Paul Defends His Ministry - 5

In the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians, we find Paul is defending his ministry against false accusations. What? Again?

Yes, again. That's a rather common theme that we find repeated in a number of Paul's epistles. We found rather large sections in the first and second Corinthian epistles that dealt with exactly the same issue. Because wherever Paul went, he had enemies. Sometimes they were primarily Jews. Sometimes they were Gentile pagans.

Sometimes they were what we call today Judaizers. Those who professed to be Christians but who proclaimed a false gospel, a gospel of works, a necessity of circumcision and keeping the law of Moses, rather than the gospel that is by salvation, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And so there were all kinds of opponents and critics to the ministry of the apostle Paul, and he faced that kind of opposition wherever he went. It's clear Paul does not defend himself because of personal pride.

If only he were involved, he would no doubt turn the other cheek like Jesus Christ taught his followers to do. But it was for the sake of Christians who benefited from his ministry, and if they are in danger of being harmed by these false accusations, then Paul needs to set the record straight. And so for their sake, Paul defends his ministry in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. Today we're going to examine only the first part of this 12-verse defense because we really can't get it all in properly to do it all in one message. And so we'll take the first six verses, and in these six verses we find four words that I think will summarize what Paul is saying about his ministry at Thessalonica. His ministry was, number one, effective, number two, courageous, third, approved, and fourth, it was unpretentious.

Number one, it was effective. Notice how he opens this chapter. For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. Paul appeals to their personal knowledge.

You know what I'm about to say. Now there are other items on the list of which they do not know, at least have no way of knowing personally, but this, they do know personally, if they will think about it for a moment, because they know from personal experience that Paul's ministry in Thessalonica was highly effective. They themselves are the evidence of that. What caused them to leave their false religion, their pagan idolatry, their community religion, their family connections, which they had to sever in many cases, to leave behind all of that that was so deeply entrenched in their heritage and community, to become followers of Jesus Christ, a brand new religion as far as the world was concerned at that point in time, to step out and to believe this message and to live as followers of Jesus Christ in spite of opposition, what could possibly have induced them to do so? The only answer is that Paul's ministry was highly effective, that it was not in vain, that it came to them with great power. Paul had already made reference to that in chapter 1 in verse 5 when he said, For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, and so forth. And again in chapter 1 verse 9, For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God. So Paul is appealing to that which they know, the effectiveness of his ministry. And Paul reminds them of the spiritual fruit which accompanied the time that he preached the gospel in Thessalonica. Our coming to you was not in vain, not empty, not void of substance and of power.

It certainly wasn't. It left behind a functioning Christian church where there had never been one before, where none had ever been heard of before. And there it was, a whole congregation of born-again believers following the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's evidence that it was not in vain. Now I must say that not all faithful ministries are going to be as fruitful as Paul's. Paul's was unusually fruitful. God had his hand on Paul in a special way. God used Paul to plant the gospel all across the Roman Empire.

It seems like every place that Paul went, fruit sprang up, conversions took place, churches were planted, although there are some exceptions to that statement in particular locations, but almost every place that Paul went, that's what happened. That doesn't always happen under every faithful ministry, but this is what is clear. That is where spiritual fruit does occur, that's evidence that God has his hand upon that work, that God has his hand upon those labors, that God has his hand upon that minister who is preaching the word where such fruitful labors are successful. But the problem in our day is that many cannot properly evaluate spiritual results. Paul in essence is saying, you know that our ministry was affected because it produced results, and it did.

And in his day, there wouldn't have been as many counterfeit claims to confuse the issue because Christianity was so new. In our day, however, there are a lot of spurious results that are put forward as genuine results, and unfortunately, a lot of people, even God's people, have difficulty telling the difference because we are all more inclined to believe our physical eyes than our spiritual eyes, more inclined to believe what we see and taste and feel than what we see with the eyes of our soul in the word of God. We are more impressed with physical manifestations and visible manifestations than we are spiritual ones. We're oftentimes not able to evaluate very, very properly. But because of the importance of offering spiritual fruit as evidence of a faithful ministry, there is much effort to manufacture results whether they are real or not.

We certainly see that in our day. How do you measure the results of a ministry to determine whether it is truly effective as God measures effectiveness? Do you do so by counting numbers? Can you evaluate it appropriately by attendance, by how many people are attracted to that ministry? Well, the truth of the matter is that sometimes numbers are the result of a fruitful ministry, but sometimes numbers are the result of manipulation and appeal to the flesh. Numbers in themselves don't tell the story, do they?

