Law and Grace

Posted on by korgrocker

“You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.”
1 Corinthians 6:12-14 NLT

Much of the Bible is devoted to the sinfulness of man and the grace and love of God. This common theme weaves a path through the Bible as though it were a coloured thread, meandering through the warp and weft of a rich Scriptural tapestry, depicting God’s love all the way from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament, the sinfulness of man was exposed by the Law of Moses, but in the New Testament, God’s grace came to the fore. Paul openly wrote about the conflict between God’s Law and His grace in Romans 7, where we read, “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet”” (Romans 7:7). But then he wrote, “But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good” (Romans 7:12). Jesus Himself exposed the dilemma caused by the Law when He said, “So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19). But then He went on, saying in the next verse, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” 

Paul wrote much about the law and God’s grace in his letter to the Romans, and Romans 5:20-21 gives a succinct contrast between the two: “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. So it is understandable how believers became confused by grace and reached a position where they thought they could do what they wanted because God’s grace would cover their sins. But Paul went on to tell the Romans, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). For those who thought that they could keep on sinning, Paul said, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” (Romans 6:6-7). And Paul continued to make his point, writing, “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (Romans 6:15-16). For anyone confused about the Law and God’s grace, sin and righteousness, they should read and study the Book of Romans until the Holy Spirit instils the contents deep within our souls. 

So, back to the Corinthians and Paul’s letter. He mentioned two specific areas of concern that the believers there seemed to be indulging in, and both pertained to their appetites. Of course, being set free from the Law meant that forbidden foods were no longer off-limits. However, Paul pointed out that not all things that went into their stomachs would be beneficial to them. But we pilgrims know that, don’t we? A diabetic will know the foolishness of eating foods with a high sugar content. An alcoholic will know that wine, beer and spirits are beverages to avoid. But the Law listed certain animals that should be avoided as food as well, practical advice that Moses wrote about in Leviticus 11. However, in Romans 14, Paul tied the consumption of certain foods to honouring and thanking God, providing an emphasis that provided the Holy Spirit the opportunity to bring correction and guidance. And further on in this chapter, Paul advised that what we eat and drink should be sensitive to other believers, who might struggle with what is on offer. So, for example, eating meat in the presence of a vegan believer might introduce difficulties for them, and drinking wine while an alcoholic is present would lack wisdom. 

The other appetite that Paul mentioned concerned sexual immorality. This is a very challenging topic for many believers because it strikes at the very reason for a human being’s inbuilt desire to propagate the human species. Our sexual appetites have been designed by God to provide both children and pleasure in the process. But the enemy has once again taken something good and sacred, and twisted and defiled it in a way that degrades our minds and bodies. About our bodies, Paul wrote, “They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies”. Earlier in the chapter, Paul mentioned sexual sins, adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality, all corruptions of God’s design and sacred order, but more of that in another blog.

It may be theoretically possible to achieve God’s standard of righteousness by following the Law. Still, if the Pharisees failed to achieve the right standard, then no one else could either. God could see the difficulties and struggles that human beings were experiencing with sin, and that was why Jesus came, bringing God’s grace to this earth, grace in the person of the God-Man, Jesus. The simplicity of the Gospel, that Jesus died in our place, taking onto Himself our sins, and in the process allowing us access to God’s presence covered in Jesus’ righteousness, is breathtakingly awesome and mind-boggling. That is God’s grace. Yes, the Law is still there and, as Paul wrote, it will continue to remind us of our sins, but through God’s grace we can bring them in repentance to the Cross, assured of His forgiveness. And as we progress in our Christian lives, the process of sanctification continues, making us more and more like Jesus. Paul wrote, “So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21). Amen and amen.

Dear Heavenly Father. Your grace and forgiveness to a sinful world are beyond understanding, and we know that we haven’t earned it. Once again, we come into Your presence as Your children, deeply grateful for Jesus. Amen.

