Well, thanks very much, Niamh, for reading that for us today.
Yeah, my name is Craig.
I'm a pastor in training here at Brunsfield.
And my wife, Josie, and I have been here for about six months now.
And we're really enjoying getting to know the church family here.
And it's my pleasure to take us to our next bit of 2 Corinthians.
If you've been here for a while, you know that we've been tracking through 2 Corinthians.
And we have reached chapter 11.
We really are in the business end of the book now.
Just a couple of chapters to go.
But I'm going to start by asking this question that I've put up on the screen there.
Have you ever been scammed?
Now, I'm sure all of us have seen the news stories of people being scammed out of large sums of money.
It seems to happen all the time.
According to a leading UK fraud prevention service, in 2024, people in the UK lost 11 billion pounds to scams.
It's big business.
So I ask you again, have you ever been scammed?
Maybe you received a dodgy text from a number that you didn't recognise.
Or maybe you bought something online that turned out to not be quite what it had been made out to be.
Or maybe there was a stranger on the phone who convinced you that they were from the bank and asked you to send some money over.
There's lots of different tactics that the scammers use.
And the thing that people always say after being scammed is,
I can't believe I fell for that.
I thought I knew better.
I definitely won't fall for that sort of thing again.
Even though it happens all the time to so many people,
we seem to have this confidence in ourselves that we can detect the real from the counterfeit.
But what about here in church?
How do we know we're following the real Jesus?
Is the Jesus we've been taught the one who we read about in the Bible?
Or is he some poor imitation?
And how do we know that those who teach us and lead us in church are true messengers of the gospel?
Are they the real deal?
Or do they have ulterior motives?
So in chapter 11 that we've just read,
Paul is really concerned that the Corinthians are being scammed.
They are being taught a different Jesus by people who look genuine.
But the Corinthians, they may or may not know that they're being scammed.
But actually, they don't seem to care.
And this is a big problem for Paul.
So Paul has spent much of the letter of 2 Corinthians defending himself up to this point,
proving his credibility as a teacher of the gospel.
But now he turns his reader's attention to his rivals,
and he exposes them for who they truly are.
The Corinthian teachers who have infiltrated this church,
those who Paul ironically calls the super apostles,
they are scammers of the worst kind.
They are, in fact, servants of Satan.
Strong words.
But let's look at this passage and see why Paul thinks this way.
So we're going to look at this passage in three sections
and ask ourselves the following questions.
Are you being faithful to Jesus or are you entertaining lies?
Secondly, are you clear on what your leaders should look like
or are you looking for the impressive?
Thirdly, are you aware of the enemy
or are you letting your guard down?
So now that we know where we're going,
let's look at verses 1 to 4 and ask our first question.
Are you being faithful to Jesus or are you entertaining lies?
You might have seen in the passage there
that Paul begins by using a marriage metaphor
to describe the Corinthians' relationship with Jesus.
Paul, in his role as a minister of the gospel,
had, in the past, presented the Corinthian church to Jesus
like a bride is presented to a groom in a marriage ceremony.
The Corinthians had entered into a solemn marriage commitment
to the Lord Jesus.
They had been wedded to Christ.
And verse 3 tells us that they had a sincere and pure devotion to him.
They have committed to love and serve Jesus.
Just as Jesus had committed to love and be faithful towards them.
A wedding.
But Paul fears that this marriage is under threat.
Not because of any unfaithfulness or wavering on Jesus' part.
Paul identifies that the Corinthians are being enticed away from Jesus.
Paul points the Corinthians back to Genesis 3
and informs them that they,
that in the same way that Eve was deceived
by the cunning serpent,
the Corinthians are being enticed away from their pure devotion to Jesus.
The problem with Adam and Eve was that they were tempted to believe
that the perfect, intimate relationship that they enjoyed with God,
it wasn't good enough for them.
And they needed something more.
In the same way, it seems that the relationship that the Corinthians enjoy with Jesus,
it's not enough for them.
They're being offered something else.