Well, how about counting decisions? How many people walk the aisle? How many people make professions of faith? How many people are reported to have been saved? Well, again, where people are genuinely saved, that's evidence that the Holy Spirit of God is at work, but simply because decisions are paraded doesn't mean that that's necessarily a genuine work of God. How many times have you seen people who walked an aisle, who were reported as having been saved because they prayed a prayer and made a decision, who didn't last six months, sometimes a lot less than that, before they were not in church, were not interested in spiritual things, were no longer walking with the Lord, and then what we often have to do is to manipulate our theology to accommodate this sad reality. So now instead of acknowledging that people who don't continue to follow the Lord are undoubtedly not true Christians at all, we say, well, they've got their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, they're going to heaven, they're just backslidden, and we think that there are millions of people who are going to backslide all the way into the gates of heaven, and that is a terrible deceit, and many people are counting on an empty profession of faith to take them to heaven, and they are sliding ever close to the precipice of hell.

Well, Trump counting decisions won't tell you the story. Well, how about if there's excitement about the ministry? Well, again, where there's a powerful ministry, a powerful work of God at work, that'll create excitement, particularly among the people of God and sometimes even among those beyond the people of God, but the mere evidence, the mere reality, the mere presence of excitement does not prove that it is of God. There are all kinds of ways to manufacture excitement, to stir up emotions, to get people excited about something. There's a lot of excitement at the ball games I've been to, land sakes. I've been to some where the roaring of the crowd was so loud it just about hurt my ears. Is that evidence that God's Spirit is at work?

Not hardly. And you can do the same thing in church. You can jack up people's emotions, but that doesn't prove that the Spirit of God is at work, that He is the author of any of that.

No, that's not the way to tell. Well, what are some of the evidences of a faithful ministry and a fruitful ministry? True and lasting conversions, a growing interest in the Word of God, Christians who are growing in grace and knowledge, and a growing dissatisfaction with the shallow and superficial. People professing to be saved who aren't are very much impressed by shallow and artificial Christianity.

Even many times, baby Christians who haven't grown very much can be overly impressed with the shallow and artificial. But where people begin to gain discernment and are no longer impressed by that which is shallow and artificial, they are no longer attracted to that, they're no longer satisfied with that, because they have grown into a solid understanding of God's Word, then you can probably trace that growth back to a faithful minister who has preached the Word of God. And there's evidence of a fruitful and effective ministry. And so, number one, Paul's ministry in Thessalonica was effective. Number two, it was courageous, verse two. But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the Gospel of God in much conflict. Paul reminds them of the mistreatment that he and the other members of his team received in the city of Philippi, he and Silas in particular, but all of them to some degree. After we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, what happened at Philippi? Well, a lot of things, but it climaxed on that night when they were beaten and thrown into prison.

Acts chapter 16, verse 22. Then the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Public flogging, feet locked in stocks a night in jail are the culmination of the opposition and mistreatment they received at Philippi. And what I just read about in chapter 16 occurred to them without benefit of a trial, without any evidence placed against them in a court of law where they had an opportunity to answer their charges, just without any due process they were mistreated in this way, physically abused, publicly humiliated, and, Paul says, you Thessalonians know all about it. As you know, the report came to Thessalonica. It may even have preceded the arrival of Paul. That we don't know, but it certainly came there. In fact, when Paul and Silas and the team arrived from Philippi in Thessalonica, it is almost certain that their wounds had not yet fully healed. That Roman beating was an atrocious thing.

It laid backs bare. It took weeks for all of that to heal. And here they arrived still hurting, still healing, still writhing in their pain and discomfort. So of course the people in Thessalonica knew about these things, but that's not all. Not only did Paul receive mistreatment in Philippi, but evidently also when he arrived in Thessalonica, because he says in the last part of verse 2, We were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God, and then this phrase, in much conflict. That's in a verb tense that indicates that was going on in connection with his speaking the gospel boldly in Thessalonica. This isn't referring to what happened in Philippi. This is referring to what is happening or was happening in Thessalonica when they arrived there.

So similar to Philippi, they had more mistreatment. You can read about the beginning of that in Acts 17 verse 5. But the Jews who were not persuaded, when Paul spoke the gospel in the synagogue and many believed, But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, sent all the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. Similar tactic, similar way to deal with Paul and Silas, taking evil men, the kind of men that you can get to do almost anything that's wrong, just give them an opportunity or a financial advantage, get them to stir up a mob, mob action so that the mob outshouts any calmness or common sense or attempt to deal with things properly and go after them. That's what was happening, what had happened in Philippi, and now that's what is happening again in Thessalonica, not too dissimilar to some of the things we see happening across cities of America today.

