Okay, now we're turning in our
Bible to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And I want to try to bring a
message from verse 1 down to verse 6. I'm taking the title for the
message from verse 5. We preach not ourselves, but
Jesus Christ the Lord. We preach Jesus Christ the Lord,
and ourselves your servant for Christ's sake. We preach not
ourselves. In February, the first Sunday
of February, 1994, I stood before this congregation
for the first time as your pastor. And my text was taken from 2
Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. It's one of my favorite
passages that declares unto us the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The fifth verse of that chapter
4, have you seen that before somewhere? Look on the front
page of your bulletin. That verse has been on the front
page of the bulletin for almost 22 years. We preach not ourselves
but Christ Jesus the Lord. I always leave that verse just
as it is. That, I think, is the summary
of this ministry. I'm not preaching myself or promoting
myself. We're preaching Christ. Now,
the Apostle Paul was a faithful, faithful preacher of the gospel.
Make no mistake about it. God made him so by the sovereign
grace of God. If you'll find 1 Timothy chapter
1, First Timothy chapter one, I'll remind you of what we read
just a moment ago in Ephesians chapter three while you're finding
First Timothy chapter one. Paul says, wherefore I was made
a minister according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto
me by the effectual working of his power. God's servants don't
put themselves in the ministry. God puts them in the ministry
just as God puts centers in the body of Christ. But if you find
first Timothy chapter 1 verse 11 according to the Glorious
gospel of the blessed God or the blessed gospel of the glory
of God, which was committed to my trust I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord who enabled me for he counted me faithful Putting me
in the ministry seeing we have this ministry Paul. How did you
get in the ministry? You remember who he was before?
Saul of Tarsus the self-righteous Pharisee who hated God and hated
the gospel he says in verse 13 who was before a blasphemer and
A persecutor, one who actually caused injury and death. I obtained, but I obtained mercy. He surely didn't earn it, did
he? I was an ignorant unbeliever, and the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Jesus Christ. Now here's Paul's favorite passage. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. And certainly, he says, I am
the chief one. back to 2nd Corinthians chapter
4. I'm the chief offender. The Apostle Paul was especially
chosen of God for the purpose of ministering the gospel to
the Gentiles as we read in Ephesians chapter 3. In Acts chapter 9
when God told Ananias to go down to a certain house and there
meet Saul of Tarsus Because he's down there praying He's down
there praying because I've done a work of grace in his heart
and the Lord said that Ananias about Paul He's a chosen vessel
unto me to bear my name Unto the Gentiles and you read over
there in Acts chapter 9 the people were quite puzzled there in Damascus
for Paul went there to persecute believers and Now he's standing
in the middle of the city preaching Christ and Him crucified as the
only way of salvation. Now back to 2 Corinthians 4,
verse 1, Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have
received mercy, we think not. Now I'm emphasizing the word
we. We. The ministry we have here at
Zebulun Baptist Church is not a one-man ministry. I never refer
to this ministry as my ministry or my church. This is the Lord's
ministry. This is the Lord's church. And
we are partakers by His grace in this ministry. Seeing we have
received this ministry, all of God's believers, His people,
they are servants unto the Lord. This word, therefore, in chapter
4, verse 1, looks back to what has been said. Paul says, we
have this ministry. Now, what kind of ministry did
Paul have? What kind of ministry do we have
here? Well, look back in chapter 3. The word, therefore, looks back
to what has been said. Look at verse 5, 2 Corinthians
3, verse 5. Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think anything of ourselves. Our sufficiency is
of God, who has made us able ministers of the gospel. He's
made us able ministers of the new covenant. Not of the letter,
and he's talking about the law, but of the spirit, where the
spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. For the letter, that
is the law, killeth, killeth. The law says the guilty must
die, must die, must die. Will by no means clear the guilty. For the letter of the law killeth,
but the spirit, and talking about the gospel, giveth life. But
if the ministration of death, talking about the law, written
and engraved in stone, was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory
of his countenance, which glory was done away, how shall not
the ministration or the ministry of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation
was glorious, In Moses' day, much more does the ministry or
ministration or ministry of righteousness exceed in glory. You see, the
ministry we have is not that which promotes the law, but that
which point sinners to Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, who honored
the law of God for us. The ministry of the Spirit of
God gives life to dead sinners, and it is glorious. It's much
more better than the law. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified in God's sight. Now look at verse 1 again
in chapter 4. I'm emphasizing this, seeing
we have this ministry. Every believer, now stay with
me, every believer is in the ministry. If you're a believer,
you're in the ministry. Because we are part of His body.