Then Paul says he is jealous for their love.
Not because Paul himself desires their love.
Rather, Paul wants God to have the things that are rightfully his.
Paul wants God to be the only recipient of the Corinthians' love and worship.
God desires and deserves their affection.
Now, our second book of the Bible,
we thought about Genesis just there.
In Exodus, after God's people had messed up
and broken God's law,
like mere days after they'd received it.
We remember Mount Sinai,
we remember the tablets of stone, the Ten Commandments.
So quickly after that,
they messed up,
they broke God's law,
and they started worshiping the golden calf.
God committed himself in those days,
again, in a loving relationship.
They'd messed up,
but he says,
I'm going to commit myself to you once again.
And he instructs them once again,
not to worship any other God.
Why not?
Because the Lord is a jealous God.
The story in Exodus tells us that one of God's names is jealous.
And God is jealous for our affection too.
God desires and God deserves our affection.
Now, the real question is,
what are the Corinthians being drawn away to instead of Jesus?
Well, we see in verse four
that Paul convicts them of settling for a different Jesus
than the Jesus the apostles had taught them.
Paul convicts them of settling for a different spirit
to the one they had received
and a different gospel from the one they had accepted.
When Paul first brought the good news about Jesus
to the city of Corinth,
this was the true gospel message.
The Corinthians weren't lacking any important information.
They had the full package.
But since then,
others have come along
and they have come in
and they've said,
there might be something else.
They're offering something superior.
They're offering something truer.
They're offering the Corinthians
something other than Jesus.
Maybe the Jesus that Paul had taught them
wasn't in fact enough.
Maybe they did need something more.
But Paul says the Jesus he had taught them
was the true Jesus,
the son of God,
given to die for the sins of the world
and who had risen to glory.
And the Holy Spirit that they had received from God
on putting their trust in Jesus,
he was the true Holy Spirit.
They had already received him.
He was already with them in the Corinthian church.
He was already helping them.
They didn't receive any other spirit.
Now,
I was wandering around
the Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow on Friday
and to my amazement,
I came across these
really convincing pieces of artwork.
I couldn't believe it
when I stumbled across the Mona Lisa
and the sunflowers by Van Gogh
hanging in the Lego store
in Buchanan Galleries.
What on earth were they doing there?
But then I soon realized
that these are not in fact
the true artworks that we know,
but are in fact
poor imitations.
But if you had the option,
would you settle for hanging
one of these pieces
in your living room
in pride of place
if in actual fact
you had the Mona Lisa
in the cupboard
in the spare room?
The Corinthians
already had the real thing,
but they were settling
for something that was trash
in comparison.
The Corinthians
were not lacking anything.
There was nothing
that the world
or its bogus salesmen
could offer them
that they didn't have already.
Yes,
the Corinthians were sinners,
but they'd been saved
by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone.
And any message
that suggested otherwise
was a false message.
Now,
Paul doesn't pity them
for going astray.
He accuses them
of accepting
and putting up
with a counterfeit gospel.
One of these pieces.
They're putting up
with trash.
And for Paul,
this is a serious matter.
This is serious unfaithfulness
to the Jesus
that they had been wedded to.
So,
Satan's tactic
has always been
to divert God's people
away from wholehearted devotion
to Jesus.
And all God's people,
that's you and I,
we too must stick
to the Jesus
we've received,
the true and glorious Jesus,
and give him
our pure and sincere
devotion.
And we're going to be
devotion.
So,
that was
our first question.
But what about
our leaders
and our teachers,
those tasked
with teaching us
about Jesus?
How do we know
if they're the real deal
or bogus salesmen?
So,
we're going to look
at verses 5 to 11 now.
Are you clear
on what your leaders
should look like
or are you looking
for the impressive?
So,
in the next section
of the passage,
the first thing
we see is that
Paul is doing
a light comparison
between himself
and the so-called
super apostles.
Now,
these guys
have been alluded to
throughout the book
so far,
but they're named here.