Successful tactics that the devil has used for centuries and continues to use where he can find people to cooperate with him. But the point is that in Philippi, in spite of all of this, they continued preaching until they were invited out, and in Thessalonica, likewise, in spite of this opposition, they continued preaching until finally they had to escape in the middle of the night in order to get away from this. But in all of this, they did not stop preaching one little bit. After we suffered before and were spitefully entreated in Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.

We were bold. One translation said we dared to speak the gospel of God in much conflict. Paul and the others continued preaching when preaching was the very cause of their pain and suffering.

Under those circumstances, some would have ceased preaching altogether, but not Paul. Others would have softened their approach and reshaped their message. This isn't being very effective. This isn't the way to get it done. We've got to find more convenient methods, more acceptable methods so we don't stir people up.

We're going to have to repackage our message so that it doesn't arouse all of this antagonism. But Paul continued unabated, and if you want evidence of his courage, here it is. His courage in the face of suffering, his courage in spite of suffering, his courage in willingness to suffer again and again and again and again, but not to change anything in the commission that had been given to him by Jesus Christ is evidence of a faithful ministry. Paul is showing us that he was not a hireling. Remember what Jesus said about the shepherds who are hirelings? When the wolf comes, what do they do? They flee! But not a faithful shepherd, not a true shepherd.

He stays and he fights the opposition even though it may cost him greatly, in some cases, his life. And certainly many have given their lives down through the centuries for preaching the gospel of Christ. So Paul is talking about his ministry in Thessalonica and telling us some things that they can see about it. Number one, it was effective. Number two, it was courageous.

Number three, it was approved, verses three and four. For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. That word approved at the beginning of verse four and that word tests at the end of verse four are related words in the Greek language. And it has the idea of being certified by testing.

We have been approved because we were tested and we passed the test. We came through the test, the testifier. Now Paul introduces that thought, first of all, by giving three disqualifying factors, which will, if they are dealt with properly, disqualify someone from ministry. Verse three, he tells us what did not characterize his ministry. For our exhortation did not come from what? Number one, error. Number two, uncleanness.

Number three, deceit. That had no part in our ministry, no error. What we preached was not false. What we preached was not contrary to truth.

What we preached could be checked out by the word of God for those who will take the time to check it out, which incredibly many people will not take the time to do in our day. No error. Number two, no uncleanness. Every other time Paul uses the Greek word that's translated uncleanness here, it means sexual immorality. Now some have said, well, that's what it generally means, but here it has a different connotation, different meaning, and it can, the word can bear other connotations, but I think it's more likely that it means the same thing here, that it means every other time Paul uses it. And what he's saying is that his ministry did not involve, encourage, or participate in sexual immorality.

You say, well, that goes without saying. Well, not in Paul's day. The pagan religions of Thessalonica were steeped in immorality. In fact, one of the acts of worship was to go to the temple and to consort with a temple prostitute. That was considered an act of worship, which again tells us how powerful was Paul's ministry among these people that their lives were so changed. They broke that off, and as far as everything that's in the first and second Thessalonian Epistle, there was no repeat, there was no return, there was no falling back into immorality, as there was in Corinth that Paul had to deal with.

But in Thessalonica, there's no report of anything like this. They made a clean break from something that is very seductive, very powerful, very magnetic, and because of that, sometimes finds its way in our day into Christian ministries. Paul said no error, no uncleanness, and number three, no deceit, a word that means trickery. I didn't use psychology to get you to become a follower of me and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I didn't use salesmanship tactics in order to trick you into buying what I was selling. Selling is an art. Salesmanship is an art. And those who study the art, some people are rather good at it just by their personality and so forth, but there are techniques, and those who study the techniques can teach them to others. Do this, do that, don't say this, but do say that.

If you want to get somebody to buy your product, then you need to do this and this and this and this, and don't do that and that and that and that. And it's amazing how much of that is incorporated into ministry in the 21st century in which we live. But Paul said no, none of that at Thessalonica. And we would be wise if we would test ministries using these same three standards. Is it true, first of all? Is sound doctrine being proclaimed? Is this the biblical gospel? Is this the gospel of Christ without any mixture of error? And judge that very carefully because some of these errors are very subtle and some corruption of the gospel slips into an awful lot of Christian ministries and people don't even recognize it. Number one, is this ministry true?

