Chapter six This is the last night the Skinners are going to be with us and so I know we're I'm sure we all are feel the same way, but at Salem Bible Church, we like to do things decently and in order, and we follow Robert's rules of order. So it's required that we vote on this. How many are in favor of them leaving? How many of them are in favor of them staying? All in favor say aye. Opposed, so be it. You know, I like business meetings at this church. They're quick and unity. No, we are going to miss you But we thank the Lord for the year that you spent here and all the work that you did with us And we wish the Lord's bless best on you both Okay, 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 And tonight we just want to look at three words in verse 5 and But let's begin at verse four. But in all things, approving ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments and in two months. Let's pray. Our God and our heavenly father, we thank you for. The moments that we have this evening to meditate, to get away from the world and just to open up your word and allow your Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and edify our souls and strengthen us in the inner man. And we just ask that you would teach us, Lord, and we pray that these truths would sink in and we might appreciate the Apostle Paul and his godly example to us. We just thank you for these things now in Jesus name. Amen. In this chapter, Paul is expressing to us how he proves that he is a genuine minister of Jesus Christ. And the way that he approves himself or proves himself is in a most unusual way, at least to me, it seems unusual. You would think that he would begin by a demonstration of his call from the Lord by the Lord Jesus, perhaps the vision that he saw of Jesus on the road to Damascus, perhaps some of the signs and the miracles that he had performed. But he proves the reality of his call in a very different way. And he proves it by the sufferings that he endured for the name of Christ. And we looked last time in verse four at some of the afflictions that Paul suffered, the patience, the afflictions, the necessities, the distresses. But you know, those occurrences, really anybody could face those. Even the world, even those who are not saved face trouble in this life. The way of the transgressor isn't easy either. It's a hard life. And so these distresses, this endurance, these necessities that he had to face, Anybody in the world faces those. But now Paul cranks it up a notch, if you will, and not only did he endure affliction for the name of Christ to prove the reality of his call in his ministry, but now he describes in the first three words in verse five some particular kinds of affliction that he suffered that were brought on by man. This was taking affliction beyond the normal realm of everyday troubles that everybody faces. And now he talks about persecution for righteousness sake. And he mentions the stripes or the whippings or beatings, the imprisonments and the tumults. This is how Paul proves himself. And so the first proof that he gives us in verse five that we want to look at this evening is the stripes. And the Greek word here is almost identical to our English word plague. And it means a wound and a wound that was afflicted, a heavy affliction, a blow to the body usually. And usually it's in reference to a whipping and hence the English translation stripe, because that's the shape of the wound that is left from a whipping. And so Paul proves the reality of his ministry. Even though he was being attacked by the Judaizers, he was being attacked by some of the carnal Corinthians. And the proof was on his back. The proof, the first proof that he gives here is the stripes, are the stripes that he bore. Turn back to Acts chapter 16 for a minute. And we want to look at a few examples of this from Paul's life. Acts chapter 16 and verse 19. Here we see a whipping, a beating that the Apostle Paul took because he preached Christ and for no other reason. Verse 19, And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer that he should keep them safely. And having received such a charge, they thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. Here we see in Acts chapter 16 that Paul was beaten, Paul was imprisoned, and he was whipped for no other reason than preaching the gospel. And you know, this was not suffering as the world suffers, this was suffering in the cause of Jesus Christ. And if you look in verse 9 of this chapter, we learn that Paul saw a vision in the night And a man, there stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him saying, come over into Macedonia and help us. And after we had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go to Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. So Paul went to this place knowing that this was God's will. God sent him there to do exactly what he did. He was in the right place. He was doing the right thing. And in carrying out God's will, he was beaten and he was whipped and he was stripped and publicly humiliated. You see, the whipping that they received was not just the did not involve just the pain of being whipped, but it was also a form of public humiliation, a sign of disgrace. And certainly the Judaizers and perhaps some of the carnal Corinthians might point a finger at Paul and say, see, here's a sign of disgrace. And Paul says, oh, no, the marks that I bear, the whippings that I have received are not a sign of disgrace, but rather they prove they approve me as a true minister of Jesus Christ. You know, this was not the only time Paul was whipped. Turn over to Second Corinthians in chapter 11. 