I'm reading to you from the book
of 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I'm
going to read the first five verses. It says, Therefore, seeing
we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint
not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, 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. But if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are at loss, in whom the God of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake." Paul wrote and said, we have this ministry. He's writing
on behalf of Timothy, his constant companion, his fellow preacher.
Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy. There weren't many true preachers
then. As in the days of the prophets, there weren't many true prophets,
but there were many false prophets. And as it is in these last days,
of which our Lord said many false prophets have gone out into the
world, but few true. The true ones are known the same
way as Paul and Timothy. He said in verse 1, our ministry,
we have this ministry. Now stop right there. Ministry
or minister means a servant, a service performed. Paul said,
I was made a minister of the Gospel. He said, that's what
I was made, and that's what I do, a preacher of the Gospel. If
a minister sent by God, if in the ministry, that ministry is
the Gospel, preaching Christ and Him crucified, always, all
time, everywhere, every Sunday, every Wednesday, that is His
calling. His calling. For there are no
female ministers or pastors in the church. Verse 1, he says,
as we have received mercy, we faint not. The gospel is of God's
sovereign electing love, grace, and mercy in Jesus Christ. Mercy. Mercy for sinners. Mercy for the guilty. That's
what mercy means. Not getting what you deserve.
Being spared what you have earned or what you deserve. Unworthy
sinners being spared judgment and condemnation and wrath. 1
Timothy 1, Paul said in verse 11, the glorious gospel was committed
to my trust. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord,
who enabled me to preach, that is. He counted me faithful, putting
me into the ministry. So that is what he does, preaches
the gospel. Verse 2, he said, we faint not. Verse 1, we've received mercy,
so we are not going to quit. So often, in every place, the
opposition to Paul's preaching was great. It was everywhere.
It says in one place, everywhere it was spoken against. Most did
not believe. Most hated the truth, and they
hated Paul for telling it. They wanted him dead. They wanted
his mouth stopped. And yet Paul said to young Titus,
there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers. Their
mouths must be stopped. They subvert whole houses, teaching
things they ought not for filthy lucre, that is, for money. But Paul said, we're not going
to quit. No, sir. We're not going to quit. In 2
Corinthians chapter 2, he said in verse 14, thanks be unto God
who always causes us to triumph in Christ. Well, that's who Paul
preached. And he said, we're a saver of
death to death, that is those who hate the truth, hate the
true God and the true Christ, dead and dying, but we're a saver
of life unto life. Christ said, My sheep hear My
voice. He said, I have sheep that will hear My voice, that
will hear the truth. Words of life, not death, but
savor of life to life. In verse 2 of our text, He says,
We renounce the hidden things of dishonesty. Paul boldly and
clearly denounced all the false religion and false prophets all
around him. The prophetesses everywhere,
in every place, like the prophets, like John the Baptist, like our
Lord. A true shepherd is a watchman over the flock. And the Lord
said wolves would come dressed up like sheep. False religion
and prophets who come in Jesus' name, in God's name, hidden. from the sheep, but Paul said,
we've renounced them. We've openly exposed them like
our Lord did. Our Lord said of the Pharisees,
the scribes, He called them hypocrites, actors, playing a part. He said,
if I hadn't come, They would have a cloak for their sin, but
he said, I exposed them, and so therefore they hated him.