Number two, is it pure? Is biblical morality taught and practiced? Now I don't need to tell you that in America today there are a lot of ministries, there are a lot of ministries that caved a long time ago on some biblical morality.

It's amazing how many evangelical churches are populated by people who are involved in adulterous relationships and living with people that they're not married to and members of the church in good standing without any problem. We just don't say anything about that. We don't want to offend anybody in that regard. That's just so common today. Let the Lord speak to their heart.

We hope they will understand that that's something they ought not to do, but we're not going to do anything about it. Is that uncleanness that is being encouraged and fostered in the vortex of that ministry? Is it true?

Is it pure? Number three, is it honest? Is there no manipulation, no false representation?

Is it honest? Those numbers that are reported that seem so important to some ministries, are they honest reports? Sometimes the people who are reporting them don't really even know how to evaluate them as to whether they're honest or not, but sometimes they do, and yet they pad the numbers purposely for the purpose of effect because they want to impress people, and so they are dishonest in the work of the ministry. The ministries need to be tested by these standards. Many of us were saddened just a few weeks ago when a well-known national and international ministry revealed that the figurehead behind that ministry that many of us had listened to on the radio who now had died, and after his death it was uncovered that, number one, he had been living a double life, he'd been living in immorality for years, years, and number two, that he had falsified his credentials claiming to have been, had degrees from Oxford University and so forth, which proved to be completely bogus, but he preached the truth.

I enjoyed listening to him because I never heard him say anything that was contrary to the Bible. So on test number one, is it true he passed with flying colors, but test number two, is it pure he failed miserably, the trouble was that we didn't know it, and test number three, is it honest he also failed miserably, but again we didn't know it, but you have to wonder, was there nobody closer to him, nobody involved in that ministry at the administrative level who knew about any of these things and just sort of looked the other way so as not to harm this important successful ministry? Three factors which, if not in place, any one of which is a disqualifying factor for ministry. One essential factor, verse four, but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who, this last phrase, tests our hearts.

What is the one essential factor? A sincere heart, a true heart of genuine faith with the only desire to be to please God. The problem is it's hard for people to detect that because we can't see the heart, and that's why in this case Paul said, God tests my heart. In the first case he said, you know about this, you can affirm the effectiveness of my ministry in Thessalonica.

That's something you know about. Here's something you really don't know, but he says, I stand before God and testify that he who has tested my heart has approved my motives, he has approved my heart. So he appeals to God who alone knows the heart because motives and sincerity of heart are difficult to discern, which is why all of us should regularly examine our heart before the Lord daily. Our heart is deceitful. Yes, even redeemed hearts haven't been fully sanctified yet, and the Adamic heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Who can know his own heart? Our own heart can deceive us, but God knows our heart, and that's why we need to go regularly before the Lord and say, Lord, show me my heart. Lord, show me my sin.

Lord, show me my motives. Lord, reveal to me if there's any wicked way in me that I'm not aware of. Do you do that? Do you pray that way? Do you examine your heart before the Lord regularly?

I advise you to do that. It's so essential to having a right heart before God. But we can get some indication of the condition of a person's heart by examining those three disqualifying factors of verse three that I've already covered, and then by these two evidences of God's approval in verse four. And again, verse four, but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God. What are two evidences of God's approval upon a ministry?

They are, number one, a divine call, and number two, a singular focus. We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. Paul, are you saying that only you and a handful of others have been entrusted with the gospel? Paul, are you saying that the average Christian hasn't been entrusted with the gospel, has no responsibility to the gospel, has no part in the Great Commission to carry the gospel into all the world? Is that what you're saying, Paul? No, that's not what Paul is saying. Clearly all believers have been entrusted with the gospel in one sense, but also clearly Paul is speaking here of a special sense, which I take to mean Paul is saying we have been called to preach. We have had a special commission in regard to the public proclamation of the gospel. We have been entrusted with the gospel in that way, a divine call to ministry upon our lives.

All right? Obviously, if God calls and empowers a man to ministry, then he has God's approval until or unless he steps out of the path of righteousness, in which case he loses God's approval. But a divine call would indicate God's approval upon a ministry. But again, how do you know that to be the case?

