Will you take your Bible and turn to Second Corinthians chapter 10. We continue to make our way verse by verse through this amazing epistle. And this morning, we're going to be looking at verses seven through 10, which, frankly, is a rather obscure passage of scripture. It's one that can easily be ignored, and certainly, if taken out of context can seem to be a passage that really, somewhat irrelevant, maybe meaningless in some way. But to be sure, the Spirit of God never wrote anything that is irrelevant, that we shouldn't dig into. And that's what we will do today. As you will see, this is a passage that is not only very relevant, but it is very instructive. 

Dave Harrell  

Let me remind you of the context, the Apostle Paul is defending his apostolic authority against the scurrilous attacks of false teachers that had entered into the church of Corinth, and had seduced frankly, most of the people. But Paul had written a severe letter, rebuking them and most of the people repented. But there were still some that had not, along with probably the false teachers. And so this is part of that rebuke, as well as a reminder of the things that they need to look for with respect to godliness; and that's why I've been titled, my discourse to you this morning "Evidence of Godliness." So let me read the passage we'll look at here this morning. Second Corinthians 10, beginning in verse seven, 

Dave Harrell  

"You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 

Dave Harrell  

For even if I boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame,

Dave Harrell  

for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. 

Dave Harrell  

For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible." 

Dave Harrell  

Now, today, and next week, we will examine this passage along with the rest of this section that goes through verse 18, where we will discover some very important principles with respect to discerning the difference between genuine godliness, and rank hypocrisy. And given the catastrophic failure of evangelical leadership in our country today, this is a subject of most importance. I was grieving over this again, this week. Our country, as you know hopefully, is in a moral freefall. And many ostensibly, evangelical churches have drank the Kool Aid. They've not only drank the Kool Aid, they're making it and passing it out. I was reading a Gallop poll that said that one in six Gen X, or Gen Z adults identify as LGBT. By the way, Gen Z is somebody born in the late 90s through 2010. One in six identify as LGBT, the highest percentage of any generation in history, the poll said, and that number is likely to increase according to the survey data released by Gallop. Frightening. And this trend, according to senior editor Jeffrey Jones, is going to increase because it's at a time when, as he says, "Americans are increasingly supportive of equal rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people. A growing percentage of Americans identify themselves as LGBT, with younger generations far more likely than older generations to consider themselves LGBT. That growth should continue." As he says Gallup notes that, "One of the most significant recent advances in LGBT rights was the legislation of same sex marriage nationwide in 2015. And in June 2020, you will recall the US Supreme Court also ruled that civil rights laws protect gay and transgender workers. 

Dave Harrell  

And now, undoubtedly the most vile threat to religious freedom in the history of our country has passed the House and is moving towards the Senate. It is called the Equality Act. And by the way, in my new book, Why America hates Biblical Christianity, I will deal with this more at length. But let's just pray that the Senate blocks it. But frankly, the fact that it would even pass the House tells us that our country has descended into an abyss of moral degeneracy from which it will never recover. However, folks, remember this, the King is coming, right? The King is coming, and probably very soon. If you're a young boy, and you identify as a female, guess what? You're going to get to use the restroom with my daughters and granddaughters. You will have the right to shower with young women. If you're a young woman and you identify as a male, you cannot be denied a job at a church or a Bible school on the basis of your gender identity. If you're a young person, and you decide that you want to have your body surgically mutilated, so that you can somehow approximate the other sex and take hormones so that you can be somewhat like this other sex, doctors and hospitals will be forced to comply. Insurance companies will be forced to pay. 

Dave Harrell  

Well, of course, none of this is a surprise to biblically discerning Christians because we know that this is all part of the wrath of divine abandonment described in Romans one. You will recall in verse 18, the Apostle Paul says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." And he goes on to say "...they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator." And then he goes on to say, "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God..." here it is, "gave them over..." abandoned them "...to a depraved mind." But folks, what is really disturbing is the growing number, as I said earlier, of ostensibly evangelical churches, and pastors, who support these abominations, and many others like them, like the social justice gospel, and the woke heresies consistent with what is now called progressive Christianity; that promotes a toxic Marxist agenda, especially critical race theory; saying that these racist deceptions are inherent in the gospel of God, that they're part of the gospel. "I'm amazed..." as Paul said in Galatians, one and verse six, "...that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!"  

