There are many hindrances to the Christian ministry. Satan is trying his best to keep people from understanding the Gospel. He is trying his best to prevent the light of the Gospel from shining. But we also know that ultimately Satan cannot prevent God from accomplishing his purposes. The Gospel is still the “power of God unto salvation,” and it’s our duty to proclaim that Gospel message to those who are lost, perishing, and blind. Read More ...

Can you say with Paul (vs. 1) “We have this ministry”? What ministry do you have? How are you serving “for Jesus’ sake”? Every believer ought to have a place of service in the Lord’s vineyard, in the harvest field. We all ought to be involved in ministry of some kind. And we should make sure to pursue the ministry in a way that avoids these pitfalls and adopts this pattern. Read More ...

This whole section is a long contrast and comparison between two ministries, two covenants, and two persons. On the one hand, we have the OC given by God to Moses. That covenant had glory and it was appropriate for a certain place and time. But Jesus initiated the NC with his death and resurrection. The glory of the NC far exceeds the glory of the OC. That’s Paul’s main point in this passage. Read More ...

We should have a deep appreciation for the fact that we approach God under the NC, not under the old. Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” His final sacrifice and his resurrection fulfilled and concluded the operation of the OC. We should understand that, and we should be glad that we function under NC, the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness, that does not fade away. Read More ...

If you and I are like living letters, what are people reading? What is the message coming out of our lives? I trust that the letter give proof that the Spirit of God has written the Word of God on our hearts. Read More ...

All Christians have these privileges and obligations. Some Christians take up the task of Christian ministry as a vocation. I hope that some in this room will do that. But whether you are doing it as a vocation or as a volunteer, I trust that all of us will make use of the privileges of Christian ministry. Read More ...

It’s because of Christ’s presence in the church that church discipline is necessary. We must maintain the moral and doctrinal purity of the church. We must not tolerate in the church anything or anybody that would corrupt Christ’s church. The church operates in the presence/before the face of Christ, so we have to do things his way. Read More ...

If we want to avoid the sorrow and the grief that’s so common in so many churches, we’ll focus on God’s faithfulness, salvation through Christ, and the reliability of the Word of God, not on our disappointment with other people. Read More ...

When trivial issues become big issues, it’s usually because of a series of misunderstandings, and it usually begins with assumptions about someone’s motivations. We should assume the best about people and not blow things all out of proportion. Let trivial issues remain trivial. If we retain a critical, fault-finding attitude, it will damage our relationships and weaken the church. Read More ...

Our behavior should be characterized by confidence that we are doing the right thing, a clear conscience, sincerity, purity, not indulging the flesh but living by the grace of God, considering our testimony before others, and living consistently with the teachings of the Christian faith. If that’s true of your behavior, then you are conducting yourself correctly, no matter how others may criticize you. Read More ...