BBC Sermon Cast

In this passage Paul writes about God’s comfort to him—comfort arising from the soil of great grief. Gospel faithfulness can be grievous. Yet what is sometimes great grief can by the same gospel be transformed into good grief. We will study this “good grief” under three major headings:

1. Graced Grief (vv. 1–4)

2. Great Grief (vv. 5–9)

3. Godly Grief (vv. 10–16)

Paul’s pastoral concern is the holiness of the church. In this passage, filled with imperatives to holiness, he exhorts the church at Corinth to separate from spiritually unhealthy relationships, while pursuing holy ones. There are three major sections to this passage:

1. The Relationships to Reject (6:14–16a)

2. The Relationship to Reflect (6:16b–18)

3. The Relationships to Receive (7:1)

Jesus overturns the principle of “an eye for an eye,” teaching that true discipleship means turning the other cheek, giving generously, and going the extra mile—even for enemies. This challenges worldly justice, modelling God’s mercy and love. Through Christ’s example of selfless sacrifice, believers are called to break cycles of retaliation, trust in God’s provision, and embody a transformative grace that points others to the kingdom of God. We hear four exhortations in these verses:

1.⁠ ⁠Challenge Conventional Justice (vv. 38–39)

2.⁠ ⁠⁠Choose Generous Giving (v. 40)

3.⁠ ⁠⁠Commit to the Extra Mile (v. 41)

4.⁠ ⁠⁠Convey Christ’s Compassion (v. 42)

As we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus describing surpassing righteousness in terms of truth-telling. Tradition had distorted God’s truth in this regard, and Jesus points to two things to correct this distortion:

1. Truth-telling according to the standards of tradition (v. 33)

2. Truth-telling according to the standards of Jesus (vv. 34–37)

In this passage, Paul transparently describes what he has experienced in his ministry as an apostle. It serves as an autobiographical self-commendation for the purpose of calling the church at Corinth to repent of their estrangement from the apostle. This was necessary for their spiritual health (6:14–7:16). Among other lessons, we learn, under three headings, what characterises God-commended ministry:

1. A Faultless Claim (v. 3)

2. A Favourable Commendation (vv. 4–10)

3. A Fatherly Concern (vv. 11–13)

The only way to accurately examine our profession of faith—the only dependable diagnostic—is scanning our profession with the light of the gospel: the message of what God has done to remove the cause of our being estranged from God—our sin. This is the heart of this passage and, at the heart of the heart is v. 21, where Paul writes one of the most profound verses in all of Scripture—what Calvin called “the wondrous exchange.” We consider three things about this exchange:

1. New Creation and the Wondrous Exchange (5:17)

2. Sovereign Reconciliation and the Wondrous Exchange (5:18–21)

3. Urgent Proclamation of the Wondrous Exchange (6:1–2)

In this text, Paul makes clear that his worldview has been re-shaped by God’s work of “new creation.” By God’s work of reconciliation, a new creation transformation takes place in the life of the believer, including how he or she evaluates the world and everything in it. In this passage we see three aspects of new creation living:

1. New Creation Transformation (5:16–17)

2. New Creation Reconciliation (5:18–21)

3. New Creation Proclamation (6:1–2)

Matthew 5:31–32 gives us Jesus’ teaching on divorce, which reminds us that the citizens of the kingdom are people of the covenant. Though we are unfaithful, as those joined to a covenant-keeping husband, we have the opportunity to display the glory of Christ as we keep our earthly covenants in his power. We consider these verses from the dual lenses of man’s mess and God’s glory.

In Philippians 1:27–2:4, Paul speaks to the petty grumbling and empty conceit happening among his gospel partners in Philippi. It was a kind of unrest that not only dulled their gospel witness in the city but eroded their ability to stand firm side by side for the sake of the gospel in the face of strong opposition. The remedy? Our relationship with God in Christ calls us to live united in the gospel. We consider these verses under two broad headings:

1. Stand Firm as One in Christ (1:27–30)

2. Exercise Humility as One in Christ (2:1–4)

Chap Bettis, author of The Disciple-Making Parent, addresses the topic of anger and impatience in parenting—and more generally. He does so by addressing four truths from James 4:1–3:

1. We need to understand what anger is

2. We need to understand that sinful anger usually comes from a blocked goal or desire.

3. We need to understand that anger is a foe.

4. We need to understand that anger can be a friend.