2 Corinthians 6:1

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ... we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. For he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain... Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation... but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left... (2 Corinthians 6:1-10)

Having received God's grace freely, how then shall we live so that we do not hold it in vain?

Paul Took His Calling Seriously

The Apostle Paul took very seriously the call placed upon him by the Lord Jesus Christ. From the time of his conversion in Acts 9 until his death as a martyr, he gave every ounce he had to run the race with endurance and to fight the good fight of faith. Throughout that race, he continuously urged others to live as he lived. In 1 Corinthians 4:16 he says, "Be followers of me." In 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ." In Philippians 3:17, "Brethren, be followers together with me, and mark those that walk after this manner as you have us as an example."

Paul didn't merely preach the gospel—though he did that—he lived it in such a way that he could say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." That has been one of my prayers since I began serving God in vocational ministry: to be able to say that to the body. And yet I know myself, just as you know yourself, and there are times I don't measure up to that standard—the standard Christ Himself sets in His perfection. It is a bold statement Paul makes. But he gave every ounce of his strength to the good fight of faith.

In Paul's theology, the Christian life was not a casual walk in the park; it is a life as a soldier. He tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, "Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier." Paul recognized that God's call was magnificent, not something to be lived casually. He was dedicated 110 percent to representing well the kingdom of God.

Do Not Receive the Grace of God in Vain

So we are soldiers, and as we saw in chapter 5, we are also ambassadors of Christ, constrained by the love of Christ to plead with lost humanity to be reconciled to God. The whole of humanity since the fall is at enmity with God, but God made a way to return us to Himself through the death of Jesus Christ. Verse 21 of chapter 5: "For he, God the Father, made him, Jesus the Son, to be sin in our place, the one who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

With that immeasurable gift of grace planted firmly in his readers' minds, Paul, in the very next word, begs them. "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you, we pray that you would receive not the grace of God in vain." You can sense the urgency, the power with which he pleads. It is as if God Himself is pleading through him: don't receive this gift and take it for granted. Don't receive it with an empty, casual, "Oh, well, thanks, that's nice."

What would it look like to receive God's grace in vain? For an answer, turn to 1 Corinthians 15:9, where Paul gives his estimation of himself. "For I am the least of the apostles, and am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." Remembering his former conduct, he says he shouldn't even have the title. "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." His grace was not in vain because of the way Paul used it—he never took it for granted.

"Earn This"

In the closing minutes of the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, James Ryan kneels beside the dying Captain John Miller on the bridge. Nearly all the men who gave their lives to save this young man lie dead around them. Miller pulls Ryan close, looks at him, and says, "Earn this. Earn it." Then he dies. The scene jumps to present day, where a much older Ryan stands at Miller's grave with tears in his eyes: "Every day I think about what you said to me on that bridge. I've tried to live my life the best I could. I hope it was enough. I've tried to earn this."

That illustrates perfectly what Paul means: do not receive the grace of God in vain. We do not receive the gift because we earned it—but having received it, do we live in such a way that says we don't take it for granted? The work is done, and He pulls you close and says, "Earn this." Not that you did anything to earn it, but earn it now that you have received it.

This is why Ephesians 2:8-10 reads, "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." We're saved not by good works but for good works God planned before the foundation of the world. In Romans 12:1 Paul says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." That is the only right response to such an awesome gift. That is why Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, begs the Ephesians to "walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called." Earn it. Live in such a way that glorifies that gift.

Now Is the Day of Salvation

In verse 2 Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8: "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee." Then he applies it: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." In context, Paul is speaking to Christians who have already received the gift. He is reminding them of the urgency of the task: now is the time to speak forth this truth and to live in such a way that well represents the gospel, because today is the day of salvation for those who are lost.

If you are waiting for a good time to share the gospel with that unbelieving family member or co-worker, wait no longer. When is it ever going to be the right time? It is amazing how quickly life can change, how quickly someone can be lost eternally. There are billions on the face of the earth headed toward a Christless eternity. One of the ways we take grace for granted is by deferring the truth—"There'll be another day, maybe when I feel more equipped, maybe when I feel less embarrassed." Paul says, no, today is the day. Every single moment people are dying and stepping into eternity.

