There's a lot of teaching in these last words, although they may seem, it might seem otherwise. And I think that the Lord may just show us some things tonight from this, I pray he will. But let's look at verse 21 again and let's take this a step at a time. We won't get so much into every word of this where Paul is sort of listing the trials that he's been through. We will look at some of it for certain and more of it later after tonight, but let's just start with verse 21 and see what the Lord has for us. 21, I speak as concerning reproach as though we had been weak, albeit wherein so ever any is bold. I speak foolishly. I am bold also.

So the reproach that he's referencing here is the offenses mentioned in the previous verse. You suffer a man to bring you into bondage. You remember the situation. False preachers had come in after Paul had left the church at Corinth and began to teach them contrary to what Paul taught, and to badmouth the apostle in his absence. But here are the offenses, the reproach that he's talking about. They bring you into bondage, they devour you, they take of you, they exalt themselves, and they smite you on the face. Now, particularly the last one he's referencing here when he says, I speak as concerning reproach, because he, I believe, is making it clear he wasn't under the impression that there was physical abuse.

That would be much preferable to the type of abuse that a false preacher engages in. But he's saying, when he says they punch you in the face, and that's the word, the word is to flay or to beat. It wasn't just a slap that he's talking about here. They punch you in the face. How could you insult somebody anymore and put reproach upon them?

But he's saying it wasn't a physical thing, but an indignity, a reproach leveled against them. And I like the way Paul includes himself with them in these sufferings. He says, we, as though we had been weak. They felt like they could get away with it because they expected us to be weak. He had been punched in the face by these same false preachers in their slander of him. He'd been reproached by them.

He includes himself with them. And I think that's an important thing. He identifies with them in this. This is not me and them trying to fight over you. This is us protecting ourselves and me as the under shepherd that the Lord sent to you, protecting you against the wolves by God's grace.

So he includes himself there and he's saying there that they feel like they can get away with it. As if we had been weak, they think they can get away with it. Because they considered Paul to be weak because of his humility and mild manner in teaching. But also, they expected these people just fall in line with what they were saying and doing.

But Paul is fighting this. in the most powerful way that it can be fought against. If Paul had gone there and stood them up in some kind of a fleshly way, that would have been counterproductive. But he fights against it in the most powerful possible way by the written word, by the truth. He told the truth about it. There's nothing more powerful than that.

And in this case, the word of God. Of course, though his answer here, he said, is not after the Lord. Verse 17, he said, I'm not speaking after the Lord here. The Lord didn't send me to defend myself against people. But the Lord did include it in the scriptures. So we see how to refute error is with the truth. That's the only way.

Now there are a lot of different facets to consider in these next verses where Paul does give a list of his sufferings and things, but one of these considerations I think that's very important is that these false preachers would never endure even one of these sufferings. They would never endure any of the things that Paul did without quitting, and they were characterized that way. They'd go here and there and do these things and try to benefit off of people. And when there was nothing in it for them anymore, they would move on. And so Paul, as they began to compare Paul to themselves, with Paul in an unfavorable light, now he's comparing himself to them and telling the truth about it.

Here's how it really is. False preachers are all about what's in it for them, and that's it. There's no staying. There's no commitment. I was accused of that long ago, that I'd never last. But by the grace of God, they were right. They were right. That's all it's about. If the endeavor begins to cost them anything, they will run with their tail between their legs. And I'm not saying that just from my experience, which is pretty considerable in that, but from the word of God.

Why does the shepherd not run? You know, the Lord said, he said in John 10, 11, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is in hireling and not the shepherd, this is John 10, 11, if you want to jot this down and look at it later. He that is in hireling, he just working a job. He just got a summer job. And he's not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not.

That's the key. Seeeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep. They see a beating coming and they're out of there. They see a jail time in it, and they're gone. Not Paul. And the wolf catcheth the sheep and scattereth the sheep. The harling fleeth. Why does he flee? Because he's a harling. Because he's in it for himself. because he's in it for the money, he's in it for personal gain, and the next phrase, and careth not for the sheep. Why doesn't the shepherd run? Why doesn't he flee when the wolf comes?

Why would he spend nights in jail? Why would he spend a couple of nights floating in the ocean and go back at it the next day? Why would he be just flayed, his back flayed 39 times with a cat and nine Timbs? And that happened to him five different times. Why would he do that? And then get up the next day when they were done with him and preach the same gospel again? Because they're his sheep, because they're the master sheep. And the Lord has made us his under shepherd and he cares for the sheep. That's the difference, love. It's love.

Paul is exposing their weakness in enumerating, I guess that's the right word, in listing what he's been through. He's comparing himself to them like they did, but from this standpoint. A hireling wouldn't endure what I have by the grace of God. And this is almost always the case that those who are the weakest will talk the biggest game. They were good at promoting themselves. But Paul is showing in these next verses that their talk is cheap. Strength is shown in the walk.