He calls them
the super apostles.
This is ironic,
ironic way
of describing them.
They look
really great.
great.
Paul is not,
in fact,
though,
any way inferior
to them.
We read that
in verse 5.
They are excellent
public speakers.
They've been trained.
They speak powerfully.
They're engaging.
They use
excellent illustrations.
Their teaching
is interesting.
It's often funny.
But Paul
has substance.
Paul claims
to have
knowledge.
But what does he mean?
It means that
Paul knows
what he's talking about.
To use the language
of 1 Timothy,
Paul isn't irreverently
babbling about things
he doesn't understand.
Paul knows
Jesus personally.
He knows
the scriptures
and he knows
how they point
to Jesus.
The super apostles,
super apostles,
they might be
great,
entertaining speakers,
but they are fools
because they don't
know God
or his gospel.
Now,
the next thing
we see
in verses 5 to 11
is that Paul
is saying
he's not going
to change
his ways.
He's not going
to bend
the expectations
of the super apostles.
And we see that
when he starts
talking about money.
it seems
that the super apostles
got really offended
by Paul's refusal
to charge
for his teaching
and for receiving
help from other churches.
Now,
I think Paul
was deliberately
trying to make himself
look as differently
as possible
from these
super apostles.
And I think
this had really
riled them up.
I think they're maybe
saying to themselves,
who does he think
he is?
He's taking
the moral high ground
by not receiving
money from the
Corinthians.
In fact,
he's undercutting
our profitable
business.
It seems that
Paul wanted to
look as differently
as possible
to these super apostles
and in this rich
and wealthy city
of Corinth,
it meant that
not receiving
a wage
for his teaching.
Paul needs
these Corinthians
to see
that he is not
like these
super apostles
in any way
at all.
Now,
in verse 10,
he says that
nobody will stop
him from boasting.
This word of boasting
is language
that Paul uses
quite a lot
in 2 Corinthians.
And next week,
Archie's going to
take us to our
next passage
and Paul's going
to go in
full tilt
on his boasting
about his
Christ-like credentials.
But before we get
there, he's saying,
don't expect a
different approach
from me.
I'm going to keep
doing the things
that I've always
done amongst you.
I'm not going to
change just because
the super apostles
want me to change.
And why does he
refuse to change?
Well, we learn
in verse 11,
it's because
he loves them.
If Paul was to
suddenly change
because of pressure
from the super apostles,
that would be a
very unloving
thing to do.
For it would cause
the Corinthians
to doubt
his gospel message.
If he was to
bend to their
pressure and become
more like them,
he would end up
proclaiming a very
different Jesus
and the way he
lived would no
longer back up
his message.
it would throw
doubt on his
credibility.
It would throw
doubt on his
integrity if he
suddenly started
preaching a different
gospel.
And it would throw
doubt on his
distinctiveness.
He would look no
different to these
super apostles anymore.
Paul will remain
consistent.
He won't change
his message to
suit himself.
He will teach the
gospel faithfully
in a way that
promotes Jesus
and not himself.
Why does he do
it?
Because he loves
Jesus and he
loves the people
he is teaching.
And he wants them
to understand this
true gospel and
to stick to it.
Okay.
Verses 12 to 11.
Are you aware of
the enemy or are
you letting your
guard down?
So Paul has spent
much of 2 Corinthians
defending his
ministry and
convincing the
Corinthians to get
on board with his
teaching.
Now he wants to
expose the
super apostles for
who they truly
are.
They aren't just
pesky rivals but
they are really
dangerous enemies
of Christ.
You probably saw
the strong language
in verses 12 to
15.
So for much of
Paul's ministry he
has been going
around Europe taking
the gospel with him
proclaiming it to
people who have
never heard about
Jesus but he is
being followed
around Europe by
these false
teachers.
They have popped
up everywhere that
he had been.
They were people who
had positions of
authority in church
in leading and in
teaching.
They had influence
and when they spoke
others listened.
