Well this morning I'd like for us to turn back in our Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11 where Paul is still encouraging the Corinthian church to deal with the false leaders and the false teachers who had infiltrated the church in his absence. So 2 Corinthians chapter 11. These false leaders, if you remember, were attempting to get the church to question Paul and to doubt his message and really the manner of his ministry as well so that they could take his place. And apparently There was some money involved. They could get rich off of the Corinthian church. They were in a well-to-do city and a well-to-do place. So they thought that if they could get a following, they could really receive a good living from the Corinthian church. And so these false leaders made up all kinds of accusations and all kinds of allegations against Paul, including one that to us seems rather preposterous. They claim that since Paul did not solicit financial support from the Corinthians, that his message wasn't worth listening to. If you remember the video for First Thessalonians this morning, This was a pattern of Paul's ministry. Wherever he went, he went by the support of his own two hands, but also the support from other Christians and other churches that sent him as a missionary. He did not require anything from the churches that he was establishing. And so even as they were growing, he did not expect anything in return. Of course, we looked at last Sunday the reason why Paul did this. freely he had received the gospel, and so what would he do with that gospel? He would freely give. He was trying to show in his manner of ministry, in his manner of life, how free the gospel really is. In fact, if you go back to verse 7 of chapter 11, he said, He even asked, have I committed an offense in abasing myself and humbling myself in this way so that you might be exalted because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely? Well, in the verses that we will come to this morning, Paul is now going to inform the Corinthians about the true nature of those false leaders so that as Christians, we too can put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as Peter says in 1 Peter 2 15. So our text for this morning are just a few verses, four verses, beginning verse 12 through verse 15. 2 Corinthians 11, Paul adds, But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion, that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. Verse 13, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if its ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." Something that we can see from the Corinthian church is that the Christian church today is really not all that different than the Corinthian church or even the early church of that day. There are still false leaders and false teachers, even some that may try to promote themselves as false apostles. We still experience spiritual adversaries that will try to subvert and even substitute the true gospel of Jesus Christ with something else. That's what was going on in the Corinthian church. That is still something that goes on in this world in which we live. And so what Paul tells the Corinthians in these four verses is still relevant for us today. And the first thing that we need to do with this truth is to beware. To beware. We need to beware and be aware of our spiritual adversaries. And really, that's what false leaders are. They are spiritual adversaries. And Paul explains why we need to be so cautious about them. Why we need to be aware of them. We especially need to be aware of their wicked desires. And that is what Paul describes in verse 12, their wicked desires. When he says, but what I do, that I will do. I will continue to do this, so that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion, that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. Now we look at that verse and we wonder, what is Paul getting at? What is Paul saying here? Well, it comes from that word occasion. The word occasion there in verse 12 is an ancient Greek military term and was often used to describe an army's FOB, or the forward operating base. This would be a place where the army would go to establish their operations, their base of operations, in order to get ready to attack their enemy. And that's what they would do. You see, back then especially, the closer you could get to your enemy, the more effective you could be. There was that close range combat. Now today, we can be pretty effective from long range. We even have drones that are flying over the Middle East today that are actually conducted by pilots sitting in Arizona or sitting somewhere here in the United States and they're flying it by remote. And so these forward operating bases are not as critical today as they were then. They're still important. But even back then, these were so important. But the idea is this. It's kind of like the war on terror. The reason why we fight terrorists overseas is because we don't want to fight them on our soil, on our turf. We want to fight them on their turf. That's the idea here. This is what our spiritual adversaries are always trying to do to us. They're trying to get in close. They're trying to get an infiltration into our camp. They're trying to get as close as they possibly can so that they can continue to launch barrages on the Christian church. They're always trying to get closer. They're always desiring, he says here, or looking for any kind of occasion, any kind of opportunity to impugn and ruin the church of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is getting at there in verse 12. They're looking for occasion. They're looking for a reason. They're looking for any kind of opportunity to impugn your character and impugn the character of Jesus Christ himself. That was their desire back then. That is still their desire today. And so we need to be aware of this wicked desire, especially the wicked desire to attack our integrity as Christians, as well as our influence. Do you realize that as a Christian, the world hates you? The world, the devil himself, wants to attack your