THE WAYS OF THE KINGDOM

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"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God"
2 Corinthians 1:20

IN this glorious text, which at first may seem to hold little, is stored all the complete assurance that the Christian has in Christ and the Gospel. It is this assurance that I would like to share with you in this sermon.

However, before we actually look at this verse, I think it will be helpful to try and understand the context in which Paul speaks these words. There is no doubt, in my mind, that we find ourselves in difficulties. Paul is addressing a problem in his relationship with the Corinthian church which the letter does not define. We have to guess at it from the letter itself. I confess that I cannot be sure that I have understood the problem Paul is addressing, but what understanding I have been able to achieve, has helped me to understand and appreciate better the teaching that comes through as Paul writes concerning this problem to the Corinthians.

Paul seemed to have planned to visit the Corinthians on his way to Macedonia, and then visit them again on the way back from Macedonia (ch.1:15,16). He hoped that we would deepen the fellowship in Corinth, and also deepen the fellowship between himself and the Corinthian church. However it seems that when he visited them first it was a very painful visit. The Corinthian church, or part of it at least, turned against him. Paul decided then against suffering all this pain again, and instead of visiting as he had planned, he wrote a letter. This seems to have been a letter which we have not had handed down to us (ch.2:1-4).

What was the trouble? We are not told directly. We can only guess from what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians. After much thought, it seems to me that a leader amongst the Corinthians had succeeded in turning the majority of the church against Paul and questioning his teaching. Again it seems to be a criticism of Paul's preaching of free grace. It seems from ch.3:7-18 that he was accused of leading the church into wrong belief and life by not upholding the moral law of Moses as essential to salvation.

The accusation seemed to be, that Paul was accused of preaching grace to entice people to accept him and his leadership, so that he may profit financially and politically. This is suggested by Paul saying in ch.2:17 that he did not preach to profit himself. Further they added to the criticism the accusation that Paul could not be trusted, because he said he was going to visit again, and had not done so. They accused him of saying 'yes' and 'no' at the same time. They accused him of breaking his word if it suited him, and thus his preaching could not be trusted, because he was, by the same token, accused of preaching what suited his purposes, changing his message as occasion arose.

Because Paul had been accused of saying things to please and things to gain popularity, he wants to emphasise that this is untrue, and that his preaching was all true. So he comes up with the text which is before us for our thoughts in this sermon.

What does the text say. Firstly, Paul reminds us that God has made many promises. It is plain that Paul is specially thinking of the promises of God he had preached to them, and held out to them, as promises they could believe, and which were promises of surpassing blessing.

Secondly, Paul states that all these promises are 'Yes' in Christ. By this he means that all God's promises are sure and that they will be kept and fulfilled, because God has, in Christ, provided everything, so that he may be able to keep his promises.

Thirdly, Paul exclaims that this assurance is so wonderful that we can shout 'Amen' in glad joy. Also we can shout 'Amen' because the certainty of the promises and their blessing on us, shows how glorious God is, and shows forth his glory. Let us look at these three things in more detail.

THE PROMISES OF GOD

The Bible is full of promises from God. Promises which are full of blessing and grace. I feel there is no doubt that the promises Paul specially had in mind, were the promises of the Gospel of God's grace and mercy, and the free and complete nature of them.

Paul would have the Old Testament from which to preach, as well as the sayings and teachings of Jesus Christ. For this sermon I would centre upon two in the Old Testament. They hold the sum and substance of all God's grace to us.

The first is Isaiah 44:22,23. I learnt these verses as a child in a Scripture Union chorus and have never forgotten the message as a result. God gives this assurance to his people in their sin and rebellion - 'I have swept away your offences like a thick cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you'. What greater promise could we receive. It is a promise that all our sins are swept away. 'Blotted out' are the two words used in the Authorised Version of the Bible. The page of our life is made totally clean. It is made as though there had been no defilement upon it. God assures us that as far as he is concerned our sins are gone never to be remembered or brought up again, and that he will from now on treat his people as if they had never sinned. The picture is so vivid. Our sins are like a mist that hides us from the view and smile of God. God shines upon that mist with his forgiving grace, and the mist of our sins melts away, so that we are bathed in the sunshine of God's presence and love. This is all by God's initiative, without any movement of the people to God.