Now we heard a
little bit about
these guys in
Acts chapter 20
as Paul said his
final words to the
elders of the
Ephesian church, a
church much like
Corinth.
He warned them
about such people
and I've just got
the relevant bit
up on the screen
and he says,
I know that
after I leave
savage wolves
will come in
among you
and will not
spare the
flock.
Even from
your own
number men
will arise
and distort
the truth
in order to
draw away
disciples after
them.
So be on
your guard.
That's in
Acts 20
but back in
our passage
in verse 13
Paul is
warning the
Corinthians of a
very similar
thing.
Paul calls
these guys
false teachers
he calls them
deceitful
workers.
They are
liars and
they disguise
themselves as
true Christians
and true
teachers of the
Bible.
The passage
says that they
masquerade as
apostles of
Christ.
Now
the masquerade
language just
means to
go about in
disguise.
So you might
have heard of a
masquerade
ball.
These were
really popular
in the past
and people
would go
around with
masks on
to disguise
themselves.
They wanted
to veil
their true
identity
and in the
same way
these deceitful
false teaching
super apostles
wear these
masks and
seek to veil
their true
identity.
But Paul
wants to
strip these
masks from
their faces
and expose
them for
who they
truly are
loud and
clear.
Verse 15
we read
they are
servants of
Satan.
And Paul
explains that
even Satan
himself disguises
himself as a
angel of
light.
So it's no
surprise then
that his
followers likewise
pretend to be
something that
they are not.
And these
false teachers
they don't
just keep
to themselves
but they
seek to
infiltrate
weed their
way in
and they
seek to
disrupt
churches
just like
their
master.
Now we
as Christians
living in
the 21st
century we
must also
be aware
of the
spiritual
reality of
these things
even in
our day.
This wasn't
just an
issue back
then but
it's a
contemporary
issue too.
There are
enemies of
the gospel
who are
wittingly
or unwittingly
carrying out
the will of
Satan.
They oppose
Jesus.
They oppose
his church.
And Paul
told the
Ephesian
elders to
be on
their guard
and we
too are
to be on
our guard
against false
teachers and
false teaching.
But I
don't want
you to
freak out.
We're not
to start
freaking out
and start
looking around
every corner
for things
which aren't
as they
seem.
We are
to have
a quiet
confidence
in our
strong and
mighty
Savior and
in his
spirit which
leads us
and dwells
within us.
We must
know that
Satan is
active and
his agents
are active
but we
also must
know that
Christ is
also active
and he is
sitting on
his throne
today.
he has
already
claimed the
victory.
But what
of these
false
teachers?
Well we
read in
verse 15
these
false
teachers
will get
what their
actions
deserve
for opposing
Jesus and
siding with
Satan.
Their end
has already
been declared
but we
must still
be on our
guard today.
So as we
seek to
apply this
passage and
bring it to
a close I
want us to
think about
two D's.
We're going
to think
about devotion
and we're
going to
think about
discernment.
So let's
first think
about our
devotion.
Have you
gotten on
board with
Jesus?
Now we
thought about
that at
the beginning
these
Corinthians
were being
led away
from the
Jesus that
they knew.
Have you
gotten on
board with
Jesus?
Have you
trusted in
his death
and resurrection?
so that you
might be
saved from
your sins?
Are you
a Christian?
And if
so, how
is your
devotion to
Jesus?
Maybe you've
been following
for a long
time, maybe
a short
time.
Do you
love him?
Do you
love Jesus?
Some of us
have known
him for
quite a long
time.
Do you
still love
him?
love him?
Or have
you forsaken
the love
that you
had for
him at
first?
Are you
living faithfully
to him
like in a
faithful
marriage?
Or is
there anything
getting in
the way of
your relationship
with him?
God is
jealous for
our affection.
He deserves
our everything.
Are we
giving him
the love
he deserves?
do we
still love
him?
Are you
entertaining
anything in
your life
that might
lead you
astray from
him?
Is the
Jesus or
the spirit
or the
gospel that
you're
settling for
actually a
forgery of
the real
thing?
