Ministers of the New Covenant
Paul tells the church that they are the apostles letters of recommendation. If the apostles wanted to spread the word and teach and build churches, then their previous work would be their portfolio (2 Corinthians 3:2). So, if the church in Corinth was getting it wrong, then it makes Paul look bad. The church needed to know that basically your actions are a reflection of me. It reminds me of a work environment like a boss to an employee or like a family with a parent to a child.
Paul compared the 10 commandments to a ministry of condemnation as it was the law that was being used to condemn people as sinners. Then he referred to the new covenant (the Gospel of Christ) as the ministry of the Spirit, meaning the spirit of God or Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:9). The new covenant removes the "sinner" tag and replaces it with a "saved by grace" tag if you choose to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Paul closes out the chapter by informing the church that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). I just googled an image for this blog and verse and I saw an image with the American flag embedded in it. The freedom that Paul is talking about is freedom from sin, freedom from condemnation. An American flag cannot give you that freedom. It cannot save you from the death of your sins. Only accepting God's grace can give you that freedom.You can be aligned to your country and the freedoms allotted by the government, but freedom from sin is far more important and crucial to your walk as a Christ follower.
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Saved by Faith
We know the story of the sinful woman who humbled herself and wash Jesus's feet with her tears and anointed his head with oil (read Luke 7:36-50). But, did you see the parable and the lesson Jesus taught to Simon while also correcting the thinking of the Pharisees?
The Pharisees were on their self-righteous pedestal again and were condemning Jesus for letting a sinful woman touch him. She was showing her humility by serving Jesus and the Pharisees took an action and applied their own meaning to it. In them doing this, Jesus began telling Simon (a different one than the disciples) a parable of a moneylender and two debtors. One debtor owed more than the other, but both had their debts forgiven by the moneylender. The debtor who owed more (10 times more) was far more thankful for being free of his debt.
Jesus explains the parable by turning away from the woman and exposes Simon the Pharisee's disbelief that Jesus could forgive sins and that he was actually a prophet. Simon thought (in verse 39) that if Jesus were truly a prophet he would see how sinful the woman was that was touching his feet. Simon did none of the things that the woman did and they were in Simon's house. He saw her humility and said "he who is forgiven little, loves little." I understand that to mean when you are in debt a great deal (imagine $500,000) and that debt is forgiven, then you are more likely to be appreciative of the forgiveness of that debt than if it was just $5.
With our sins we must see that Christ can forgive us. He has the power and the ability. But, we must have the faith like this woman who knew she had done wrong and wanted to be forgiven. Jesus tells her in verse 50 that her faith has saved her and for her to "go in peace." When we have been forgiven, there is a whole lot more peace in life. Go seek Christ for forgiveness.
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