Dave Harrell  

I'm sure at least two to maybe five times a week, I receive an email or a call from various places, even around the world, where people are asking me to comment on certain preachers, certain authors, what do you think about this? What do you think about that? They're just horrified at some of the things they're reading and hearing. And of course, so many that are out there today are nothing more than entrepreneurs, or entertainers, or con artists, some of them witting some of them are unwitting; they're just ignorant. Men and women lacking in personal integrity. I mean, think about it, practically every month you hear of another evangelical leader who is being exposed for living a double life? Now the question is, how can such hypocrisy go unnoticed? How does that happen? How can one discern a true shepherd from a false shepherd? Think of this, how could the Corinthians be snickered by these false apostles that came into the church and abandoned Paul and what He taught? Again, remember, these guys infiltrated the church there in Corinth in Paul's absence, and they successfully undermined his authority by slandering him and his message. And they began to advance a different gospel. That's always Satan's agenda. And that different gospel was a combination of Jewish legalism and pagan mysticism. These guys would claim that they've got superior secret knowledge, that they were more enlightened than other people. And this was typical of that era of history. These were the ideological fortresses that Paul talked about in verses four and five, the "...speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God..." 

Dave Harrell  

Moreover, because the Greeks were so committed to sophistry and skilled oratory, the flowery rhetoric of worldly wise philosophers - which was really a form of entertainment for them - because of all of this, these false teachers came in and did the same thing. Wowed the people got them all worked up. And boy, you can do that if you do it right. Before you know it, everybody's quivering. They got a quiver in their liver. They're shouting, they're running around, and that's what happened. You read about that in First Corinthians. Moreover, the charlatans were heavily influenced by libertine theology, antinomianism, gross immorality, so there was no emphasis on personal holiness, or purity of life, purity of the church. So naturally, all these things were appealing to the flesh. So these people got snookered. Many abandoned the Apostle Paul and followed in behind these predators until the severe letter came, he rebuked them, many of them as I say, repented. But obviously many of the saints lacked discernment. And that's what we're seeing today. They were unable to detect predators in their pulpits. And we all know that counterfeits can be very hard to spot, any kind of a counterfeit. I mean, think of Judas Iscariot. I mean, the rest of the guys didn't even they didn't dream that he was who he was. But dear friends an evil heart will eventually manifest itself. Just a matter of time;  truth and time walk hand in hand, especially when a person is peddling the Word of God for profit or for self gratification, referring to candidates for the office of elder. In First Timothy 5:24, Paul says "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment..." judgment, referring to the church's ability to discern who they really are, and their suitability to shepherd. But then he says this, "...for others, their sins follow after." It shows up later on, you can't see it at first. 

Dave Harrell  

Beloved, bad fruit does not grow on a good tree, but it grows, and it will eventually manifest itself. Jesus warned of this in Matthew seven verse 15, "'Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing..." It carries the idea of wearing the garb of a shepherd. In other words, you're not going to look like a real pastor. Be aware of them; "...but inwardly," he says, "are ravenous wolves." Then he says this, "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles are they? So every good tree bears good fruit but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.'"  Beloved, we are to be good fruit inspectors, right? We are to judge righteously. In fact, Jesus said in John 7:24, "'Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.'" And certainly we're not to judge harshly, like the self righteous Pharisees who beat people to death with the club of legalism. That's why Jesus said in Matthew seven one, "'Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged...'" He's speaking specifically here to the Pharisees. "...And by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'" 

Dave Harrell  

So indeed, we need to be discerning, but we need to judge with righteous judgment. Paul speaks of this as well in Romans 16, beginning of verse 70, "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." And you will recall that's what Paul did in the New Testament. He called them out by name. Remember, Hymenaeus and Philetus, whose has he said "empty chatter," led to "further ungodliness," whose wicked talk "spread like gangrene." Second Timothy two. You see faithful shepherds, and faithful saints, are always going to be discerning. And when they see deception, when they see error, when they see a wolf, they're going to deal with it, for the glory of Christ. The eternal destiny of men souls as a stake. These are false teachers who according to Second Peter two one, "...secretly introduce destructive heresies...", who distort the scriptures to their own destruction. 

