The Bible Study Podcast, episode 721. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of 2nd Corinthians with chapter 6.

2nd Corinthians chapter 6 starts like this. As God's coworkers, we urge you not to receive God's

grace in vain. For he says, in the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation,

I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor. Now is the day of salvation.

So two things in there stand out for me, and that is why God has

reached out to us, why God sent Christ, why God had Christ go through what he went through

to restore us to relationship to him. And the two things that I see here is both said in the negative and the positive.

In the positive, it's that God wants us to be coworkers.

That God is about something.

God is about restoring people to him, to reaching out to people and bringing them back to him,

and that we aren't just observers or passengers or whatever we are encouraged to be

called to be co-workers, that this is part of the work that we were called to do.

And the other way of saying that is the negative here is that I urge you not to receive

God's grace in vain. In other words, not to receive God's grace in vain.

In other words, not to receive God's grace for no particular reason, for no particular purpose,

that there is a purpose why God has shown us His grace, and that we are called into ministry.

And I don't just mean those people who have a title of minister

that all Christians everywhere in every church and every denomination

are called to be ministers,

not necessarily called to be ordained ministers,

but called to be part of this work of God.

And Paul goes on, Paul's hardships.

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