2 Corinthians 7

V. 1-3, Having received we must..

I remember when I was younger there was a movie called “Brewster Millions.” It was a comedy about a man (Richard Prior) who had inherited a large sum of money but before he could claim his inheritance there was some stipulations that had to be met. I can’t remember all the details but there were some hurdles he had to jump through and a timeline he had to do them in before he could receive the full inheritance. He was promised the money only if he completed the tasks in the time frame he was given. Paul starts off chapter 7 by speaking of the promises of God that he mentioned at the end of chapter 6. These promises state that God would be a Father to us and that we would become His sons and daughters if we meet the criteria He set forth. We must first separate ourselves from this world and live righteous lives.

Paul says, having received this promise from God is there anything to do except to cleanse yourself from all filthiness and live a Holy life in the fear of God. He is essentially saying that the inheritance that God promises is so amazing (being a child of God) that one would be a fool to not separate themselves from this world and live a holy life. I think a lot of times the world looks at coming to Jesus as if they are going to miss out on the world and the things their flesh loves about it. The problem with this mindset is that you are really giving up nothing to gain everything (eternal life). The inheritance that is associated with being a child of God far surpasses anything that can be accumulated on this earth. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus tells us that we should seek to lay up treasure in heaven that can never be destroyed because everything on this earth is temporary, but the things of God are eternal. Knowing these promises, shouldn’t we follow the example of Paul to separate ourselves from this world and live a holy life.