Dave Harrell  

So we've got to judge with righteous judgment, but what is that standard of judgment that we need to use? Can you be more specific? Well, Jesus said, "you will know them by their fruits." Well, okay, but what will those fruits really look like? This is a very important subject. You will remember the Apostle Paul exhorted the elders in Ephesus, in Acts 20, beginning of verse 28, he said, "'Be on your guard..." elders, "Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert." So the question is, what do we need to look for? How can we be more discerning? To put it a little bit differently, what are some of the evidences of genuine godliness? The inspired apostle gives us insight into this matter here, in Second Corinthians 10, verses seven all the way through 18, we're just going to look at seven through 10 here this morning. And here what he does is most fascinating, he exposes the false by highlighting the true, and you will see this as we go on. 

Dave Harrell  

Today we're gonna look at three evidences, three evidences of godliness. First of all, you will see a life that imitates and draws others to Christ. Secondly, a life that builds up the true Church and finally, a life solely controlled by the gospel. 

Dave Harrell  

Now lets look at this closely, verse seven, "You are looking at things as they are outwardly." "You are looking" - the Greek term, term "blepo" means to take into consideration or, or to look at. Let me be technical for a moment because this is important. In Greek grammar, this is a verb that can be interpreted either as an indicative or as an imperative, it can go either way. You will remember, an indicative is just a statement of fact. So you could read this as it is here in the NASB, "You are looking at things as they are outwardly." But it can also be interpreted as an imperative. In other words, as a command. So it could be interpreted this way, "Look at things as they are outwardly." Look at what is before your eyes, look at the facts. Look at the facts in the face, you might say. And I believe frankly, the imperative is a better way of translating this, since this, by the way, is how Paul uses this verb elsewhere in the New Testament, and it fits so perfectly with the context I believe, it can be translated this way,  "Look at what is before your very eyes, you Corinthians. You have come to the wrong conclusion about me and my message. If you will just look at things as they are outwardly, you're going to have sufficient evidence of the power of God working through me for the glory of Christ, that will refute what these guys have been saying, and refute what some of you have been believing."  

Dave Harrell  

So this brings us to the first evidence of godliness. Number one, you will see a life that imitates and draws others to Christ. Again, verse seven, "Looking at things as they are outwardly." We might say it this way, the proof is in the pudding, right? Wake up and smell the coffee, I don't know, face the facts. That's the idea. And then he says this, "If anyone is confident in himself, that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we." And when he says, "If anyone is confident in himself..." he's basically; it can be translated this way, if anyone is to be convinced or to be successfully persuaded of something, namely, that he is in Christ, that he's a true Christian, well let him consider this again within himself. That just as he is Christ, well, so also are we. In other words, if you can make that claim, based on your own internal awareness of who you think you are, I mean, two can play that game. That's what he's saying. Said differently, if the only evidence you have to offer concerning your apostolic relationship with Christ, and your personal holiness is your own subjective opinion of yourself, without any objective confirmation, then I could make the same claim; two can play that game. Now, no doubt he was addressing, specifically the alpha member of the wolfpack, the ringleader of the false apostles. What Paul described as that messenger from Satan, that he considered his thorn in the flesh. But the claim that the guy had, or any of them had, or anyone has, is just in himself. I mean, anyone can claim to be a Christian, right? Anyone can claim to be a pastor. I mean, these days, if you can fog a mirror, you can be a pastor. Anybody can claim that they've got a message from God. But in Matthew seven again, Jesus warns that most people who call themselves Christians are just Christian in name only. They're self-deceived. Most Christians are self-deceived. That's why he said in Matthew 7:20, "'you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.'" There's the key. "'Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name, cast out demons in Your name performed many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; DEPAART FROM ME, YOU WHO ARE PRACTICING LAWLESSNESS."'"