2 Corinthians 11, in verse 24, Paul says, of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes, save one. Now some say that forty stripes, they were afraid that a man might die receiving that many wounds to his body. And so they stopped one shy of that. And Paul says, five times I was brought to this near point of death by the Jews. And not only so, but notice in the previous verse, in verse 23, he says, in stripes above measure when he was preaching to the Gentiles. Couldn't even count how many stripes he received in the non-Jewish world. You see, Paul was a man who was familiar with suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. He had many beatings from the Lord. And this was a sign that God was with this man. This was a sign that he was real. And you know, that's the same in our lives. If we're willing to suffer for Jesus Christ, that's a sign that our faith is genuine. And so when they mock us in the workplace or when they laugh at us in the office, we ought to be able to stand tall and just thank God that this is really a sign to them that our faith is real. Now, turn to Galatians, chapter five for a minute. In verse 11. What makes Paul's suffering so? Significant. Is the fact that at any moment he could have avoided death. In Galatians, chapter five, in verse 11, Paul says, And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I suffer persecution? For then is the offense of the cross ceased. Now, evidently, throughout the churches in Galatia, there was some who were saying that Paul was a hypocrite. That on the one hand, he was preaching against the law, and on the other hand, he was preaching circumcision, that men had to be circumcised. Now, Paul never preached that. They probably got it from the fact that he had Timothy circumcised, but that was not his message. And here's his proof. He says, if I really did preach that message, if I preached that it was necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised, then why are the Judaizers persecuting me? Why are they hounding me everywhere I go? You know, if he was preaching the same message, if he was on their side, they wouldn't be against him. He said then the offense of the cross would be ceased. But the fact that he was preaching a different message than the Judaizers, that he was preaching a gospel of grace totally apart from the law that offended them. And because of that, it brought persecution upon him. And he knew it. He knew that the very reason he was being persecuted so severely by the Jews was the offensive part of the message, and he knew that he could change it at any time. He knew all he had to do was alter the message just a little bit, and he could avoid persecution. You see, Paul refused to compromise his message in order to avoid persecution, even though he knew full well what horrors lay ahead for him. Five times received T40 stripes, save one. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute. You've been stripped publicly. You're humiliated. And after five or six stripes, now your back is bleeding badly. And your skin is all torn. And each lash gets deeper and deeper, right down to the bone. And you know, after every lash, Paul had the opportunity to say, I recant. I won't preach that anymore. And he knew that. But as far as we know, he never said that. Now imagine after your first whipping by the Jews, and you're going to the next city, and your back is now finally healed, and you're getting back on your feet after all these weeks of painful recovery, and now you're captured again! And they're going to whip you again, and all you have to do is say, OK, I'm sorry, I won't preach that anymore, and you know they'll let you go. Now this time, Paul knows how painful the whippings are. He knows what it feels like to have his flesh just ripped away right down to the bone. And so when he's taken the second time for his beatings, he knows from experience, and I can well imagine that his first whipping went right before his mind's eye, and all the horror of that came back. And simply by recanting, he could avoid it, but he didn't. Five times this happened in the Jewish communities. And he says, in the Gentile world, he couldn't keep count of how many lashes he received. And it was simply because he preached Jesus Christ. Here was a man who was willing to suffer for the sake of Jesus. And his stripes approved him as a minister of God. Now, the Judaizers said, see, He's a disgrace. He says, oh, no. This was the badge of honor to the apostle Paul. Now, what do you think the world was trying to do? What do you think the Jews were trying to do each time they captured this man who was preaching the gospel of God's grace? They were trying to whip him into subjection. Stop preaching. And you know, that's exactly what the world is trying to do to us every single day by maybe not by whippings, but by their snide remarks, by their laughter and leaving us out of things. They're trying to beat us into conformity to the world. Turn to Matthew, chapter 10, look what the Lord Jesus said. In Matthew, chapter 10, in verse 28, Jesus just told His disciples they were to go out and they were going to preach and they were going to suffer greatly for it. But He says in verse 28, "...and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." In other words, fear God. Don't fear man. All they can do is whip your back. Fear God. Fear God more than man. And then he says in verse 29, and this is so touching, he says, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall to the ground without your father. Do you think God doesn't care for us when we suffer for His name? He pays attention to every little bird out there. He counts the hairs