“Share the Plain and True Gospel”

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

Have you heard that truth is no longer an absolute? Society tells us that there is no reason as to why one person’s truth is any more valid than another. We’re told that Christians need to be accepting – not just tolerant, but accepting – of other people’s beliefs, with no expectation that they will be equally accepting of ours. We even hear that truth is an abstract concept – that it really doesn’t exist!

In his book “When Tolerance is No Virtue”, which addresses the issue of societal and political correctness, Professor Stan Gaede writes:
Having pretty much decided that truth is not attainable, we have made tolerance of a plurality of truths a virtue. Having no truths worth defending, we have made non-defensiveness a mark of distinction.
--S. D. Gaede, “When Tolerance Is No Virtue: Political Correctness, Multiculturalism & the Future of Truth and Justice”, (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 27.

In other words, not only does every “truth” have equal validity in the eyes of the world, but we have apparently come to the crossroads where there are no “truths” that are worth taking a stand for! Take your own truth and live it if you must, but don’t try to convince anyone else that it should be their truth! And unfortunately, many, even in the church today, have fallen for this delusional thought. But praise God that many others have not, and that the writers of scripture, including the apostle Paul, did not.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:1-4

Paul says that the truth of God is the pure truth – that in the word of God, there is no deception, no secrets, nothing that he, or we, should ever be embarrassed or ashamed about. He doesn’t twist the meaning around to suit some personal agenda or to make someone comfortable when hearing the word – he just offers the Lord’s plain and simple truth.
And how will others respond to the plain truth? Paul says that we will be commended to those who hear – that is, we will be admired for the things we say, and if we remain in the light of God, then the Lord will be praised regardless of what others may think! But there will always be those who don’t want to hear the gospel proclaimed, and they will shut their ears to the word. Paul uses the concept of the veil that we discussed last week – he tells us that “the god of this age” – that is, Satan – has blinded the minds of those who will not accept Christ. And when one is unable to hear the message of good news that Jesus himself has brought to their heart and mind, all hope in the truth is lost, and the Godly light will be replaced with worldly darkness.

What a great loss of a soul! But that doesn’t mean we must willingly surrender that person to Satan! Never give up! Never, ever give up!! Continue to live a Christian life and to live Jesus Christ in a way that one day, their veil can be lifted and their sight returned. Remember our reading last week – when a brother or sister turns to Christ, the veil will be lifted – not by us, but by Christ. And when the sight is restored, the light of Christ can shine once more in our friend. But it’s up to us whether we continue to work on behalf of our friend or not. A month or two ago, you may remember that I offered a challenge to each of us to invite one un-churched friend to join you in worship each week. How are you doing with that? I haven’t noticed too many takers on the invite! This is one way that we can offer a witness to those who are closest to us. Prayer is good, too, but prayer has the effect of taking us out of the loop and putting the onus on God for changing hearts and minds. The Lord can certainly do it that way, but his desire is that we, too, be involved in the salvation process. We are to be witnesses to the world, not just Jesus! So we need to change our prayers from “Lord, change my friend’s heart.” to “Lord, use me to change my friend’s heart.”

But that isn’t easy, I will admit. William Coffin writes:
Fear distorts truth, not by exaggerating the ills of the world . . . but by underestimating our ability to deal with them . . . while love seeks truth, fear seeks safety.
--William Sloane Coffin, “The Courage to Love” (New York: Harper and Row, 1982), 60.

Our fear of taking a stand for Jesus fills our life when we underestimate our inherent ability to show the love of Christ to the world. It has been fully within us since the moment we invited Jesus to take control of our life. But when we put the veil of darkness back on, our love for Christ is hidden from view, and when we do, the world will never see and the world will never know.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

In John 8:12, Jesus tells us “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is the light that brings us up into the morning and puts the night behind us. Light opens up all kinds of new sights and visions and vistas for our life. His light shines in our hearts and minds, and gives us the knowledge of Christ that can lift any veil, no matter how heavy it may be, or how long it has hung in place. And very soon, that Divine Light becomes our light.
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus says that we will carry the message of Christ, the message that is of salt and light and a city – those things that many are seeking after. The “salt” will give the gospel a personal flavor and will preserve the truth that it brings. The “light” will provide a clear vision for the direction that faith must travel. The “city on a hill” will be seen as a haven by all who come hurting and beaten and lost.

A life in Christ is no longer about us.
A life in Christ can no longer be seen in the world’s view.
A life in Christ is no longer about our perspective.

Think of it this way:
A father awakens in the night and realizes that his teenage daughter's boyfriend is still in the living room downstairs. He calls down the stairs to the boyfriend: “Do you realize it is 2 a.m.? Do you think you can stay here all night?“
The teenager pauses for a moment and then replies: “Gee, I don't know. I'll have to call home to see.”
A parent's truth is not always a child's truth.
- Homiletics OnLine

God’s truth is never the world’s truth!

In Christ, we discover an entirely new way of life and being.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

A life in Christ, as glorious as it is, will never be easy. It takes a dedicated effort, and a commitment to a way of life, that the world will never understand. There will be persecution; there will be concerted opposition; there will be lies told about us and the Church; there will be humiliation; there will be great trials; even friends will turn against us. But the truth of Christ can never be compromised. He suffered the same things that we will, and was shown a hatred that is far greater than anything we will experience. And yet, Jesus was never moved from the path that the Father called him to walk, and the path that he had accepted.

We have been called to be Christ to the world, even though the veil of darkness that they have chosen is heavy and dense. Our work is in darkness, in death, in the blindness that the world has chosen, but we carry the light and life of Christ with us. It’s been said that “We may think that we are at the end of our rope, but we are never at the end of our hope!” Remember that when life is at its darkest, a little glimmer of light can make all the difference in the world.

There will be days when we find ourselves completely surrounded with worldly darkness and death, but in Christ, it is life eternal that is at work in us. We carry his light within us. We carry the hope of Christ within us. We serve with the glory of God that is within us, and with that, we can never fail.

We may be tempted to rewrite the gospel message to spare ourselves from the assaults that will come, but know that the plain and simple gospel is the only true gospel. Give them the real and complete Jesus!