So, Paul was saying to these Christians at Corinth, “Do we have to approve ourselves with you? You, among whom we have labored for more than a year? You, whom we have led to Christ? Is it necessary that we should now have some letter of commendation—a letter of commendation to you OR a letter of commendation from you? If it is a letter that you are requiring, you yourselves are our letter!” In verse 2 of this text, he says, “Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men.”

In effect, Paul is saying, “Who were you when we came to you? You were poor, ungodly peoples, lost in sin, in bondage to the vilest of iniquities. And NOW, who are you? You are redeemed saints of God, brought into a new life and a new relationship with Jesus Christ through the message of the saving Gospel which WE brought to you. Is that not letter enough? Does that not prove that we are divinely commissioned?” Using this text and my introductory remarks, I’d like to suggest four points for our consideration in the lesson this evening.

The first point: We are the epistle of Christ. To these Corinthian Christians, Paul said, “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ,…” That’s verse 3 of our text. The New International Version translates it this way: “You show that you are a letter from Christ,…”

You know, just as one who is on a journey communicates by letter with those who need his guidance and counsel, so our Lord, though He has ascended back to heaven, is ever writing to the children of men through the lives of His followers! Every Christian is an open letter for Jesus Christ. Every Christian, whether he likes it or not, is an advertisement for Christ and for Christianity. Many people will read US when they are not willing to read the Scriptures. This old, familiar poem may be trite, but I believe it’s true:

We are the only Bible
This careless world will read;
We are the sinner’s Gospel;
We are the scoffer’s creed;
We are the Lord’s last message,
Written in deed and word.
What if the type is crooked?
What if the type is blurred?
Therefore, we are called upon to live for Christ
So that men may see
That there is a reality and power
In the Gospel that we preach.

“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel,” Paul would say in Philippians 1, verse 27. Well, how are we doing?

Well, let’s test ourselves with some questions. Is my life really counting for Christ? Do the members of my family, the members of my congregation, and those people that I come in contact with see that Christ has control of my life?—that, if you will, “Christ liveth in me?” [Galatians 2:20]. Do they see something of the patience of Christ in me? Do they see something of the purity of Christ in me? Do they see something of the tenderness of Christ, the compassion of Christ, and, moreover, the love of Christ in me? Is my life manifesting these things? As I go out into the world and mingle with others on the job, at school, during recreation, do they see any difference in me compared to those who profess no profession in following Christ? Do they say, “If you’re a Christian, then I don’t think I want any part of Christianity?” OR, do they say, “If you’re a Christian, and if how I see you live your life is what Christianity is about, I’d like to know more?”

Think with me, for just a moment, about someone you have known who was a good example. What sort of statement did their life make for the Lord, and for His church? What kind of impact did this person’s life have on the lives of others?

Now, on the other hand, think about someone you’ve known who professes to be a Christian, but his life is anything but an “epistle of Christ”. These kinds of people are epistles of idleness, of negligence, of lukewarmness, of quarrelsomeness and strife.

The agency through which this writing is done is made clear by Paul in this text also. He says this epistle is “written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God,” verse 3. It’s not written with lines that can easily fade away, or that will soon be destroyed, or soon become illegible, but, in contrast, this epistle, or letter, is written by the living Spirit of the living God through His Word moving in our heart and producing a variety of graces.

Paul also tells us where this writing is done. He says it’s not done on “tablets of stone, but in fleshly tablets of the heart,” also in verse 3. These are not words or thoughts engraved on cold stone tablets, such as the Ten Commandments were. But these Words are engraved on warm, pulsating hearts of men and women. This testimony is one of far more value than the inscription on stone because, first of all, only the hand of God could reach into someone’s heart and inscribe Truths there. And secondly, it [God’s writing upon your heart] is permanent! Stones, even those which were engraved by the finger of God, would erode and decay, and the inscription on them might eventually be destroyed. But not so with the human heart. It will bide forever, even in eternity!