We're taking our Bibles today, please, and turning to 2 Corinthians 1. Last week we began a series of messages in 2 Corinthians under the theme, Treasures for Troublesome Times. 2 Corinthians is the least doctrinal and the most personal of all of Paul's epistles to the churches. It's also perhaps the least widely known of the letters to the churches, very autobiographical as the Apostle Paul opens up and answers the accusations that have been made against him. We find in the first seven chapters of 2 Corinthians the theme to be endurance as a Christian grows through trials. In chapters 8 and 9, the theme becomes benevolence as a Christian gives through trials. The last chapters beginning in chapter 10 to 13, magnificence, as a Christian glorifies God in all of life's trials. We have, according to 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 7, this treasure in earthen vessels. And this morning I want us to focus on a model, if you will, for mending misunderstandings. What a treasure it is to have before us this morning a model for mending misunderstandings. Second Corinthians, rather, chapter one, beginning in verse 12. Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we've had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to youward. For we write none of the thing unto you than what you read or acknowledge, and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end. as also you have acknowledged us, in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that you might have a second benefit, and to pass by you even to Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way to Judea. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh? that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay. 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 Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. For all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him amen, under the glory of God by us. Now, he which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who also hath sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Moreover, I call God to record upon your soul that to spare you I came not as yet to Corinth. Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but we're helpers of your joy, for by faith you stand. But I determine this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this unto you, lest when I come I should have sorrow from them whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears, Not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you." The text that we've read this morning, we find the Spirit of God providing through the life of the Apostle Paul a model for how to mend misunderstandings. Let's ask the Lord to allow this model to become our model this morning as we gaze into the mirror of God's Word. Now, Father, I pray that you'd make the message this morning plain and clear and relevant to some person in this room today who needs to mend a relationship in order to minister for you wisely. And Lord, for someone who's coming to this room this morning, in search of peace. May today be the day that they find the peace that passes understanding in the one alone who is the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we'll thank you for it, for it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Mrs. Green lived on the second story of a duplex house. She with her growing family, a young mother. Below her, a widow lady, elderly Mrs. Robinson. Well, Mrs. Green had not heard a sound even from below her for a couple of days and began to wonder about elderly Mrs. Robinson. After all, Mrs. Robinson was living alone and so she commissioned her six-year-old son to go downstairs saying to Johnny, Johnny, go downstairs and check how old Mrs. Robinson is. Johnny went downstairs and came back up with a perplexed look on his face. His mother said to him, well, how is she? He said, she's really mad. She said, it's none of your business how old she is. Misunderstandings. We wish they were all humorous. Sometimes misunderstandings are vicious. That inadvertent comment, you meant nothing by it. But that's not how it was received. That sideways glance, It was really something in your eye. It was not that you had an issue with the person with whom you now have an issue. That failure to be at that particular appointment that now makes you look like you're ever so uncaring. George Bernard Shaw said, the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it's taken place. So we open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians, we find the Apostle Paul answering accusations. In 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 2, the apostle to the Gentiles defends his honor, saying, We have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. In chapter 12 and verse 16, Paul declares, I did not burden you. In chapter 13 and verse 6, we actually hear the mightiest missionary to ever be commissioned by God to plant churches As he says, I trust that you should know that we are not reprobates. Second Corinthians is the most personal of Paul's letters to the churches. The text to which we've turned contains a model for those who would mend misunderstandings. By the end of Second Corinthians 1, Paul is setting the record straight. He has been accused of being double-tongued, of being duplicitous, of being unreliable. He's been accused of being shifty. After all, back in 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 5, he said, I will come unto you when I pass through Macedonia. And he hadn't come yet. His travel plans had changed. The delay allowed accusations to be brought against him. He's living in a time where communication is difficult and travel plans are almost non-existent. And the people at Corinth have the audacity to bring their