integrity. They will look for any chink in your spiritual armor, and they will look for any reason to criticize or accuse you, even as they attempted to do to the Apostle Paul. In fact, think of some of the recent lawsuits that have taken place against Christians who are trying to faithfully live out their faith in the marketplace today. Think about those who were simply bakers. They're baking cakes. And they take a stand on one principle, one truth, about what God says marriage is. And of course, now they are being brought before a court to the point of ruination, where they can't afford the court costs, they can't afford lawyers, even to the point where they're being forced to go against their conscience. This goes on all the time. In fact, it will continue and will only get worse because our spiritual adversary seeks to attack our integrity. They even more will attack your influence. They will try to get you to compromise the truth to render your faith useless. In fact, that is what Paul is getting at there in verse 12 when he says at the end of the verse that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. Now, what was it that these false apostles, these false leaders, gloried in? Well, they gloried in the fact that they were being paid for giving their teaching out to some of these Corinthian people. They were encouraged that they were gaining a following. This is what they were glorying in. They solicited financial support from their listeners in the Corinthian church. And so, what were they trying to do? They were trying to get the apostle Paul to do the same thing that they did by criticizing the fact that he didn't. Paul, if you really want to show who you are as an apostle, you will get money from this Corinthian church, just like we are. And really, what are they trying to do? They're trying to get Paul to compromise a pattern of ministry that he was doing all over the world. And if they could get Paul to compromise in that way, they believe that they could be seen as equals with Paul. That is, that they would be found even as we, Paul says. He knew what they were after. He knew what they were trying to do. They were trying to get him to compromise in any way so that he would lose any influence he ever had as an apostle. And we need to be aware that the same wicked desires are at work in our world today. And the devil would like nothing more than to ruin your integrity as a Christian and your influence as a Christian, and that's why we need to be aware. Be aware of what's going on. Beware of these attacks, beware of compromise. Another thing that we need to beware of is also their wicked deceit, the wicked deceit of these adversaries. Paul explains further in verse 13 just how these spiritual adversaries will try to ruin us. He says, for such, are false apostles. Now, of course, he's talking about the people there in the Corinthian church, but he's especially talking about all spiritual adversaries. They are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. You see, the modus operandi, their mode of operation is deceit. That is, they lie. They lie and they lie and they lie. They lie about who they are and their false positions. They are, Paul says, false apostles. That is, they make the claims of an apostle, but the truth is they were never called by Jesus Christ to be an apostle. So they lie. They're frauds. They also lie about what they do and their false practices. He says they are deceitful workers. Now, they might be very ambitious, but they hide their true ambition. You can probably turn on the television or perhaps go online and find all kinds of different religions out there and different leaders out there. And what they are doing is very active. They're very ambitious. They're not lazy people. but they're hiding their true ambition. They're hiding who they really are. They're hiding their practices. Isn't this what the devil did when he tempted Eve, which Paul refers back to in verse 3 of chapter 11? It says that he, the devil, beguiled Eve through his subtlety. He didn't just come out and be up front with Eve. He tried to sow these seeds of lies into her mind, into her heart, to tempt her and to lead her astray. And so our spiritual adversaries continue to hide themselves. They hide their true motives. They hide their true mission. And they even hide their true master. They're deceitful. They lie. They lie about who they are. They lie about what they do. They even lie about what they're like. They live their life under false pretenses. He goes on in verse 13 and says that they are even transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Now, this does not mean that they become apostles of Christ, because there's one word here that we need to hone in on, and that is the word transform. It means to change your appearance. but not necessarily change your heart. You know, the Bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. That's a different word than this word for transform. The transformation that's supposed to take place in our hearts as Christians is a real change. This is just a change in appearance. It's a change in how they look in a temporary way. It's a lot like what actors would do in ancient Greek theater. Back then, one actor could play different parts. In fact, most of the actors back in ancient Greece were all men. They didn't have any women. And so a man would have to play both a man and a woman. And one of the ways they would do this is they would put on a different mask. And so the people that were attending the theater would recognize who this person was playing by the masks that they would wear. That's what this transformation is. It's not a true transformation from the heart. It's an external transformation to try to show on the outward appearance that they might be different than who they really are. They would put on different disguises. And so we see that our spiritual adversaries continue to disguise themselves by looking the part, acting the part, speaking the part. But in fact, they are still just acting on a spiritual stage. And we need to beware. We need