on your head. He is totally aware of what's going on for His namesake. And so he says in verse 31, fear not, therefore. You are more of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before man. When you sent out to preach the gospel, be faithful, be courageous and confess Christ before men. And look, Jesus says, him will I confess before my father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me. Those disciples that are sent out in the name of the Lord Jesus and are afraid. And they deny the Lord Jesus like Peter did. Jesus says, Him will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. And we stand at that Bema seat of Christ. And we were afraid to suffer for righteousness sake. And when it was time to speak up for Jesus Christ, we cowered and went away in the corner and dared not to say anything in His name. The Lord is watching that as well. And when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we're going to have to give an account for that. And when we deny Christ before men at the Bema seat in heaven, he'll deny us. Now, obviously, it doesn't mean deny us entrance into heaven, the Bema seat takes place in heaven, we're already there, but we will be denied rewards. That we could have had for faithfully serving the Lord. You see, the Apostle Paul faced whippings. He faced beatings time and time again. And he did it without recanting because he feared God. Remember earlier in the previous chapter, Paul spoke so much about the judgment seat of Christ and how he just wanted to please Him. And he did everything in his ministry in light of the judgment seat of Christ. That's what Jesus is saying here. And therefore, Paul was courageous and he withstood those stripes and they proved the reality of his faith and his mission. Turn to Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 17. to these very Galatian churches who were infiltrated with the same kind of Judaizing thinking that Paul was dealing with in Corinth. He says in verse 17, from henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Paul was whipped many times. Countless times, he tells us. And these scars never left him his entire life. And while all the Judaizers and false teachers like to point to all the important people that back them up and like to point to all their successes and all their degrees and all the crowds who flock to hear them, Paul says, that's not what demonstrates the reality of my ministry. Just look at my back. He says, that's the proof. He bore battle wounds. You're looking for divine approval, Paul says. I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Let's see what the Judaizers have suffered for his namesake. Let's see what these other false teachers that have been hounding me have suffered for the name of Jesus. He was not ashamed of his beatings. Turn back to 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 5 again. And secondly, the second word, and we're just looking, by the way, tonight at these three terms that have to do with suffering from men. This is persecution for righteousness sake. First, the stripes, the whippings, and now the imprisonments. Paul was not only beaten and whipped publicly, but he was cast into prison often and long. And he did it for the gospel sake. And now he tells us, and to me it sounds almost unbelievable that somebody would use this as a proof of their credibility. He says, I was cast in jail. That proves my credibility. You know, when you read Paul's epistles so very often, at least his prison epistles, he introduces himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And he was proud to be. The Judaizers were trying to tear away at this man's credibility as he preached. And now Paul gives one more proof of the reality of his ministry, and that is the suffering that he endured in jail. You know, there's something wrong if the world loves us. Look what Jesus said in Luke chapter 6. In Luke chapter 6, in verse 26. Jesus said, woe unto you when all shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the false prophets. The fact that the world hated Paul was a pretty good sign for those who were spiritually mature. And Paul tells us that that was a sign, in his estimation, it was a stamp of divine approval, that the world hated him so much they wanted to lock him up and put him away. And after all, Jesus himself was despised and rejected of men, and he was imprisoned and he was whipped. Many godly men have ended up in jail, prophets like Hananiah, and Micaiah, and Jeremiah, and John the Baptist, not to mention the Lord Jesus Himself. And how about the Reformers? And so many others. Hebrews 11 is God's hall of fame. And one of the things that these godly men and women suffered was imprisonment. And as we read through Hebrews chapter 11, that's no disgrace. It's a badge of honor. You see, in Hebrews chapter 11, the things that these men suffered, including their imprisonment, was the result of a life of faith. It was a life of endurance through difficult times and a life of faith that ended up in blessing. And they proved themselves by the things that they endured for the name of Jesus Christ. Paul was a true follower of Christ. He belongs in God's hall of fame, not the Judaizers. You know, when the world loves us, something's desperately wrong. And that is enough in and of itself to cause us to wonder about the ministry of some men such as Billy Graham, who has been all but coronated by Rome, loved by governments around the world, hailed as a hero in the world because he tries to unite all faiths. In my opinion, he's a traitor to the cause of Jesus Christ. James says friendship with the world is enmity with God. Paul was a friend