Dave Harrell  

Beloved, biblically, a mere profession of faith does not validate the genuineness of your faith. Not even here in this text, prophesying or casting out demons, or performing many miracles, None of that really proves anything. None of that validates genuine saving faith. By the way, all of those things can easily be counterfeited or produced by demons. Paul dealt with that in First Corinthians, especially chapters 12 through 14. You see dear friends, authentic Christianity will always be validated by the fruits of righteousness in a person's life. As Jesus says, He who does the will of the Father, the will of my Father, as you've heard me say before, if you say you're an apple tree, let's see your apples. Pretty simple. A true Christian is going to be one who loves Christ, who loves his world, his word and who resembles Christ. Jesus said, "'If you abide in My word...'" John 8:31, "'...then you are truly disciples of Mine...'" In other words, a true believer is going to surrender to the Lordship of Christ in his or her life. That person will will love the word of God, will obey the word of God and live it out even as Jesus did the will of his Father. I would ask you dear friend, does this describe you, or might you be self-deceived? Jesus said in John 14:21, "'He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.'" He went on to say in verse 23, "'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.'" And likewise, in First John two the apostle John says, "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him...'" verse four, "...and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this, we know that we are in Him." This is how, you know if you're truly a believer, "...the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." As Jesus walked. You know, I've learned over the years when I ask a person if they're a Christian, not to ask, So are you a Christian? Because especially in our culture, I mean, everybody's a Christian around here, right? I mean, you, you've gone to a church, you know, you love NASCAR and country music. I mean, you're an American, of course, you're a Christian. I mean, it just covers all kinds of things. Anybody can say that. But it's altogether different to say, I'm curious, "Do you love, love and serve Christ?" Well, that puts a different spin on it. So Paul is saying, Look, folks, the real proof about who I am, and the message that I preach is right before your very eyes. To merely say this or that about yourself, without any evidence doesn't prove anything. That's what he's saying. He's saying I want you to examine my life. I want you to look at the evidence in my life; I mean, my goodness talk to Annanais is who was who was part of my dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus; talk to him. Interview my traveling companions, interview my ministry partners, talk with Barnabas and Silas and Luke and  Timothy; talk with those people that by God's grace, I've been able to lead to Christ and that I've discipled; many of you are that way. Talk with the saints and the other churches that I have founded, examine the evidence of my life, and the impact that I have had for the glory of Christ in others. O child of God, don't miss this. If you truly belong to Christ, if you're united to him in saving faith, your life will manifest the virtues of Christ, and others will be drawn to Christ for having been around you. That's the first evidence of godliness. Second Corinthians five, verse 14, Paul says, "the love of Christ controls us." Does the love of Christ control you? I hope it does. He goes on to say, "...so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." In other words, the old self -entered life is over, a spiritual resurrection has taken place. We now walk in newness of life. And he goes on to say, "If any man is in Christ, he is..." a what? "...A new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." And guess what folks? Other people will see it. 

Dave Harrell  

Again, the apostle John says in First John 4:13, "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." And it's the Spirit that causes regeneration and sanctification. This is also at the heart of Paul's great doxology; remember recorded and Ephesians one three, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." What an amazing statement. Beloved, we are in Christ and to be in Christ is an expression of interconnectedness, whereby we share a common spiritual life with Christ. It never ceases to amaze me when I think what happened when I became a Christian, when you you became a Christian; we were redeemed that God might inhabit us, and change us. And that change will be obvious to other people. We, "...have died..." and our "...life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians three, three; he is "...our life..." verse four goes on to say. In Galatians 2:20 it says that he lives in us, absolutely astounding. So folks, when you examine other pastors and authors and other people, you know, this is where you need to begin, "Do I see Christ in this man, or this woman?" And, "Am I, and other people, drawn to Christ, because of that person's character, because of their conduct?" Not drawn to their church, not drawn to their doctrinal thinking, not drawn to tradition, or even their teaching, or even to that person, certainly not drawn to their political agenda, but am I drawn to Christ because of what I see in that person's life. 

Dave Harrell  

I know lots of Christians who never talk about Christ. It always amazes me. I know lots of Christians whose lives cannot be distinguished from unbelievers. You can't really tell the difference. You claim to be in Christ, and yet, you look just like everybody else that's at enmity with God; spiritually dead. People that have no love for his word, they have no burden for the lost, they have no passion for holiness in their life, for the glory of God. They're like chameleons. I'm fascinated with those little creatures. I know you're aware of them. They can blend in to any environment, you just sit there and watch them. And their colors begin to change. Why isn't it amazing how that evolved? Ha. Many Christians have an uncanny ability to blend in to the very world that God has redeemed us out of, to the very world that hates Christ. In Romans 12, it is, in verse two. We're told in the command there, "Do not be conformed to this world." Which literally means do not unwittingly allow the world to cause you to manifest, on the outside, some masquerade that is inconsistent with who you really are on the inside. Don't let that happen. Rather be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." Let a metamorphosis occur as a result of what the word of God does. That's the purpose of us being here this morning. 

