's lives who are around a lot of believers. You can think that because you see people living the Christian life on a regular basis, you can think that because you hear Christian truth a lot, and maybe you even agree with a lot of it, that you yourself are a Christian, that you will pass the test.

1:55And so, what Paul is going to do here in the final chapter of 2 Corinthians is he's going to challenge us to examine ourselves, to take a hard look at our lives. And so, we're going to end with a challenge today. End this series with this challenge: if we hope to pass the test, we must study our lives here in verse 1 of chapter 13. You can see that Paul reminds them that he's coming a third time to Corinth. We know the chronology fairly well now. Paul goes and plants the church. He writes a couple of letters. He goes again and has that painful visit where he is rejected and humiliated.

2:41He writes 2 Corinthians, and he's planning to go again for this third visit. And he says this in verse 1: Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. Now, that statement seems kind of random, doesn't it? Like, what is it doing there? Well, it appears that what Paul is doing is he's going back to the charges that have been leveled against him. And most recently, the charge that he was dealing with was found in chapter 12, verses 16 through 18, where there were people in the church who were actually accusing him of stealing the money that the churches had given for the relief of the suffering saints in Jerusalem.

3:26And so Paul reminds them: look, you can't just go around making baseless claims against people. Deuteronomy 19:15 states that two or three witnesses must establish every charge based on evidence. So, when we come to the New Testament and Jesus is teaching about church discipline in Matthew 18, he says that the process for church discipline is you go to the person living in unrepentant sin yourself first. If they don't listen to you, if they won't repent, then you bring one or two others along, bringing the number to two or three total.

4:04And he says that the reason for this is that every charge can then be established by two or three witnesses. So, Jesus is affirming and standing on the teaching of Moses in Deuteronomy 19. So, Paul reminds them: if anybody there in the church wants to accuse him of sin, that's fine, but they need to have two or three witnesses and they need to testify. They need to bring charges against him formally. But the problem here, of course, isn't that Paul is sinning against the Corinthians. The problem is that the Corinthians are sinning against God and each other and him.

4:44If they want proof that Jesus is living and speaking through Paul, then he's happy to give it to them. Because remember, up to this point, they have been weak in dealing with the Corinthians, by which he means they've been gentle, they've been patient, they've been long-suffering. But now he's telling them that if they don't repent, Paul the soft-spoken is not making the next trip. Paul the sledgehammer is buying a one-way ticket on the pain train. That's what's happening now.

5:19So, what exactly does that mean? What does it mean when he says that he won't spare them, that in dealing with them, he's going to live by the power of God? Well, at the very least, it means that he's going to boldly confront these people who are living in sin and, if necessary, bring them before the church, especially if it's the leaders of the church. Take a look at what Paul himself wrote in 1 Timothy chapter 5.

5:46He says, Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all. That the rest may stand in fear. You see how Paul is also standing on the words of Deuteronomy 19, saying that two or three witnesses need to come and present charges. They need to present evidence. And you also see how Paul deals, or tells the church rather, to deal with people who are in unrepentant sin, especially if they're leaders. They are to be rebuked publicly before the church. Why?

6:30He says, so that the rest will stand in fear. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So maybe this is what Paul is talking about: that if he comes and he has to be tough with them, that he's going to bring them before the church and exercise church discipline along with the rest of the church. But he also may have something else in mind when he says that he won't spare them. If you're familiar with the book of Acts, you may remember in Acts chapter 5, there's this situation where this man named Ananias comes and brings an offering to the church, he and his wife, and he lies about how much that he gave.

7:12And so the Apostle Peter confronts him and says, You haven't lied to men, you've lied to God. And the Lord puts him to death on the spot. And a few hours later, his wife Sapphira comes in, and Peter asks her, Was this the full amount that you said that you gave? And she lies too. And he says, How can it be that you and your husband have agreed together to lie to the Holy Spirit? And God puts her to death as well. The same men that just buried her husband now carry her out and bury her as well. And take a look at the conclusion of the section. Look at what Luke says at the end of this section in chapter 5.

7:57And great fear came upon the whole church and all who heard these things. You see, guys, this is the root problem in the Corinthian church. There was a group of people in the church who simply lacked the fear of God. And when you don't fear the Lord, what happens is you begin to live as though you won't answer to him for every thought, every word, every action. You begin to live as though your sin is not a big deal and that your own judgment of your life is the most important thing.

8:42The Proverbs 16:6 says this: Take a look: By steadfast love and faithfulness, iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord, one turns away from evil. A life of unrepentant sin is the result of not fearing God. If you understand that you have not kept God's law perfectly, but that he atoned for your sin through the perfect love and steadfast faithfulness of Jesus Christ, then you will turn away from your sin. You will walk in repentance. You will live a life of worship.

9:34But some of the leaders and some of the professing Christians in the church at Corinth lacked the fear of God. And so Paul was going to come and try to put the fear of the Lord back into them. Their response to his spirit-filled leadership was going to reveal whether their faith was genuine. So look at the charge that he gives them in verse 5. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail to meet the test.