accusations against the Apostle Paul. I want us to look carefully this morning at how the man of God, led by the Spirit of God, ministers to the people of God with whom he has an understanding. Here's an important model for each of us. Each of us has been commissioned of God to as much as possible live at peace with all men. In fact, Hebrews 12 says in verse 14, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man can see the Lord. So how do we mend misunderstandings? Let's be very practical this morning, shall we? And very biblical as we receive some practical biblical instruction on the mending of misunderstandings along the pathway of our ministries, and surely all of us have ministries in our homes, in our business places, and even in this church, where misunderstandings will come. I'd like to suggest this morning three musts. Three musts if you amend your misunderstandings. First, you must consider your conscience about the misunderstanding. If you amend a misunderstanding into which you've entered, you must consider your conscience about the misunderstanding. In verse 12, Paul writes, for our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we've had our conversation in this world and more abundantly even to you word. He's looking at himself. He knows there's an issue with the people at Corinth. It's come to his attention that they're making accusations against him. And rather than immediately responding by looking at them, his testimony is he is considering his own conscience on the matter. Thirty times the word conscience is going to be used in the New Testament. Twenty of those thirty times will be used by the Apostle Paul. And ten of those times are going to be found in the books to the Corinthians. Paul lived with this perpetual burden. He said in Acts chapter 23, I have lived with a good conscience before God even unto this day. How was he able to do that? He was able to say in Acts chapter 24 and verse 16, Herein do I exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense before God and before men. Literally he is saying I labor to make sure that my conscience is clean. As we open to 2 Corinthians, Paul's integrity has been challenged. The great apostle to the Gentiles who saw the Lord face to face has a church that is up in arms and accusing him. And you know what he doesn't do? He does not attack his accusers. He does not immediately go on the offensive. Instead, he gives us a model of looking in the mirror and asking the Spirit of God to reveal His own heart on the matter. He's responsive and carefully responsive, considering His own conscience. As Paul considers his conscience, he reports in verse 12 that his ministry has been marked by sincerity. His ministry has been marked by simplicity. Simplicity. That's an honest absence of hypocrisy. I have behaved before you not with eye service, not because I want you to pat me on the back." That word, simplicity, is the same word that's going to be used in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 to speak to servants, that they would serve their masters not with eye service, as men pleasers. And so he's saying, I'm being honest here, I've not looked for the accolades of the Corinthians. I've not served in ministry so someone would pat me on the back. And beyond that, I've served with godly sincerity. There's no mixture of motives in my ministry." As he considers his conscience, he reports that he's been serving with simplicity and godly sincerity. And as he considers his conscience, he reports, that he has not been serving, according to verse 12, with fleshly wisdom, but rather he's been serving with God's grace. At the end of verse 12, he actually says, this is how we've had our conversation, our lifestyle, in the world, as I walk before those who are lost, and in the church, as I minister to you, so we can look at verse 12 and say, here's what Paul's saying. I've examined my conscience. I can testify that I've been living consistently. I've been living without hypocrisy. I've been living without impurity. I've been living without man's devices. I've been living according to the wisdom that God only can give to me. Paul understands that inconsistency is a cancer. Inconsistency is a cancer that will corrupt relationships and certainly corrupt ministries. And so the first must that we come to in this text is this, if misunderstandings are to be mended, It is my responsibility, it is your responsibility to consider your conscience about the misunderstanding before you assume that the person making the accusation was wrong. Paul reports that with carefulness he has considered his conscience to the point that he says at the end of verse 12 that our rejoicing is this. The testimony of our conscience is this. Can I pause here and say there are a lot of people who live their lives so absent rather of self-consideration that they actually often live their lives without true heartfelt joy. Always assuming that the accuser must be wrong, they immediately mount their self-defense and accuse the accuser. Paul's model For mending a relationship is not that model. Paul's able to say, I've considered my heart, and as I consider my heart, I know joy. Because my conscience is clear on this matter. Listen folks, criticism is not automatically wrong. Proverbs 27 says in verse 6, faithful are the wounds of a friend. The psalmist says in Psalm 141 and verse 5, David's testimony in fact, let the righteous smite me, it will be a kindness. Let him reprove me, it will be an excellent oil which shall not break my head. A.W. Tozer said, if a critic is right, he's helped you. If a critic is wrong, you can help him. In either case, someone is going to be helped. But it's not easy to take criticism, is it? Imagine this. The Apostle Paul was being criticized by