How does
it match
up to what
you first
learned?
Secondly,
we need to
think about
our discernment.
We need to
carefully examine
the message
and the
messenger.
This means
examining what
I or
Graham or
Archie or
any of the
elders or
anybody who
comes up the
front on a
Sunday,
examining what
they say.
Are we
saying what
the Bible
says?
And that's
why we
often tell
you to keep
your Bibles
open on the
pews and to
scan through
as we teach
to see if we
are saying what
the Bible
passage is
saying.
Now, maybe
in the future
if you move
to another
town, you
might be
church searching,
you might be
looking for a
good gospel
church somewhere,
or maybe you
might find
yourself in the
future looking
to appoint a
new pastor.
Now, if you
ever find
yourselves in
one of those
situations, if
you're looking
for someone to
come and lead
you spiritually,
I want you to
remember this
passage and
don't aim for
impressiveness.
Don't aim for
people who can
achieve results.
Don't even look
for people who
are entertaining.
Paul doesn't
value those
things.
First, if you
find yourself in
one of these
situations, either
looking for a
church or looking
to appoint someone
new, ask
yourself this
question first.
Does this
teacher know
Jesus personally?
Do they actually
love Jesus and
love his people?
Do they speak
well of Jesus?
Do they say
true things about
him?
Does what they
say stack up
with what the
Bible says?
The way people
speak about
Jesus shows
whether they are
devoted to him
or not.
We need to
carefully examine
the messenger.
We thought about
examining the
message.
What do they
say?
We need to
examine the
messenger.
Do they have
a godly
character?
Jesus says
that you can
tell a
scammer from
a faithful
teacher by
the fruit that
they bear.
I've got some
more verses.
This is from
Matthew chapter
seven.
Jesus says
these words,
watch out for
false prophets.
They come to
you in sheep's
clothing, but
inwardly they
are ferocious
wolves.
By their
fruit you will
recognize them.
Do people pick
grapes from
thorn bushes or
figs from
thistles?
Likewise, every
good tree bears
good fruit, but
a bad tree bears
bad fruit.
Skipping on,
thus by their
fruit you will
recognize them.
These messengers.
Now their message
might be really
good.
These guys, they
might look like
the real deal,
but how do they
treat people?
How are they
with their
families?
What are they
like in the
pews after the
service?
What are they
like in the
tea and coffee
time?
How do they
treat people?
What are they
like?
What is their
character like?
We need to be
examining these
people's character
and see if the
fruit that they
are bearing in
their lives, if
it is good
fruit.
So examine the
fruit that they
bear in their
lives.
Now like the
experts in fraud
detection, so you
know these people
who examine
money, they
look out for
money that's
fake.
These people, they
know the paper
money so well.
They know all
its patterns and
its intricacies.
They know all the
things that should
be there on that
note.
So that when
something else
comes along that's
a fake, they can
see straight away,
oh hold on a
minute, it doesn't
have this or it
doesn't have that.
Now another
example might be
thinking about
painting.
So by knowing
the characteristics
of a famous
painter's work, so
maybe the brush
strokes that they
tend to employ or
the colour
combinations that
they prefer, by
knowing their work
so well, the
things that they
use in their
work, when a
fake comes along
you will spot it a
mile off because
it will fail to
match up with the
real thing.
So how closely
does the
messenger resemble
Jesus?
The more time
that we spend
getting to know
Jesus, seeing
how Jesus loves
others, seeing
how Jesus trusted
the Father, seeing
how Jesus acted
not in his own
interests but in
the interests of
others, as we see
him more and more
clearly, as we know
what he looks like,
then the more
clearly you can tell
one of his true
messengers.
his messengers
should look like
Jesus.
We need to know
our messengers, we
need to know what
they look like, their
lives.
Now this is why we
shouldn't depend on
online preachers to
teach us.