And they hated Paul, and they hate all who tell the truth from
God's Word to the people. He said, we've renounced the
hidden things of dishonesty, those hidden trickery and guile. Verse 2, not walking in craftiness,
or handling the Word of God deceitfully. In chapter 2 verse 17, he said,
We are not as many which corrupt the Word of God, or deal deceitfully
with it. That is, hold back some of the
words that are offensive, or twist it, or pervert it, or corrupt
it, or change it, or add to it, or leave out something. Now first
of all, Hear me carefully, people. If you have any version of the
Bible, any English language version of the Bible except the King
James, that version is corrupt. It's a perversion. You need to
throw it away. If you change one word, you can
change the whole truth. If you leave out one word, you
corrupt it. Add one word, you corrupt it. The old Paul said, we do not
corrupt the Word of God. We do not make it say what it's
not saying, not say what it does say. No, no, we don't corrupt
the Word of God, he said, but as of sincerity, sincerely in
this for the glory of God that the truth might be heard whether
anyone believes it or not. As of God, that is, as though
God did beseech you by us, sent by God. It's His Word. How dare we say anything else,
or add to it, or not say what God tells us to say in the sight
of God? Not men-pleaser, but trying to
please God who sent us. He said, therefore, we speak
of Christ and Him crucified. So he says here in our text,
we don't handle the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth. We commend ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. Paul feared God, not
man. He didn't preach to please men,
but God. He didn't flatter men with lies
such as, God loves you, Jesus loves you, God needs you, God
wants you, Jesus needs you. He never said that. No true prophet
would ever say that because that's a lie. No prophet's ever said
that. Paul didn't say it. No preacher
today says that. Only men-pleasers, only liars
say things like that, say what God doesn't say. Oh no, he says,
we manifest the truth, we clearly and plainly and boldly declare
the truth, thus saith the Lord. And God doesn't say anything
in this Bible good about man. This message is not, smile, God
loves you, but repent. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. That God is angry with the wicked
every day. Paul said to the Ephesians one
time, he was about to leave and he was leaving them and he knew
that soon he would be killed for the truth's sake. He said,
I cease not to warn you day and night with tears. Preaching repentance
toward God. Repentance. Repentance. That's the message that the apostles,
the prophets preach, the apostles preach. That's the message our
Lord Jesus Christ will preach. Repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, we commend ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of God. That is, he
urged everyone to take a Bible and go home and search and see
if these things are so. Scriptures tells us to try the
spirits. 1 John 4, 1, try the spirit,
try them. They're either of God or the
devil. Try them. Put them to the test. How? By
the Word of God. If the preacher, if the people,
if the church is doing anything, saying anything different than
the apostles, than the church in the New Testament, they're
not of God. You won't find the New Testament church. You won't
find the apostles or preachers of the gospel being clowns or
politicians, having fundraisers or Christmas plays or pageants
or dinners or fundraisers or bake sales or Boy Scout Sunday
or fleshly gimmicks or trickery, business tactics trying to bring
people in and sneak the Bible in on them, trying to make members.
No, no. They do one thing. They did one
thing. They do one thing. They preach the Word, a message
of life and death, an urgent message to a world under the
wrath of God. Oh yes, it's a message of mercy,
yes, but it's to sinners, to the guilty, to the unworthy.
Yes, a message of love, yes, but not to all but to the unlovely. Love for the unlovely, those
who hate themselves, those who love truth, those who receive
the love of the truth. He says, in the sight of God,
commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Verse 3 and 4, If our gospel
be hid, He said, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the
God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not. The God of this world is in religion.
Satan's seat is what it's called in the Revelation, where the
church is, and they're in the midst of vast quantities of religious
people like our Lord, like the Jews of old. God of this world
blinds men's minds to the truth of a sovereign, holy God. He
blinds men's minds to the truth of man being dead in sin, like
He did Adam and Eve in the garden. Mine, to the absolute sovereign
mercy of the Lord, and Lord who came to save sinners, not good
people, not righteous, but sinners, of a sovereign Lord in Christ
who came to save His sheep, of a sovereign Spirit. You must
be born again at salvation of the Lord, O the God of this world,
as He did in the garden to the first man and woman, and blinded
their minds. told them what they wanted to
hear. They died in the garden. Verse
5, Paul says, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. He
said, the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of
God. Express image. God walked this
earth. God has one thing to say to a
perishing man. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Repent or perish. Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. No, we don't preach ourselves.
We preach Christ. We don't preach our church. We
preach Christ. We don't preach man's will, man's
works, man's decision. We preach Christ Jesus, Lord
of heaven and earth. Bow to Him. Believe Him. Come
to Him. That's the message of every true
preacher. That's the message that this
dying world needs to hear. That's the message of the Bible
that God demands that His preachers preach. Try your preacher. Try
the Spirits, true preachers like Paul. They renounce hidden things,
and they are open and honest before men, and their message
is one, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Amen.