Coming Clean for Christ - 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
If the LMPD received orders from the Supreme Court to arrest all Christians, would they find enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian? There’s an old Gospel song by Grammy Award Winner Larnell Harris that asks the question, “Would they find enough evidence to convict you?”
When the indictments came out would you be rounded up in the first sweep that included all the preachers, evangelists, and Sunday School teachers in town? Would you be in the second sweep of those whose names appeared in last weeks church bulletins? Maybe you would be in the third sweep of those whose tithe and offering checks showed up at the local bank. Maybe someone at work would rat you out and tell the police that you pray before you eat lunch. Maybe your neighbor would turn you in for “blessing” her all the time. Or maybe you wouldn’t be turned in at all. Maybe there just wouldn’t be enough evidence to convict you!
And if you were arrested and charged with being a Christian, what would your defense be? Would you pull out proof of your poor church attendance, your lack of knowledge of the scriptures, your double life as a sinner…and make the case that you aren’t REALLY a believer? Or would you face the music and take your punishment as a good soldier of Jesus Christ?
That’s what Paul did. The religious hierarchy accused him of covering up that ole time religion with a new gospel, and he said, “You got me! I did it. And I’ll do it again, and again, and again. And for those of you who don’t believe it, THAT’S ON YOU!”
You see… Paul was being accused of a cover-up…of spreading a new religion of love based on salvation through Jesus Christ. The locals were accusing him of dishonesty, distortion and deceit. They charged him and his entourage, of craftily handling the word of God in such a way as to attempt to destroy the Old Testament beliefs and practices. They accused him of hiding or covering up the Mosaic laws with the new gospel of Jesus Christ.
So Paul sets out to write a letter in answer to the accusations…to make his case against the charges, and to defend his position.
He says, “I never hid anything from anyone. If this new gospel is hid from you, it’s because you are blind to the truth. You want to hold on to your old covenant faith and sit around and wait for a Messiah who has already come! If you are caught up in disbelief, blame it on Satan, the one you have chosen to follow!”
Confession is good for the soul, so let’s all admit that, unlike Paul, we do an awful lot of hiding the gospel.
• We hide the gospel when the office plans a party.
• We hide the gospel when our club raffles off liquor baskets.
• We hide the gospel when our neighbor invites us over for a friendly drink.
• We hide the gospel when we skip church to go fishing.
• We hide the gospel when we tell our children, “Do what I say, not what I do!”
And yet the worst thing a Christian can do is to DENY CHRIST. Jesus warns us in Matthew 10:33 that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. And trust me…you do NOT want Jesus to deny He ever knew you!
Turn to your neighbor and tell them, “It’s time to come clean for Christ!”
It may sound crazy to us, but there are places in the world where its death to anyone who professes Christ as Savior and Lord. In places like China, North Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East, to name a few there are people still dying for thr cause of Christ. We live in a country where we can praise GOD anytime, anyway we want to and we still cover-up the gospel.
We’ve all got a lot of spiritual growing up to do it’s time to stop talking Baby Talk. Jesus is looking for those who will serve Him, even when the chips are down and the going is tough…even if it becomes unlawful to speak His name! So how clean are you going to come for Christ? Will you take the lid off your faith and let others see the Christ in you? Will you be locked up with the other Christians?
Paul says that the truth of the gospel is hid to men for two reasons. The first reason is that they are Lost. Those who refuse to see Christ as God’s gift to a dieing world are DIEING THEMSELVES! They have chosen to turn away from God and travel in the opposite direction…the path that leads to eternal separation from God. They are perishing because they have chosen to shut God out. And that sets them up for reason number TWO.
The second reason is that this guy, Satan, has blinded them to the truth. That’s a dangerous position to be in….blinded by Satan and the world.
• Satan will blind you and keep you from responding to a powerful Sunday Sermon.
• Satan will blind you and keep you from getting up early to make it to Sunday School.
• Satan will blind you and keep you from anything that would open your eyes to the truth.
• Satan will blind you and keep you from doing something good for someone.
• Satan will blind you and make you think you are something that you aren’t.
But here’s the saddest part of all. Christians are called to witness and save the lost, yet some Christians have a poor track record because they have hid their gospel in their hearts where it can only do THEM some good, and no one else.
Some of us in St. Luke M B C this morning have been Christians for a long time. We’ve studied the Word and hid it in our hearts. It’s time to take the lid off and come clean for Christ. It’s time to take the next step and be soul-winners for Jesus Christ.
A young man got up to give his testimony for Christ at a tent meeting. He was not very accustomed to speaking in public, and he stumbled over his words quite a bit. An atheist in the back of the crowd yelled, “You should be ashamed of yourself, standing up there and talking like that!” The young man yelled back, “I AM ASHAMED of MYSELF. But I am NOT ashamed of Christ!”
Does anybody in here want to win souls for Jesus Christ?
Do we have anybody in here who wants to take their faith to new heights and become soul-winners for Jesus?
Turn to your neighbor and tell them there’s nobody like Jesus!
He is the way from darkness into light.
He is the way from anxiety to assurance.
He is the way from hate to love.
He is the way from fear to faith.
He is the way from no value to a whole lot of value;
He’s my hope in time of trouble;
He’s my joy for tomorrow;
He is my way from Weakness to strength;
He is my way from Sadness to gladness;
He is my way from Hunger to satisfaction;
He is my way from Nothing to something!
Come clean and tell them, there’s nobody like JESUS!
