The words in our second lesson were written by St. Paul to the Corinthian believers. Let me read this lesson to you again using the New International Version of the Bible:
18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”
20 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.
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:18-22) – NIV
This was not the first time that Paul had written to the Corinthian Church. Some scholars think that 2 Corinthians, the book in the Bible from which our lesson comes, was actually the fourth letter to that church. The first two verses in our text point to an issue or a problem that Paul is having with the church. He says to them, “Our message to you is not, ‘Yes,’ and, ‘No.’
With these words, Paul was telling the believers in Corinth that what he told them and what Timothy and Silas told them was absolutely true. It was necessary for Paul to defend himself because there had been a group of high-minded teachers that had been talking Paul down. They criticized him to the Corinthians and suggested that Paul didn’t teach them all they needed and so they tried to lead the fledgling church astray. We know that this is the case because in another place in this letter Paul writes the following words:
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those ’super-apostles.’ " (2 Corinthians 11:3-5) – NIV
Paul was trying to sort out a serious problem associated with the credibility of his ministry. He was trying to demonstrate to the Corinthian believers that the message they preached was credible – believable and real. But, what does this disagreement between Paul and the Corinthians have to do with you and me? What’s so important about Paul’s words that we should pay attention to them today?
Well listen, credibility is at the core of the faith. Paul was, in effect making an argument for faith in the promises of God. What wars against credibility is our experience with other people. You see, when we interact with other people, it isn’t always easy to get the straight skinny. Sometimes it’s because folks simply aren’t honest. Sometimes its because they don’t want to say what they are really thinking. You see, we often say, “Yes,” when we mean, “No.” Or we may say one thing and do another. It wouldn’t be so bad if all that were at stake were simply human interactions. But the real problem is that we often project the same kind of double-mindedness on God. We begin to doubt that God will actually do what He says – especially as it pertains to our salvation.
But God is not this way at all. When He says, “No,” it means exactly that. If we are tempted to love anything or anyone above God, the commandments tell us, “No,” – and God means it. If our anger drives us to despise our parents or to hate another person, the commandments tell us, “No,” – and God means it. If our lusts drive us to abandon our spouse, the commandments tell us, “No,” – and God means it. If we are tempted to spread gossip about our neighbor, the commandments tell us, “No,” – and God means it. God’s “No” is harsh and immutable and going against it places us under his judgment.
“No,” is a hard word for us. It is a word that has many difficult and harsh associations. In my own life, these range all the way from the laughable – my anxieties as a young man at asking a girl to dance and fearing a, “No;” And all the way to the crushing “No” of my father’s death. The fear of “No” surfaces everywhere we turn. Am I good enough, or smart enough, or pretty enough, or secure enough? – No! Do I have what it takes to excel in sports, or in my role as a student, or in college, or in my job? – No! Is my health OK? – No! Does my wife or husband or mom or dad love me? – No! “No,” is a hard word.
All of these bad connotations to the word “No,” surge from the very doubt that we find as we search our hearts. When we gaze at our hearts, we find that – truth be known – we’re not right with God. This doubt became a part of our bloodlines. This doubt is a blight inherited by all of humanity from the disobedience of our first fathers – Adam and Eve. The, “No,” comes from a rupture in the relationship between God and humanity. We live with this brokenness and somehow we sense that – at least from our side of things – that God is not pleased with us.
But the Bible tells us that Jesus came to change all that. We know that He took on the burden of our sinfulness with Him to the Cross. We know that Christ willingly “…[T]ook up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…” (Isaiah 53:4a) The Scriptures tell us that “[Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:5a) The reason that God is at peace with us is because Jesus has paid for every time we disobeyed his no. “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5b)
Paul had shared this good news with the Corinthian believers, but the doubt about God’s forgiveness kept surging. That is why they were so susceptible to the false teachers who came to offer them a way to get around the “No” in a way that didn’t include the Cross and the Resurrection. That is also what so often happens in our lives. When that doubt surfaces – it brings with it desperation and sometimes a sense of hopelessness. It can put us in a – “Oh, what’s the use?” – frame of mind. That’s why Paul was writing to the Corinthians. That’s why those words are so important to us today.
In verse 20 of our text Paul says, “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.” “Yes,” God says, “To forgiveness and love. Yes,” says God, “To making us his children and heirs of heaven. Yes,” says God, “To being with us even though we often stray. Yes,” says God, “To my children, rescued from sin and death by my beloved Son, Jesus.”
God’s ‘yes’ has done amazing things! Isaiah the prophet foretold this. He wrote, “Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land… I alone am the one who is going to wipe away your rebellious actions for my own sake. I will not remember your sins anymore.” (Isaiah 43:18-19, 25)
When Jesus walked the earth, God’s ‘yes’ was abundantly visible. His healing and forgiveness of the paralytic in the Gospel lesson were a resounding ‘yes.’ And today God’s ‘yes’ is still among us. As we come before his altar to confess our sins, we receive - like the paralytic – God’s word of forgiveness – his ‘yes.’ As we gather around the table to receive the body and blood of Jesus, God confirms his, “Yes!” As we see his Word come together with the waters of Baptism – He shouts, “Yes!” In all these things, God says to you and to me, “Yes, you are my child!”
The last two verses of our text say, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Talk about “yes!” Not only are we forgiven; Not only are we made heirs of the Kingdom by Jesus; But God seals his, ‘Yes’ in our lives by making us his. We become his property. If the evil one should try to get in our stuff, God says, “Hands off!” These believers are mine - they trusted in my Son’s Cross and Resurrection.
And just in case we need more proof, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and makes our hearts his home. This deposit of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is a wonderful ‘YES’ – a living testimony of God’s love and forgiveness - a promise sealed inside of us - a guarantee of everything that God has promised to us in Jesus Christ.
Can we say, “Amen!” to that, beloved? “Amen!”
