 The title of our sermon this morning is You Are a Living Letter. You are a living letter. We are in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 through 6. Now we know from prior sermons in our study of 2 Corinthians that false teachers have infiltrated the church at Corinth. False apostles, some have called them super apostles from the text of 2 Corinthians. And they are obviously these false teachers, these false apostles. They are obviously desiring to lead away disciples after themselves. They want to make a name for themselves. They're intending here to fleece the flock of God, so to speak, for profit. And as Peter says, by covetousness they exploit the Corinthians with deceptive words. They have secretly brought in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 4, Paul infers that they are preaching another Jesus. Whom they have not preached. A different spirit. It's Paul, Timothy, Silas have not received. A different gospel which the Corinthians have not accepted. Peter says here, of this having a heart trained in covetous practices, they are accursed children having forsaken the right way and gone astray. Many in Corinth making shipwreck of their faith have followed their destructive ways. And because of these peddling hucksters in Corinth, the way of truth is blasphemed. Now in order to advance their wicked and destructive agenda, these false apostles in Corinth know that they have to undermine and marginalize Paul himself. Here again, Peter's description of false teachers in this sense is instructive. Peter says they walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and they despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. Peter says they're not afraid to speak evil of those in authority over them, whereas even angels would not bring a reviling word against them. And so they falsely accuse Paul. They mercilessly slander Paul. They twist his words. They assume the worst of his motives. And like natural, brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, they speak evil of things they do not understand. And in the preaching of lies and in the slandering of the Lord's minister, these false teachers succeed, if you will, in enticing unstable souls. And by them these unstable souls are brought into bondage. Peter says that they are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Paul here calls them peddlers, hucksters, charlatans, snake oil salesmen, they're liars. And he clearly distinguished himself from them in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 17 where Paul says, we are not as so many peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. As many in Corinth, through the efforts of these false teachers, begin to doubt the apostle Paul and question his apostolic authority, Paul's ministry among them in the gospel begins to weaken. Paul begins to lose some influence among the church in Corinth. He knows, Paul knows that if these wicked liars in Corinth are successful in undermining him, they also succeed in undermining and marginalizing the message that Paul is preaching. This can't go on without an answer, right? The stakes are way too high. This is the Lord's church that he purchased with his own blood. These are the Lord's people following Christ and preaching Paul's gospel. Their souls hang in the balance. In other words, when the gospel is preached, when the Bible is preached, it's not a mere academic exercise, right? They're not sitting here just to learn some nice platitudes, follow a nice example that'll help you lead a better life, a more happy life, right? That's not what this is about. This is about heaven and hell. This is about life and death, and your soul hangs in the balance. How you hear, how you listen, and then how you respond has eternal consequences. Now, Paul understands that. And so, Paul then, compelled by circumstance, he reluctantly undertakes a defense of his ministry. He does that for the sake of these people in Corinth. He loves them. He cares about what happens to them. And so, his message can't be marginalized. He, therefore, cannot be marginalized. And that's for the sake of these people that he loves. So then, we come to a question. We consider these things. What distinguishes them and authentic Christian ministry? What validates, if you will, the work of God's messengers? How do you know the difference between these false apostles, these false teachers in Corinth, and Paul? And what Paul is preaching? What Paul is doing among them? What differentiates the work of God from the work of the godless? And Paul, as he asks, who is sufficient for these things? In 2 Corinthians, this is Paul's second canonical letter to the church at Corinth. Paul erupts in praise in chapter 2, verse 14, that the Corinthians have responded favorably to Paul so far. He says, now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. He references the work of gospel ministry in verse 15 as the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, Paul says, it's an aroma of death. To the other, Paul says, it's an aroma of life. And then Paul asks the question, who is sufficient for these things? What follows, what follows, and what will be our great joy and blessing to study if the Lord wills, is a glorious defense, a glorious description of the Christian ministry, of the gospel ministry. And that defense, that description runs through chapter 7, verse 5. Notice with me, before we get into the text, the doors that sort of open and close this section of text. One door opening this section is in chapter 2, verse 12. Look at chapter 2, verse 12 with me. Where Paul says, opening this section furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. Next we have verse 14, and thanks to God for triumph. Flip over with me to chapter 7, verse 5. Chapter 7, verse 5, is a door, if you will, that brings this section to a close. Look at verse 5. For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. He comes back to the same