And we are put in that body of Christ to serve Him. And we serve
Him by serving one another. We serve God's purpose. It's
an eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus. We serve His
people. We are used of God to promote
His glory. We're used of God to the fervent
of the gospel. And those who are put in the
ministry, you know what they do? They glorify God. God forbid
we should glory save in the cross to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing
that we have this ministry of the gospel of Christ and we have
this ministry according, seeing we have this ministry as we have
received mercy or we have this ministry according as he has
given us mercy in Christ Jesus. We have this ministry, the gospel
of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, by his mercy. His mercy,
His mercy. You see, it's not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. Everything that we enjoy is by
the sovereign mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. according as we
have received mercy. Because we have received this
mercy as the gift of God, because we have received this as the
sovereign gift of God, we find no reason we faint not. We have this ministry, we have
received mercy, and therefore it says we do not quit. We don't quit. We quit not. We quit not. That is what he's
saying here. We have no reason to faint, no
reason to quit, no reason to change our message. Even though we may be troubled
on every side, we're not distressed. Verse 8, we have this treasure
in an earthen vessel, that excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. We are troubled on every side,
yet we're not distressed. We may be perplexed, but we're
not in despair. We may be persecuted, but we're
not forsaken. We may be cast down, but we're
not destroyed. You see, we faint not. You know why? Somebody holds
us. Somebody keeps us. We don't keep
ourselves. He holds us. He keeps us. Look at verse 15 and 16 in the
same chapter. For all things are for your sake
that the abundant grace, through the thanksgiving of many, redound
to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not. For the glory
of God, we faint not. But though our outward man perish,
and it does, yet the inward man inwardly will renew day by day. You see, believers all die in
faith. Here's the question. Is the ministry
we have here at Zebulun, is it a successful ministry? Is the ministry we have here
a successful ministry? It is, if it's of God. What is the measure of success
of the ministry? What is the measure of success?
What's the standard of success? whether a ministry is of God
or whether it is not. Well, I tell you this, it's not
in the size of the building, it's not in the size of the congregation,
nor is it in how many converts we have. How many converts? How
many were converted last year? How many were baptized last year?
I don't count. Maybe A few, maybe none. But that's not the measure of
success or failure. There's just one standard by
which God judges any man's ministry, any congregation's ministry,
is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ is that gospel declared. who He is, what
He did, why He did it, and where He is now. Is that gospel declared? You see, it's not in how many
you preach to, it's who you preach. As I told the Bible class this
morning, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He was a preacher
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he was a preacher
of righteousness, the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel
for 120 years. He preached Christ for 120 years. Well, certainly he had a big
congregation and a large following. Eight souls were saved under
his preaching. 120 years. We naturally look
at that and say, well, that man was a failure. I mean, wouldn't
we naturally look at that? And people in this community,
they look at this congregation and say, well, that preacher
there, he doesn't preach to many people. He's not very successful. I'm not trying to be successful.
I'm not trying to fill this building. By his grace, I intend to preach
Christ and lift him up. He will draw. He said, if I be
lifted up, I'll draw my people to me. He does the drawing. God
puts this treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels that the excellency
of the power may be of God and not of us. I don't twist men's
arms and browbeat them and badger them and corner them to make
a decision to do this or to do that. I don't put pressure on
people. I preach the gospel and leave
sinners in the hands of God. If they're His, they're chosen,
He'll call them by His grace. I'm not afraid to preach the
gospel and leave sinners alone. And that's what I'll do, too.