Cleansed, Holy and Righteous

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t you realise that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT

Paul provided a list of sins that, although they were probably very relevant to the Corinthian society at that time, are still also very relevant to today’s society. The sexual sins Paul listed are rampant today, hidden away from public view mostly, but the outworkings are seen in displays such as the Pride parades and the occasional references to sexual harassment in the news. But we also have other sins still with us today, such as thieving. Theft from shops has reached epidemic proportions, and burglaries are mostly unsolved. Our police forces are overstretched and have to consider thieving as a minor crime, down the list of priorities. Abusive people were very obvious in Paul’s day, but in these Internet days, the abusers mostly sit behind a keyboard, tapping their vitriol into social media pages and destroying people and their reputations in the process. But the list of sins is endless, and Paul’s list is by no means exhaustive. So, perhaps an all-round list of sins would be better summarised by defining it as rebellion against God and His laws. 1 John 3:4, “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.” Of course, we might try and claim that believers don’t live under the Law anymore, instead living under God’s grace, but Paul dealt with that in Romans 7:6, “But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit”. The reality, though, is that human beings, believers or not, struggle with sin. Paul put this dilemma very well in Romans 7:14-15, “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate“. He goes on, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me” (Romans 7:21-23). And he then provides the answer, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 7:24-8:2). 

But back in 1 Corinthians 6:11,  Paul wrote, “But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”. The people in the Corinthian church were guilty of a long list of sins before they were saved through an encounter with Jesus, sins so bad that they would have been excused from thinking that they were beyond redemption. Imagine their wonder at being told that Jesus had forgiven them of a terrible sin of which they had been found guilty. Regardless of all the sins that they had committed, they were now children of God, cleansed, made holy, and righteous. These sinful people were deeply and fundamentally opposed to the nature of God, but through repentance and the Holy Spirit, they became children of God. In this verse, Paul immediately changed his tone to one of encouragement and love, because for the believers at Corinth, as for all Christians, something dramatic changed when they came to God through faith in Christ. He declared us righteous and welcomed us into His family as His children. He made us heirs to His glory.

The believers in Corinth were cleansed from their sins. Titus 3:4-5, “But— When God our Saviour revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit”. That process in itself has to be the best news any human being will ever hear. It is a timeless statement that has been hanging over successive generations for the last two thousand years or so. This news is so good that we pilgrims can only shake our heads in wonder and awe that the Creator of this universe would give us a new life so rich and sinless that we can be in God’s presence forever. Jesus Himself, as we know, introduced this concept of a new spiritual birth, but it wasn’t just words. It was His gift to a fallen world, and the children God has always desired.

Paul also reminded the Corinthians believers that they had been “made holy”. There is a religious word we use today to describe what being made holy is all about, and that is “sanctification”. It means that we have been set apart from the rest of sinful humanity for God’s purposes, and we are now God’s people. Earlier in this letter, we read, “I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Paul knew very well how sinful the Corinthians had been, but he started his letter to them with the reassurance that they were now being sanctified. Hebrews 10:14, “For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy”. We, of course, note that this is an ongoing process. Sanctification doesn’t happen overnight, but God is patient and works out His purposes within us day by day. 

Paul finishes 1 Corinthians 6:11 by stating that the believers in Corinth “were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”. The wonderful truth is that when we were saved, when we came to the Cross where Jesus took on the punishment for all our sins, He gave us His righteousness, and we became justified before God through our faith in Jesus. 

So, in the light of all this, how should the Corinthians have behaved? Come to that, how should we behave? The answer to that always leads me to Ephesians 4:22-24, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness“. We can only do that through God’s grace and with the help of the Holy Spirit, but as we journey through life, we will find ourselves becoming more and more like the person we should be. What a wonderful God and Saviour!

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your many blessings, and Your patience with us. Your grace and loving kindness knows no bounds. Amen.

