Calvary Road Baptist Church

“ENLARGED”

Second Corinthians 6.1-13 

When I was a little boy, our family moved from northernmost North Dakota to southern Florida ... in January. We, quite literally, went from 30 degrees below zero on the day we left the Fort Totten Indian Reservation to balmy Fort Lauderdale just a few days later. Obviously, the adjustment to the new climate was dramatic.

But there was another adjustment I had to make as a little boy. From a rural situation where boys just went out into the woods and played in the summer, I had to adjust to the organized play of the big city. And if you wanted to play, you had to play baseball. And if you wanted to play baseball, you had to join Little League.

I was one of the bigger kids who tried out for Little League, having only two years of eligibility left when I started playing the game. For that reason, everyone expected me to be a pretty good player. I could throw the ball farther than anyone in the league, and in those days, I could run fast, but I just couldn’t hit the ball for average.

When I did get a hit, it went a long way. But the only time I ever hit the ball was when the pitcher made a significant mistake and threw a ball a little high and outside so that my wood chopping swing could really get into it. Throw me a strike at any speed, and my goose was cooked.

It was almost to the point where I either hit the ball really deep or struck out. My successes in baseball were so few and far between that as soon as I could gracefully bow out without major humiliation, I did. I also quit baseball because my dad threw like a girl. Growing up on the farm, he never played organized ball or learned how to throw. Watching a guy that big and muscular throw like a sissy was embarrassing, so that may have had some to do with me not wanting to play baseball. Dads really need to learn how to throw like guys instead of throwing like girls.

So I opted for football, where the coaches took the time to actually teach me how to play the game instead of assuming that I knew what I was doing with a bat and a ball, which I certainly did not. Would I have been any good at baseball with a coach who took the time to teach me? I have no idea. But I would likely have been better than I was.

Do you realize how similar this experience of mine has been to my Christian life? In a sense, I had this God-given ability, but I didn’t really know how to use it. I needed someone to teach me the basics of serving God patiently. Like a little boy at bat, I needed a coach to give me the pointers I needed that let me know just when to swing at the ball to get a base hit. That is what you need, as well.

To get a base hit as a Christian, you have to know how to avail yourself of God’s grace, literally God’s help. But unlike the little boy who has just moved from North Dakota, there is coaching help for every child of God.

Did you know the Bible shows Christians how to receive God’s grace to serve Him? Sure it does. The Corinthians were told, in First Corinthians 1.4-9, that the grace of God was available to them, but it is in our text for today, Second Corinthians 6.1-13, that Paul specifically informed his readers how to avail themselves of this grace, this help from God, which is so freely offered to every believer.

If you were a little boy playing baseball, wouldn’t you want to know just when to swing the bat to have a fair expectation of a base hit? Sure you would. In like manner, I am convinced every child of God wants to know just when God’s grace is available so that when you serve God, you’ll get a spiritual base hit more often than not.

Our text is Second Corinthians 6.1-13: 

1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

3  Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

11 O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.

13 Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. 

In Second Corinthians 6.1-13, three indications let us know the grace of God is available for effective service. Let us examine these three indications one at a time: 

First, THE PROPER TIME FOR SERVICE IS INDICATED 

In verse 1, there is a recognition: 

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” 

There are actually two things we recognize from a careful look at this verse:

First, we recognize the real secret to Paul and Timothy’s assured success as servants of God. Their partner in the ministry was none less than God Himself. How in the world can a servant of God fail in the ministry if he co-labors with the God of all creation? He can’t. The only servants of God who fail in their ministries are those who have ceased co-laboring with God in His great enterprise and have either purposely or inadvertently started working solo. They are the solo servants who fail, not the ones who have God for a partner. Amen? Let’s call this work.

The second thing in this verse that we recognize we will call waste. It is a waste to receive the grace of God in vain. But some people have done precisely that. That is, some Christians have received the grace of God to the saving of their souls, they have become believers in Jesus Christ, but they do not serve Him. So far as living a life that counts for something and is meaningful in influencing others for Christ, it is vain. So, we recognize that success as a Christian minister is related to being a co-laborer with God, and failure is related to trying to go it alone after you are saved, which Paul terms receiving “the grace of God in vain.”