Dave Harrell  

The apostle Paul was no chameleon. O, he imitated Christ. That's why he said in First Corinthians 11 one, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." And beloved, as a result of that, others were drawn to Christ; not to him, but to Christ. That's why he said in First Corinthians two, two, "I determined to know nothing among you." Nothing among you pagans that believed all of this idolatrous garbage, all of this satanic deception, all of this immorality that was a part of your life and your culture. "I determined to know nothing among you except Christ, and Him crucified." No other agenda, no other a message. Just unleash the gospel. So the first evidence of genuine godliness is a life that imitates and draws others to Christ. 

Dave Harrell  

Secondly, a life that builds up the church. Notice verse eight, "For even if I boast somewhat further about our authority..." He's saying basically, if I say more than I'm normally comfortable saying about apostolic authority, that's the idea. In other words, he's uneasy with being forced into the situation whereby he has to boast at all. "For even if I boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave me for building you up, and not for destroying you. I will not be put to shame." "Oikodome" in Greek; it's the idea of edification, building you up; it carries the idea of bringing something closer to a place of completion. That's what Paul was all about. And his point is that it's abundantly clear if you look at my life, that that's what I'm all about. All you have to do is observe my life and my ministry. I'm all about building people up in Christ, not building a church. I mean, anybody can do that. There's a huge difference between a crowd and a church, but building people up so they become more like Christ. I mean, how else could you possibly explain how those people came to saving faith and how they began to grow in Christ? You see, it was an irrefutable fact that God had empowered Paul as an apostle to bring the Gospel to sinners. And so there was nothing in his ministry that would deny what God had done through him. 

Dave Harrell  

Beloved, true believers, especially true pastors, will naturally be devoted to building other people up in Christ. Never tearing them down. That's what false teachers do. That's what phony Christians do. There's nothing worse than having a wrecking ball in the church. They're divisive. They're factious, they're controlling. You end up causing a church to fall apart; people get confused, they get deceived, they get hurt. But false teachers, by the way, usually pastor false churches, but boy when they come into a true church, it's throwing the cat in amongst the pigeons. I was thinking about a profile of an apostate that we see in Jude's little epistle. Let me just give them to you, some of the things that he described. This is what you see in a false teacher: they are ungodly, morally perverted, they reject the Lordship of Christ, they defile the flesh. They have immoral lifestyles, reject authority, pretend to know what they do not know. They're ignorant dreamers they're corrupt grumblers, fault finders, self-seeking, arrogant, flatterers mockers; they cause division and they're worldly minded without the Spirit of God. But Paul's life was radically different than all of that. He was all about building up or edifying other believers. In fact, we read about this in Ephesians, four, in verse 11, he says, "And He gave some as apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers." It could be translated pastor/teacher; that's what I've been called to do. Why? "...for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up..."  there's the same Greek word - "...the building up of the body of Christ." Why? "...until we all attain to the unity of the faith..." By the way, this is not talking about some ecumenical, you know, let's hold hands and sing Kumbaya. This is talking about doctrinal unity; "...until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result..."  here's what will happen,  "...we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up and all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ." 

Dave Harrell  

Beloved, for a godly man or a woman, certainly a pastor, building other people up in the body of Christ will just come naturally. It's like my neighbor's little beagle dog when he lets him out, he just chases rabbits. He can't help it. It's like my bird dogs used to be. I mean, they're just made for that. They just do that. That's what true believers do; we can't help it. And isn't it a wonderful thing to be around people that build you up? Rather than tear you down? You're drawn to their love of Christ. And therefore you're drawn to Christ; people that encourage you and strengthen you. People that, if I can put it this way, they charge your battery rather than drain it. You know, the idea. I've encouraged people like that and they've encouraged me; what a joy that is. But I've also encountered over the years and counseled many charlatans, some of them you would know. And many phony Christians. And one thing that I can always say is when you talk with them, you get around them, especially very long, you'll see that there's nothing about their life that's imitating Christ and drawing you to him. There's nothing about their life that builds you up to want to know and serve Christ more fully. Oh, they'll build you up. You know, to think more highly of yourself. But they won't edify you so that you will see more clearly the glory of Christ and worship Him. You always feel like you're on duty around them. You know that feeling, you're on duty, you're kind of suspicious, you're not real comfortable around them. And that reminds me of a guy that was next to me at Moody Bible Institute in the next room. He was missionary's kid with Wycliffe translators from Peru. He had feet that no kid and they were about this wide, he had to have special shoes made because he had always gone barefoot. I mean, his toes look like gorilla toes. I mean, it was amazing. But he had two pet boa constrictors about six feet long in his room, and he loved to come into my room while I was studying and put one here and put one around my shoulders. And all of a sudden, I'm on duty. That's kind of how I feel when I'm around those kinds of people. It's like, I'm just not real comfortable with this whole thing. Maybe a silly analogy, but you get the idea. But when you're around a godly person, you're just drawn to them. You just feel at home. You can sense their love and their likeness to Christ. Their life will be a living example of Colossians 1:28 and nine, remember, the text says, "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, also..." catch this, "...I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." In other words, like the apostle Paul said right there, a godly man or woman will have a life that will revolve around those three verbs, proclaim, admonish, and teach. You see, that's always God's method for building up the church. He brings us together so that we will proclaim, we will admonish, and we will teach. 