Forgiveness is not a simple thing for God. Forgiveness cannot be granted without cost. Sins must be punished and justice carried out. The debt of sin must be paid. It is because we can't pay this debt or survive the punishment, that God pays the debt and suffers the punishment. God declares this so lovingly here. Return to me. My anger will no more consume you. You need not be afraid. I will not exact any penalty or portion any blame, because I have redeemed you. What a gracious promise God makes. It is a promise backed up by the merciful and loving action of God, whereby he pays all the debt to obtain our forgiveness, so that he can forgive us freely and justly, demanding no penalty or cost from us wretched sinners. This is what redeemed means. Nothing to pay! Nothing to do! No condition or penance to perform! All is given freely at no cost to us. That is the first promise which I feel expresses the essence of Paul's preaching.

The second promise I would bring to your attention, which I believe expresses the essence of what Paul's preaching was, both at Corinth and elsewhere, is to be found in Hosea 14:4. It comes in the context of the spiritual adultery of Israel, and God's complaint through Hosea concerning this. God's people had gone away from loving him and had given their love to idols. In the face of this great offence and provocation, God makes this wonderful, merciful and gracious promise, which is holding all that the Isaiah promise holds, but adds more to it. Again it encompasses all the Gospel of God's grace.

God says through Hosea - 'I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger is turned away from them'. The word heal involves all the free forgiveness we have seen in Isaiah, but also includes dealing with the problem in our lives which causes us to sin. It is promise of healing of the desire to sin and to turn away from God. It is a promise of new life and regeneration. This is confirmed when we read on in the passage - 'I will be like dew to Israel, he will blossom like a lily'. What a picture! God promises to water the life of his people by his Spirit, so their spirits produce all the loveliness of the character that God desires in his people. He will produce in our hearts love for himself. He will makes us a new creation (1 Corinthians 5:17). Notice - God promises to do this, which we find impossible to achieve ourselves.

Again, is their any cost or condition? No! for God says 'I will love them freely'. He promises to love us without condition. It is a love that costs God infinite sacrifice, but it is a love that is free to his people, and because it is offered free, it can never be lost or forfeited, specially as it is offered while we are in our sins and rebellion.

You can see the greatness and glory of such promises. But such a Gospel has always had its critics, for to human wisdom it is not right, and surely encourages sin. This, no doubt, was the criticism brought by this other leader in Corinth who opposed Paul, and turned the people away from him. Experience tells us, that far from encouraging sin, this free grace is the only power and motive that turns us away from sin. Who can sin easily when he has experienced and received such love and mercy?

THE CERTAINTY OF THE PROMISES

Paul tells the Corinthians that these promises of God are completely sure. He says 'they are "Yes" in Christ'. This means that everything has been done so that God's promises can never fail, or be withdrawn, or changed. This assurance is in Christ.

The essence of the promises of God is, that God will love us completely forever. Loving us like this, he will forgive all our sin; he will give us new life, and bring us into his family, and keep us in his love and work lovingly in our lives, until he has brought us totally changed into his likeness and into his heavenly glory. But is there any way in which someone could come and say, God had no right to make such promises? Is there a loophole that makes the promises invalid? Is God violating his own character or justice or holiness by such promises which would make his promises vain? No! because of the work of Jesus Christ, whom God sent into the world to purchase the blessing of these promises for all who believe.

God's promises are "Yes" in Jesus Christ, because Christ has met all the demands of God's character, justice and holiness, so that there is no impediment that prevents God keeping his promises of grace. God cannot forgive if the punishment and debt of sin is not paid. Jesus paid this debt and exhausted completely this punishment. God cannot forgive unless his law and standards are upheld perfectly. Jesus fulfilled the law of God completely in his life, being the only man who is sinless, and he did this for his people as the second Adam; that is he did it on behalf of all his posterity - all who believe on him and receive him as their Saviour and Lord. God sent Jesus and gave Jesus, at such infinite cost and sacrifice to himself and Jesus, so that all that is necessary for his promises to be kept and his people to be forgiven and given eternal life, was done.

