Wednesday, May 5, 2010

2 Corinthians 6 DEVO: Grace & Living

Chapter 6:
Grace – Grace – Grace…..I’ve gladly received it and God wants me to gladly dish it out. Deal! Paul again continues to defend his ministry of the Gospel of Grace and in this chapter he demonstrates it with his patient endurance and sincere attitude through it all.
He begins by begging his readers “not to receive God's grace in vain.” Don’t turn down the great exchange of 5:21! Don’t believe a different message. And don’t pass up this opportunity because it won’t be offered forever: “now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Paul then in 3-10 lays out a defense that is hard to argue with. No one who is in it for themselves, or for the money, would put up with as much as he did. You have to be called to endure and live like this! And then you see his heart: “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.” Paul so desired to have intimacy in the Lord with these believers!
The final verses lay out a principle that is all over the Bible – those who believe & receive Jesus are to live differently. So what does “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers” and “be separate, says the Lord” mean? Well it doesn’t mean we are to isolate ourselves from unbelievers! Paul made that clear in 1 Corinthians 9-10 and unbelievers are the mission field not our enemies! Being yoked together is a farming term. You wouldn’t put an ox & a donkey in a harness together to plow because they have different strengths & different temperaments and it would be a disaster! In the same way, believers & unbelievers are totally different (5:17) and partnering with them leads to disaster and compromise. This would include marriage, some friendships, joining with churches of differing beliefs, partnering in business, etc… Right now I am counseling a former student who married a Mormon girl and now, unless God intervenes, are headed toward a divorce. Bums me out. They asked me to do their wedding and as kindly as I knew how, I took them to this passage and showed them why I couldn’t. Whenever we chose to go against clear commands of God it brings hurt, pain and disaster.
*SO WHAT?!
*Are you a believer? Have you believed & received the gracious good news that Jesus took the punishment for your sin? If you haven’t yet, why not right now? TODAY it is available, tomorrow it may not be! And if you do believe & receive Jesus today – tell someone who can help you grow in that relationship!
*If you have believed & received this gracious gift, what are you doing with it? Are you keeping it to yourself? Or are you sharing it? Don’t hold on to it in vain.
*Who are you “yoked” with? Next to your personal relationship with Jesus, marriage is the biggest decision you’ll ever make. Be sure you marry someone who loves the Lord and is committed to Him! It’s better to be single, wishing you were married, than to be married, wishing you were single! And be careful whom you partner with in other areas – business, church, etc…It can lead to disaster.

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