a church that he planted in the wicked port city of Corinth. And instead of wagging his apostolic finger under their nose, he says, I've exercised my conscience on this. I've gone before the Lord on it. I've looked deeply in my heart. Folks, it's difficult to be criticized, isn't it? We become agitated by our accusers. Once in a while, not that terribly often, but once in a while someone will come to me after a service and correct me about a Bible interpretation, about my posture, about my vocabulary, my syntax, any number of things. I remember one time I preached a phenomenal message, if I do say so myself. The theme of my message was, serve God irregardless of the consequences. I was a proud graduate of a West Virginia public school. I'm thankful to be able to talk at all. Following the morning service, a number of people shook my hand at the door and very graciously, it was an evening service actually, they shook my hand at the door and said, Pastor, that was a wonderful message, but just for your information, irregardless is not a word. I probably used that word 24 times in that message. My immediate thought was, burn the tape, burn the tape. By about the 15th or 20th person that told me that irregardless was not a word. And there were that many people lined up to tell me that that day. I got the point. I went home that night and we went to bed. As I turned off the lamp by our bed, I said to my wife, you know, today was a wonderful day serving the Lord. She very lovingly said yes, irregardless of the evening message. It's hard for us to be criticized, but we need to consider our conscience. If there's something we've done wrong, we go to the Lord and confess our sin. And if we confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if there's something that we've done wrong. James says, dear believer, confess your faults one to another. And if your conscience is clear, then on the authority of verse 12, we can rejoice and give credit to God. Paul says, for it's by the grace of God, in verse 12, that I've behaved myself. I've lived this way. I've been consistent. This is God's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. So the first must, if you'd mend a misunderstanding, is consider your conscience. And the second must, if you'd mend a misunderstanding, is found beginning here in verse 13 and really moving to the 22nd verse of 2 Corinthians chapter 1, you must communicate with a charitable spirit about the misunderstanding. You must communicate with a charitable spirit about the misunderstanding. 2 Corinthians contains Paul's answer to allegations, hard allegations, personal allegations, character assassinations. They laid it on him. But I notice something as I come to the end of this first chapter. He's communicating, as I must communicate, with charitable spirit. He answers the accusers. He's transparent. He is specific. He doesn't ignore their accusations. He very graciously answers their accusations. And I know what you're thinking right now. Pastor, okay, the Spirit of God is convicting me. I do have a misunderstanding with someone. There's an issue that I perhaps need to deal with. But wouldn't it be better off sweep it under the rug. Somebody said a hot coal placed under a rug is going to smolder and build a fire. It's not always the best idea to sweep things under the rug. It's not always the best idea to let sleeping dogs lie. The Apostle Paul comes right to the point here in 2 Corinthians 1 and begins to deal with the accusations that have been brought against him. And we have to confess, sometimes this can be very confusing. There are times that we should answer and there are times that we should not answer. In fact, the book of Proverbs addresses that. The book of Proverbs says in chapter 26, verse 4, it almost sounds like a contradiction. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like unto him. And then answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. There are times to step in and there are times to step away. Paul's example in this passage is that Christians ought to communicate with other Christians when unseemly accusations have been made. There is one who is the accuser of the brethren who, according to Revelation 12, makes accusation night and day. And there is an obligation that we have, according to Matthew 18, that if you have a brother who's trespassed against thee, you're to go to that brother. And we're told in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 15, within the household of faith, we speak the truth in love. Why? Ephesians 4 and verse 25, we put away lying. We're speaking every man truth with his neighbor for we're members one of another. The model that's being presented here is of a minister seeking to minister wisely when accusations have been made against him, but it's a model really of interpersonal relationships within the household of faith. within those who are believers. I think there are marks of the communication that is charitable that ought to be drawn from this page. So follow with me, if you don't mind, the marks of communication that's charitable, where the Spirit is evident in the communication. I note here that charitable communication is marked by hopefulness. It's marked by hopefulness. Verse 13, "'For we write no other things unto you than one you read, you acknowledge, and I trust you shall acknowledge even to this end, also you have acknowledged." Notice here he uses the word acknowledge three times. That's an interesting Greek word. Two kinds of knowledge in the Greek language, one that was theoretical, the other was experiential. He repeatedly uses the word having to do with experiential knowledge. He's saying we have history. I know that I've acknowledged you and you've acknowledged me. And often even when you've