The word bold in the text means this, to not dread or shun through fear. It's not that you're not afraid. It's just that fear is not gonna make you shun what the Lord gave you to do. Fear is not gonna make you sell the son of God for 30 pieces of silver if you're his, if your heart is in his hand, if he's prayed for you like he said.

The difference between Judas and Simon is the Lord said to Simon, I've prayed for you, that your faith fail not. Aren't you glad he does that? How long would your faith last if the Lord didn't intercede for you before the throne of glory? How long would mine?

It doesn't say a lack of fear. It says to not dread or shun through fear. And that's not displayed by talking a big game. That's displayed by facing the consequences of what you say and then going right back to saying it. You see the difference? Boldness is getting whipped and beaten for preaching, and when they let you go, you go right back to preaching.

They told one of the old preachers, I forget which one, and it's not because I don't know who it is, it's because I've forgotten my children's names too. That's how bad it's getting. They put him in prison for years. He had a blind daughter, and his heart was breaking. They would visit him, and they would weep together, and they would go, and they would say, we let you out. Even they felt sorry.

We'll let you out, but you can't preach. He said, if you let me out, I'm going to preach. I'm going to preach. When they beat the disciples, they counted themselves blessed, to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake, and they went out and they continued to preach the gospel.

That's boldness. That's not shunning the truth or the Lord Himself or His ministry through fear. Look what's at stake. Look what's at stake. Christ is the sinner's only hope. Paul said in Romans 1, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but why? Because it's the power of God unto salvation. Because sinners need saving.

And the Lord Jesus has chosen by these means to do that. Boldness is when it's worth that. It's worth that. It's worth being in prison or thrashed with a cat and nine tails. And consider that a small price to pay for the privilege of serving the Son of God. Also consider when Paul says at the end of verse 21 that he is bold, consider what we know about Paul's boldness. From the scriptures again. Why would he endure the things that he had and continue on in the ministry, whereas any hireling would have been long gone? What made it all worth it? It's got to be worth it. What made it worth it?

Acts chapter 20, turn with me, please. You see, we, this is not, we don't just go down a list and think, oh man, that must've been horrible. You know, that must've been really bad when he went through that. No, no, we, the root of the matter is Christ. The root of the matter is why he endured those things, for whose sake he endured them, and why he continued to endure them, without fainting, without succumbing to the fear and the reproach of it.

Verse 22 of Acts 20, And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. I know I'm either going to be thrown in jail or going to endure something horrible. That's a given. The Holy Spirit told me that was going to happen. God's revealed to me that's going to happen, but I'm still going. That's grace. That's the boldness right there that we're talking about.

And look, but none of these things move me. It's not that he's not afraid of it, that he doesn't dread it. It's that it's not going to change anything. He's not going to shun to do what... These things don't move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself.

If the worst thing you could think of happens, and they torture me to death, and I breathe my last breath, I'm going anyway so that I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus Christ. What about being tortured and killed sounds joyful to you? Paul, with joy? Finish your course with joy? which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

There's not a better way to go than that, is there? Christ is worth it. Can we just use plain language? Christ is worth it. The gospel is worth it. If sinners are going to be saved, that's how God's going to save them. What else in this world matters in comparison to that?

We're going to have to understand what's going on. If we're going to act like that's what's going on, we're going to have to understand it. If we're going to conduct ourselves in a manner befitting what actually is happening. It's terrible that Paul went through all these things, but that's not the message. The message is why, and why it was worth it.

The gospel, the ministry, eternal life and death, the sheep. The Lord Jesus who is worthy said, feed my sheep. And it turns out feeding sheep involves facing down wolves. When the wolves come, in the form of the horrible consequences Paul has recorded in these following verses. Those are the wolves that came after him. Those are some fearsome wolves. And these hirelings that Paul is dealing with at the church in Corinth, they're going to look for another job when the wolves come.

They're going to hire out somewhere else. Because that's what it is to them. A job. A job. Preaching the gospel is not a job. I had one of those. The Lord calls you to do it. It's a calling. As long as somebody will listen and as long as the Lord will meet with us. If I didn't think the Lord was in this, what would be the use? What would be the use of it? Christ is all, and so if he really is all, then come what may, whatever he sends our way to endure, we endure by his grace. If he's praying for us, if he's meeting with us. The difference between the harling and the shepherd and his under shepherds is love. I will give you pastors according to mine own heart, he promised. Christ is worth it, and that's an understatement. Because he is, you are.