The "Yes" of the promises rests not on any imperfect doings of the sinner, but on the perfect, all-sufficient and utterly perfect and complete work of Christ for us. It is because the promises rest upon the perfect and complete doings of Jesus that they are sure. It is because the promises depend on Jesus utterly and not upon us in anyway, that they are sure. It is because Jesus has done such a perfect and complete work to save, that the promises can never let us down or be found to be less than completely saves us.

This is the wonder of the promises of the Gospel, they are all "Yes" and "Amen" in Christ. We cannot over estimate the wonder of the "Yes" in Christ. God's promises are entirely sure because of the perfect work of Jesus for us. Salvation is entirely complete in Him.

Further we can never fall from the promises or lose them by our sin and failure. This is impossible, because when Jesus was dying on the cross, he was not dying just for part of our sins, but all of them. It could not be otherwise. God laid on him the iniquity of us all - that is all our sins. The whole of our lives were viewed, and all the sins we will ever commit noticed and placed on the Saviour on the cross. When we believed all our sins therefore were forgiven and blotted out, not just the ones up to the time we believed.

When we believed, God knew all the sins, however great, that we would be committing during the rest of our mortal lives. He included all these when he said 'Your sins are forgiven you'. How can any sin in the future separate us from our salvation and cause us to lose it. The price of that sin has been paid by the Saviour. When God says that he loves us freely, and we hear these gracious words at the moment of conviction, God knew all the vileness and failure to come, and his love took all that future sin into account, and arranged in Christ and his complete work, that his love and forgiveness would encompass them as well. How could he withdraw his free love, when he loved us knowing the worst about us, including all the failure in our lives to come.

The promises of God are truly "Yes" in Christ.

THE "AMEN" THAT RESULTS

In the light of such complete and glorious promises there can be only one response. We cannot give to God anything. There is nothing that we have that can be worthy of all that God has given us. There is no act or thing that we have that is not tainted with imperfection, and therefore unworthy to bring to God. We received the promises of God with empty hands, and we rest in them also with empty hands, because there is nothing over and above our due to God that we have to bring to God. We don't reach our due to God in the smallest sense, so how could we have anything to give to God.

All we can do is to receive all that God has promised and keep on receiving it, and go on resting totally in those promises. This is what it means to say "Amen". We simple say to God 'so be it' - we receive and rest totally in your love and rest our whole hope and confidence upon those promises.

The "Amen" also is a shout of praise as we appreciate all the promises mean, that we are saved forever, and completely safe from all judgement, condemnation, wrath or punishment, and that we dwell forever and always in the love and blessing of God. The "Amen" is a shout of joy as we glory in the wonder of all that God has and is giving to us.

The "Amen" further is an expression of the wonder of the glory of God so perfectly set forth in this wonderful salvation, and is shouting out and a declaring openly of that glory.

CONCLUSION

Dear friends, take deep into your hearts the promises of God. Let every last drop of their blessing nourish and uplift your soul. Let the peace of God and the love of God contained in them fill your hearts. Let the security of them hold you in all the temptations and doubts the devil throws at you. Let the comfort of them bless you when you fail and sin. Let the promises give you hope which is not ashamed and cause you to look forward to heaven with eager anticipation. Let them sustain you in the trials and difficulties and sacrifice of your life in Jesus.

Dear friends, let the assurance of the "Yes" in Christ of these promises fill your minds, so that you know that the promises are true and sure and can never be lost or withdrawn. Let this assurance keep you when you fail. Let this assurance hold you when your stumbling in the Christian life argues the impossibility of ever persevering to heaven, for the "Yes" in Christ assures that not only is our forgiveness complete, our renewal is assured in Christ as well.

Glory in these promises and their "Yes" - their certainty. With all your heart say "Amen" resting in the completeness of the blessings in them, so praising God for such blessings.