Give No Offense That the Ministry Be Not Blamed

Verse 3 reveals one of the core ministry philosophies of Paul: "Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed." In fact, what we hold as 2 Corinthians is due in large part to this conviction. False accusations had been leveled against Paul, and he was concerned they might bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. So he authors this letter to deal with his detractors and reveals his philosophy: I don't want the messenger to taint the message.

He exhorts the Corinthians to live in a way that honors the gift of grace. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Am I living in a way that honors what Christ has done for me? This exhortation has stood for 2,000 years; God, speaking through Paul, says to you and me: live in such a way that does not discredit the cause of Christ.

The Offense of the Gospel Versus the Offense of the Messenger

Paul was in no way apologetic about the offensive nature of the message itself. In 1 Corinthians 1:23, "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness." Romans speaks of a "rock of offense." Why is Calvary a stumbling block to those who are perishing? Because the gospel bluntly confronts man with his own sinfulness and his desperate need for salvation that will not be found in himself by his own works.

None of us like to admit, "Yes, I am a sinner." Husbands and wives know this—when your spouse identifies a failing, our flesh doesn't smile and say "thank you for pointing that out." The cross confronts us with the reality of our sin and that there is nothing we can do to deal with it ourselves. Many stumble so badly at this bad news that the good news is never received.

So the offense Paul speaks of is not about dulling the gospel's sharp edge. In our day there are churches that want to make the gospel less offensive—they don't want to talk about sin, righteousness, judgment, wrath, or the blood of Christ, though the blood is the centrality of the faith. But you cannot diminish the harshness of the truth without diminishing the power of the gospel. Their feelings may be hurt now, but their feelings are going to hurt far worse in hell. Would we rather them feel nice in the air-conditioned sanctuary so that when the heat gets turned up in hell, what then?

The offense Paul means is the one that may come not by the message but by the messenger. Some gospel messengers, by their life and conduct, have brought reproach upon Christ—even in our own day. That is why we must pray for those in leadership, because they are under attack; the enemy seeks to take them out, knowing he can take many others out with them. This is why Paul exhorts that overseers be blameless and above reproach (Titus 1:7)—not sinless, for only Christ is sinless, but living in a way that honors Christ.

A Good Name and the Cost of Discipleship

Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:12, "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." Billy Graham is a fine example—over sixty years he set up checks and balances to keep himself above reproach, so that though people dislike his message, it is hard to speak ill of the man.

Paul was more concerned about the character and reputation of Christ than his own well-being. We live in a culture that prizes personal reputation; Solomon says, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." But the desire to maintain a good appearance often hinders us from proclaiming the gospel. We're afraid they'll think us crazy—and the reality is they will. Our culture increasingly mocks us. We cannot be anonymous; we cannot hide.

Jesus says in Luke 9:23-26, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it... For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory." Jesus bore our shame on the cross, and too often we are unwilling to take up the cross with Him.

What That Labor Looked Like: Patient Endurance

In verse 4 Paul shows what being an ambassador of Christ looks like: "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." Recognize there is no hierarchical system in Christianity where some are merely "Sunday Christians" and others are disciples or ambassadors. The moment you put your faith in Christ, you are called into discipleship, into following and representing Him. The very name Christian labels you as one endeavoring to be Christ-like. We're all fools for Christ.

The "much patience" here is not simply waiting—though we struggle with that too, watching the FedEx tracker every twenty minutes. It speaks of endurance in the midst of difficulty, an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. A minister of God must be a pattern of patient endurance in afflictions, necessities, and distresses. These were standard fare for Paul. Jesus promised these very things: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). We should not be surprised when they come.

