Ministries of Condemnation

<sup>II Corinthians 3

1</sup>Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? ²You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. ³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The Glory of the New Covenant

⁷Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

This is just an excellent passage on what real ministry is. Real ministry is one that focuses on the heart and spirit within people, not on the letter of the law. It isn't about building something that people will praise you for. Verse 3 tells us its not about control - "our letter of recommendation" is not the signature of our ministry - it is the quality of the heart produced in people. It is the people themselves - they are the fruit! And the fruit isn't how well they measure up to God's standard - "a city on a shining hill - set apart" mindset!

How do you recognize the real ministry of the new covenant? You recognize it by the fruits it produces! Seems so simple, yet it is profound how blind we are to it. Too many times, Christians think "we're going to produce good people that obey God's commands" more than "we're going to produce people with hearts that reflect the fruits of the spirit" - or - "let's pass laws that enforce God's law".

We sell ourselves so short on the glory God could produce in our areas of influence (ministry) by focusing on the law and standards, and miss out on the overwhelming joy that the covenant of grace produces! Just think - in the old covenant, the people of Israel couldn't look at the face of Moses and he had to cover his face - yet the covenant of grace enables an even brighter and stronger ministry! The law is there to condemn, but grace is more glorious than the reflection of God's face on a man! In fact, that old ministry of condemnation is not even glorious anymore. God doesn't reward it! Verse 6 tells us that it KILLS now that we're under grace!

So if your life and efforts (ministry) have turned to one of control and legal standards, GET RID OF IT! God will not reward it! It will kill those to which you're trying to minister and it is not glorifying to God!

Bad Company and Good Character

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

I Corinthians 15:33-34

Let me break this down for you in modern, American vernacular.

Hey, dummy! Being around bad company damages your spirit. Wake up! You're picking up their bad habits and attitudes! Some people have no idea how to act the right way - you should know better than to think everyone does!

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Oftentimes, I think we forget how critical it is to be surrounded by positive influences in our lives. And, I think we forget that we need to protect ourselves from negative influences. This is not an argument for separation from all negative influences, for we certainly must face them at times - we live in a broken world after all.

But it is a reminder to be on your guard. Inspect your heart. Do you find yourself growing negative or cold? That's coming from somewhere - most likely a negative influence in your life. Is it causing more damage to you than you are seeing positive fruit in the others from your involvement? Perhaps it is time to minimize or remove that influence.

And let's not be fooled - these negative influences often come from areas we least expect. Groups of friends, certain family members, church groups, coworkers, clubs, organizations. Don't get sucked into the negativity. Stay above it, or remove it from your life and avoid it if necessary.

And you'll notice that the concepts above are not limited to people that aren't Christians. It includes Christians. Bad company. There are many Christians who do not know God or his ways. We all have our weaknesses. Ask yourself - "Am I one of those in certain circumstances?"

If there truly is a reason you must interact with "bad company", consider that you must prepare yourself for it and do some damage control after interacting with it. If it continually negatively impacts you, you may need to perform some spiritual surgery and remove it from your life so as not to impede your spiritual growth.