In verse 2, there is revelation: 

“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” 

Paul here refers to a prophecy found in Isaiah 49.8 that looks forward to a time in the future which will be a time of deliverance, a time of salvation. What is the purpose of our service to God? Is it not to the end that the lost will come to know Christ? Is not the reason we need the grace of God in our lives so that we might bring others to salvation in Jesus Christ? Of course.

In answer to the Christian’s question about the proper time for service to God, Paul is indicating with this quotation that the time is now. Should you be wondering about the timing involved in availing yourself of God’s grace to serve Him, the time is now. The ball is now over the plate and in position for you to swing the bat. Swing the bat now!

Let me explain why that is. This quotation refers to a period with defined limits which, though we are not privy to the exact limits of this period, is a period in which God is well pleased to save people. And though this period in which salvation is freely offered has thus far lasted almost 2000 years, we do not know when God will decide to bring this “time accepted,” this “day of salvation,” this “accepted time” to a close.

Paul is telling the Corinthians, who were far more familiar with this prophecy than we are, that the time to serve God is now because the time in which God is saving folks is now. Teach Sunday School now. Reach out to the lost now. Start giving now. Begin to earnestly pray now. The ball is in the strike zone at this moment. Swing The Bat! Amen? 

Second, THE PROPER CIRCUMSTANCE FOR SERVICE IS INDICATED 

Here is where Paul behaves like every great coach. He is not content to tell his readers how to play the game. He shows them what actions to take. Paul does not tell us what circumstance is appropriate to serve God. He shows us what circumstance to wait for to serve God.

First, note the desire of God’s servant, verse 3: 

“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed.” 

The Gospel ministry is really taking a beating these days. And if more preachers would take note of the things found in this verse the things we are seeing on television, with regard to the Gospel ministry simply would not happen. Two important words to take note of that will show what Paul’s desire was and what every spiritual leader’s desire should be:

First, there is the word “offence.” This is a serious word. Sometimes this word is translated “stumblingblock,” as is another Greek word, though they have quite different meanings. The one Greek word refers to tripping up someone or causing them discomfort or minor damage. This word, however, refers to doing something that would cause another to stumble, thereby causing great harm and great hurt. When the preacher has something in his life that causes others to stumble, it can really cause damage.

Why would Paul and Timothy go to great lengths to make sure that nothing in their lives and ministries would occasion a Christian to stumble and end up being severely hurt? They were careful because they didn’t want the ministry to be blamed. They didn’t want anyone to imagine a single defect or flaw in the ministry. They lived for their ministries. Any preacher unwilling to be overly cautious and extremely careful to make sure that nothing that he does will cause another to be harmed, thereby reflecting poorly on the ministry, does not have the desire a servant of God ought to have. Is the circumstance in front of you an opportunity to advance yourself or the cause of Christ? If the circumstances are not right to advance the ministry, the circumstances need to be changed.

Now, note the discernment of God’s servant, verses 4-10. Let us be aware that Paul is now commending himself and Timothy, not for the purpose of bragging, but for the purpose of showing his readers that they have set a good example for others to follow. See what they commend themselves in, verses 4-5: 

4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 

Much patience was required of them in the following circumstances in which they served God faithfully. 

In each of the things Paul mentions patience, the courageous endurance of things you could avoid, but do not avoid for Christ’s sake. Patience is needed in each of these kinds of situations.

See what they commend themselves by, verses 6-7: 

6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. 

The point of all this being, in verses 6 and 7 the servant of God has effectively demonstrated each of these virtues in the circumstances he has referred to in verses 4 and 5, proving that there is no circumstance in which the grace of God is not available for a believer to be spiritual and in which he cannot serve God.

In verses 8-10, Paul and Timothy are commended by Paul through honour and dishonour, through evil report and good report, showing that even when you are misunderstood and mistreated you can still serve God: 

8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 

Paul and Timothy were thought by some to be deceivers, even though they were true in their presentation of the facts. They were treated by some as if they were unknown by anyone, even though they were well known by reputation. As dying, they were treated as men who would soon pass off the scene and be forgotten, even though quite the opposite was true. They were treated as though these bad things that happened to them was the chastening hand of God, though never quite put to death by God. How far wide of the mark people were. Sorrowful because of the way men treated them, Paul and Timothy still rejoiced in the Lord always. They were destitute, quite different than the prosperity theology that’s preached nowadays, but they made people rich in a particularly spiritual sense. They had absolutely nothing they could really call their own, yet they possessed everything.

