2 Corinthians 6 Lesson

NOW IS THE TIME!

If you have been putting off getting your Spiritual life in order, now is the time to act!

In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul is urging the Corinthians to receive God’s grace.  

In his letter, Paul quotes an Old Testament scripture found in the Book of Isaiah.

• “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” - Isaiah 49:8.

This scripture is written from God’s perspective, meaning that when it says, “I listened to you,” and, “I helped you,” it is referring to God doing both of those things. 

We all want God to hear us and help us.  

God wants that too!  

He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins, as recorded in the Gospel of John.

• “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16.

For today’s lesson, we will be looking in God’s word to see what it has to say about acting with a sense of urgency relative to our faith.  

Our lesson will be divided into three sections. 

Each of these sections provides a reason why the time to act on our faith is today:

REASONS TO ACT ON OUR FAITH TODAY

1. None of us are promised another day!
2. None of us know when Jesus is going to return!
3. That is what we are commanded to do!

NONE OF US ARE PROMISED ANOTHER DAY 

None of us know what tomorrow will bring.  

We are deceiving ourselves if we think that we do.  

God tells us this in the following two scriptures:

1. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” - Proverbs 27:1,
2. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” - James 4:13-15.

NONE OF US KNOW WHEN JESUS IS GOING TO RETURN 

Jesus promised us that He was going to prepare a place for us and that He was going to return. 

We can read about this in John’s Gospel:

• “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.   In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.” – John 14:1-3.

And while we take comfort in the promise that Jesus made, none of us know when that will be. 

Therefore, we are to be zealous in our service to the Lord because we do not want to be found unprepared when the day of Jesus’ return comes.

Consider the following two scriptures:

1. “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” - Mathew 24:36, 
2. “Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.” - Mathew 25:13.

WE ARE COMMANDED TO ACT

God commands us to understand what His Word says, and then to act on it!  

He does not want passive followers,

In fact, the Bible teaches us that our faith is useless unless is compels us to act. (James 2:14-17)

The following three scriptures leave no doubt that we are commanded to not only have faith, but to act on it!

1. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.” - James 1:22, 
2. “What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works?Can that faith save him?   If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, beingby itself.” – James 2:14-17,
3. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.   So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” – Revelation 3:15-16.

CONCLUSION

The time to get ourselves right with God is now!  

Today’s lesson highlighted three reasons why we need to have a sense of urgency with respect to acting on our faith:

1. None of us are promised another day (James 4:13-15),
2. None of us know when Jesus is going to return (Mathew 24:36),
3. We are commanded to act on our faith (James 2:14-17).

We will conclude today’s lesson with the following words from the Hebrew Writer. They should serve as a call to action for all who believe!

• “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” – Hebrews 3:15.