“. . . behold, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2, CSB

The phrase quoted above will likely be familiar to those who have been in church for a while. Normally it is quoted in support of asking members of an audience to come to faith in Jesus Christ. It is an excellent plea for that purpose.

What strikes me this morning while reflecting on this verse is that Paul is writing the letter we know as 2 Corinthians to believers. He is not pleading with them to come to faith; the whole letter is geared toward helping his readers come to terms with the implications of what it means to be in the faith.

We know that there is a progressive element to salvation: it is a process that was begun at a point in time. When we come to faith in Jesus, we begin that process.

What I heard in this phrase this morning is: Now is the day to repent of failure and begin again. Now is the day to be transformed (Romans 12:2). Now is the day to continue the process of being redeemed from the effects of sin.

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”

Lamentations 3:22–23, CSB

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“Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.”

2 Corinthians 4:2, CSB

Listening to this verse, I thought about recent years when church leaders had decided that being “seeker sensitive” meant that the events on a Sunday morning would be kept light and breezy and nothing would take place that would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Paul talked about being all things to all people, but that did not mean that he was unable to present the truth of the gospel to those who might find it offensive. The way he was treated by his hearers gives evidence that he didn’t hold anything back. Later in the letter of 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us, “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning . . .”

Other churches intentionally distort the meaning of Scripture to not give an offense, or to adapt the teaching of their church to current cultural demands. Again, Paul did not do this. He presented “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He did not add to, or take away from, the Gospel.

My last few posts have been dealing with the issue of fear, and my (perhaps our) need to refuse to allow fear to keep me (us) from becoming what God intends me (us) to be. Fear is our Enemy’s tactic to keep us frozen and not advance in spiritual growth.

Why do churches resort to what Paul calls “acting deceitfully” in their teaching and practice? I believe one reason is fear of rejection by the culture around them. We all want to be accepted and liked. But we cannot allow this desire to corrupt who we are and the message we have to proclaim.

Perhaps another motivation is the fear of failure. When church leaders lose sight of whose responsibility it is to build the church, they feel pressure to tweak the teaching and practice of the church to fill the seats (and fill the offering plates).

But, Jesus is the one who promised to build his church, and if we move away from the message he has given us to proclaim, then we have usurped his authority and gone rogue.

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In my previous post, I commented on internal fears that can influence how we approach life. I am becoming increasingly aware of the influence of fear in my own life. As I contemplated this issue, I was reminded of these verses:

“There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:18–19, CSB

John is offering this as a binary choice; it is either love or fear, it cannot be both. When I allow fear to operate in my life, it is because I am not allowing God’s love for me to displace my fear.

I suppose that there will be additional observations forthcoming in future posts, but for now, I’m reflecting on these verses from 1 John and asking God to displace my fear with his love.

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There are many things to fear in a fallen, broken, and messed-up world. Nearly all of them are things that are beyond our control. These external forces can make us uncomfortable; if we are not careful, they can consume our emotional resources and leave us drained.

We also have internal fears that can drain us. “Did I say the wrong thing?” “Will I be able to measure up?” “Why do I succumb to the same trap that I’ve fallen into so many times?” Our internal dialog reveals that fear plays a large role in how we respond to the world around us.

So what is the antidote? Is it possible to live without fear?

This morning in my Bible reading, I read this:

“Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.”

Psalm 86:11, CSB

I find this to be a beautiful prayer and a way of dealing with fear.

As we read Scripture and encounter what God reveals to us about himself and about how we should live, we can then have increasing confidence that we are responding to both God and our world correctly. Or, at least, we can see ourselves making progress toward responding correctly as we yield ourselves to God.

The psalmist shows us that when we are taught by God through Scripture, then we will know how to walk in God’s truth. As Christians, we also understand that we have the Holy Spirit who enables us to put into practice what we learn.

This morning I am encouraged by the last part of this prayer. I am encouraged to ask for an undivided mind so that I can fear God’s name. It seems to me that to live entirely without fear is not possible, and perhaps not even wise. The quest should not be to live without fear, but to fear the correct things and respond correctly to my situation.

As Christians, we know that we do not need to live in fear of God as if he is a cranky, vengeful deity just waiting for an excuse to blast us. That is not what it means to fear God’s name.

Reflecting on what it means to fear God’s name, I’ve concluded that I should want to be entirely focused on living my life in a way that will not profane God’s name. What I say and do should be influenced by what God reveals as the correct way to live.

Another verse I read this morning gives me a clue as to how to go about living this way:

“Indeed, this is our boast: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace.”

2 Corinthians 1:12, CSB

The word “sincerity” in this verse carries the idea of simplicity, purity, and uprightness. The idea is that there is no ulterior motive. The word translated as “purity” literally means tested by sunlight and carries the idea of being unmixed and pure.

So we are to be upright, pure, and without any mixed motives.

To live that way is a worthy goal.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to join in a conversation, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.