Standing for the Truth!
II Corinthians 13:1-14
Memorial Day is a time for us to remember all those who have given their life in service to their country.
A time to remember how they were willing to stand up for what they believed in.
A day to remember how they gave their lives for the truths they held dear.
It’s a day to remember that its not always easy to stand up for the truth.
It’s not easy to stand against those who oppose the truth.
In fact, it may cost us dearly.
It may even cost us our life!
But what is this TRUTH that we are to stand up for?
The non-Christian will say that there is no absolute truth.
But the Christian insists that there is absolute truth.
The Christian believes that God created the world,
man sinned and was alienated from God,
That Jesus Christ came to earth as God’s truth.
That He died for our sins and arose from the grave to bring about our salvation.
That the Bible is God’s truth about how we are suppose to live.
The non-Christian, on the other hand, insists that truth has to be left up to the individual.
“Truth is relative. Who are you to say whether we were created or whether we evolved? Who are Christians to try to impose their religious beliefs on other people? Everyone ought to be free to believe what he wants to believe and to do what he wants to do.”
The history of mankind is a tug-of-war between these two very different philosophies.
One is humanism; the other is Christianity.
One says, “I will live according to the way I feel.”
The other says, “I will live according to what God’s Word says.”
The conflict between those two philosophies is intensifying in our day.
It’s not just a matter of individual religious beliefs that we are talking about here.
It’s a matter of what is true and what is false.
It’s a matter of life and death.
It’s a matter of heaven or hell.
For our own sake and the sake of our children, we had better stand up for what is right.
Paul was a man who did his best to stand up for what was right, regardless of the circumstances
.Here in II Corinthians 13, he encouraged his readers to stand firm in the truth.
Five principles from this passage will help us as we stand for the truth as so many have before us.
I. Truth Requires Confirmation.
“Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (II Cor. 13:1)
The church at Corinth had it’s problems.
Paul was trying to help them.
Evidently he had made two visits to the church and had written one prior letter.
Now, he says, that he would make a third trip if necessary.
But he assured them that he wouldn’t rely on rumors.
He would examine the facts and rely on a series of witnesses to confirm the truth.
Paul was following an Old Testament instruction.
In Deuteronomy 19:15 we read, “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
In I Timothy 5:19 we read, “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.”
I believe that’s why we have four witnesses to Jesus Christ in the New Testament -
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
All four give testimony.
We have good evidence for believing that Jesus is the truth.
You see, we are to confirm the truth by reliable witnesses.
And when it comes to the truth of the Word of God,
not only do we have the witness of the Gospel writers,
we have the witness of the archeologists
who have verified over and over again the truth of the Bible.
We also have the witness of science
that has also verified time and again the truth of the Bible.
And we have the witness of God’s people over the centuries
who have verified the truth of God and His Bible.
Two farmers were chatting in front of the bank.
“I hear you made $60,000 in alfalfa,” said the first.
Not wishing to be impolite his friend replied, “Well, that isn’t quite right. It wasn’t me, it was my brother, it wasn’t alfalfa, but oats; not $60,000 but $6,000; and he didn’t make it, he lost it.”
We have all learned that we can’t believe everything that we hear.
But, we have also learned that when it comes to the Bible,
we have reliable witnesses that verify that it is the truth of God!
II. Truth Necessitates Confrontation!
“On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier” (II Cor. 13:2).
Paul was going to confront the rebellious Corinthians face to face.
He had done everything he could to avoid that confrontation.
He had sent them an earlier letter,
he had sent Titus as an ambassador to straighten things out,
and now he was sending this letter in hopes that they would repent.
But, as a last resort, he said he would not spare those who had sinned.
That word “spare” means to spare in battle.
In short, Paul was declaring war on those who opposed the authority of God’s Word.
Truth sometimes requires confronting those who oppose it, and that’s not easy.
If you have ever confronted someone who was in the wrong, you know what I mean.
You don’t sleep the night before;
your palms get sweaty;
your voice quivers.
It takes courage.
It’s the easiest thing in the world just to let it slide and say,
“I’m probably blowing this out of proportion. It will get better in time.”
But if we are really concerned for people.
If we’re concerned about the truth, sometimes we must face the issue head on.
David Augsburger wrote a book called “Caring Enough to Confront.”
You don’t have to read it to understand its basic premise: if you care, you confront.
Peter Cartwright, a nineteenth-century circuit-riding Methodist preacher,
was an uncompromising man.One Sunday morning when he was to preach,
he was told that President Andrew Jackson was in the congregation,
and warned not to say anything out of line.
When Cartwright stood to preach, he said,
“I understand that Andrew Jackson is here. I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent.”
The congregation was shocked and wondered how the President would respond.
After the service, President Jackson shook hands with Peter Cartwright and said,
“Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world.”
Boris the Russian arrived at the Pearly Gates and was welcomed by St. Peter.
Showing him around, the saint said, “You can go anywhere you want with one exception. You cannot go on the pink clouds!”
“Why not?” asked Boris.
“Because,” answered St. Peter, “the pink clouds are reserved for people who have done something great!”
“But I have done something great,” said Boris.
“I made a speech at the Kremlin against the Russian officials. Then I urged the people to revolt.”
“Just when did this happen?” asked St. Peter.
Boris looked at his watch. “About two minutes ago.”
