THE WORKER'S STANDARDS. 2nd Corinthians 6:1-10 In any service we do for the Lord we are called upon to do, there are standards of conduct and reasonable protocols that should be followed. Otherwise, the pressures to compromise the truth in order to gather numbers to appear successful, or the subtle appeals to adapt our message and our actions to make the Gospel attractive, will undermine the whole purpose of the Gospel. How could those Corinthians ignore God's message and God's messenger when they had experienced salvation by grace? Why could they not see through those men who were creating confusion, and what appeal did they have to a real believer? The teaching of the false teachers appealed to the flesh and the teaching of Paul brought conviction and focused on the grace of God. God's message affects people in a way that is not just the normal reaction to one who sermonizes. The salvation message is important and insists on repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ alone to be reconciled to God.
Paul, the evangelist, realized his calling came from God. God didn't need his assistance in His work, but Paul had his own part to do in the ministry of reconciliation. It was to remind people of what God has done already and what He has a right to expect of every person who declares the Gospel. In this ministry, one plants, another person waters, and God gives the increase. He allows us the privilege of serving in this ministry. Paul beseeches the Corinthian believers to realize that the grace of God to them has the work of reconciliation as one of the major reasons behind it. The quotation of scripture from Isaiah pointed out there is help for sinners and now is the time for us to urge them to take advantage of this help. The reason is clear and the help is assured.
Believers in Christ who choose to live for themselves have received the grace of God but will miss out on the reward for service to our Lord Jesus. Saved people who develop in faith and grace, will work out their own salvation in daily development by allowing God to work through them rather than being stuck in the mire of the world, the flesh, and the devil. For unbelievers, the time to receive salvation of now, and for believers the time to work for the Lord is now. A Christian’s life cannot be separated from that for which we have been called.
The cause of Paul's service was his awareness of being workers together with Him. He knew what he was doing in his ministry and did not give offense lest his message of reconciliation would be hindered. Our actions in ministry communicate our attitude toward the Lord and toward people. Carelessness and indifference about spiritual things are easily seen by both believers and unbelievers. Not every situation in life in which we find ourselves for the sake of our ministry, will be pleasant. But a bad situation may turn out to be an opportunity. Our reaction to conflict, family problems, financial problems, joblessness, and other areas of pressure in our lives, reflect the strength of our faith or the lack of our faith.
The ten features of the circumstances in which Paul was because of his ministry, approved his credibility as a trusted laborer for the Lord. Unwanted circumstances can often test us as to the reality of what we profess. It is in those troublesome times of life when there seem to be so many problems, that the reality of what we have professed in words, becomes real in deeds. In the same way, eleven features of personal character are listed. Each one testifies to Paul’s personal character and the character of his work. The apostolic labors of Paul involved a lot of physical suffering which he endured for the sake of the Gospel and lost souls. Some suffering was forced on him and some were self-imposed in order for him to fulfill the work before him. His moral character of purity, kindness, and love was the result of the riches of grace he had received from God. The Holy Spirit gives these moral attributes as well as spiritual gifts.
We should be able to describe the ministry to which we have been called. Each believer is privileged to serve the Lord by serving others in some way. To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is not expected to be easy or comfortable, but it is more fulfilling than anything else in which we could be engaged. Much of what we do and say in the ministry of reconciliation is supported by who we are. The "armor of righteousness" is a strong defense in our stand against the pressures of the flesh. We also have access to the "armor of light" with which we can defend ourselves against those things of darkness the world will tempt us with. Even more, we have the "whole armor of God" at our disposal to withstand the devil. The armor of righteousness on the right hand is our offensive weapon with which we go forward in our ministry in spite of obstacles and opposition. On our left hand, we have defensive armor to protect us when attacks are made against our motives, message, and methods.
In spite of what may come against us or hinder the way before us as we advance in the work of reconciliation, we have to remain true to God and to His word. There should never be any compromise to the biblical standards of truth in the message we proclaim nor in the righteousness of the one who declares the message. There are eight phrases in these verses that testify to the challenge of the ministry we have received. Each one defines a fundamental response either in contrast to what is wrong or in complexity as to what is right.
In reading and studying these phrases of very challenging description, we are made conscious of how we need to emulate those laborers of an earlier time. They had a ministry to fulfill. They knew what it was they were supposed to do and did it in spite of obstacles, opposition from false teachers around them, and the criticisms of believers whose expectation was a much easier course. To expect the life-transforming message of reconciliation to be gladly received by everyone is unrealistic. We need to simply know what we believe, and what we have been called to do and not deviate nor turn aside from that to which God has called us.
We receive grace from the original Source, whether we live here or in some distant land to which we have been called by God. Each action in a life of service follows a course that originates from God. It is not to each one that power is given, to do a work uncommon to man. It is grace that enabled us to face up to sin and grace that makes each phase of God’s work possible. One person works in the city, another in the field, and others in countries of different languages. One preaches, one teaches, and others privately speak so that people might be freed from sin’s curse. Some work in the public eye, some in small rooms - wherever the Spirit may choose. There are those put in a place to meet lost souls face to face because they are in danger of losing their souls.
One sits down and writes in a letter or tract, and sends it off to a friend. Another may speak similar words on the street so that lost ones wherever he goes learn that God’s grace has made provision for him. Through His workers, He can show the way to salvation and deliverance from sin, and God’s truth in the opened hearts will surely grow. As workers together, God’s people are found, in the places He wants them. It may be near home that God wants you to work, or maybe in lands across the sea. Workers and works all vary in kind. What you do may be far different than what I do but all working together in the field of the Lord will someday see a full harvest.
May none of us hold back from the work we can do because right now the harvest is ripe. We don’t work by ourselves; we are workers together to gather the sheaves before night comes. The crop in the field is about to perish and we should never slack in the fight against all opposition and some superstition. We must never lose sight of God’s glory.
Workers together are a powerful force when all the gifts that God gave function as He intends. Workers together meet multiplied needs, when all of the workers have space to each do their part in the ongoing plan to bring in God’s harvest in haste. The motivating force in this work that we do is ultimately - God’s saving grace.