Leave them alone. Keep preaching to them. But I'm
not going to pressure them, browbeat them. But here's what we do,
verse 2 and 3. Four things that the Apostle
mentions here in verse 2. Verse 2, four things he mentions
here every gospel ministry or every gospel minister does. We
have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. We're not walking
in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but
by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. Now Paul's not saying
that I recommend myself, because he says here down below, we preach
not ourselves, but what he's talking about is the manifestation
of the truth. He's commending the message that
he preached of Christ and Him crucified. So several things
here in verse two. We renounce the hidden things
of dishonesty. That is, we abandon and disown
every false way and expose every hidden shame. The word there,
dishonesty, in the marginal reference in the Cambridge, it says shame. We disown every false way and
expose every hidden shame. We expose that which is false.
How do we expose that which is false? by declaring the truth. The Lord said, I am the way,
the truth and the life. The old preacher Charles Spurgeon,
back in his day in 1850, he used this illustration. I think it's
a good illustration. to expose the lies of men. How do you expose the lies of
men? By telling the truth of God. And he used this illustration. How do you expose a crooked stick?
How do you expose a crooked stick? Do you spend two hours talking
about all the different crooks in the stick? No, you simply
lay down a straight stick and it exposes the crooked stick.
That's what we try to do here. We declare the truth of God.
Nothing more dishonest before God and man than to give perishing
sinners a refuge of lies to hide in because God will surely Sweep
it away. I don't want to give you a refuge
of lies I want to point you to the refuge of truth Christ is
that Refuge he said come unto me and rest all you that are
laboring heavy laden I will give you life second thing we read
here In chapter 4, verse 2, 2nd Corinthians, God's gospel ministers
are not walking or working in craftiness. Not walking in craftiness
nor handling the Word of God deceitfully. Gospel ministers
are not walking and working in subtlety with trickery of the
flesh to flatter men. They are not men-pleasers. The
apostle said in Galatians 1, if I preach the gospel simply
to please men or to tickle their ear, I'm not the servant of Christ.
God's ministers are not con men, scam artists. They are not con
artists. They are God's servants sent
to preach the gospel. You see, there are many hucksters
in religion that make merchandise of men for their own gain and
glory. That's what we studied in 2 Peter
3. Those false teachers that make
merchandise of men. Turn over here to 2 Corinthians
11. 2 Corinthians 11. We're not walking in dishonesty. We renounce the hidden things
of shame by telling the truth. We're not walking in craftiness,
trying to deceive people. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 13. For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles
of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. Therefore it's no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness.
Now he's not talking here about they are ministers of the righteousness
of God revealed in the gospel. They are ministers of morality.
whose end shall be according to their works." Those who are
the moral policemen, the ministers of morality, that is, you don't
do this, you don't do that, you don't go here, you don't do this,
you clean up your act, clean up your life, and everything
will be okay. The Pharisees were the cleanest
bunch around, and God said they went to hell. The Pharisee prayed,
Lord, I thank you, I'm not this, I'm not this, I'm not this, and
I'm certainly not like that. God said that man went down to
his house condemned. The publican smote upon his breast
and cried, God, I'm a sinner. The Lord said that man went down
to his house justified. So one justified himself and
was condemned, the other condemned himself and was justified before
God. You see, we're not playing games
here. There's too much at stake. God's
glory is at stake. Your soul is at stake. Verse 2, the third thing, he
said, not handling the Word of God. The Word of God, which is
a sharp and two-edged sword, it wouldn't be very wise to handle
a sharp, two-edged sword in a deceitful way, would it? Wouldn't be wise. I don't want a surgeon to operate
on me with a sharp instrument and do it in a deceitful, cunning
way. I want him to get to the problem,
fix it, and get out. Operate on me precisely. You
see, turn back over here to 2 Corinthians chapter 1, 2 Corinthians chapter
1, we're not handling the Word of God deceitfully. Look at 2
Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18, But as God is true, our word
toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Silas, and
Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yes. Yes! Is there salvation in the Lord
Jesus Christ? Yes! For all the promises of
God in Him are yes, and in Him, amen, unto the glory of God. Now He which established us with
you and has anointed us is God. Is there salvation in Christ?