The Christian faces these difficulties with the precious promise that they are working for us a far greater and eternal weight of glory. Romans 8:18: "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Paul so believed this that he could say in 2 Corinthians 12:10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities... for when I am weak, then am I strong." It's paradoxical: Jesus said "apart from me you can do nothing," yet Paul said "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." As we recognize our own insufficiency, we become most powerful. We are weakest when we think, "I've got this." Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Stripes, Imprisonments, and Tumults

Paul lists hardships that come at the hands of others: "in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults" (verse 5). Stripes means beatings—because he declared the gospel, Paul was beaten. We live where this is unlikely, but that security is abnormal to Christian history; abnormal has become normal to us. In many places in the world Christians face this right now, and I believe it is the reality our own nation will one day face, beginning with verbal animosity and moving toward physical persecution.

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-25 Paul gets specific: "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one." That is being whipped 195 times—bare back, hands tied around a stump, thirty-nine lashes five times over. "Thrice was I beaten with rods; once was I stoned"—not the 1960s kind, but nearly killed with rocks—"thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep." And not as a criminal, but as a preacher of the gospel. Nobody boasts of jail time served for a crime, but Paul recounts these as marks of faithful ministry.

His imprisonments were many—he lived his last years as a prisoner for the cause of Christ. "Tumults" means commotions; everywhere Paul went he caused a stir, not as a criminal but as a preacher. He was nearly stoned at Lystra (Acts 14), beaten and imprisoned at Philippi (Acts 16), cast out of Corinth, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts 18), and brought before the council at Ephesus amid cries of "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" (Acts 19).

Labors, Watchings, and Fastings

Paul also endured hardship from the work of the ministry itself: "in labors, in watchings, in fastings." Again from 2 Corinthians 11:26-28: "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by 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 and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches."

Paul did not enter this blindly. On the day of his conversion, God told Ananias to reveal to him "the many things he will suffer for my name's sake" (Acts 9). Counting the cost of discipleship is essential—that's why Jesus repeatedly says, count the cost. "Watchings" means sleeplessness, and "fastings" means denial of self in food, whether voluntarily for religious service or because of want and poverty. The ambassador of Christ endures hardship to fulfill the work to which God has appointed him.

The Credentials of the Minister of Christ

In verses 6-7 Paul describes the character of a true minister: "by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left."

First, enduring purity. Paul tells Timothy, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers... in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). The Greek root translated "purity" shares its root with our word saint. Many project a Roman Catholic understanding onto that word and say, "I'm a Christian, but I'm not really a saint." Yet the Bible says Christians are saints—set-apart, consecrated ones. Just as I consecrate money for taxes and write the check so it is no longer in the account, so we are consecrated, set apart. Later in this very chapter (verses 16-17) God says, "Ye are the temple of the living God... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate." We are, in a sense, separatists—set apart, living in purity.

Second, knowledge. The ambassador of Christ seeks sound knowledge of the things of God. Paul exhorts Timothy, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Paul was not excellent in speech—"though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge" (2 Corinthians 11:6). Many of you would pass out if asked to give a ten-minute devotion, but eloquence is not the requirement; knowing and rightly dividing the truth is.

Third, longsuffering—patience, steadfastness, slowness to avenge wrongs—and kindness, translated "gentleness" in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Paul wraps these together: "by the Holy Ghost." The evidence of the Spirit's power is the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. And he adds "love unfeigned"—sincere, genuine love.

These Things Come from God

These credentials are not self-manufactured. You don't get them in a college class. They are what God produces in us by His Spirit. How? Verse 7: "By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left." The armor of righteousness is that with which God clothes us—it is external to us, worked into us by Him.

Oh, that God would work these things into our lives, that people would see in us patience in the midst of afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, and fasting—by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the evidence of the Spirit, by a genuine love that comes from the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness. Why? "Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed."

Closing Prayer

Father, it is absolutely essential that You work in us these things, because there is no possible way we can work them into ourselves. Enable us by Your power to be witnesses of You, and not to take for granted or receive in vain Your grace. God, in our lives this week, help us to earn it—although we are not given Your grace because we earned it, but now, having received Your grace, help us to live in such a way that says we honor it. In Jesus' name, Amen.