10:15He says, examine yourselves, test yourselves. Remember, the Corinthians have been putting Paul to the test for a long time. They have been examining his message and his ministry under the microscope. So, Paul tells them, you guys need to go and take a long, hard look in the mirror. You need to examine yourselves. You need to quit arguing with me and about me and look at your own life. Determine whether your profession of faith is genuine or not.

10:56You know, over the years, I've had lots of conversations with professing Christians, family members, friends, even people who are members of the church, where I've essentially asked them to do this, to examine themselves, to test themselves, to see whether they're really in the faith. And on plenty of occasions, they'll be really upset with me, and they'll say stuff like, Who are you to judge me? And what I try to help them understand is that I didn't write the Bible.

11:37I didn't edit it, I wasn't consulted on it. If you call yourself a Christian, but you are doing things that God forbids, or you are not doing things that God commands, that should cause you to question your profession of faith. If you're living in unrepentant sin, it should cause you to question your profession of faith. See, the truth is, these people don't have a problem with me, they have a problem with God and what God has said in His Word. And so, I want to remind you and encourage you this morning: never get into an argument with a professing Christian about their sin.

12:24Don't argue with a professing Christian about their sin. They want to make the conversation about you, about how you're judging them, about how you're not perfect either, as though that's what you're saying. They want to make the conversation about you so they don't have to take a long, hard look in the mirror and examine themselves before the Lord. Instead of arguing with professing Christians about their sin, we need to lovingly point them to God's Word to show them what God has said and encourage them, challenge them to examine themselves in light of God's word. They don't have a problem with you, they have a problem with God.

13:08This is why we must test ourselves to know whether we are in the faith, to know whether we have truly been born again, whether God has forgiven our sin, whether we have been adopted into his family through faith in Christ. Friends, there's nothing more important in this life than knowing whether you are a part of the family of God. Nothing. And the Bible is absolutely full of warnings about deceiving ourselves into thinking that we are Christians when we're not.

13:43So look at Jesus' words in Matthew 7. Look at these sobering words. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

14:23You are not a Christian just because you say you are. You are not a Christian just because you're involved in church and religious activities. You are not a Christian just because you know answers to basic spiritual questions or because you like Jesus or because you try hard to do the right thing. You are only a Christian if you have been born again by the Spirit of the living God, leading you to confess and turn away from your sin and to receive Jesus Christ by faith.

15:01Friends, the entire letter of 1 John was written so that you would know whether you are a Christian or not. And in the course of that letter, he asks five very probing questions to help you come to a definitive conclusion. The first question he asks is: Do you walk in the light or the darkness? If you say that you have fellowship with God, but live in the darkness of sin, you're not a Christian. Second, do you love God the Father?

15:40Jesus said that if we love God, we will worship Him and obey His commands. Third, do you love other Christians? Not do you say that you love other Christians, but do you show that you love other Christians through your actions, your choices, on a regular basis? Fourth, do you have the testimony of the Holy Spirit? Now that can seem like a very subjective thing, like how would I know if I have the Spirit or not? But remember the teaching of the Bible: you can judge a tree by its fruit.

16:23And God says that if we have the Holy Spirit, we are going to display the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Fifth and finally, are you persevering in the faith? Are you persevering in the faith? Your life should be marked by ongoing worship, ongoing repentance, ongoing faith in Christ. You cannot put your hope in the fact that you prayed a prayer, that you got baptized, that you went through confirmation at your church at some point. You can't put your hope in those things. And so, friends, how would you answer these questions?

17:07If you're not sure, or if you are sure, but your answers don't point to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, I urge you not to leave today until you have talked to a member of our church or a life group leader or one of our pastors, because the most critical thing is for you to come to know and believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and to know that you will be saved on the day of judgment. There is nothing more important than that.

17:48The Corinthians needed to do the same thing. They needed to carefully evaluate their lives. They needed to honestly evaluate their lives because nothing is more important for. Them than knowing whether they are genuine believers or not. And so in the rest of this section, verses 6 through 10, Paul says that's his whole hope for them. He says in verse 6 that, I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test, but we pray to God that you may not do wrong. Not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

18:29What he's saying is, I hope that you think that we are genuine believers in Jesus Christ. But even if you don't, that's not the critical issue here. The critical issue is whether you are, how you evaluate your own life. What's most important is that the Corinthians take and pass the test of faith. So look at verse 10. He says, for this reason, I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come, I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

19:13Paul reminds them again, he's done this so many times, he does not want to tear them down. He doesn't want to destroy what he has spent years and years building. But you think about custom homebuilders. In the greater Houston area, they work really, really hard to build those beautiful homes. But when a hurricane comes and fills those homes with water, just because four feet of water recedes out of the house and things dry out and it looks fine on the outside, it doesn't mean that on the inside it's not filled with mold that could make you sick or kill you. They don't want to have to go back in there and tear out all the drywall and tear out all the insulation and essentially start over.