Well, yea or nay, there could be, just depending on how good
you are. Just depending on how well you clean up your act. You
repent it, your baptism, your church membership, your faith,
it just depends on you. Really. You see, the gospel is
not yea and nay. In the Lord Jesus Christ, it's
yes. Is there salvation for sinners
in Christ? Yes, that's why he came. Not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repent it. Look at chapter two, 2 Corinthians
chapter two, verse 17. For we are not as many which
corrupt the word of God, deal deceitfully with the Word of
God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God,
speak we of Christ." We tell you of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and who He is, and what He has done for us. Look at chapter
3, 2 Corinthians 3, verse 12. Seeing then we have such a hope,
boy, let us use great plainness of speech, Let us use great boldness
and clarity in speech. Let us not handle the Word of
God deceitfully. We don't try to trim our message,
twist our message, so as to remove the offense of the cross. If
you remove the offense of the cross, You remove its power,
its glory. We don't try to mix works with
grace. Well, you know, God saves by
grace and then we maintain our salvation by what we do. Is that
right? That's a lie. We're saved by
grace and we're kept by God's grace. You see, I watched that
O'Reilly thing, Bill something O'Reilly, on Fox News. And he has a show at 8 o'clock,
he calls it the No Spin Room. This is the no spin pulpit. You're
going to get it just as plain and clear as I know how. God
is God. We are sinners, dead. And if God doesn't come and do
something for us, we're going to perish in our sins. Salvation's
all of God, all of grace. This is a no-spin pulpit. Turn
back here to Acts 20, and that's what God's, woe is unto me if
I preach not the gospel. Woe is unto me. I take it personal. Acts 20, turn over there. The
Apostle Paul did too. Acts 20, 20. 20, 20. He said, how I kept back nothing
that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have
taught you publicly from house to house, testifying both to
the Jews, publicly and privately, house to house, Testifying, declaring
unto the Jews and also to the Gentiles repentance toward God
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is the gift of God
that acknowledges the truth. Faith is a gift of God that looks
to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the truth. Look at verse 27,
Acts 20. He said, I'm not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. How can a man declare all the
counsel of God? It doesn't say the whole counsel
of God here, it says all the counsel of God. How can a sinner
declare, a minister of the gospel saved by God, declare all the
counsel of God? Christ and Him crucified. That's
all the counsel of God in salvation. You see, it's God's gospel. crucified
in our stead by the purpose and will of God. That was Paul's
farewell message. Back to the text. So we renounce,
seeing we have this ministry now, the ministry of the Spirit
of God. The Spirit of God testifies about
what? You know, the Spirit of God came
to make us feel good about ourselves. No, our Lord said when He, the
Spirit of truth has come, He'll take the things of mine and show
them to you. Holy Spirit preaching is about
Christ, not about the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit preaching is about
Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, His person, His work. But he
says in our text, but rather, but by manifestation of the truth
We declare the truth, commending the message of truth to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. I recommend this gospel
that you believe it, because it's God's gospel. We preach
the truth, always. And we manifest the truth by
declaring it upon every occasion. 2 Timothy chapter 4, when the
Apostle Paul was sitting on death row, in Rome, in prison. He was a prisoner in Rome, but
he never calls himself the prisoner of Nero, does he? He calls himself
the prisoner of Christ. But as he sits in prison waiting
to have his head removed, he said, the time of my departure
is at hand, he writes to young Timothy and he says, I charge
you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who's going to judge the
living and the dead. Preach the Word. Preach the Word. Preach the Word. Preach Christ
who is the Word. Be instant in season, out of
season. When is it in season to preach
the Gospel? Always. Always. If anybody ever asks me to go
to graduation, commencement and speak, they're going to get the
Gospel. Clear and plain. If I go, that's
what I'm saying. I'm glad you graduated, but you
need to hear the gospel. And that's what our children
need to hear. Our children don't need more entertainment. They
need the gospel. The gospel. What do we do here
for our children? Preach the gospel to them. That's
what they need. But rather, we preach the truth
upon every occasion. This is exactly what we're sent
to do. Nothing more, nothing else, and
nothing less. As Paul said, I'm determined
not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
You see, there's no forgiveness of sin apart from the blood atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. There's no other way of redemption,
is there? The blood of bulls and goats cannot put away sin.