subject then, right in chapter 7, verse 5. These are bookends, if you will, on this section of text that runs from chapter 2 into chapter 7, and it's this wonderful section of theology that deals with the Christian ministry. As we look at chapter 3, verse 1 today, it's like walking into a beautiful room, right? A lavish room, a warm room, a room you don't want to leave. It's just stacked with glorious books on good theology, right? Glorious text that we're going to be able to study. It's a warm room, it's hopeful, right? It's convicting. At the same time, it's joyful and rejoicing. It's a room you want to spend some serious time in, and we get the blessing of the Lord Terry of spending several months here. And we're going to, this is going to be fun, right? This is a text of scripture that's going to be just a joy to go through. As we walk through this room together, Paul lays out a description of new covenant ministry, right? Gospel ministry. And this beautiful description, this beautiful presentation of new covenant gospel ministry is set in stark contrast against false teachers in Corinth. We'll remind ourselves of this as we work through the text. In the background, against the black backdrop of wickedness, those false teachers sit in stark contrast to the ministry that here Paul is describing with us today, beginning in chapter 3, verse 1. Many come, many come today claiming to be sent by God. There are many who preach in pulpits, many who preach on the radio. You can find their recordings all over the Internet. Many claim to speak for God. And many of those who claim to speak for God are lying, deceiving, clouds without water, by whom people are brought into bondage. Jude describes them as late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars. And listen, I don't know a mega church in our town that doesn't have one of these standing behind their pulpit. Some might say, now, wait a minute. You can't talk about other churches that way. That's harsh. I say we must talk about them that way. Paul here talked about them in that way. Why? Because the stakes are high. If they fail, listen, if they fail, Paul's test of gospel ministry here, then they are leading people to hell. Eternal torment. The stakes could not be any higher. Paul doesn't mince words about this. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, a few pages to the right. Chapter 11, and look with me at verse 12. Paul doesn't pull punches. And Paul says it plainly, says it clearly. And if you take issue with this, and you don't have issue with me, you've got issue with Paul, right? We're continuing Paul's apostolic ministry here. Chapter 11, look at verse 12. Paul says, but what I do, I will also continue to do. Praise God, Paul, thank you, right? What I do, Paul says, I will also continue to do. Why? That I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. You see what Paul's saying there? We have a responsibility to expose the unfruitful works of darkness for the sake of people's souls. Here, Paul says, I'm going to cut off their opportunity as much as I can. And he's going to do that by exposing them. Look at verse 13. For such are false apostles. And the people of the church in Corinth knew exactly who Paul was speaking about. I can make statements from this pulpit, and you know exactly who I'm talking about, right? Paul says, these false apostles are deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, verse 14, because of who their father is. Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is of no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. For them is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Why? Because souls are at stake. This is heaven and hell, right? He's calling the ministers of Satan, and that's what they are. That's what they are. If Satan wants to have an impact in a church, what is he going to do? He's going to put a minister of his behind the pulpit. For me, last week, multiple issues came up for me with respect to the same church in Orlando. Multiple times this church. This church deceived a precious lady, right, into thinking that she is genuinely converted when she gives absolutely no evidence of a work of grace in her heart. Many of you here have lovingly shared the gospel with her, have poured your heart and soul into her, have prayed for her, have shed tears over her. And she refuses to come here because she's faced with the truth every week that she's not converted. Ultimately, that's what it is. She would rather have her deception. And so she goes to another church and she pulls out a dear brother with her. A dear brother and I were out witnessing this week. We ran into another lady that goes to this same church. She's been going there for years, and she had absolutely no idea what the gospel was. And I have witnessed in this town now four years, and I keep coming across people from the same church, and I have never come across anyone who comes from that church that knows what the gospel is. She's convinced she's going to heaven because of her good works. And listen, folks, that's Christianity 101. Don't be deceived. You're not going to heaven because of your good works. You must put faith alone in Christ alone who has done all the work over the years of preaching the gospel here in Orlando. We've seen one example after another like that from that synagogue of Satan. And that's what it is. It is a synagogue of Satan. Now, you say, well, that's harsh. How can you say that? If you think that's harsh, you don't understand the stakes that are involved. Is it harsh to tell a family who moves into your neighborhood with small children that a pedophile lives down the street? Is that harsh? Is it harsh to call a pedophile a pedophile? What might a Christian brother say who has a loved one in that church deceived by the teaching on their way to hell? What might that Christian brother say? If your mom was there, your sister was there, your brother was there, right? Paul