Don’t you see? The circumstances for serving God will never ever seem to be right from a human perspective, but they are always right from a spiritual and a godly perspective. If you wait until the “right time” to serve God you will never serve God. Paul’s life and Timothy’s life are testimonies to the fact that you can be spiritual no matter what and you can effectively serve God no matter how you or your message happen to be received by the people.

Thus, we see that the time to serve God is now and the circumstance to serve God is whatever circumstance you happen to be in right now! No matter what it happens to be! The circumstances for serving God will never get better than they are right now!

My mother was convinced changing location improved things. But that is the typical thinking of the lost people who surround us. Changing location changes nothing. Serve God where you are now

Finally, THE PROPER ATTITUDE FOR SERVING GOD IS INDICATED 

See the example of Paul’s openness, verse 11: 

“O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.” 

This can be seen by the evidence of his speech and by the evidence of his heart. You simply cannot serve God effectively as a closed-up individual. You have to be wide open. If you try to hold your Christianity in and play it safe and close to the vest, you will not effectively serve, and you will eventually quit trying to serve God. Note the example of Paul and decide to follow that example.

Now see the explanation of the Corinthian’s narrowness, verse 12: 

“Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.” 

Ever notice that some Christians feel hemmed in? They feel as though they are trapped and imprisoned by Christianity. They feel like going to Church and witnessing and giving are a terrible imposition on their liberties. Well, to such people, Paul says, “You didn’t get that from me. You got that feeling from your bowels. It’s you’re own reaction to your guilty conscience that’s causing you to feel that way. It has nothing to do with me.” Sometimes believers who don’t want to do right will try and make the preacher feel guilty because they feel guilty. But that’s not the case at all. Don’t fall for that kind of line when some disgruntled Christian says, “That pastor tries to make me feel guilty.” That’s hogwash. It’s just their own conscience being in conflict with their sinful conduct. So, what do they try to do? Alter the conduct? No. They try to make the conduct seem acceptable. But Paul is buying none of that nonsense, and neither should we.

The exhortation to Christian openness is in verse 13: 

“Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.” 

Here Paul is essentially saying, “If your conscience is troubled by your conduct, change your conduct. Change the way you’re living. Start serving God.” Two benefits derived from following Paul’s advice to adopt the right attitude toward serving God: First, your conscience will be eased, making you easier to live with and making it easier to sleep at night. Second, you will mature as a Christian, something Paul hints at with his phrase, “I speak as unto my children.” 

Christian, you will never receive grace from God to use to serve God until that instant when His grace is actually needed. In other words, the grace of God is never stored up and waiting for you to use it. It’s metered out on demand, just like electricity. For you to receive the grace of God you have to place yourself into a position of service where grace is demanded. And what kind of situation is that where the grace of God is guaranteed? It’s the situation that meets three criteria. There must be the right time, the right circumstance, and the right attitude.

Now, we know that now is the right time. Paul showed us that clearly. And it’s also the right circumstance, no matter what your circumstance is. But do you have the right attitude? Is your mind and heart open, or are they narrow? Isn’t it interesting that lost people and carnal Christians think that Paul and Timothy were narrow, but Paul points out that it is really the lost people and the unspiritual Christians who are narrow?

We have a broad and expansive opportunity to do what God wants us to do and to fulfill the purpose of our creation and the purpose of our salvation, but the opportunities of lost and unspiritual people to do right and to be happy is very narrow.

What decision is needed from you, my friend?

Are you unsaved? Well, Paul did say that today is God’s day of salvation. Let me show you how to be saved.

Christian? How about you? The time to begin serving God is now. The circumstances for serving God are the ones you are presently in. All you need is the right attitude and the grace of God is yours. We need more people involved in ministry. We need more involvement in outreach. We need more givers. We need people to help clean the Church for Sundays. We are always in need of ladies to take a turn in the nursery.

Whatever your bowels have straitened you to do, you do.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church