Look at verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelite? You know why he's saying all that? Because these religious Jews love to talk about their heritage. They were wearing all of their religious garb and they come in there with all of their letters that they had earned in colleges and under professors and philosophers and scholars. And they love to brag about their credentials. And so he's saying, are they Hebrews? Are they Israelites? Are they the seed of Abraham? I am too. I am too. That's what they bragged about most was their lineage.

And so Paul matches all of that as though it mattered. But think about this. Again, we're pointed to Christ because the Jews highly valued these credentials, but Paul For that reason only mentions them here. Paul had renounced his religious heritage as dumb that he might win Christ.

In Philippians chapter three, he said, I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Circumcised the eighth day according to the law. As far as the deeds of the law were concerned, blameless, respected, highly respected. And that's what he's saying here. But in Philippians three, he said, When I met Christ, I count all of that but dung now, that I might win Him and be found in Him. And so we're pointed to Christ again in this text. Paul only mentions all of that here because it mattered to them. And he's comparing himself with them.

But preferable to all earthly heritage is to be found in the Son of God, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul abandoned, let me read it to you, Philippians 3, 4, though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he have whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. This sounds like the language of our text, but this is in Philippians, right to the church at Philippi. I more.

Circumcised the eighth, you got some heritage to brag about? Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee. very well established and respected and exalted in my religious heritage concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, all of that religious heritage that meant something to me, those were positives then, but now they're negatives for Christ.

Those are disqualifications for Christ's sake. It'd have been better if I'd have been a fisherman, because I wouldn't be so steeped in the deadly anti-Christ religion. But the Lord knew who he was picking. He knew who he was picking. But he says, I count those lost for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Everything I am and know that's not Him, it's all loss. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done that I may win Christ." Who'd you suffer all the loss of those things for? For Him. For Him. He's worth it. That's such an understatement, but it's the truth, isn't it?

So in our text, Paul is not saying that this means anything to him, that he was a Hebrew and an Israelite and a son of Abraham and all that. He's just mentioning it to these false preachers because it meant everything to them. And so he's matching all of that to start with. And then think of this, as these false preachers compared themselves to Paul and considered Paul, you know, They compared him unfavorably to themselves, just like they did everybody.

The Pharisees saw the public and said, I'm glad I'm not like that. That's how they were with everybody. Paul is now comparing himself to them and showing that they don't have any ground from which to boast at all. They've got no ground to stand on, verse 23. This is what matters.

Are they ministers of Christ? Are they servants? That word is servants. Are they serving Christ? By taking from you? Is that what Christ sent his preachers to do? Just take, take, take. Be constantly asking for money and more money and we need this and we need that. Look, we want a nice place, don't we? We want to be able to. We don't want to. bring shame on the gospel by being lackadaisical about the place. But if things happen to the point where we have to meet in a cave, I hope you'll be there. I'll be there. You know, I think it'll be fine.

Are they ministers of Christ? Again, he says, I speak as a fool. He can't say it without saying, this is such a stupid thing to say. To say I'm more of a, I'm better than they are, this is so terrible to say. But he had to defend himself. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool.

How many times throughout all this has he said that? Nine or 10 times, I believe it was. In labors more abundant? in stripes above measure. You listen to these guys on TV and you tell me how long you would have to study to be able to say the stuff they say, to tell heart-wrenching stories about, you know, teenage kids, you know, getting drunk and dying in car wrecks and their parents, you know.

I've heard all of it. I would never have to crack my Bible open. Not one time. And I'm an idiot. They've got degrees. They don't do anything. You listen to some old tapes of Billy Graham. I don't know if Franklin does any, I've never heard him preach. I like to sometimes watch to my utter dismay. I think he just does charitable stuff. But I'd listen to Billy Graham and I'd say, this man didn't even crack open his Bible for this.

Labor's more abundant in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft I believe he was stoned and killed one time. We'll read that in the scripture next time I'll find it. That one time he says he was stoned, I believe he was dead. We'll look at it later and see if you think that, but I think that's what he means there. And it says oft, wasn't the only time it happened. He may mean on the edge of death, I don't know. of being called into the ministry by Christ himself. That's what matters. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter what school you went to or didn't go to.

Did the Lord Jesus cry? What school did Simon Peter go to? What school did John go to? What school did any of the apostles go to? Except for Paul. But notice here that instead of, he could have tried to prove somehow or recount the story of how the Lord met him on the road to Damascus and blinded him and told him, I've chosen you, Paul. You're going to preach to the Gentiles. Here's what you're going to do. He came right where he was, stopped him on his mad dash to violent, destructive hatred of God and certain hell. Said, I chose you.

What a humbling thing that must have been for Paul after that. But he didn't recount that story. You know what he gives as evidence of his servitude to Christ? The reproach of Christ. It's the offense of the cross that brings the kind of reproach and sufferings and persecution that Paul faced. Galatians chapter 5, if you'd turn there please.