to beware, because the same wicked deceit that was at work then is at work in our own world today. Remember what Jesus said in John 8, 44, that when the devil speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. We need to beware of the deceitfulness of our adversaries. We need to be on guard against those lies because they will continue to try, if it were possible, to deceive the very elect. You know, there are things that even believers can be deceived by. We must not think that we are above being deceived because it can happen to us. That's why we need to beware of these devices of our enemy. Another thing that we need to be aware of is also of their wicked disguises. He goes on in verses 14 and 15 and explains that disguise, deceitful disguise, is one of Satan's favorite devices that he uses to deceive us. And so our spiritual adversaries will disguise their true character, even as Satan does there in verse 14, a verse that's probably familiar to us, where it says that Satan himself, Satan means adversary, Satan himself is transformed or transforming himself into an angel of light. This is how he works in an ongoing way. He doesn't try to come out with his horns, if you will, and his pitchfork. No, he comes out disguised, transformed into an angel of light. He tries to appear as a messenger from God to bring even more light into your life, and yet, it's a disguise. It's a mask. The same word transform here means to disguise and mask yourself. And once again, isn't this how Satan deceived Eve in the garden? You don't need to turn there, but in Genesis 3, verse 5, he even claimed to Eve that in the day that you eat thereof, that fruit that God had forbidden, in the day that you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And isn't that what the devil still tries to do? He is disguising himself as an angel of light. He continues to try to persuade us that His way is better than God's way, that His way seems to be the way of light to try to convince you to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He holds out that hook and that lure to make it look so good and so bright and so appealing and so right for you. And yet what happens? As soon as you go for that shiny object, as soon as you go for that lure, that hook will get you. In the end, it leads to nothing but darkness. And so, we find the devil here, Satan himself, our adversary, always trying to trick us into thinking that that which is wrong is right, and that which is right is wrong, and he has never changed his tactic. But Paul goes on in verse 15 to show us that like father, like son. Or as the master does, Satan so does his servants. who will also disguise not only their true character, but also their true conduct. He goes on in verse 15 and says, His ministers also will be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. The devil has his own servants. And they're not just demons. They're not just fallen angels. There are people who are servants of the devil. and they follow after his will, they follow after his desire, they follow after his tactics. And these ministers also transform themselves or are being transformed. Again, that word transform means to disguise, to put on those masks. How? As ministers of righteousness. Again, Paul's saying you need to be cautious here. You need to beware. This means that false teachers and false leaders may appear to be righteous, They may seem to preach righteousness and promote righteousness and even practice righteousness, but the standards that they seem to be promoting are their own standards and not God's. We need to be aware because the same wicked disguises are at work in our own world today. These are the same disguises that Jesus warned us about in Matthew chapter 23. These are the modern day Pharisees. And remember what Jesus said to them? Matthew 23, 25, you don't need to turn there. He says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, and the outside of them may be clean also. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, ministers of righteousness, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. We need to beware. We need to be aware of our spiritual adversaries and the devices that they use to lead even believers astray. We need to be aware of their wicked desires, their wicked deceit, their wicked disguises. But that's not all we need to do. Sometimes we can live our lives afraid of what might happen to us, seeing the devil at work behind every corner. But no, We also see from our text this morning that we must also prepare. We need to prepare to meet our spiritual adversaries head on, knowing that greater is he that is in you, if you're a Christian, than he that is in the world. You can be prepared for the adversaries that you will face. And that's what Paul is saying to these Corinthian Christians. I know that I'm not with you. I long to be with you. I can't wait to get with you. But in the meantime, you need to be aware of these adversaries. You need to be aware of these false apostles, these hypocrites, these deceitful workers. But you also need to be prepared. Be prepared. Don't be afraid, but rather be ready to confront them and to get rid of them out of your congregation. And so we can prepare, even as Paul did, by remaining constant, first of all, remaining constant in our life and service for Christ. And we saw this back in verse 12, when Paul says that in spite of his adversaries always looking for occasion, always looking for opportunities to attack his integrity and to attack his influence, what does he say? But what I do, that will I do. But what I do, that will I do, so that I may cut off occasion, I may cut off those opportunities from them which desire occasion and desire opportunities. So here in context, Paul is saying that he will continue to minister the way he always has ministered. He's not going to change because of what these false apostles are doing and the accusations they're making against him. He's going to continue to freely give out the gospel without compensation and without expectation from the Corinthian church. As I have done, I