2 Corinthians 8:16-24 How blessed Titus is! How many people received the special commendation of St. Paul the way Titus did? Not many – perhaps only Timothy. To see why Titus receives such high praise from Paul, we must go back to 2 Corinthians 7:6. Here we find that Paul himself was comforted by the coming of Titus. When Paul came toMacedonia, he says their bodies had no rest and they were troubled on every side, with conflicts outside and... Read more
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 It is so easy to speak of love and so difficult to live it out. If we reflect for a moment about what has been a consistent theme of St. Paul’s in 2 Corinthians, the passage this morning will become even more outrageously challenging to us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 – God “comforts us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are... Read more
2 Corinthians 7:2-16 There he goes again! St. Paul can’t seem to let go of the idea that we should be joyful in our sufferings and tribulations. Of course, I’m glad he can’t let go of it because our sufferings are the Cross of Jesus Himself. I am exceedingly joyful that Jesus Himself didn’t let go of the Cross, exceedingly joyful that Paul clings to the same Cross, and I myself am working on joy in tribulations. In verse 4,... Read more
2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1 “Do not be equally yoked together with unbelievers.” “What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” For you are the temple of the living God.” These are words that every Christian understands and yet words that many Christians violate daily. St. Paul reiterates his teaching from I Corinthians that we are the templeof God and applies it to our participation with evil, especially with unbelievers. This call to holiness is one of the most important teachings... Read more
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 There are two main points St. Paul is making that I want to draw together. The first is the blunt truth that every day is the day of salvation. One of the most serious mistakes the modern Church makes is in teaching and acting as if salvation is a momentary instant. So we like to ask “When were you saved?” This is a loaded question, if ever there was one! It reveals two falsehoods. The first is... Read more
Anglicanism is Catholicism I said in my last post that the 2-word definition of Anglicanism is “Reformed Catholicism.” (Funny: isn’t there a blog name somewhere in the blogosphere with that name?) Though often lost in an over-emphasis on Protestantism (the “Reformed” aspect of Anglicanism), Anglicanism has always been a quest for catholicity. As I said in my previous blog: “Reformed” is the adjective which modifies the noun “Catholicism.” By this I mean that there is a Catholic substance of the... Read more
2 Corinthians 5:11-21 I don’t know how you see yourself, but if you’re like me, often you think of yourself in a natural and earthly way. In other words, you don’t fully realize the truth of what God has declared and St. Paul teaches: you are a new creation. Paul says this, of course, only for those who are in Christ. But for those who are in Christ, we have to forget all of the... Read more
What comes through in the life and letters of St. Paul is his single-minded desire to be with the Lord. He is joyful to do the work of the Lord in this life, but he is even more overjoyed at the prospect of laying down this earthly body that he might be completely with God in heaven. This is to be our attitude as well. It always amazes me how Paul can be so joyful,... Read more
St. Paul brings together two of the most important truths of the Christian life into one powerful phrase: “treasure in earthen vessels.” The first point to consider is the incredible treasure that each Christian contains. That treasure is Jesus Christ Himself, which is why you are called a “Christian.” A Christian is not just someone who “believes in” Jesus Christ, or else we could rightly call the demons “Christians.” A Christian is a disciple of... Read more
You and I are God’s love letter to the world. That is St. Paul’s message this morning. “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” St. Paulhas done it again – he’s given us a provocative, visionary... Read more
Give Us This Day
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In