certainly doesn't pull any punches. They're ministers of Satan. Maybe there's someone listening on the radio who has developed some discernment from listening to this by the grace of God. And they avoid going to a place like that. What might they say after the Lord saves them? Praise God, right? From saving me from that error. Paul says in chapter 2 verse 17, for we, Paul says, are not as so many peddling the Word of God. And I like the way the ESV says it. But Paul says, as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ. Paul is distinguishing genuine Christian ministry from all the fake false nonsense that's out there. And he doesn't pull any punches in doing it. Some might object to Paul's statement, right? There are many, the many that you are describing here, Paul, might object to Paul's statement. They also claim to speak for God in Christ. How can we tell the difference? We come back to our question, right? What distinguishes authentic Christian ministry? One fruit of true gospel ministry. Is that fruit discussed in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 through 6? It is living letters of the Lord Jesus Christ. Living letters. You want to know what validates gospel ministry. True gospel ministry. It is living letters of the Lord Jesus Christ. You want to know what validates the Word of God as the Word of God preached. It is living letters authored by Christ, written on the heart by the Spirit of God. Living letters of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see that in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 1 through 6. From our text this morning, I want you to see two points, right? Two points that are outlined on your notes. Point one, living letters commend God's workers. Verses 1 through 3. Second point on your notes, living letters commend God's work. In verses 4 through 6. Living letters commend God's workers. God's workers in 1 through 3. Living letters commend God's work in verses 4 through 6. Genuine, God-empowered, new covenant gospel ministry will produce living letters of Christ wrought by the Spirit of God at work in God's people through the preaching of God's Word. That's a mouthful. I want to repeat that. Genuine, true, real. God-empowered, new covenant gospel ministry will inevitably, inexorably produce living letters of the Lord Jesus Christ wrought by the Spirit of God at work in God's people through the preaching of God's Word. That's gospel ministry. That's new covenant ministry. That's how you tell the difference between what is true and what is false. Look at point one on your notes with me. Verses 1 through 3. Living letters commend God's workers. Verse 1, Paul says, do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You, Paul says, are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men. Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. Paul finds himself in this letter regularly having to appeal to the Corinthians to essentially trust him over against the false teachers, appealing to the Corinthians that his is the authentic apostolic ministry. And his most recent appeal comes with a statement in chapter 2, verse 17. Look there. Paul says, for we are not, as so many, peddling the Word of God. Paul says, we are men of sincerity. We are commissioned by God. We, Paul says, speak for God. And so in chapter 3, verse 1, then, he asks the question, do we begin again to commend ourselves? It acts like a statement, doesn't it, in chapter 3, verse 1. Here we are commending ourselves again. That's what Paul is essentially saying. The Paul, obviously not alone, in this very difficult ministry in the church at Corinth, although he tends to be the one that sort of draws the most accusational fire, it's apparent from chapter 1, verse 19, that included in that plural we is also Silas and Timothy. Paul, Silas and Timothy have been laboring with this church at Corinth. And so with the three of them in mind, he asks a follow-up question of the church in verse 1. Chapter 3, verse 1, Paul says, or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? Now, these letters of commendation that Paul is referring to here were very common at that time, very common to send commendation letters. And that's very common throughout church history. I got one last week, right? Very common throughout church history. Essentially, a letter of commendation involves someone vouching for you. Specifically, someone in the church vouching for you. Vouching for your character, right? Vouching for the kind of person you are. Testifying of the fact that you are a genuine brother or a genuine sister in the faith in good standing in the church. That was the purpose of a commendation letter. It was to knit brothers and sisters together in the church, right? A stranger coming from one town, coming into your town. They would come with a letter of commendation, sort of commending you to that fellowship, to that church, knitting brothers and sisters together in the churches. Now, throughout the New Testament, we have several examples of this, okay? Acts 1827, if you want to jot some of these down. Acts 1827 makes reference to a letter of commendation written for Apollos, right? Romans chapter 16, Romans 16.1 begins with a commendation of Phoebe. Paul references a commendation letter. He wrote for John Mark in Colossians chapter 4, verse 10. Why was that important? Because he and John Mark had a falling out on his first missionary journey. And so he writes a letter ahead of John Mark to the church at Colossae, commending John Mark to them, saying, receive that brother. Receive that brother, right? You can see why these letters are so important. Essentially, the entire New Testament letter of Philemon is a commendation letter for Anesimus. Anesimus, this is how churches in that day communicated and protected themselves from wolves who come along dressed in sheep's clothing, right? These letters of commendation, also incidentally, these letters of