And that's a whole subject in itself. How do you evaluate a claim to a divine call? There are some ways to do that. We don't have time for that in our message today. But part of it we have already covered, and that is if there is a fruitful ministry, a spiritually fruitful ministry, then evidently God has called that person, God is empowering that person, God is using that person. That's how you explain the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the ministry.

But there is another evidence of God's approval, and that is a singular focus. Paul says, not as pleasing men. We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men. Back to this idea of a ministry that does not rely upon manufactured remedies and techniques in order to succeed, in order to gain the approval of men. A ministry that does not shape its ministry to cater to human demands and desires. A ministry, in other words, whose whole and sole motive is to please God and not men. If it pleases men, any men, wonderful, that's good, we're happy about that, and a God-honoring ministry is going to please who? Other people who have God-honoring hearts. Those who have a heart for God, a heart for God's word, a heart for God's glory, are going to be highly pleased with a ministry that has that same focus, but people who are off the track into some of these other areas may not be pleased with a God-honoring ministry.

It doesn't suit them. But a singular focus in the ministry is what is important, and that requires courage, and that requires confidence in God's word. If you're not confident that God's word is able to accomplish anything, then you resort to other things to make something happen.

Well, I've been trying it and so much time has passed and nothing's happened, so it must not work. God's word doesn't work? God's spirit isn't able to work? Have you got something better than the word of God and the spirit of God?

I think not, but a lot of people think so. And then number four, we've had three things so far that characterize Paul's ministry. His ministry was, what did we say, number one, effective, number two, courageous, number three, approved, and number four, unpretentious.

No unjustified or excessive claims. Paul wasn't pretending to be something he was not. This overlaps a little bit, but let's look at it in verses five and six. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, now he's back to something that they could testify to personally. Neither at any time did we use flattering words, you know that, nor a cloak for covetousness, God is a witness, because that's more a matter of the heart, isn't it, a covetous heart. So flattering words, you know we didn't use them. A covetous heart, God knows we didn't have one. Nor, verse six, did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.

His ministry was unpretentious, and what characterizes that? Four things, number one, no flattering, number two, no covetousness, number three, no human glory, and number four, no abusive authority. No flattering. We didn't use flattering words.

You can testify to that. Our message was not crafted to make people feel good about themselves. Our ministry did not flatter people, did not butter them up for the purpose of getting something out of them that otherwise we couldn't have gotten from them.

And ministries that do that have various things that they may do, but many times they will avoid confronting sin because people don't like that. That makes people mad. That makes people uncomfortable, and that makes it less likely that people are going to give you what you want from them. You've got to make them feel good. You've got to make them laugh. You've got to make them feel good about themselves. You've got to make them feel like whatever they're doing is good.

Just do more of it and do it better. You're all right. God loves you no matter what, no matter what scandalous sin you're involved in. That's no problem. You're okay. I'm okay.

Everybody's okay. Rah, rah, rah. Wow, I like that.

I'm going back next week for some more. Not if you've got one brain between your ears. You don't want none of that hellfire and brimstone preaching. Well, I don't want it every week because that would be a bit of an imbalance, but if you avoid all hellfire and brimstone preaching, then you're going to have to cut some parts out of the Bible.

You know that, don't you? A faithful minister who preaches the whole counsel of God will at times have to deal with hell and judgment, as we did last week from the last verse of 1 Thessalonians 1, talking about the wrath of God. That's not a popular subject, but it's in the Bible. No flattery. Number two, no covetousness. As you know, nor a cloak for covetousness God has witnessed. Nor a cloak for covetousness.

Some have translated that, if I can find my note here. Did not put on a mask to cover greed. A cloak for covetousness.

Did not put on a mask, did not put on a front, did not put on a face, did not become an actor in order to get financial gain from you. The ministry is not a pretext for financial gain. Now, how will you know? Since this is a matter of the heart, covetous heart, you may not know what's going on. So how can you evaluate a ministry as to whether there is indication that it may have the motive of covetousness?

I'll tell you one thing. Beware of ministries where you don't know any details about what money is being received and how it's being spent. It's amazing how many people will send their offerings off to television and media ministries and all they know about it is what has been packaged for their consumption.

Do you think anything negative or detrimental is going to be broadcast for you to see it or hear it? And off you send your money and you have not one clue how it's being used. Not one clue. Well, I just trust them. Well, you are not very wise.

I started to use stronger language than that and say, but you are an idiot, but I won't say that. You are not very wise. Even in local churches, some churches don't report their expenditures. I know churches like that.