Dave Harrell  

By the way, the profile of an apostate, in Second Peter, is that they're driven by three things, but not these three things; they're driven by sex, money and power. Very, very different. And their false teaching is the means to attain those things. But think about this, a godly person will "proclaim." The term in the original language just speaks of any form of public declaration of truth; pointing people to Christ as their only hope of salvation that will be their proclamation. That's what you will hear, that will be the theme of their conversations. 

Dave Harrell  

Also "admonish" -  the term means to warn or to exhort, or even to encourage other people; even to correct. Acts 20 verse 31, Paul speaks again to the elders at Ephesus and he says, "...night and day for a period of three years, I did not cease to..." here it is, "...admonish each one with tears." And he exhorted the Colossians, saying in Colossians, 3:15, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another." 

Dave Harrell  

And then the term "teaching" carries many of the same implications but with an added emphasis of being able to articulate practical doctrinal truth and apply it to your life or to the life of others. That's why he says in Colossians, 1:28, "...with all wisdom..." teaching with all wisdom, "...so that we may present every man complete in Christ." By the way, I might add, while both admonishing and teaching are the responsibility of every mature believer - it's part of our great commission - It is the primary task of a faithful shepherd. That's what you will look for. In Titus chapter one, verse nine, Paul says, an overseer, an elder must be able to, quote, "...hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching..." the apostolic teaching. Why? "...that he may be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict." 

Dave Harrell  

Well, this was inherent in Paul's clear expository preaching, remember, in First Timothy 4:13, he writes to Timothy and he says, "Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching." Read, explain and apply the word. That's what we do every Sunday morning, right? Read, explain and apply the word. And what happens? Saints are built up, they become more like Christ. 

Dave Harrell  

So the first evidence of godliness is a life that imitates and draws others to Christ. Secondly, a life that builds up the true Church and finally, a life solely controlled by the pure gospel. This is really interesting. He first says in verse nine, "...for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters." Undoubtedly he's speaking about the two letters that he sent, especially the severe letter; he's reassuring them of his deep love for them. I mean, after all, his desire is to build them up in Christ, not beat them up. And so he has compassion for them. He's not trying to bully them. Anytime you feel bullied by a pastor or anybody, you know, there's ungodliness going on. He's not there to manipulate or intimidate as he was being charged. By the way, it's always interesting how the false teachers end up being the very thing they're accusing others of being. 

Dave Harrell  

Verse 10, then he says "For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong...'" The idea here is, no one's denying that his letters were weighty and strong. He was an inspired apostle of God. So no one denied the persuasive power of his writing, but they say, "...his personal presence..." Now by the way, this isn't referring to what he looked like physically, but rather his demeanor, how he projected himself, how he impacted other people with his presence and with his message. His, "...personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible." Now, this is most fascinating. It's very instructive when we piece it together with other passages. Remember, now, when when he came to Corinth, he didn't come like everybody else would come. With all the flowery rhetoric, he came to them in humble weakness. He didn't come with the bombastic, arrogant, flowery rhetoric of the roving philosophers that entertained and wowed the people. Remember how he came, recorded in First Corinthians two, one, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching, were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." You see, a godly person is going to operate by the power of the Spirit, not by the power of the flesh. He will have no desire to resort to all the methods of the world; the methods of men. Jesus said in Matthew 20 verse 25, "'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.'" That's not how we should be. A godly man or woman knows that the power is in the message, not the method, and not the messenger. I like to put it this way, message determines method.

