Passage: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Speaker: Pastor Will Galkin Series: Standalone Messages
Speaker: Will Galkin - How many times does a Christian have to be rejected until they stop sharing their faith? Have you noticed that It does not take much opposition to cause believers to question if the Message of Christ is Sufficient for our Pluralistic Society? Being a real Christian in western culture is not becoming easier. To be an outspoken Christian is frowned upon. Preaching the exclusivity of Christ is the quickest way to be labeled intolerant and a bigot. Many Christians are tempted to question if a life of intentional ministry is worth all of the trials and hardships that come with it. Is the Message of Christ sufficient for today? How are we to live a life of ministry in a culture that redefines truth, undermines Scriptural authority and challenges everything? How do we communicate the sufficiency of Christ to our culture? Thankfully, God gave us the Apostle Paul for an example. Paul faced many afflictions for the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul recounts his imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, sleepless nights, and the constant pressure regarding the health of the churches. On top of all this, false teachers were incessantly opposing him. Some had apparently come into the church of Corinth and attacked Paul by saying he was weak, dishonest, and a corrupter of God’s Word. If anyone had an earthly reason to give up and lose heart, it was Paul. His response was not to commend himself but rather remind the Corinthian believers of what God had done in their lives. He then let their testimony stand as a letter of recommendation commending the authenticity of His ministry. With this backdrop, Paul in 2 Cor. 4 declares what true ministry should look like in the midst of a hostile environment. He reminds us that the message of Christ is sufficient.