Maybe you have a friend that you suspect is cheating on his wife.
You don’t want to lose a friend, but maybe it’s time, for the sake of that family, that you talked with him.
Maybe you hear about some things being taught in the local school that violate God’s values and need to be confronted.
It’s hard to walk into the principles office or to stand up and speak a the school board meeting,
but maybe you’re the one person who can turn things around before it’s too late.
Confronting people with the truth isn’t easy.
People don’t want to hear the truth.
But God tells us that we are to share His Word with the world, and His Word is Truth.
As Christians we are to stand for the truth.
III. Truth is Based on Christ's Resurrection!
The Corinthians were apparently sneering,
“Who is Paul to tell us how to live?
Paul is weak.
He’s unimpressive.
He’s not nearly as powerful as some of our other teachers.”
Paul said they were, “demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me” (II Cor. 13:3).
Paul reminded them that he came representing Jesus Christ, whose Word is true regardless of what they thought of him.
“He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” II Cor. 13:3-4.
That truth stands regardless of public opinion.
If you stand up for the truth, people are going to say to you,
“Who are you to tell other people how to live?”
“Who is Rod Stringer to tell people how they ought to behave?”
Good question -
I’m not the most intelligent or educated person.
I’m not the most influential.
I don’t have a lot of titles, and I don’t have it all together.
I still struggle with problems,
and I don’t overcome every temptation that comes my way.
Maybe I’d be better off if I just kept my opinions to myself.
But wait a minute!
There was an event in history that makes all the difference in the world.
Jesus Christ conquered the grave.
And when He came out of the tomb He said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-19).
So I don’t really represent myself or my opinions.
I represent Jesus Christ.
He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35).
He also said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Maybe we don’t have the greatest education.
Maybe we aren't the most articulate spokesman.
But we can, and must, stand solidly on the truth of Jesus Christ.
IV. Truth Must Be Balanced With Compassion!
Now, Paul helps us to understand one last thing about sharing the truth with people.
That truth must be balanced with compassion.
We sometimes think of Paul as being hard nosed.
But the last few verses show how he oozed with compassion.
“We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection” (II Cor. 13:9)
He was more concerned about others than he was himself.
“I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority, the authority the Lord gave to me for building you up, not for tearing you down....Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace” (II Cor. 13:10-11).
The letter ends with a famous benediction that includes all three persons of the trinity:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (II Cor. 13:14).
It’s so important that our love for the truth, be balanced with a love for people.
Once, when Jesus was rejected by the Samaritans,
James and John said,
“Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54).
Some people are so zealous for the truth that they become angry.
They get red in the face and they shout and call their opponents names.
We'll never successfully communicate the gospel of Christ like that.
I really think that’s is one of the reasons we had such trouble over the abortion issue.
How many times have you seen anti-abortion demonstrations
degenerate into nothing more than a contest to see who could yell and scream the loudest,
or a contest to see who could call the other side the most names?
You can not proclaim the love of Christ with a clenched fist.
Jesus never said, that we are to go out and yell and scream at our enemy.
He never said, that we are to call them names.
He never said, that you will change people by shaking your fist in their face.
Instead He said, “Love your enemy.”
People are not going to listen to us, they are not going to listen to the truth of God, until they know that we love them.
We must be aware of the truth of this statement:
“People don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care about them.”
But some people go to the opposite extreme.
They get so caught up in loving people, they compromise the truth.
A young man asked a girl to marry him.
She said, “I’m not going to marry you until you're got $10,000. We are not going to start off on a shoestring.”
Five years later they both were still single.
“Are you ready to marry me now?” he asked.
“How much money do you have?”
“Twenty-five dollars.”
She thought for a minute and said, “That’s close enough.”
Yes, we must love people and we must show great compassion.
But as Dr. James Dobson says, there are times when love must be tough.
We can’t allow our love for people, our concern about their feelings,
keep us from sharing with them the truth of God.
Yes, sometimes the truth does hurt.
But if that truth is shared in love, then it will be accepted.
John Stott said, “Love with out truth is sentimentality.
Truth without love is fanaticism.
Love balanced with truth is Christianity.”
Our zeal for truth, should always be communicated in love.
Jesus prayed that His followers would be sanctified in the truth.
That they would be united in love (John17:17,21).
Paul urged the Ephesians to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
That's our goal as Christians:
to have strong convictions, and not waver when it comes to God’s truth,
but also to have a spirit of love and compassion for people.
In fact, there's a slogan that says,
“In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, love.”
John Gough told of being in a church service one day.
He heard a hoarse raspy voice behind him singing, “Just As I Am.”
He cringed, because this man was the worst singer he had ever heard.
There was no melody and no tune.
After three stanzas, the organist mercifully played an interlude.
As it was being played, Gough says he felt a hand on his shoulder.
The man with the terrible voice asked him,
“Could you tell me the first phrase of the next stanza?
I think I could get it if I just had the first few words.”
John Gough said he looked around into the face of the terrible singer,
and he saw that the man was blind.
He passed onto him the next stanza of “Just As I Am:”
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
John Gough said when that next stanza began, he didn't hear the discordant notes anymore.
That blind man was singing, “Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind, I come.”
We need to stand for the truth.
But we need to understand that people are imperfect.
They are poor, they're blind, they're wretched, and they need healing.
If we can combine truth with love,
we'll represent well, the Christ who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).