Marks of The Ministry
December 4, 2019
Commentary
Often those in the church who cause problems are people who have never truly been born again. They may think they are saved but they are not (vv. 1-2). There is no guarantee that any sinner will have the opportunity to be saved tomorrow. Paul paid a tremendous price to be faithful to the ministry God had called him to, and yet the Corinthians didn’t appreciate all he did for them (v. 3). In these verses Paul was not begging for praise, but he was just reminding the Christians at Corinth that his ministry to them had cost him dearly. As Paul shares how the pressures were coming in from every side, he lists twenty-seven categories that can be divided as follows:
1. His trials (vv. 4-5).
2. His tools (vv. 6-7).
3. His testimony (vv. 8-10).
In everything he did, Paul always considered what his actions communicated about the Lord. As believers we must be steadfast as we minister for Jesus Christ. Every day, non-Christians observe us. Paul stood faithful to God whether people praised him or condemned him. He remained active, joyous, and content in the most difficult hardships. As a Christian, we must never let our careless or undisciplined actions be another person’s excuse for rejecting Christ.
Application
I must never let people’s expectations govern what I do or don’t do in life. I must be steadfast for God and refuse to compromise my standards for living regardless of what trials may come my way.
2 Corinthians 6:1–10 (NET)
1 Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation! 3 We do not give anyone an occasion for taking an offense in anything, so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants, we have commended ourselves in every way, with great endurance, in persecutions, in difficulties, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in troubles, in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, 7 by truthful teaching, by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left, 8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet—see!—we continue to live; as those who are scourged and yet not executed; 10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Billy Graham’s Strength
Billy Graham says: “As an evangelist, I have often felt very weak to minister from the pulpit to men and women who have filled stadiums to hear a message from the Lord. Yet again and again my weakness has vanished, and my strength has been r … Continue