The Ministry of Death and Condemnation

2 Corinthians 3:6-18

Would you be shocked to learn that many Christian churches are promoting the ministry of death and condemnation? The Apostle Paul called himself an “able minister of the New Testament” and then proceeded to tell us what he DIDN’T preach. Try and figure out what it is that Paul refuses to preach, based on this statement:

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministry of the Spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

What is the only thing in the Bible that was originally written and engraven in stones? Even our little kids in Sunday school know that it was the 10 Commandments. Paul says that these Commandments are “the ministry of death” and that they were glorious, but that the glory “was to be done away”. The New Testament of which he preaches is called, “the ministry of the Spirit” and is more glorious.

He goes on to call the 10 Commandments, “the ministry of condemnation” (verse 9), because all who looked upon their holy demands were condemned as law-breakers. He is not denying the power of the commandments, as evidenced by Romans 7:12, “Wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy, and just, and good”. He does however, deny that the believer has anything to benefit by knowing those commandments. To young Timothy he states, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient…” (1 Timothy 1:8, 9). Notice that the law is not for the righteous man, and you and I are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Some people prefer to function underneath the ministry of death and condemnation. Paul said that they have a veil over their face when they read the Old Testament, even though that veil has been done away in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Whenever we live out from under that law, refusing the veil, we live free from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:14) and we have liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

You may wonder how we can expect to live and look righteous if we don’t preach and teach the 10 Commandments. Paul expected this question, so he closes this great 3rd chapter with this verse:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The “open face” is us without the veil covering us, free to live by faith in Christ, not beneath the condemning weight of the law. As we see Jesus within the Word of God, both in the Old and the New Testament, we are changed into His image from one moment of glory to the next. Literally, the Law makes us all cookie-cutter versions of one another, while grace makes us like Jesus!

Which do you choose to live under, the ministry of death and condemnation or the ministry of the Spirit?

The Ministry of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Based upon the writings of the Apostle Paul, he believed that the full purpose of ministry was to teach the world that God had reconciled the world back to Himself through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. No sin could separate man from God and no curse could be sent from God, for all had been accomplished in the body of Christ at Calvary.

The accomplishment of reconciliation was viewed as the single most important thing that God had done regarding man since our fall in the Garden of Eden. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). He speaks of reconciliation as a “done deal” so to speak, with salvation coming to us through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.

Each Christian has had committed to them, the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). That “word” is the composite message of Jesus Christ’s finished work, with one component being of supreme importance. Paul states this key point in the middle of verse 19; see if you can locate it:
“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Notice the important breakdown of the verse: God was in Christ, meaning that Jesus and the Father are one and the same and have been one and the same from the beginning (John 1:1); Christ’s death brought the world back to God, where sin had separated all of us from Him; God no longer counts man’s sins against him; you and I are to preach this good news.

When you see the verse broke down in that manner, it becomes obvious what the message of reconciliation is all about. Man no longer has his sins counted against him, for Jesus has paid for every breach of God’s law that man could ever commit. Some might argue that the death of Jesus only covered your past sins, but that makes no sense, since all of your sins were in Jesus’ future when He paid for them! What you did, what you are doing, and what you might do have all been placed within the body of Jesus Christ, and man is reconciled to God in this purity.

Think about it for a moment: if sin separated man from God, and God was reconciled to man at the cross only for the things that had already happened, wouldn’t God be forced to abandon us the very moment that we sinned? Since the ministry of reconciliation is an ongoing ministry, we should be proclaiming to people that their sins are not what are sending them to hell; it is their rejection of the sacrifice. Remember, Jesus never said that a man went to hell for sinning, but rather, men go to hell because “light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19).

Minister the message of reconciliation to someone in your life today and watch the light shine gloriously into their darkness. You can do it because someone did it for you. Thank God!

The Ministry of Death and Condemnation

2 Corinthians 3:6-18

Would you be shocked to learn that many Christian churches are promoting the ministry of death and condemnation? The Apostle Paul called himself an “able minister of the New Testament” and then proceeded to tell us what he DIDN’T preach. Try and figure out what it is that Paul refuses to preach, based on this statement:

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministry of the Spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

What is the only thing in the Bible that was originally written and engraven in stones? Even our little kids in Sunday school know that it was the 10 Commandments. Paul says that these Commandments are “the ministry of death” and that they were glorious, but that the glory “was to be done away”. The New Testament of which he preaches is called, “the ministry of the Spirit” and is more glorious.