20:04But they're willing to do that because that's the only thing that can be done sometimes. You want to build up. You don't want to tear down. And that's what Paul is saying, too. He's willing to go in and do some demolition work if it means that the end result will be people knowing whether they are in the faith or not. That's important for the unity of the church. That's important for the witness of the church. And that's important for the eternal good of everyone involved.

20:40See, we can't be unified as a church if there's a group of people living in sin. We can't have a positive witness for Jesus Christ in our community and around the world if our church is marked by hypocrisy, people pretending to be something. That they're not. And it's not good for anyone eternally for them to go on thinking that they are Christians when they may not be. So Paul says it's all for your good. That's why I write these things. That's why I'm calling you to examine yourselves and test yourselves to see whether you are truly in the faith.

21:27Let's pick up now with verse 11, his conclusion. Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. Paul ends this lengthy letter and his inspired correspondence with the Corinthian church with these last few commands. And when we read these commands, we have to do so with the context of everything that we've learned over the past couple of years.

22:21We have to keep in mind all of the sin that they've committed against each other. You've got to keep in mind all the conflict that they've had. All the division in the church over Paul and the other teachers who came in. He commands them to rejoice because, after all, if they pass the test, their names are written in the book of life. They have eternity to look forward to together. He commands them to aim for restoration because through faith in Christ, they have been reconciled to God and to each other.

23:01He commands them to comfort each other because life is already hard enough without the sin and the conflict that's a part of church life. He commands them to agree with each other because there is no reason to divide the church or to leave the church over petty conflict. And he commands them to greet one another with a holy kiss because that was the symbol of familial love and acceptance. It was the thing that families did to signify that you were a part of the family.

23:46So they weren't supposed to look at each other as just random people who came together occasionally to worship, occasionally to fellowship, occasionally to hear teaching. They were to view one another as family, as brothers and Sisters in Christ. And Paul says, if you do those things, it will make for peace. The peace and love of Christ would be with them. These things would have made for peace 2,000 years ago. And friends, these things will make for peace in our church today.

24:23So, what do we need to do to put these things into practice? What is our greatest need? It's captured in this benediction, verse 14, one of the most beautiful benedictions in all of Scripture. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. That's what we need to put all of Paul's commands, all of Scripture's commands, into practice. We need the love of God, the grace of Christ, the fellowship and power of the Holy Spirit, if we're going to be the kind of church and the kind of Christians that God commands us to be.

25:19Friends, that brings us to the end of our study of 1 and 2 Corinthians. A study so long that it's older than COVID. The Corinthian church was a real mess, wasn't it? And it seems clear from this final chapter that their problems were not over yet. But consider this: why do we even have this letter today? Why do we even have this letter in the Bible to read? Because knowing all of the problems, all of the conflict, what was going on between Paul and the Corinthians, would it have surprised you if they received this letter from Paul, tore it up, and threw it in the fire?

26:11But they didn't. Because we have it. And the fact that we have it to read today indicates that they must have received it, must have repented, must have recognized it for what it is, which is the very Word of God through Paul to them and to us today. If the Corinthians could change, there is hope for every church because every true church is built and established by the power of God. Look at this quote from Warren Wearsby.

27:01The church is a miracle, and it can be sustained only by the miracle ministry of God. No amount of human skill, talents, or programs can make the church what it ought to be. Only God can do that. Did you know that our church is going to be 12 years old this month? It's true. And every year, I am more convinced that it is a miracle that we have made it this far. New life is messy. We have hurt and sinned against each other.

27:47We have missed opportunities. We've made bad decisions. We've made good decisions and executed them poorly. But by the grace of God, we are who we are today. And, church, I will tell you that I have never been more hopeful for our future than I am right now. Do you see that God is at work among us? He is at work among us. The things that Satan intended for evil over this past year, God has used them for good.

28:30To bring about greater unity, to bring about greater passion, excuse me, to bring about greater passion for the gospel, to bring about greater passion for the kingdom's advance in our community and around the world. God has done great things among us, and He is doing great things among us. I hope you see that. I hope you're encouraged by that. New life will never be perfect. We, like the Corinthians, are a messy church. But the good news is that God's grace transforms messy churches into beautiful displays of His glory.

29:16Let's pray. Father, we know that we are a messy church. And what's more than that, we are all aware at some level. Of how each one of us has contributed to that mess. We've contributed to the mess by not dealing charitably with each other, by failing to overlook wrongs and offenses, by not extending forgiveness, by not pursuing peace and reconciliation with each other, by making selfish decisions that hurt the rest of the church. All of us have contributed to the mess.

30:51But, Father, we are also aware that your grace is so powerful that you have used every person here at New Life to contribute to what we are today and who we are today. We know you more and have experienced you more because of the work that you have done in and through each individual. And so, God, we celebrate that. We don't want to be a messy church, but we thank you that in spite of The fact that we are, you have and will continue to use us for your glory.

31:37So, God, we pray that you would magnify yourself and your name through us. In Christ's 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.