Your morality and good works, your silver and gold, your bank
account won't atone for one's sin. We are redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ. We need to hear how sinners are
forgiven, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. There's
no salvation for sinners apart from the mercy of God revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there? How can God be just
and justify the ungodly? Only through the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no salvation for sinners apart from Christ. There is no
forgiveness for guilty sinners apart from the blood sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ and apart from His grace. We're justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the only message that will liberate sinners and raise
them from the dead. You shall know the truth, the
truth of redemption, the truth of salvation. You shall know
the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Now, look at verse
3 and 4. But, but, 2 Corinthians 3 verse
4. But if our gospel, our gospel,
the gospel of God, the gospel of His grace and glory, our gospel,
if it be hid, now we're not trying to hide it, We're going to set
it out publicly on radio, internet, newspaper. However, we're going
to declare this gospel. We're not going to hide this
gospel. But if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them who are
lost. You see, not everybody believes
the gospel. Some folks don't have any eyes
of understanding to see the gospel. In whom, look at verse 4, 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. I love that statement. The light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them we preach, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the
Lord. Look at verse 6. For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God, in the face of Christ. You will never know God, the
true and living God, in saving mercy apart from the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's where he's revealed. Paul
gives us another reason why Sinners don't believe the gospel. If our gospel be hid, and it's
certainly hid from them who are lost and dead in sin, the gospel
is a mystery that must be revealed or never will be believed. The natural man will not receive
the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them. They must be spiritually discerned,
a carnal minded enmity against God. The gospel is a mystery
that's hidden that must be revealed by God the Holy Spirit. You see,
the problem is not with the power of the gospel to save, the problem
is with the sinner. The sinner, the reason the sinner,
one reason the sinner does not believe is not only that he's
lost the gospel, must be revealed. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ will never be understood and believed left to himself,
because the gospel to a sinner, when he hears it, is the most
offensive message, and it is, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, it's foolishness unto him. foolishness unto him. To those who are perishing, the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is foolishness. Our Lord said,
No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me. Draw
him. The problem is not with the power
of the gospel. The problem is with the sinner. He's dead in sin, lost without
God, without hope, without Christ in this world. His understanding
is darkened. God must turn on the light switch. Enable us to see. Now look at
verse 4. Here's another problem that the
unbelieving sinner has. "...in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." Not only
are we dead in sin and lost, but Satan has given us a delusion. He's blinded the mind or understanding
of them who believe not the gospel, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. Now, who is the God, small g,
of this world? The God of this world is Satan
himself, and he has blinded the mind and understanding of a sinner
to the truth of God, and Satan motivates him by believing A
lie. Sinner, do the best you can and
be okay. Sinner, clean yourself up and
it will be okay. You remember what the Lord Jesus
Christ called Satan? Turn over here to John chapter
8. John chapter 8. Remember the Pharisees said we
be not fornicators. God is our father John 8 42 the
Lord said if God were your father you would love me for I proceeded
forth and came from God neither came out of myself But he sent
me why don't you understand my speech even because you cannot
hear my word You are of your father the devil and the lust
of your father. Will you do he was a murderer
from the beginning Bold not in the truth because there's no
truth in him When he speaks, he speaks a lie, he speaketh
of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And he's
still promoting that lie that he told Adam in the garden. You
disobey God and you'll be just like God. No, you won't. You'll
be dead. And the day you eat, God said
you'll die. Satan is still the great deceiver
of men. He will have you trust yourself
for salvation rather than God. You'll have the sinner trust
himself. Those who believe not the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ are under the influence of Satan, who's called the prince
of this world, who penetrates the hearts and minds with prejudice,
pride, error, and ignorance. If God doesn't do something for
us, we're, as the old country preacher used to say, we're gone
Jesses. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2.