acknowledged me, according to verse 14, our relationship has been one of rejoicing. So he says in verse 14, you have acknowledged us in the past. In fact, many of you have acknowledged that we have brought to you in your lives even rejoicing. Listen how hopeful he is as he comes to verse 14. And also, you have acknowledged us that we are your rejoicing even as you are our rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a day coming. He draws this into their mind in which all of these skirmishes and all these battles and all these misunderstandings are going to be done away. Little Diddley says, to dwell above with saints we love, oh, that will sure be glory. To dwell below with saints we know, that's a different story. You hear the apostle Paul says, I'm looking forward to that day, aren't you? In which we're gonna be like him and you're gonna be my rejoicing and I'm gonna be your rejoicing. He's very hopeful as he communicates even about a misunderstanding and he's very honest. You see charitable communication is always marked by honesty. He says in verse 15, and in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that you might have a second benefit to pass by you unto Macedonia. What's he saying? He's saying we've had this mutual relationship and I have planned, according to verse 15, to come to you. I've been a blessing to you in the past and I want to be a blessing to you in the future. And to pass by you, verse 16, to Macedonia, that's northern Greece, and to come again out of Macedonia back south into Corinth. and even of you to be brought on my way to Judea or to Jerusalem." He says, I've had this plan of movement. I'm gonna come port in Corinth, travel north into Greece, come back down port again in Corinth and then go back over. He was in Ephesus as he communicated. He says, this has been my travel plan. But when therefore I was thus minded, verse 17, did I use lightness? Was I being flippant when I told you I would come and visit you? Or those things that I purpose to do, do I purpose according to the flesh? Was I practicing worldly wisdom? He says that with me there should be both yea and nay. Very important to circle that little yea, yea, and. That's an important conjunction. He's saying this. Okay, are you saying that my life is a practice of living yes and no at the same time? It's not yes or no here, it's yes and no. That I'm simultaneously telling two different stories. But God is true. And our word toward you, he says in verse 18, this is the essence of his defense, my word toward you has not been yes and no. My word to you has been one or the other. I've been transparent. I've been honest. I did not simultaneously say to you yes and no. Why not, Paul? Look what he says in verse 19. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yes and no. He didn't live a duplicitous, double-tongued lifestyle. He was, let's use the vernacular today, he was not a master of political speech. He came and he told it like it is. And even so, you'll remember in my ministry to you in Corinth, I spoke to you with honesty. You see charitable communication is marked by hopefulness. There's a day coming when God will make all relationships right and it's marked by honesty. And charitable communication in this passage is marked by the help of the Holy Spirit. Now he which established us with you in Christ hath anointed us, who has also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Holy Spirit. He is saying, God is my witness, I've communicated to you with the helpful power of the Holy Spirit of God. So what does charitable communication look like, pastor? It's hopeful, it's honest, it's helped by the Spirit of God. A pastor came to his congregation one Sunday and he said, now in preparation for next Sunday I have an assignment for you. I want all of you to go home in preparation for next week and read from the Gospel of Mark, the 17th chapter. The next week all the people came back and he said, now how many folks this past week, raise your hand please, did the assignment that I gave you and you prepared your heart for this morning's message by reading the 17th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, let me see your hands. And almost every hand went up. He said, perfect. There are only 15 chapters in the book of Mark. My message today is about lying. And I see I'm before the right audience. You know, it's really sad what has gone on obviously within all of our hearts. We're all born with a sin nature. We're of our father the devil who was a liar from the beginning. It has made its way not just into the pew but also into the pulpit. We're living in a generation of pulpit political speech where very few people say yea and nay. We look in an obscure text this morning and we find a model of clear communication that's absolutely necessary for those who would be good ministers. There are few today who will speak about holiness and remind their congregation that without holiness no one can see the Lord. Fewer yet who will speak about sin and remind the people who come into the service that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In this generation of religious political speech, fewer yet who will remind the people who are listening that Jesus Christ Himself warned them that if they did not repent, they would enter into hell where the worm dieth not and the flame is not quenched. Oh, there are many people who are very careful to not offend the audience, but they've forgotten that there's an audience of one who's listening in, and our message must be yea and nay. And so there are few who will say to the congregations in America today, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. Somebody needs to stand up and say, there's only one way to heaven. And that way has been provided through Jesus Christ who died upon the cross for our sins. Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. He was buried and He rose again the third day according to the Scripture. And it's appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. The Apostle Paul knew that his message would be overseen by his God in order to communicate through the misunderstandings. He is giving a model not only of a conscience that is clear, but is communicating with a charitable spirit. He's able to say, I've been honest, and I'm now being hopeful, and I'm being helped by the Spirit of God in my communication. There's one other must that I want you to see with me this morning. If you would mend a relationship, that is filled with misunderstandings. You must clarify. This is hard for some. But you must clarify the cause of the misunderstanding. The cause of the misunderstanding must be clarified. Moreover, I call God For a record upon my soul, he says in verse 23. This is the second time Paul has resorted to the language of the court. He said in verse 12, this is the testimony of my conscience. He says now in verse 23, I'm calling God to record. I want Him to be my witness. He's working hard now to clarify the cause of the misunderstanding. And this example shows there are two things in mind when you seek to bring clarity. First, you need to be reasonable. You need to be reasonable. And then you need to be reassuring. Again, a practical model in God's Word. He's been accused of changing his travel plans in a generation when any travel plans would have been almost impossible. And yet he reaches back to them and very reasonably says, verse 23, I call God for a record upon my soul that to spare you, I came not yet to Corinth. He's saying, I thought about coming, But my spirit wasn't right adjusted. I knew it might be premature for me to come and visit. He's very reasonable when he says in verse 24, not for that we have dominion over your faith. He says rather, but we're helpers of your joy. He says, I thought about this. I didn't want to come when my spirit was agitated. More, I didn't want to come and look like I was autocratically coming to the church at Corinth. Rather, I want to be a helper of your faith, not the ruler over it. And then he says in chapter 2 and verse 1, I determined this with myself, note the transparency, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. He says, for if I make you sorry, who is it then that maketh me glad? But the same which is made sorry by me, I wrote this same unto you, lest when I come I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice." I didn't travel yet. I didn't want to be a burden to you, Paul says. He's being very reasonable. He's laying it out. You know, being reasonable is not always easy. I read about a minister who put an ad in the newspaper, and the ad read this way on Monday morning. The Reverend A.J. Jones has one color TV for sale, phone 626-1313 after 7 p.m. and asked for Mrs. Donnelly who lives with him cheap. Who lives with him cheap. So Tuesday it was corrected. The paper said we regret any embarrassment caused to Reverend Jones by our typological error in yesterday's paper. It should have read, the Reverend A.J. Jones has one color TV for sale, cheap. Telephone 626-1313 and ask for Mrs. Donnelly who lives with him after 7 p.m. The Reverend A.J. Jones informs us that he's received several annoying telephone calls because of an incorrect ad in yesterday's paper. It should have read, the Reverend A.J. Jones has one color TV for sale, cheap. Telephone 626-1313 after 7 and ask for Mrs. Donnelly who loves with him. Thursday. Please take notice that I, the Reverend A.J. Jones, have no color TV for sale. I smashed it. Don't call 626-1313 anymore. I have not been carrying on with Mrs. Donnelly. She was, until yesterday, my housekeeper. It's difficult to be reasonable, but we have to be. We have to force ourselves to see things and to clarify things if misunderstandings are going to go away. But in the midst of all the misunderstandings and the tension, oh, dear Christian, remember to be reassuring. Look how Paul writes to these Corinthians who have accused him in verse 4. Out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears, not that you would be grieved, but that you might know the love which I more abundantly love you. Paul is able to say in the midst of all the affliction those wonderful words that need to be said when misunderstandings come. He says, I love you. Clarence Darrow was considered in his time to be a great lawyer. Of course, he battled the famous Scopes trial in Tennessee against William Jennings Bryan. Darrow once said, I have suffered from being misunderstood, but I would have suffered a lot more had I been understood. Darrow was an atheist. He was saying being misunderstood to him was a tool of his trade. We would hope that our message for the Lord would not be misunderstood. You see, dear believer, real ministry must be free from misunderstanding. Real ministry does not go on where places are always politically correct. Political correctness will never substitute for theological correctness. And relationships with fellow believers must be free from misunderstandings. If we're going to obey the promptings of the Spirit of God and speak the truth in love, So your responsibility is found in this text. You must consider your conscience about the matter before you blame someone else. You must communicate with a charitable spirit and you must clarify the cause of the misunderstanding in order for the Spirit of God to mend the misunderstanding so that the Spirit of God can be the one who allows the prayer of the Lord for us to be fulfilled, that we would be one. and that we would watch and be careful lest misunderstandings would cripple us.