He goes on to call the 10 Commandments, “the ministry of condemnation” (verse 9), because all who looked upon their holy demands were condemned as law-breakers. He is not denying the power of the commandments, as evidenced by Romans 7:12, “Wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy, and just, and good”. He does however, deny that the believer has anything to benefit by knowing those commandments. To young Timothy he states, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient…” (1 Timothy 1:8, 9). Notice that the law is not for the righteous man, and you and I are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Some people prefer to function underneath the ministry of death and condemnation. Paul said that they have a veil over their face when they read the Old Testament, even though that veil has been done away in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Whenever we live out from under that law, refusing the veil, we live free from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:14) and we have liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

You may wonder how we can expect to live and look righteous if we don’t preach and teach the 10 Commandments. Paul expected this question, so he closes this great 3rd chapter with this verse:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The “open face” is us without the veil covering us, free to live by faith in Christ, not beneath the condemning weight of the law. As we see Jesus within the Word of God, both in the Old and the New Testament, we are changed into His image from one moment of glory to the next. Literally, the Law makes us all cookie-cutter versions of one another, while grace makes us like Jesus!

Which do you choose to live under, the ministry of death and condemnation or the ministry of the Spirit?

The Ministry of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Based upon the writings of the Apostle Paul, he believed that the full purpose of ministry was to teach the world that God had reconciled the world back to Himself through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. No sin could separate man from God and no curse could be sent from God, for all had been accomplished in the body of Christ at Calvary.

The accomplishment of reconciliation was viewed as the single most important thing that God had done regarding man since our fall in the Garden of Eden. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). He speaks of reconciliation as a “done deal” so to speak, with salvation coming to us through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.

Each Christian has had committed to them, the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). That “word” is the composite message of Jesus Christ’s finished work, with one component being of supreme importance. Paul states this key point in the middle of verse 19; see if you can locate it:
“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Notice the important breakdown of the verse: God was in Christ, meaning that Jesus and the Father are one and the same and have been one and the same from the beginning (John 1:1); Christ’s death brought the world back to God, where sin had separated all of us from Him; God no longer counts man’s sins against him; you and I are to preach this good news.

When you see the verse broke down in that manner, it becomes obvious what the message of reconciliation is all about. Man no longer has his sins counted against him, for Jesus has paid for every breach of God’s law that man could ever commit. Some might argue that the death of Jesus only covered your past sins, but that makes no sense, since all of your sins were in Jesus’ future when He paid for them! What you did, what you are doing, and what you might do have all been placed within the body of Jesus Christ, and man is reconciled to God in this purity.

Think about it for a moment: if sin separated man from God, and God was reconciled to man at the cross only for the things that had already happened, wouldn’t God be forced to abandon us the very moment that we sinned? Since the ministry of reconciliation is an ongoing ministry, we should be proclaiming to people that their sins are not what are sending them to hell; it is their rejection of the sacrifice. Remember, Jesus never said that a man went to hell for sinning, but rather, men go to hell because “light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19).

Minister the message of reconciliation to someone in your life today and watch the light shine gloriously into their darkness. You can do it because someone did it for you. Thank God!

The Ministry of Death and Condemnation

2 Corinthians 3:6-18

Would you be shocked to learn that many Christian churches are promoting the ministry of death and condemnation? The Apostle Paul called himself an “able minister of the New Testament” and then proceeded to tell us what he DIDN’T preach. Try and figure out what it is that Paul refuses to preach, based on this statement:

“But if the ministry of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministry of the Spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

What is the only thing in the Bible that was originally written and engraven in stones? Even our little kids in Sunday school know that it was the 10 Commandments. Paul says that these Commandments are “the ministry of death” and that they were glorious, but that the glory “was to be done away”. The New Testament of which he preaches is called, “the ministry of the Spirit” and is more glorious.

He goes on to call the 10 Commandments, “the ministry of condemnation” (verse 9), because all who looked upon their holy demands were condemned as law-breakers. He is not denying the power of the commandments, as evidenced by Romans 7:12, “Wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy, and just, and good”. He does however, deny that the believer has anything to benefit by knowing those commandments. To young Timothy he states, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient…” (1 Timothy 1:8, 9). Notice that the law is not for the righteous man, and you and I are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Some people prefer to function underneath the ministry of death and condemnation. Paul said that they have a veil over their face when they read the Old Testament, even though that veil has been done away in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Whenever we live out from under that law, refusing the veil, we live free from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:14) and we have liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

You may wonder how we can expect to live and look righteous if we don’t preach and teach the 10 Commandments. Paul expected this question, so he closes this great 3rd chapter with this verse:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The “open face” is us without the veil covering us, free to live by faith in Christ, not beneath the condemning weight of the law. As we see Jesus within the Word of God, both in the Old and the New Testament, we are changed into His image from one moment of glory to the next. Literally, the Law makes us all cookie-cutter versions of one another, while grace makes us like Jesus!

Which do you choose to live under, the ministry of death and condemnation or the ministry of the Spirit?