were gone Jesse's. I'm not sure what that exactly
means, but a Jesse is a mule that's rebellious and he's gone. He's a gone Jesse. And he won't
come home unless somebody brings him home and breaks his neck
and ties him up And that's what, we're gone jessies, unless God
does something for us. Thank God He's the great shepherd
on the trail of His sheep. Look at Ephesians 2. It illustrates
this for us and tells us about it. You hath He quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. Where in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in children
of disobedient." That's why they're disobedient. That's why the unbeliever
won't believe the gospel. He's not only dead, he's influenced
by the prince of the power of the air. Among whom also we all
had our conversation in time past. In the lust of the flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we're
by nature children of others, even as children of wrath, even
as others, but God, but God, who is rich in mercy, for His
great love wherewith He loved us. even when we were dead in
sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you
saved, raised us up together, made us sit together in the heavenly
places in Christ, that in the ages to come he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ. For by grace are you saved. through faith. And that, not
of yourselves, it is a gift of God. The glorious gospel of Christ
is a reflection of the image of God. It's the gospel of the
glory of God. Someone said it could be read
this way, in the last part of verse 4. Lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ, 2 Corinthians 4, 4. The light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ. That's what the gospel is all
about, isn't it? The glory of Christ. The glory of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only light in this dark world. Men are so blinded in understanding
they cannot and will not see the glory of Christ unless the
light shines in their heart. That's what he says in verse
6 in our text. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God that shines
in the face of God. God must turn on the light switch. Men are so blinded, lost, dead
in sin. Salvation is having Christ revealed
in us and to us. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto us. If you'll turn
to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, in Galatians chapter 1, Paul, Saul of Tarsus, was a very
successful Pharisee. He said He was profitable. He profited in
the Jews' religion above many, His equals. Galatians 1 verse
14, But when it pleased God, He was exceeding zealous of the
tradition of the Father. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. God who separated me, called
me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. That's what has to
happen. God has to call us, has to separate us by His grace and
reveal Christ in our heart. Now, back to the text. 2 Corinthians
4 verse 5. I finally made it to my text.
Verse 5. Now, For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servant for His
sake." When we're done preaching Christ, we better be done with
preaching. Right? When we're done preaching
the Gospel, Paul said, we preach Christ. We preach the Lord Jesus
Christ. To the Jews, Stumbling block
to the Greeks, foolishness, but we preach Christ. But unto them
which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God,
Christ the wisdom of God. Now let me give you this in closing.
I'll be short. I send you home with this. Christ
is the author of the gospel, the subject of the gospel, the
sum and substance and the end of the gospel. As Christ is the
subject of the gospel, he also is the object of faith, the object
of the gospel. His glory is promoted by the
gospel. It is the gospel of His glory,
the glorious gospel of the blessed God, or the blessed gospel of
the glory of God. The glory of the gospel then
lies very much in the glory of the Lord's person. The person
of Christ is the mainstay of the gospel. Mark this, the less
you make of Christ, the less gospel you have to trust in.
If you get rid of Christ from your creed, you have at the same
time destroyed all good news. The more gospel we preach, the
more of Christ we must proclaim. If you lift up Christ, you lift
up the gospel. If you dream of preaching the
gospel without exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll give people
just husk instead of true bread. Charles Spurgeon. Our gospel
is one which must be advertised everywhere with nothing to conceal. We preach not our self, but the
Lord Jesus Christ. the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Messiah, He's the Christ,
He's anointed in all of His office, Prophet, Priest, and King. He
is what He is called. He's His name, His name of humanity
and humiliation. Jesus, He's the Savior that will
save His people from their sin, and He is Lord. He's Lord. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. We preach His Lordship, who He
is, what He has done. And you know what we have in
Christ? Last verse, chapter 2, verse 14, 2 Corinthians 2, 14. This gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is always successful. When the gospel is preached,
the Word of God never returns void. And it always gets the
job done. Always gets the job done. Look
at verse 14, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14, Now thanks be unto God, which
always causes us to triumph in Christ, and make manifest the
savor of His knowledge by us in every place. We always triumph. Preaching the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We can't go wrong. We cannot
lose.