will continue to do. He would not bow to the pressure of those false apostles to compromise his pattern of ministry, to preach to them the gospel of God freely." Now, once again, this is not necessarily the pattern of every minister that brings the gospel. He did say in other places that the labor is worthy of his hire, but Paul shows to relinquish and give up that right so that he could demonstrate and illustrate just how free the gospel is. And he was not going to compromise that desire in order to make those false apostles feel better about themselves. He would not bow to that pressure. And so what we find in this verse is that faithfulness is one way to be prepared for the wiles of the devil, these devices that he uses, his deceit, his disguises, his desire to bring us down. All of these things, we can be prepared by being faithful. We can be prepared by being constant in our relationship with God. This includes faithfully surrendering your life to the Lord, faithfully surrendering your life to Him. When Paul said in verse 12, but what I do, he wasn't speaking from a proud heart. Sometimes that's what people say. Well, I'm going to do what I want to do. There might be some that interpret that for what Paul's saying, but that's not what he's saying. He's not doing it from a proud heart. He's not saying, I do this because this is what I want to do. But instead, if you remember what he said earlier in this chapter, he had carefully examined his life. When these accusations were made, he took it to heart and he probably spent time in prayer before God and said, God, search me. Search me and know my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me. Are any of these accusations true about me? Can any of these allegations stick against me? And so he poured out his heart before God and he spent time with the Lord. He examined his life. He examined his service. And he came out with a clear conscience. Because what he did was according to God's Word and God's will and God's way. His integrity could not be impugned. And so he had faithfully surrendered his life and ministry to the Lord. And when he said, I'm not going to receive payment from these churches, he knew that that was the right thing to do. We also see that we need to faithfully serve the Lord and his people. Another way to prepare against the attacks of our adversary is to faithfully serve the Lord and his people. Paul said that he would continue to serve. What I do, that will I do. What I do, I will continue to do. That is, he would continue to express his love for them, for Christ, through selfless and sacrificial service. He would faithfully serve. But he would also faithfully silence those who were looking for any reason to reproach the name of Jesus Christ. Paul sought by God's grace and strength, according to verse 12, to cut off occasion from them which desire occasion. That meant that he was going to put a stop to their lies by speaking always and living always according to the truth. He would never let their accusations stick. Paul sought to live above reproach. Now, the reason why so many people try to trip up Christians is because they know very often that we aren't faithful, that very often we aren't constant in our relationship with God. There are things that can stick. And so we need to pray that God will help us to even abstain from the very appearance of evil, as it says in First Thessalonians 5.22. We must not allow the world and the devil to have any fuel for their fire against us. You've probably been hearing in the news about the fires in California and how there is just so much fuel. In fact, the president even addressed this, that perhaps these fires would not have been so rampant if they had done more clearing of the brush and clearing out of some of the dead wood and some of the dead trees. And so if that was not there, the fires may not have spread as rapidly. But that's the same way for us. We must not provide fuel for the fire of our adversaries. They are looking for occasions to bring reproach upon the name of our church, to bring reproach upon the name of our Christ, to bring personal reproach on us. And that is why we must say, that which I do, I will continue to do. I'm going to strive to be faithful and constant so I can put to silence the words of these foolish men. Are you prepared to face the devices of your spiritual adversaries? Are you seeking to live your life consistently and faithfully for the Lord? That's one way to prepare. Another way you can also prepare by remaining confident, remaining confident in the superior power and grace of the Lord, which we can see back in verse 14, when Paul, after describing the deceitful nature of the false apostles, simply states this and no marvel. No marvel. And then in verse 15, he says, therefore, it's no great thing. You know, here he is laying out a case that we need to be cautious because of the world around us and our adversaries. And then he says, verse 14, it's no marvel. It's no great thing. It's not really that big a deal. In other words, don't let these things surprise you if you're a Christian. The fact that there are false teachers among you, the fact that there are wolves in sheep's clothing is really nothing unusual for our lives as Christians. It's really nothing extraordinary. In fact, if you are ridiculed for your faith or you are persecuted for your faith in Christ, it's really not something to marvel about. In fact, it's something to marvel if you don't experience that. It should be expected. In fact, Jesus himself said this would take place. He said, beware of false prophets. He said, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. So don't let these things surprise you, but also don't let these things shock you. I think there will come a time, perhaps in the near future in our country, where we will experience the suppression and persecution like our brothers and sisters in other closed countries today. We think of our brothers and sisters in Christ in North Korea, and in China, and in the Middle East, where imprisonment, torture, perhaps even beheadings and murder are par for the course. And it's not a surprising thing for them when they come together for their church service on the Lord's Day to perhaps get broken up by the police. It's no marvel to them. It would be a marvel to us. But maybe the time will come soon that it's no marvel to us either. But then he says, don't let it shock you. Don't let these things paralyze you in your life in service for the Lord. Because we've not experienced this kind of thing in our churches or in our communities. It might be a cause to concern and we wonder, what are we going to do if this happens? Don't let it paralyze you and shock you to the point where you do not live for the Lord and you do not serve the Lord, but rather you compromise the truth and your life. But instead, what should we do? Remain confident in the Lord. Remain confident in Him. Remember what Jesus said in John 16, 33. