WHOSE FAULT IS IT?
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (KJV)
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
In verse 2 the Word of God says that Paul had, “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty.”
He had opted instead to be completely open about the Gospel –
· What it is,
· What it isn’t,
· What are its consequences,
Etc.
Read through the epistles Paul wrote, as well as the rest of the New Testament, and you discover it is very plain.
· It is based upon the resurrection of One from the dead
· It is foolishness and despised by the world
· It will mean suffering for all who embrace it
· It expects that we put off sins and put on Christ
· Its foundational leaders all died for preaching it
But
· It is the only way to be reconciled to God
· It is the only way to be free of judgment for sin and
· It is the only way have eternal life after death
There’s no manipulation there.
And yet, what if it is still hidden in some?
Our passage for consideration this morning answers that question.
If our gospel be hid,
*I. FROM WHOM
is the Gospel hidden?
2 Corinthians 4:3 (KJV)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
The Bible uses the terms, saved and lost.
· To be saved is to be rescued from the perishing
· To be lost is to be destined for destruction
Lost
The Greek word is found 92 times in the New Testament and is also translated:
· Perish
· Destroyed
· Die
It’s not just,
Believe or don’t believe
It’s to be rescued or to perish
Don’t we sometimes make the consequences of not being a Christian than the Bible does?
We salve our souls by reasoning that faith is fine for me, but it’s not for everybody.[1]
Based on this passage I can also say,
No one knows the gospel who is not a Christian.
I have met some people who think they know the gospel message as well as I do, but they just don’t believe it.
That’s not true.
They may know the “facts” of the gospel.
They may know that Christians claim Jesus:
· died, was
· buried and
· rose again
But
· They do not know themselves to be sinners – condemned to eternal hell
· They don’t know Christ as the only hope of their rescue
· They don’t know that Christ died for them, was buried for them and raised again for them and certainly
· They don’t know the Christ who “ever liveth to make intercession for them”
This is hidden from them for, if they did know, they would without hesitation come to Him.
The second question addressed
*II. HOW
has the Gospel been hidden from them?
2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not.
A. Notice that it is not God who has blinded their minds
The Calvinistic doctrine, so loved by a huge number of today’s Christians, teaches that God has chosen some people to be saved and some to be lost.
Those who are chosen to be saved, can’t get away from it
Those who are not, can’t get saved even if they wanted to[2]
Also
B. Notice that it does not say the devil or Satan has blinded their minds.
I have no doubt but that he is behind it, but it is not impossible to read this that the god that blinded their minds is “this world.”
This world becomes a god, and then creates in people so many other gods.
Consider,
Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV)
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
James 4:4 (KJV)
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
1 John 2:15 (KJV)
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
What has blinded their minds is the love of the world and the things in it.
The final question answered is
*III. WHAT
is the cure for their blindness?
2 Corinthians 4:5-6 (KJV)
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The only cure is PREACH CHRIST
· We aren’t to preach ourselves
· We aren’t to preach a movement
· We aren’t to preach a celebrity pastor or evangelist
We are to preach Christ.
That means, by the way. Everything about Christ.
· His gospel
· His desire for the believer
· His love for His church
· His coming again and
· His plan for the future
Preaching Christ will work because it is the command, of God that the light shine out of darkness.
Just keep preaching Christ, keep telling about Christ and the things of Christ – that light will begin to shine in their hearts and some of them will see.
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