I know people who have gone to churches for years and say, well, I have no idea. We leave that to the leaders. I believe leaders should lead. I believe elders have oversight.

But it's also important that people have a record, people have a detailed report of money that's being received and how it's being used for this very reason, because when you don't do that, it's too easy to start milking that cow in unethical ways. No cloak of covetousness. Number three, no human glory. Verse six, nor do we seek glory from men, neither from you or others, not looking for human honor or fame, not building a personal following. Sometimes we call that empire building because the glory belongs to Christ alone. And I must say that modern growth techniques encourage empire building. If somebody's ministry starts becoming a little bit well-known, a little bit effective, then there are going to be others come alongside very quickly to say, let me show you how to make your ministry bigger, let me show you how to make it more successful, let me show you how to build a brand, let me show you how. And all of these things turn out to be business techniques and entertainment style techniques. You've got to market this, you've got to do that, you've got to produce this.

I could be a little more specific, but I think I'll leave it there generally. And then finally, no abusive authority. Paul says we didn't seek glory from men, from you or others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. Do apostles have any God-given authority? Yes, they do. Did Paul wield his apostolic authority?

Answer, yes, but only rarely. He did at times. If you don't think so, go back to 1 Corinthians 5, we're writing from Ephesus. He said, you aren't dealing with this immoral man, so I'm going to, and here's what you must do, one, two, three, four, because I say so.

Because I'm an apostle of Christ. So yes, he exercised his God-given authority on those rare occasions when it was absolutely necessary, but in the main, no. When we might have made demands as apostles could literally be translated when we might have made our weight, w-e-i-g-h-t, our weight felt.

We would say when he might have thrown his weight around. After all, he's an apostle. He had a right to throw his weight around. He could have made greater demands, but he did not. Now simply reminding them that he had the authority to use it, to do it, even though he said I don't use it, was a reminder that he had that authority. So there's kind of a subtle reminder here, but Paul says, you know that I used my apostolic authority very lightly, very sparingly. In fact, and this is where we don't have time to continue on, but as this section unfolds, he comes right back and says, we were with you like a nursing mother with her baby. That's not very authoritative. That's not very impressive.

That's not, boom, boom, boom. That's tender, meek, understated, caring, loving. But that characterizes Paul's ministry. Now there are many, many lessons in this passage.

I'm only going to cover one quickly in closing, because this passage reminds us how much we need courage as Christians. I don't need to tell you that today there is growing opposition to Christ and to churches, greater intimidation to the Christian message, and the fearful and unbelieving are dropping out. I read just this week, within the last seven days, I think, that a poll showed that for the first time since they've been taking polls, church membership in America has dropped below 50 percent of the population.

First time ever. More people in America are not members of churches than are. Now, I saw just yesterday, I think, another poll that indicated that the decline is not in evangelical churches.

Some of them are precariously weak. But nevertheless, almost all of the decline has taken place in the mainline denominational churches. At one time, I think in the same article I read, there was a time when 75 percent of all Christians who were members of churches in America belonged to one of seven denominations. I don't remember all seven, but it was United Methodist Church, it was the Presbyterian Church USA, the big one, it was the Episcopal Church, it was the Northern Baptist Convention. Seven denominations in America, the large ones, could count 75 percent of all church members in America on their roles. That is no longer true. Those seven denominations are in terrible decline.

And that's where most of the erosion has taken place, but that doesn't undermine my point, it helps to make it. With these days of growing opposition and intimidation, the fearful and unbelieving are dropping out. And when your Christianity is about personal gain, then when things get rough, you drop out.

But when it's about pleasing God, regardless of what happens to you, then you don't drop out. In other words, wrong motives in your Christian faith are revealed by a lack of courage. What does it take to intimidate you? What does it take to silence you?

What does it take to make you fearful? Well, that may indicate how strong, how real, how genuine your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. What produces courage like Paul had here? Number one, a sincere heart of faith. Number two, living to please God, not personal advantage. And number three, an uncovertious heart.

He wasn't doing it for financial gain. Folks, if we have those three things, we will face the opposition with courage and hear God's well done. And if we don't, we're going to duck and hide and we may even say, I drop out. Don't target me. I'm not a Christian. I'm not the problem. I'm not one of those Christian people, not me. I'm one of you. You've said more than you realize.

That's exactly right. And you were all along. You were part of the world all along, even when you were a church member.

That was the problem. You must be born again, shall we pray. Father, help us to absorb these truths into our souls and to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with them. We pray. Amen.