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In me, in the world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. You will never be prepared to face the devices of your spiritual adversaries until your hope and trust and confidence is in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where it must begin. That's where it must start. If you have not turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin, guess what? You're not ready. You're not prepared. You're going to be the blind being led by the blind. And you're both going to fall into the ditch. But rather, Jesus Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection all prove to us that He has overcome the world. And He is the one, the only one, who can enable us to be prepared for the onslaughts of the enemy in whatever form they take. Be prepared by keeping your confidence in the Lord. But then you can also be prepared by remaining comforted in the final judgment and justice of God. We find this at the end of verse 15, where we are reminded referring to those false apostles, those deceitful workers, those who try to transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, what's going to happen to them? Whose end shall be according to their works. Whose end shall be according to their works. Peter puts it this way in 2 Peter 2.13, they shall receive the reward of their unrighteousness. The mask will be taken off. their true nature will be revealed. And even though we do not need to be afraid of them, we still need to be aware of these adversaries, but we also can be comforted in the fact that they will receive the reward for their works. As Martin Luther once wrote, the prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can't endure, for we know his doom is sure. One little word. shall fail him." And so what is a word of warning here, verse 15, to the false apostles is really a word of consolation for believers in Christ. There will come a time when that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, will be bound so that he should deceive the nations no more. That's our comfort. Are you prepared to meet your spiritual adversaries and the devices they will bring against you today? We may not have false apostles, but we certainly have deceitful workers in our midst. We see him all over the place, but we need to be prepared. As Paul told us in Ephesians 6 13, we are to take unto us the whole armor of God so that we may be able to withstand an evil day and having done all to stand. So along with that spiritual armor that Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter six, remain constant to the Lord. remain confident in the Lord, and then take comfort from the Lord, because only then will you be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So this morning, we need to remember from the example of the Apostle Paul that Christians need to be aware of, but we also can be prepared for the devices of our spiritual adversaries. Let's close in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, I thank you again that we have seen from this passage that yes, we need to be aware of our spiritual adversaries, but we can be prepared for them as well. And Lord, we know that our preparation can only begin when we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from our sin, because he alone has overcome the world. He alone has proven that he has the power and the authority to defeat the devil because of his life and his death and even his resurrection from the dead. And so, Father, I pray that each one of us, as we hear about our spiritual adversaries, and we recognize that they are deceitful, that they lie about who they are, they lie about what they do, they lie about what they like, and they're doing all they can to trip us up and to deceive us. But, Father, because we have Jesus in our life, we have His power in our hearts. We have Your Spirit within us to fight the good fight of faith. And Father, with Christ for us, I pray that you'll help us then to be prepared for the onslaughts of the devil. We do not know what form they will take this week. Lord, there might be a terrible trial that comes into our life, and the devil will try to get us to look to someone else or something else apart from you to help us through it. The devil might come to us in the form of a temptation sometime this week and hold out a bright, shiny object and say, have God said that you should not partake of this? Have God said that if you eat this, you will surely die? And so, Lord, I pray that you'll help us to see beyond that lure and to sense the hook and recognize, Lord, the devices and the deceitfulness and even the disguises of the devil and his servants. So, Father, I pray that we will be prepared Be prepared by remaining faithful and constant to you, to be prepared by having a relationship with you, to be prepared by putting on the full armor of the gospel in our lives. Be prepared, Lord, by taking comfort that you are fully in control. So, Father, I pray that we as Christians, though we need to beware of the devices of our adversary, help us, Lord, now to be prepared, to be prepared to fight that good fight of faith. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.