commendation, a good argument incidentally for church membership. For church membership, they knew who was on the rolls. They didn't know just who was on the rolls. They knew those people, right? They knew them. They had and they shared a good understanding of who was in and who was out, right? Someone who was there in good standing as opposed to someone who wasn't. And despite all the many modern and unwise notions to the contrary, church membership is extremely important for these reasons. We are covenanted together to worship the Lord together, both around our statement of faith and around our practice, our church covenant, if you will, right? We are covenanted together. We know who's in and we know who's out, and that's for good reason. We have a responsibility to admit genuine, born-again, blood-bought Christians to the membership of this church. Here, these commendation letters are for the purposes of communicating that between the churches. Now, the false teachers knew that. False teachers obviously knew that, so they themselves would also travel from church to church with letters of commendation. Their false teacher buddies would write them a letter of commendation that they would walk around with, and they would get into the church that way. There's enough evidence here in our text to suppose that the Judaizers, if you're familiar with them, that the Judaizers would have written these letters of commendation for the false teachers in Corinth. We'll talk about that more as we work through the text. The Judaizers were those who perverted the gospel of grace, right? Perverted the gospel of faith alone and Christ alone by teaching that people must still keep the law to be saved, in addition to faith in Christ. They were wicked false teachers. Paul refers to them, if you look at chapter 3 verse 1, Paul refers to them as some others, right? Some others. Do we need, Paul says, as some others, as these false teachers so to speak, it pistols of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you. And the Greek grammar, if you look at the Greek grammar in chapter 3 verse 1, the grammar helps us to understand this is a rhetorical question. It's a rhetorical question expecting a resounding no answer. Paul is saying, of course we don't, right? Of course we don't need a letter of commendation to you. Of course we don't need letters of commendation from you. Why? Because you know us. You know us. Paul, Silas, Timothy labored among that church for 18 months in planting the church. He's been back now in a couple of visits. He's written multiple letters to them. He gets multiple reports back from them. Paul knows them and they know Paul. Of course we don't. Paul says, look at verse 2, Paul says to the Corinthians, listen, you are our epistle written in our hearts. We don't need a letter from you. You're our letter, Paul says. But literally he says you yourselves are our letter. You can imagine Paul, right? In other words, Paul saying, listen, I preach the gospel to you. I preach the gospel to you. Through that gospel you believed. Paul might have said, I have it labored among you in the Lord. I have shed tears over you. I have prayed with you and prayed for you. That ministry of mine among you has produced fruit. You know what that fruit is? You, you are my fruit. You, your lives, your growth, your progress, your faith is the only commendation I need. Paul says, I don't need letters. I have you. I have you. Paul would say to them, Whitney, listen, you are not who you once were. Amen. What a, what a, um, you think about it, right? For that, that's, that's the greatest joy for someone in ministry is you're going to look at the people of God and say, you are not who you once were. And it's because of his own strength, of his own ability, his own wisdom. I'm just so smart. I just, I preach the God, I preach the word of God just so good that people just get a respect. No, because it is validation. It is clear evidence that the spirit of God is at work through the preaching of God's word to change people's lives. And that is a cause of worship and rejoice and rejoicing. I said the, the, the best validation, the best commendation of gospel ministry. But there are people, they're sitting in this room right now, right? You're sitting across from someone who at one point or another you share the gospel with and they're here worshiping and praising God with you. What a joy, right? What a commendation. Do you need anything else? No Lord, please keep sending them. I want to go share, share the gospel again. I want more letters, so to speak, right? That's a joy. What a validation for Paul. You're not who you once were. And that came, Paul says, through the spirit of God, God working through my ministry among you. What a tremendous commendation. First Corinthians chapter six, nine. First Corinthians chapter six, verse nine. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. What a miserable list that is, right? Those are people who are going to hell, Paul says in verse 11. And such were some of you. Praise God, right? The people get saved, the preaching of the gospel. Whether that's preached by me or preached by you, preached by someone else. God works through his word, preach to save his own. What a glorious commendation. Paul says in verse 11 there, you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. That didn't happen in exclusion from Paul. Isolated from Paul. That happened through the means of Paul. And it happened through the means of Timothy and it happened through the means of Silas. And it happened through the means of other people in that church at Corinth, right? And it continues to this day, happening through the means of you who preach the gospel. Happens through the means of your efforts, your labor among the people of God. When you pursue a straggling brother, a straggling sister, someone who is isolating themselves or trailing away and you turn them from their sin, it's not you doing