Now I'm not talking
about those who
for our live stream
is a bit of a
lifeline because they
can't be with us,
but we need to be
wary of depending on
online teaching to
supplement our
understanding of the
Bible.
There's a lot of
very good teaching
online, I'm not
denying that, but
there's a lot of
false teaching on
there too.
And sometimes it's
hard to tell the
difference.
The online pastor
might preach a
really good message,
but you don't
actually know them.
You can't examine
their character, you
don't know what
their motives are,
and you can't
examine how they
love others because
you've never seen
them in action.
God intended his
word to be taught
in the local
church.
So if you can, if
you're able, sit
under the teaching of
one of the leaders in
the local church.
And if that's here in
Brunsfield, we love
that we have you
here.
But if not, if you're
ever looking for a
church, sit under the
teaching of the local
church, listen
carefully, and see,
examine those local
leaders, those local
messengers.
And finally, so we've
thought about examining
the message and the
messenger, but how do
we discern carefully
that D, that second
D?
How do we do it?
How do we discern
well?
Well, we must examine
the message and the
messenger prayerfully
and with one
another.
We must discern
these things
prayerfully.
We must ask God for
clarity as we sit in
church.
We must ask for his
help as we sit and
listen.
That's something that we
can be doing as we
come to church.
Lord, would you be
speaking to me today?
And would you be
helping the person
that's going to be
standing up?
Would you help them to
speak the truth today?
So we must pray, we
must discern prayerfully,
and we must do these
things together, united.
As a church family, we
need to be depending on
Jesus to keep leading
us and to help us to
spot things that come
up which maybe aren't
quite right.
We must do these
things together.
This is not about
examining the person
sitting in the pew next
to you this morning,
sussing them out.
This is not about
taking cheap shots at
our leaders when they
teach us something that
we are uncomfortable
with.
This is about whether
the message that's
preached from the
front is the message
of the Bible.
And this is whether
the character, the
person that's standing
up, whether their
character matches up
with our great teacher
and Lord Jesus.
And please pray for us
too.
Pray for us, your
church leaders.
Pray for all those who
are involved in teaching
in church, whether it's
in creche or Sunday
school or in growth
groups or preaching on
a Sunday.
Please pray for us.
Please pray for all
those people.
Ask God to help us to
teach what the Bible
says, not anything
more, not anything
less, and ask God to
help us depend on him
as we do it.
Please pray for us that
we would be depending
on our Lord Jesus to
speak through us on a
Sunday.
And not through any
sort of self-confidence
but through the
strength that he
provides.
So I'm going to pray
and then we're going to
hand back over to the
band.
Let's pray.
Our Lord Jesus, we
thank you for preserving
us.
This message in 2
Corinthians, thank you
for the good and true
things that we can learn
from it, even today
after so many years
since it was written.
Thank you that you
deliberately preserved
these words for us.
They are your words.
This is your gospel, your
message.
Lord, I pray for each
one of us here today,
whether we know you or
not.
I pray that we would be
drawn to you, that we
would see you for who
you are, the true king
over the universe, over
your creation, who has
died for the sins of the
world, who's died to
suffer in our place so
that we could be saved
from our sins.
I pray that we would be
drawn to you, that we
would love you, Lord,
that we would grow in our
love for you.
Lord, some of us, we
may have become cold to
you.
Lord, I just pray that
you'd reignite in us a
love for you and a love
for your people.
I pray that we would be
devoted to you and hold
fast the gospel.
And Lord, I pray for us as
a church that we would be
on our guard, that we would
be aware that we do have
an enemy, but one that you
have conquered over already
and who still has plans and
ways that he seeks to
infiltrate and disrupt our
church.
But we pray that we would
hold fast to our Lord Jesus
and that we would remain
devoted to you and we
would discern these things
prayerfully.
We'd be looking at your
word and seeing how it
stacks up with what's
being preached at the
front and that we would
be just depending on you
together as a church
family to lead us and
remain faithful to you.
And so, Lord, I just want
to pray all these things in
the name of our powerful
Lord Jesus.
Amen.