Paul's Second Letter To The Church At Corinth. Day 13, The Encouragement Of God's Grace

Paul warns the church members of Corinth that they need to be transformed by the truth of God's word. God has graciously brought the gospel to them; they must not treat it casually. Have you ever known anyone who became a Christian but still maintained a terrible attitude about life? Have you ever known a Christian who feels defeated by everything? Or have you ever felt this way yourself? We all have days when we feel discouraged or overwhelmed or negative about a particular situation, but this ought not to be the constant state of the believer. Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, that we don't have to allow this world and our enemy the devil and our own weak flesh to get us down and keep us down. Victory is ours through the grace of our God. He freely offers it to us. We can't blame anyone but ourselves if we go through all our days with attitudes of discouragement and defeat. 

"As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For He says, 'In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:1-2) We learned in Paul's previous letter that there were a lot of problems in the Corinthian church. The members were still quite worldly in their thinking and in their treatment of each other. It's possible to receive the grace of God (to be saved) and to live as a person who has no victory over the flesh. An example of this would be if we came to faith in Christ and still clung to bitterness and a negative attitude. Another example would be if we did nothing for the Lord or for our fellow man after believing in Christ. Yet another example would be if we accepted Christ but lived in an attitude of defeat about everything that happens to us in this world. 

The Lord offers us strength and encouragement; we don't have to walk around with our jaws dragging the ground in sadness. God is offering His grace to us today just as He offered it to the people of Corinth. Although I don't believe there will be any sorrow in heaven, sometimes I wonder how I will feel when I see God as He is and am confronted with the fact that so much more grace and victory could have been mine on earth if only I'd accepted it. More grace is available to us than we could ever fathom. Imagine how it must break God's fatherly heart when we don't let Him help us.

In our study today we find Paul quoting a portion of the book of Isaiah. His quote is taken from the following passage: "This is what the Lord says: 'In the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, 'Come out!" and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'" (Isaiah 49:8-9a) Isaiah's ministry was to implore the people to turn back to the Lord so they would not be taken into captivity, yet at the same time he knew they would not repent and would be defeated and carried away. He also understood that their captivity would not last forever. They were going to return to the land the Lord had given them. Isaiah's heart was broken about the coming captivity, but at the same time he rejoiced because he knew a day was coming when the Lord would call to the captives, "Come out! Be free!" Isaiah predicted a new covenant that the Lord would make with Israel and with all the world through Israel. 

Paul says, "Isaiah the prophet was right about the Babylonian captivity. Did not the Lord allow the people to be captured? But Isaiah was also right about their return to the land. Did not the Lord allow the people to return? Isaiah was right again when he said the Lord would make Israel a covenant for all people, for the Lord Jesus Christ of the nation of Israel and of the line of David and of the tribe of Judah is the author of God's new covenant with mankind. God has kept the promises He made through the prophet. Why then should anyone doubt that He is capable of setting us free from the things that discourage us in this world? He has promised us grace and freedom and victory. In Christ we have the victory over everything in this world that tries to hold us hostage. We don't have to walk in darkness. We don't have to live in the captivity of sin and despair. God our Father says to us through Christ, 'Come out! Be free!'"