How many times would you think you, a false preacher, you could whip their back 39 times with a cat and nine tails? With sharp rocks in the ends of the, they were, brutal, horrible devices of torture before they had decided they weren't called to the ministry after all. They had probably heard the Lord calling them on missionary work to the Bahamas or something. That's probably what they'd hear. But we're talking about the offense of the cross and the results of that.

Galatians 5.11, and I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, that is conformance to the law or works, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased. You know, Naaman's servant told him, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult thing, You'd have done it. But telling you to go wash in the dirty River Jordan was beneath you. That's the problem with religious people. The gospel is beneath them. They're better than that. You mean my works aren't impressive enough? No, they're not. They're not. And they never will be.

But the offense of the cross is what he said, if I cease to preach the offense of the cross, which, by the way, that offense, you think about what it is, what is it about the cross that offends the natural man, sinful man? Well, let's just start there.

Your works are nothing. The cross says that everything that you have done are doing and ever will do is gonna land you in hell, that God had to intervene for you. God had to send his son for you. The law could not, you keeping the law could not get the job done. I don't care how good your works are in your own mind and heart, you are a failure. You are a hell-deserving failure, and Christ had to save you. He had to come and save you. You bow to that.

He is my sin offering. And without a sin offering, without Him washing away my sins, I am a goner. And I deserve everything that comes to me, all from hell, from one end to the other, I deserve every bit of it. If they put me in the lowest pit of hell, it'll be home for me. but Christ saved me. He didn't give me a chance. He saved me. That's the humiliation of the cross, and it's welcome to a sinner. It's welcome.

My works are worthless. My will is depraved. Everything I choose is wrong and always has been and always will be without the grace of God in Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. That's offensive. That's shocking to people. God doesn't want your decisions. He's not interested in your will. He will have to overcome your will in order to save you. That's how he does it. That's offensive. And sinners don't like it, and Paul suffered because of it. He said, if I quit preaching that, nobody would ever have a problem with me. Old Billy was the most popular preacher of all time. No offense to the cross. The persecution ceased because the offense of the cross ceased. Why did the Jews give him 40 stripes save one on five different occasions? Why was Paul put in prison as he said frequently? Why did they beat him with rods and stone him?

Well, you might read this passage of scripture, like I said before, and think, you know, wonder where Christ is in all these verses. He's in every word of it. He's in all of it. He's in the boldness of Paul. He's the reason Paul was preaching the offense of the cross. And he's the reason Paul kept preaching the offense of the cross after the consequences of that offense continued day after day after day.

The care of the church is daily burden. If you ever talk to somebody that has a job, a duty that is mentally just heavy, And you ask him, what's harder, physical labor or mental labor? Every one of them will say mental, every one of them. The care of the churches, daily.

And he mentions just things, just logistical things, traveling, constantly traveling. all of what the responsibilities of preaching, cold and nakedness, journeyings, perils of waters and land and sea and robbers, We're not ever going to likely suffer all of the same ways that Paul did for confessing Christ. We're not going to suffer in those ways, I don't imagine, in our lifetimes. But what about verse 28, the care? Think about that, the care of the church, the burden of the church, the concern of the church, the ministry the Lord has given us. This doesn't just happen. It doesn't just happen.

What about spiritual denial of self? Paul denied self. He denied himself the luxuries and even the bare comforts of this life for the sake of Christ. But what about spiritual denial? Don't we experience the struggle where the scripture says the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh?

Do we have that battle going on inside of us? If you're a believer, you do. What about that? Is there a warfare? You know, the scripture says, He that warreth entangleth himself not in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. You know how hard that is to do, to not get entangled up in this world? Because you're a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Impossible, that's how hard. But the Lord doesn't just wave his hand and make all that go away. We're going to struggle with it. He gets us through it. He guides us through it. He uses it. He said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. How much? Take the same, shall save it. For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be cast away?

Is Christ worth it? Is his church worth it? You know, he begins to be more worth it, I think, to believers as we get older. Because we see more easily the vanity of this life. Let me save you some time, you young people. If you live to be long enough, you're going to see the vanity of this life better than you do now. And you're going to be in the same place. And you're going to be like Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. you're gonna say, I've tried everything, and it's all vanity and vexation of spirit, except what God said, and by his grace, doing what he said.

Is his church worth it? Our text tells us that the answer to that question, is he worth it, is his church worth it, is not just yes or no. The answer is love or not. God purchased his church with his own blood. How do we feel about it? How do we feel about his people? If we love for his sake, we love each other for his sake, our love for one another will be in direct proportion to our love for him. He connected the two integrally when he said, if you love me, take care of my sheep. And we always, by His grace, remember that if we do love Him, it's because He first loved us.