of the world, or rather, a friend of God, and he suffered for it. The world's treatment of Paul, casting him into prison, was a sign that he stood up for what was right. He was a loyal servant of Jesus Christ. So when Paul came to the Corinthians, and here he is having to defend himself, in essence, he is like a war hero coming back. He's been out on the front lines fighting for his people, fighting for what's right for the Lord Jesus. And he comes back and his body is badly broken and bruised. And he did it for, like a soldier fights for his country and he comes back, his body is badly bruised and beaten and maybe was cast as a prisoner of war and he languished in some miserable dungeon somewhere for a long time. And he comes back home expecting God's people, Paul expected God's people to respect that. And they didn't. Like a war hero coming home, like the Vietnam soldiers coming home to be spit upon. People in the world just can't understand. When they see a man like Paul, or a missionary who suffers for Christ, they just don't get it. That these are signs of honor. These are signs of courage. These are signs of loyalty to their Lord. And so Paul demonstrated to the Corinthians in a unique way that he was a genuine servant of Christ. And he proved by his beatings and by his willingness to go to jail, and he could have gotten out any time he wanted to recant, but he didn't. And he proved that Christ meant more to him than life. That he was real. In one other, Almost bizarre proof that Paul gives. Turn back to Second Corinthians, chapter six and verse five, two months. It means a state of disorder or confusion, and it's used basically in the Bible of a mob scene or a riot. Paul says here. Here's another way that you know that I'm a genuine servant of Christ. Almost everywhere he went, he kicked off an uproar. In some cities, riots broke out because of this man. For example, turn back to Acts 17 in verse 5. Acts 17 in verse 5. Here we see what took place in Thessalonica. But the Jews, which believed not, moved with envy, no doubt spurred on by our adversary the devil, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, we'd probably say street thugs today, and gathered a company and set all the city in an uproar and assaulted the house of Jason and brought them out to the people. And they cried, saying, these men have turned the world upside down. Do you see what happens when Jesus Christ was preached? The world really hates it. They can't tolerate the truth of God's Word. And here in Thessalonica, we see the Jews stirred up these street thugs in an uproar over the simple gospel message. In verse 10, we see Paul had to be smuggled out of the city. Look in the next chapter, in chapter 18. And here's what happened in their own city of Corinth. In chapter 18, in verse 12. And when Galileo was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him unto the judgment seat, saying, This fellow persuaded men to worship God contrary to the law. Here we see the city of Corinth was in an insurrection against one man. It was Paul against the whole city. Now, no doubt, some of the Corinthians were upset with Paul over this. He made enough roar in their fine community. Perhaps some of their relatives were upset over him. Perhaps they looked at this man who caused the stir when he came into the city as nothing but a troublemaker. That's how the world would interpret it. But that was not the case at all. Look in verse nine of this chapter. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city. God wanted the Gospel preached there. And even if it caused making an uproar, even if it caused causing a riot, even if it turned the whole city against Paul, Paul was going to do it because God was on his side. And the Lord knew what pressure was on this man's heart and shoulders that day. And he especially ministered to him and he appeared to him in a vision to comfort him. This must have been one serious trial in Paul's life for the Lord himself to appear just for the purpose of comforting him. And he says, go in and preach and I'll be with you. You see, I have many people in this city. And so Paul knew for sure that God was on his side. He wasn't going there as a troublemaker. His purpose was not to cause a riot or an insurrection. His purpose was to preach the gospel. But in the process of preaching the gospel, that upsets things. Turn back to 2 Corinthians in chapter 11. In verse 23. Paul says, Are they ministers of Christ? Who's the real minister here? That's the point through much of this epistle. Two different groups coming in, preaching two different messages, the Corinthians were becoming confused. Who's the real minister of Christ? Was it Paul or was it the Judaizers or the other false teachers? Paul says, are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more. And here's how you know. In labor is more abundant. In stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft, the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness, painfulness, in watchings often, hunger and thirst, fastings, cold and nakedness. Are they ministers of Christ, Paul said? Were they willing to go through that for the name of Jesus? Paul's line of reasoning here is very simple. It's this, that the fact that he was willing to suffer and endure all of this meant he was the true apostle, and they should have recognized that. To the apostle Paul, these arguments about his willingness to suffer for Christ, were just as important as his ability to heal the sick and raise the dead and do all the sign gifts that God had enabled him to do. His very first line of reasoning in proving that he was a minister of Christ was that