Dave Harrell  

You see, Paul knew that only the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. And so what did he do? He came in quietly, and humbly. And he spoke forthrightly and accurately and compellingly and clearly, and compassionately, and he just unleashed the truth. You see, he had no desire to come into the culture and study the techniques and strategies of that culture. He had no desire to cultivate eloquence, or the art of persuasion, all the hand signals and all of the manners and all of the style that the people were used to. He was the very opposite of being seeker sensitive, you might say. He didn't say, you know, I need to study the culture here so that I can shape my delivery, and then align the content of my message with the spirit of the age, I must learn how to endear myself to the culture and creative ways. I need to learn how to begin to have a conversation with the people you know, find some common ground, and certainly rule out anything that might offend people. And then I can capture their attention. And once I capture their attention, then I can induce them to exercise their will and believe in Christ and make a decision for Christ. 

Dave Harrell  

No, he said, "I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." You see, the point is this folks, Paul was so confident in the message and therefore the power of the gospel, that he reached, that it drove his philosophy of ministry. Which, according to everybody else, is counterintuitive. By the way, I'm accused of that all the time; this church is accused of that. This is counterintuitive. Are you kidding? Come in to listen to some guy open up the Word of God for almost an hour. I mean, where's the smoke? And where's the, you know, the band. And, of course, we've got a great band, but you know what I'm saying? I've seen people come in here before with no Bible. And while I'm praying, they're getting out. I mean, they just feel, you know, completely out of place. It's so sad. But what happened when he unleashed the Word of God in that counterintuitive way, depending solely upon the power of the Spirit, and the message preached to transform sinners, that's what happened. I mean, frankly, most hearts were hardened. But many hearts were softened. And that's what the Word of God will always do. That's why he said in First Corinthians 1:23, "...we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called both Jews and Greeks." That message is "...Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 

Dave Harrell  

Beloved, whenever you see a pastor, or a church, constantly adjusting its message, and its methods to accommodate the culture, you need to get out of there. They're operating in the flesh, not in the Spirit. You see, because Paul embraced a, shall we say, a biblical soteriology. His message was uncompromising, and his manner was unconventional. But look what God did. His strategies for church growth made no sense from the world's perspective. But look what God did. Look what he's done in your life and in my life. His was a life solely controlled by the pure gospel; what a great piece of evidence of godliness. Right? Spurgeon said this, "The power that is in the Gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher. Otherwise men would be the converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preachers learning, otherwise, it consists in the wisdom of men. We might preach until our tongues rotted, till we would exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted, unless the Holy Spirit be with the Word of God, to give it the power to convert the soul." 

Dave Harrell  

Well, there's three evidences of godliness and may I summarize all of this by getting you to think this way. Once again, many times you ask people if they're a Christian, and they will say, "Well, yeah, yeah." Unless they completely deny it, but many that will claim to be a Christian will say, "Well, yeah, you know, I believe in Jesus. You know, I walked an aisle once upon a time, I even made a profession of faith, my goodness, I got baptized and I go to church." Or they'll say, "I used to go to church, I mean, I belong to the church, I may not go now, but you know, I still belong."  Okay. "My goodness, I love gospel music. I'm a good moral person, of course, I'm a Christian." But, dear friends, the real question is, does that person's life imitate Christ? You have to ask yourself that. I claim to be a Christian, but when other people see me, do they see Christ in me? Are they drawn not to me, but to Christ? And when they look at me, do they see a man that is passionate to see other people come to a saving knowledge of Christ and to grow into his likeness? Is that what they see? And is my life solely controlled by the pure, unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ? Because, dear friends, if those things aren't there, chances are you're not really born again. Because when we're truly born again, there's this radical transformation that occurs. Our entire disposition changes. We're raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. As a result, the triune Godhead dwells within us and we begin to have a love for Christ that we've never had before. We begin to see and understand and learn his word, we submit to is Lordship. And when it comes to the gospel, we are all about defending it and obeying it, proclaiming it, living it, sharing it. We're willing to suffer for it. We're never ashamed of it. We're empowered by it. And as a result, we imitate Christ. Others are drawn to Christ because of what they see in us. 

Dave Harrell  

Folks, these are the evidences of true, genuine godliness, learn them well. And let's live them well for the glory of Christ. 

Dave Harrell  

Father, thank you for these eternal truths. Impress them upon our hearts in such a profound way that we will be forever changed for having heard them even today. We pray that you will use us mightily, as men and women and boys and girls, that know and love you; that many will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and enjoy the fullness of his blessings, even this side of glory, not to mention what awaits us in the realm of your glory and grace in heaven. We thank you and we give you praise in Jesus name. Amen.