2 Corinthians Review

We will now review some of the things we learned from 2nd Corinthians.  I believe the first thing that Paul teaches us is that we are to have a concern for all Christians.  Paul made it abundantly clear that he wasn't just trying to get people to say that they accepted Christ and then forget them.  Paul's concern was not about making himself look good, but about reaching others with the gospel and then helping them grow in faith.  We as followers of Christ today need to have that same desire.  The second thing is that Paul wanted to ensure that the gospel remained pure.  There were those in the church at Corinth who were trying to add to the requirements of the gospel.  There are people today who claim to be Christians who add requirements to the gospel.  The gospel is and always will be simply the acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord and then living under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot work for salvation nor become good enough to claim a right relationship with God, but can only accept the gift of salvation made available by the grace of God.  The next thing is that we need to realize that Satan is real and will do anything he can to destroy the gospel.  If Satan can get Christians to fighting or even arguing among themselves, then he will, if not stop, then at least hinder the gospel.  The time that followers of Christ spend arguing among themselves is not only time spent not spreading the gospel, but it also makes those who have not accepted Christ as their Savior and Lord question why they would want to do so.  If the people of the church are no different than other people, then what is the reason for following Christ.  We are to be led by the Holy Spirit and are to be set apart from the world in our thoughts and actions.  I think that too often we want a Santa Claus more than a Savior and Lord.  We want to be good enough, at least at certain times, for God to give us material gifts, but we don't want to be concerned about our actions most of the time.  As followers of Christ, we are to be nice all the time, not for gifts of the things of this world, but for the glory of God.