he was willing to suffer. You know, maybe some of the counterfeit false teachers, maybe some of them were able to counterfeit the miracles, too. But very few were willing to do this. Very few of them were willing to be whipped and to be beaten and to spend perhaps years in jail, not for Jesus Christ. Maybe for vainglory they'd be willing, but not for Jesus Christ. And so Paul gives us an unusual defense of the credibility of his ministry. He says, I was thrown in jail. I caused riots. I was beaten. And we didn't know it's interesting also, if you look back to chapter six. He says in verse three, just previous to this, he says, give no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed. He didn't want to harm the testimony of Christ. He didn't want to do anything that would hurt the name of Jesus, but. He was willing to suffer public humiliation, he was willing to go to jail. because that was not going to harm the name of Christ. Now, others could blame him for it, but nothing could stick. Jesus said the servant is not greater than his master, they've persecuted me, they'll persecute you. That was a pretty good line of defense for the apostle Paul. What did the false teachers suffer? Would they like their master, the Lord Jesus, as they claim to be? Paul was. Paul was a true disciple. Paul was a servant following the Lord Jesus. Paul was willing to suffer. You know, the Lord Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs. And He was bruised. And by His stripes, we were healed. So He experienced all of these things. Bruising, beatings, whipping, stripes, imprisonment. And Paul was simply following in His steps. There was no disgrace in that. Paul was like the Lord that he preached. And I wonder if we've ever thought of this. What would it take to cause us to deny the Lord? Is there some earthly possession which, if threatened, we might be willing to deny Christ? Is there some physical or some earthly comfort which, if threatened, we might be willing to deny the Lord? Are we really willing to suffer for His namesake? You know, it's hard to know for sure until the time comes, because our hearts can deceive us. We'd all like to say, yes, I'll suffer anything, but it's sometimes a different story when it actually comes time to do it. And that's why we're told to pray for kings and for all that are in authority, that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness. And so while in our lifetime we may not face the guillotine or a firing squad, we may not be burned at the stake. We may not have to give up our life for Jesus Christ, but are we willing to live for Him? It's pitiful. Sometimes we have to urge, are we willing to get out of bed in the morning to come and worship Him? Are we willing to get together and pray for the glory of Christ and the furtherance of His work? Are we willing to risk being laughed at at work by passing out a tract? You know, in fact, the reality of our faith is being tested every single day. God is proving to us what we're really made of. He knows already, but he wants us to know. And look in Philippians chapter 2. In verse 17, the Judaizers, Paul's opposition, saw his troubles. They saw his beatings. They saw the riots and insurrections that were stirred up everywhere he went. They saw his imprisonments as a sign that he was a loser and God was not with him. But that's not how Paul saw it. He says in verse 17, yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. Paul saw his life as a drink offering. In all the sufferings, all the time that he spent in prison, he just saw it as years of his life that he was willing to pour out in the service of Jesus Christ. And he says, that's my joy, that's my rejoicing. And he did it gladly. You see, the world saw Paul as a loser abandoned by God. And the fact that he was publicly disgraced and imprisoned, that's the world's proof that he was a loser and abandoned by God. But isn't that just the way Israel saw our Lord? We did esteem him stricken and smitten of God, they said. They thought God was against Jesus. In reality, those bruises and beatings and imprisonments were signs of great victory. It was a sign of the power of God upon the Lord Jesus and upon the Apostle Paul. And that's why Paul said, most gladly, therefore, will I suffer infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Because Jesus Christ was magnified in his body by what he endured. And that was life to Paul. If Christ could be magnified in his body, he was as happy as could be. Paul gloried in the cross in all that it meant. And the world can't understand this, how somebody can glory in the cross an instrument of death, that Paul was willing to pick up his cross and follow the Lord. The false teachers weren't willing, but Paul was. And so his sufferings for Christ's sake demonstrated that he and not the Judaizers, he and the apostles were the true followers of Christ. His faith was real because he was willing to suffer. And we need to ask ourselves, are we real? Is our faith real? Are we really following the Lord? Well, God is going to put us to the test, every one of us. Someday, somehow, somewhere, God is going to put our faith to the test, to see what we're made of. And God help us to be faithful. What a great example we have in the Apostle Paul, willing to suffer. Are we willing to speak up for Christ? Father, we thank you for it. Paul and his godliness, his perseverance, his life of faith and victory. And we just pray, Lord, that you'd help us to follow in his steps as he followed the Lord Jesus. And we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Number 470, please. Living for Jesus. Let's stand and sing 470 verses 2 and 3.