6:1 As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

              Paul urges the Corinthians not to receive God’s grace in vain. The word “vain” means “empty.” 

What is an empty promise?  A promise that is not a promise.  In other words, an empty promise is one that is not kept.

What is an empty threat?  An empty threat is a threat that is not really a threat.  You tell your employee, “If you show up late one more time you are fired.”  They show up late and you do not fire them.  That is an empty threat.

What are empty calories?  Empty calories are just like any other calories in one sense.  A calorie is a calorie.  However, contained within the calories is nothing that adds to the health of the body.  The body cannot use these calories, so it stores them as fat.  Included in this are soft drinks and butters.  They have no nutrients.  Calories are taken in to repair what the body needs.  Empty calories have no repair capabilities.

What would make grace empty?  If there was no grace in grace!  Paul is telling them that as fellow-workers, they need to minister with grace!  As they have received grace, they need to extend grace to others.

Notice what he has talked about in chapter 5.

“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NIV

Do you notice the theme of this?  Reconciliation.  Reconciliation is the bringing of two people together.  We are reconciled to God.  Why?  Because God took the first step.  He sent Jesus to die for us on the cross.  The purpose of the cross was to forgive our sins so we could be reconciled to God.

Paul picks up on this in 6:2. 

6:2 For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.

              God’s favor is a synonym of grace.  God heard us, God helped us.  We didn’t deserve God’s help and He had no need to listen to us, but he did.

              God’s grace is available right now, to anyone who wants it.  There is no waiting period.  We don’t need to prove our selves.  God’s grace is now.  His favor on us comes now.

              Why?  Because we can’t do anything for ourselves, and God knows it.  Whatever will be done to save us has already been done by Christ!  Our salvation is a gift, a matter of God’s grace to us. 

Peter said, “18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18, NIV.

As we grow our awareness of God’s grace to us, we also grow in our willingness to show grace to other people.

An extreme example is the apostle Paul.  Look at how he was willing to give grace to the Corinthian church.  He describes this starting in verse 3.

 6:3 We put no stumbling-block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

              No stumbling block to what?  Paul doesn’t want to do anything that will make extra steps or stop people from receiving the grace of God.  In order not to stop others from receiving the grace of God, Paul shows a lot of grace to the Corinthians.

              What are some of the stumbling blocks?

 6:4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;

              First, quitting becomes a stumbling block to people receiving the grace of God.  If we let hard times stop us from extending God’s grace, then those hard times become a wall through which God’s grace cannot penetrate.

 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

              Not only quitting, but a lack of love on our part can be a stumbling block for others to receive the grace of God.  A lack of understanding, impatience, unkindness, lying all are unloving and hinder the grace of God from flowing through us.

 8 through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;

              Allowing personal attacks to derail us is another stumbling block that derails God’s grace.

 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

              Poverty can make a stumbling block in our lives to delivering the grace of God.

              This can be emotional poverty.  We are sorrowful.  We are so consumed by our own needs that we don’t reach out to others.  It can be physical poverty.  We can refuse to give because we feel we have nothing to give.

              Whatever it takes, no obstacle was to come between people and the grace of God.  Paul was willing to suffer a lot of abuse so that this would take place.

 11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.

              Here is the problem.  What Paul was looking for was for the people to be fellow workers as indicated in verse 1.  He expected them to be together.  He was doing his part.  But they were withholding affection from him. 

Grace in this situation is one-sided.  The withholding of affection is the withholding of grace.  If there is no grace that springs out of our grace, then our grace is in vain.  If God forgives us and we will not forgive others, then we have an empty kind of grace.  If God shows compassion on us and we do not show compassion on others, that is an empty kind of grace.  If God sacrifices for us and we do not sacrifice for others, we have an empty grace.

This is a difficult task.  Old nature emotions rise in our hearts.  Bitterness, rage, unkindness, backbiting, un-forgiveness all lie under the surface.   The world tells us to give people what they deserve.  They want people’s karma to return to them in this life.  But God is not about karma, he is not about giving people what they deserve.  God is about extending grace. 

It is more difficult when grace is not extended in the church or the Christian home.  It is hard when our differences lead to division and strife.  It is hard when Christians cannot give one another room for failure and room for mistakes.

It is especially hard in our efforts to attract people to Jesus.  One major gift Jesus has to offer is the gift of grace.  But if the world does not see Christians as gracious towards fellow workers or towards others in their home, if the world sees that we have little tolerance for people who do not measure up to their standards, then we have put a stumbling block in the way of grace.

How did this show up with the Corinthians?  They did not show affection for Paul.  They openly said, “Peter is better, we will follow him.  Apollos is better, we will follow him.”  Paul earlier tells them that Peter, Paul or Apollos are just workers, but God is the one who gives the increase.

The Corinthian church was not working together with each other, they were not working together with Paul and they were not working together with Christ

Why?  In this case it was because they were unwilling to extend grace.  Why?  Because their grace cup was empty.  The sign outside their church said, “Come inside and find grace.  But when people entered, they found that the sign was falsely advertising what was really inside.  There was no grace inside.  The grace was empty and in vain.

When they should have been working together, they were falling apart.  Read this book and you will find one problem after another in a very gifted church.  They lacked grace.

At the men’s Bible study, an illustration of a person who had grace was given.

“25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honour men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.” Philippians 2:25-30, NIV.

Notice how good he was to Paul.  He was a brother, he was a fellow-worker and he was a soldier! 

Compare this to the Corinthians.  They were not involved as co-laborers.  They were withholding affection, not giving to Paul or to one another.  They lacked grace.

When I think of grace, I think of Jesus who is described as being “full of grace and truth.”  I think of the woman at the well, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the sick, the demon possessed.  Jesus reached out to them all.

What would our church be like if we all were full of grace?

• We would put up with a lot from one another.
• When we spoke about sin, we be doing so, not from a critical point of view, but in order to help the other person
• We would be working together.

What effect would this have on our world?

• By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another
• People looking for grace would find it in you.  You would not be critical of their actions or conditions.  You would be open to listening and helping them.  And ultimately Jesus would be seen through you.