that per se. You're just the agent, right? You're the instrumentality through which God does his work. And what a glorious commendation. For wretched sinners like you and me, filthy instruments that God in the blood of the Lamb washes clean and then turns around and employs us into that work. Glory, right? That's what tremendous grace that, as Paul testified of himself, the chief of sinners, a proud, insolent, boastful, violent man, persecuting the church, that God would work through his preaching of the everlasting gospel is unfathomable grace, mercy, blessing, love, joy, right? Tremendous, tremendous. Paul asks the direct question in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 1. Paul says, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you, Corinthians, not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless, Paul says, I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. Paul adds, you are written on my heart, written on our hearts. I'm not carrying around some letter in a bag. You're written on my heart. Can you imagine, right? Maybe you've had that experience of leading someone to the Lord preaching the gospel to them. Maybe you share the gospel with them and they're here. The Lord has saved them. They're worshiping the Lord. What a joy that is, right? What a joy to be a part of a church that does that. Listen, when this church preaches the gospel and you support the preaching of the gospel, when you give to the preaching of the gospel, when you minister to people here, you're a part of that work. That fruit, as Paul says, abounds to your account. You're a part of that. What a tremendous joy. Think about how that person then, the people here, like our work in this church in the gospel, we are not, we are not as so many peddling the word of God here. We don't do that here. We don't peddle the word of God. You're a part of this church. People come and they're saved. Consider how that person, those people then, are imprinted on your own heart. Now, you see their face. You see their smile. You see their joy. You see them worshiping the Lord. What a joy that is, right? You see that. And that just gets imprinted on your heart. It's not numbers on some denominational role. It's not a list of names on some computer somewhere, X, Y, and Z, this many, this many, this many, that is despicable. These are living letters written on our hearts. That's the church of a living God, right? That's the work of Christ, the work of His Spirit. That's what's here. It's just a blessing about being in this church and that's here. You have people here who genuinely love the Lord. They're reading their Bibles. They're praying. They're worshiping. It's like, it's a blessing. It's a blessing and a joy. You are written on my heart. I pray I'm written on yours. We are in this together, right? It's a joy. Paul says, you're written on our hearts. We love you. You are our joy. This would have been so, so, so reassuring to Paul. Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians. Let's look at Paul's heart in this. 1 Thessalonians, look at chapter 2, so reassuring, so encouraging, such a cause for rejoicing, hope, right? Knowing that God works all things together for good and He is at work in our midst through the preaching of His Word, preaching of the gospel, what a joy. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, look at verse 17. Paul says here, but we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, we endeavor more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore, we wanted to come to you. You listen to Paul's heart, right? Paul's heart. Even I, Paul, wanted to come to you again and again, but Satan hindered us. Verse 19, for what is our hope? What is our joy, our crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? For you are our glory and our joy. You are our living letter. Paul's joy among many joys in the Christian life, right? Among many joys. But one of those among many is the thought of seeing those Corinthians before Christ. Among the bride, right? At the marriage supper of the lamb, washed without spotter blemish, made perfect, made righteous in his sight, just glorious, right? Glorious. You want to know what distinguishes us from false teachers? In Corinth, Paul asks, you do. You want to know what distinguishes a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ? In Orlando, you do. What distinguishes authentic Christian ministry? Authentic Christians? What distinguishes true from false, true believers? Clear, right? Clear. Back in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 2, if you have grown up in churches like that with a bunch of dead counterfeits, you know what I'm talking about? You know what I'm talking about? And the stakes are so high, right? The stakes are so high. 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 2, Paul's not referring here to some mere profession of a change of heart, some mere profession alone. That change of heart is obvious to anyone who would consider the Lord's work in these people. It's obvious to anyone. Notice what Paul says further in verse 2. You are our epistle written in our hearts, what? Known and read by all men. It's obvious. If you're visiting here with us today, I can, because of lengthy experience in this church, pretty much assure you that given opportunity before you make the parking lot, someone's going to share the gospel with you. Now, if you're the type of quote unquote Christian who has difficulty with that, there are a host of problems. And I would submit to you that problem is in your heart. Christians love the gospel. Christians love the word of God. Christians love other Christians. Christians love to preach the gospel. It's known and read by all men. It's obvious when you come here, you're around people who genuinely love the Lord. When I came here, I thought to myself, you know, it may be that in all of my quote unquote Christian experiences, this is the first time I've been around any substantial number of genuine Christians. There's always that one guy, right? Those churches you go to, always that one guy is like a fanatic, right? What is it? He's going out with this thing? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, right? And some old, like, curmudgeoning guy. Just give him a little bit of time. He's going to be just like me in another couple of months, right? So genuine Christians love the Bible. They love the word of God. They love serving the Lord. They love serving one another. They love one another. They love long sermons. They love small groups. Show me your faith without your works, said James. You can't do it. Show me your faith without your works. You can't do it. James said, I will show you my faith by my works. You say you believe in God. Fine. Even the demons believe in God and they tremble. The good works that flow from true saving faith distinguish your faith from that of the demons. This is an epistle written in our hearts that is known and read and obvious, overtly obvious to all men. The Corinthians themselves are living letters of commendation for the gospel ministry of Paul, Timothy, and Silas. They are, Paul says, written on our hearts as a living testimony of our work for the Lord. And it's obvious to anyone who sees it. If you're known from your previous life, it's obvious, right? I knew that guy back when and it's not the same guy, not the same guy. My wife and I were unconverted when we were married. The Lord saved me and it was a matter of just a couple of few short months later. My wife is like, you are not the same person I married. Right? And by God's grace and to the everlasting praise of my savior, she was converted and not the same woman that I married just a few months after that. By the grace of God, right? We're not who we once were. No different. This is no different in our day. No different in our day. We tell the difference between the true and the false this way. Apostle Bob. Apostle Bob comes with his letter of commendation from the Charismaniacs. Easy, believism, decisional regeneration. Southern Baptist pastor Dwayne comes with his letter of commendation from a denominational seminary. The Catholic priest has won as does the Seventh Day Adventist, as does the Mormon, as does the Joe as Witness. However, however, the measure of gospel ministry is the overtly obvious Holy Spirit wrought transformation in the lives of God's people. That's what commends true gospel ministry. It's not how many books he's written, right? Not how many sermons he's preached, not how many seminaries he's attended. It's not the certificate from the seminary, right? It's not how popular is that he's not how much he's liked or how nice he is. He may walk around with the Bible. He may even say some biblical sounding things down then. The fruit of genuine gospel ministry is the transformed lives of the people. God says through Jeremiah the prophet, right? God says this, if they, speaking of false teachers, mind you, right? Think about this for a moment. If they had stood in my counsel and had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. If that lousy mouthpiece would have just stood in God's counsel proclaiming God's words to God's people, then he would have turned those people from their sin. Change of life, transformation. And right? Professor Christianity Day is full of people who say, I'm a Christian and they look like the world. The professing quote unquote evangelical church today looks just like the world. It's a social club in the world. It's crazy. Paul knows all too well. He knows all too well that this is not a work that he himself is capable of bringing about. Paul can't do this in and of himself. Apart from the Lord, he can do nothing. He is simply the means that God has used to bring it about. And he understands that. He continues in 2 Corinthians chapter three, verse three. Look at verse three. Clearly, Paul says, clearly you are an epistle of Christ. It's a living letter of commendation for Paul's ministry, but they are epistles of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith, right? Clearly you are an epistle of Christ. You're not an epistle of some false teacher. You're not an epistle of, listen, you today here, if you're in Christ, listen, I know you. You know me. You're not an epistle of some JW. You're not an epistle of a Mormon. You're not an epistle of a Catholic priest. You're not an epistle of that gospel compromising, easy-believing, easy-believism, pastor down the road. You're not an epistle of that guy. You are an epistle of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are in him, you bear his marks. You bear evidence of his authorship in your heart. You are an epistle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ministered by us, Paul says in verse three, right? Delivered by us. Word there is served by us, written not with ink, but by the spirit of the living God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh. That is of the heart. The Paul here glorifies God, right? He doesn't take the glory for himself. He doesn't take credit for himself. He gives credit where credit is due. And he acknowledges here four truths, four truths about genuine gospel ministry. We want to jot these down. One, these living letters are authored by Christ. Two, these living letters are ministered by us. Three, I'm going to repeat them. Just keep writing fast. These living letters are written by the spirit of the living God. And four, these living letters are written on living hearts. One, these living letters are authored by Christ. Two, these living letters are ministered by us. Three, these living letters are written by the spirit of the living God. And four, these living letters are written on living hearts. One, these living living letters are authored by Christ. Clearly Paul says, verse three, you are an epistle of Christ. Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Paul knows that the work didn't originate with him. Work didn't originate with Paul. No person can ever take credit for that kind of work, right? He told them in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16, in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel, right? In Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. Two, these living letters, Paul says, are ministered by us. Verse three, Diakoneo, these were This is where we get our word deacon from, servant, right? We were servants to this end. We were servants to this end that you are a living letter authored by Christ. He does say, doesn't he? 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16 again, in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel, right? Paul is a part of that work. He sees himself as a means or as an agent through which the gospel was preached and through which the Corinthians came to believe, right? He is the Emanuensis, so to speak, the hand by which the spirit of God writes Christ's living letter, right? Paul was the one who preached the gospel to them. That's you, that's me when we preach the gospel, right? We become agents, instruments, and God honors his word, is he not? When the word goes out, does not return void? God works through his word. Paul here praises God for that. Verse three, these living letters are written by the spirit of the living God. Paul says, verse three, written not with ink, but by the spirit of the living God. Let's be clear about what this means, right? The spirit of God does not write with invisible ink. You're not a secret Christian. It's not hidden, it's obvious, known and read by all men. The spirit of God doesn't write with invisible ink. The spirit of God does not write with fading or disappearing ink. The spirit of God writes in permanent ink, in neon, flashing, brilliant ink that does not go away. Like, better than one of those Sharpies you can't rinse off, right? The letter is clearly legible for anyone who knows the word of God. It is informative what the spirit of God writes. This is powerful evidence, isn't it? Powerful evidence that the ministry is from God and used by God. You know if you are in Christ that the changes wrought in your heart and in your mind could not have taken place apart from the spirit of the living God. You are a new creation. Not on tablets of stone, Paul says, but on tablets of flesh that is of the heart. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians chapter two verse four. My speech and my preaching, Paul said, were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Paul knew the power was not in him. This is through the spirit of the living God. I preached, Paul said, the spirit of God was at work, you were saved, you were sanctified, a living letter of Christ was produced, authored by Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit, a letter that can be known and read by all men. And Paul says, I'm the one who delivered it through the preaching of God's word. He preaches, God gives the increase. The Corinthians themselves then are the living letters commending Paul's ministry. Inarguable proof that God was working through his ministry for the good of the Corinthians. Four, these living letters are written on living hearts. These living letters are written by the spirit of the living God, verse three, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. We're gonna talk about this more next week with reference to the tablets of stone as we continue to work through our texts and specifically in verse six. Suffice it to say for now that with this statement, Paul is directly challenging false teachers in Corinth. Judaizers were the peddlers, the hucksters of that day, the charlatans and liars who perverted the gospel. The Judaizers insisted on adding Judaistic, external, Judaistic law keeping to the free offer of the gospel and salvation by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone. They wanted to add works to salvation by grace through faith in Christ. They insisted that circumcision was necessary. In order to be saved, you had to be circumcised. They insisted that the dietary laws be followed, that the calendar be followed, the feast days. And the tablets of stone in verse three that Paul is making reference to here essentially are the two tablets on which was written the Mosaic code, the Ten Commandments, right? In Exodus chapter 31, verse 18, Moses said there that he was given two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God. It was the law. These tablets of stone here are referencing the law, the Ten Commandments. What was going on in Corinth was something new. Was something new. Writing those laws on tablets of stone was external. Cold, dead physical stone. But in Corinth and in gospel ministry ever since, God was writing living letters of the Lord Jesus Christ by the agency of the spirit of God engraved internally, not externally on tablets of stone, but internally on tablets of flesh living hearts. Listen to this from the new covenant in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 33. Listen. God says, but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord. God says, I will put my law in their minds and I will write my law on their hearts. You see? I will be their God, they shall be my people. Same law, right? The law hasn't gone away. It's just that now it's written on hearts of flesh. Do you see? Verse 34, he goes on, no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man, his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more. The law written by God on those tablets of stone at Sinai was external. It's outside of man, external. Being external, all the law really can do is confront man with his inability to keep it, his utter inability to obey it. And as such, because of that, it condemns men. Law's not bad. The law is holy just and good. But that law externally written on tablets of stone confronts man in his inability, confronts man in his inability to obey. And as such, it condemns man. Bible says cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But I'm gonna go to heaven because my good works outweigh my bad works. Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Well, I'm gonna ask forgiveness. God forgives. Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. God's law is not abrogated. It's not done away with. God's law stands as a perfect testimony of the character of Almighty God who is perfectly holy and perfectly just. So what does God do? What does God do? In unfathomable grace. In unfathomable mercy. God says, I will write the law on their hearts. Not only on tablets of stone, then they will be able to do them. Ezekiel 36, speaking of the same work of God, listen, Ezekiel 36, God gives his people a new heart. They get a heart transplant, heart of stone taken out of their chest. God gives them a heart of flesh. God in the new covenant places his spirit within them. They are made alive from the dead by divine regenerating grace. So they don't have to keep the law anymore? No. So that those stone tablets could be done away with? No. He says there in verse 27, but so that you will keep my judgments and do them. Right? This work of grace in the heart, this work of writing God's law on the heart is so that God's people can keep it. They can fulfill it. We'll look at that next week. The work of God, the work of God doesn't abrogate his law. It upholds it. It honors it. The work of God enables his people from the heart to keep it, not externally, as if heartlessly following the etchings on a stone tablet, but from the heart in the power of his spirit, in love and joy and hope. Right? This is what Paul is referring to in Corinth. And this has been going on in New Covenant gospel ministry since Pentecost. Right? Have you believed this message? Have you come to understand the free offer of grace in the gospel? God in Christ, providing salvation for undeserving wretched sinners who are doomed inexorably to hell. Have you abandoned yet in your own life thinking that you have a righteousness on your own that will somehow merit you favor when you stand before God in that day? Have you abandoned pursuing a righteousness of your own? Have you abandoned thinking that somehow or another, it's just all gonna work out? The gospel, genuine salvation, true saving faith is about a work of God done in you, on the tablet of your heart. And that is the validating evidence of the miraculous work of God done through the preaching of his word. You are a living letter if you're in Christ. Paul says, that's the only letter of commendation I need. What is the letter that is written of you? What is the letter that is written of you? You've got one. You've got one. Are you a living letter authored by Christ having been written upon by the spirit of the living God? Or are you a dead stone, brother, sister? Are you pressing on toward being the living letter that commends the work of Christ in you? The work of God's spirit within you. Are you that living letter? Are you a trophy of his grace? Are you a letter that commends the transforming work of God in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? That letter is the joy and crown of our Lord Jesus Christ. Would you trifle with it? That letter is the joy and the crown of those that serve you here. This church is a tremendous encouragement to that end. This church is a constant encouragement in that respect. I know I speak for my brothers. It is a blessing to serve here. Can't imagine being anywhere else. The greatest joy of any gospel minister is to see the godly faithful lives of the people in the church. Are you pressing on toward being that living letter? Maybe that doesn't describe you. Maybe it doesn't describe you. Is your life a letter from Christ commending the work of the spirit of God, giving testimony that you're responding to the preaching of God's word here, or isn't it? If your elders were going to commend the work of God in this church, if your elders were going to, as we do, talk about the grace of God at work in this church, the work of Christ, the glory of God here, would they pick your life as a letter of commendation? If not, what are you going to do about that? What are you going to do about that? What are you going to do to change that? What repentance is necessary? What about your ministry here, brother and sister? What about your ministry here among the people of God? Are you investing in your own crown? Are you investing that way in your own joy? Being useful to God in gospel ministry, what a tremendous privilege. When questioned about the authenticity or the validation of your own ministry, we all have been given that ministry. So if someone were to come along and question your own authenticity, can you point to brothers, sisters, whose lives you have impacted for the gospel? You poured yourself into, poured yourself out for as a drink offering in your service to them because you invested yourself in them, because you ministered to them. If you cannot, then what will you do to change that? This is a glorious truth. The stakes are so high and heaven is near. The end is near. People mock that. The end is near and we have work to do. And the Lord saves. The Lord works through the preaching of his word. That is glorious. All praise, honor and glory to the one who gloriously saves that way. Amen. Let's pray. I want you to spend a few moments and want to ask you to pray silently. And I want you to consider those questions. What kind of letter are you? Do you commend the work of Christ? Do you commend the work of God's spirit or don't you? Would you be picked as a letter of commendation for gospel ministry? If not, why not? What about your ministry here? We need to ask for the Lord's help. We need to ask for the Lord's blessing. We need to ask for conviction. We need to ask for genuine repentance. Let's go before the Lord and pray. When you're done, you are dismissed.