Inheriting the Kingdom

Posted on by korgrocker

“Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers. Don’t you realise that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:7-10 NLT

The Kingdom of God is mentioned much in the New Testament, particularly from the lips of Jesus. The kingdom of God is the spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God. In this sense, the kingdom of God is spiritual, and we remember that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world, as we read what He said at His trial before Pilate, “Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world”” (John 18:36). Importantly, Jesus preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the kingdom of God, “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”” (Matthew 4:17).‭‭ In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul supplied the Corinthians with a list of sins that would exclude them from the Kingdom of God, and at the end he wrote that people who cheat others would be amongst the company of those outside the Kingdom. This was, of course, particularly relevant to those in the Corinthian church who had been initiating lawsuits against fellow believers. Paul wrote that it was better for them to let themselves be cheated than head for the courts. We note from the list of sins that these fall into three categories: sins against a person’s body, sins committed against others, and sins against God. But they all have one thing in common, in that they will exclude anyone who commits these sins from inheriting the Kingdom of God.

Right at the start of His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, “ … I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In the next few verses, Jesus explained the process of spiritual rebirth, but did Nicodemus “get” it? He probably did, because we read about his involvement in the burial of Jesus in John 19:38-39, in the company of a man called Joseph. “Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes“. Joseph was the wealthy man who loaned Jesus his tomb for the weekend.

But back to the list of sins mentioned by Paul, sins that he said would exclude people from God’s Kingdom. Quite simply, there will be no sinners present anywhere associated with God because wicked people will be barred. It makes sense, really, because God, His kingdom, and everything to do with Him is sinless, pure, and holy. Absolute truth and righteousness will be found there. The Kingdom of God is, and will be eternally, a place where no sinners will be found and won’t be allowed to enter there either. A quote from “gotquestions.org”, “The Christian life is different from that of a non-Christian. Christians struggle against sin but have the God-given ability to overcome it. Unbelievers, who do not have the Spirit of God, remain slaves to their sin. Even if a Christian falls and lapses into sin, he will always eventually return to the Lord, and the struggle against sin will continue. But the Bible does not support the idea that a person who perpetually and unrepentantly engages in sin can indeed be a Christian”. There is little point in analysing each and every category of sin that Paul described, but we should note that there is an almighty battle going on in our times between those who are involved in sexual sins and those who believe what the Bible says about it. In fact, it is now going further, with the “gender wars” where, somehow, the devil has convinced men that they can become women and vice versa. And who would have thought that such a wicked ideology could even have been approved through legislation introduced by our lawmakers? Although not mentioned specifically in the list of sins, implementing such an ideology in a human being’s body is just as much a sin as any other. The sad thing in our days is that it is the secular feminists who are fighting the battle while the church is strangely silent. What a tragedy!

What do we pilgrims think about our inheritance, the Kingdom of God? In a sense, we have inherited it already.  We pilgrims, through the process of being born again, are now God’s children, and there will be an inheritance awaiting us. We are heirs to His Kingdom, and one day we will be in His presence forever. We may be getting weary about all the battles we are facing, but as Isaiah wrote, ” … strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you”” (Isaiah 35:3-4). And so we pilgrims encourage our fellow believers, because the Lord will indeed soon come to save us. His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, is closer than we think, and we are part of it in this life.

Inheriting the Kingdom of God is a given fact for believers, past, present and future, but do we pilgrims feel we have inherited it, or are we unsure? Well, Jesus made it quite clear in John 3:3, 5, “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’ … Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit”. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:13b-14, ” … When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory”. So all believers who believe in Jesus, have repented, and continue to repent, of their sins, become born-again children of God, with an inheritance guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.

Father God, you are truly our Father, and we are deeply thankful for an inheritance assured by You. We worship You today. Amen.

Judging The World

Posted on by korgrocker

“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t you realise that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realise that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers!”
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 NLT

Paul made the astonishing statement that one day “believers will judge the world”. And he went on to make another astonishing statement, that believers “will judge angels”. Where did Paul get all this from? I don’t believe for a moment that he made this up, because he must have had a revelation from the Holy Spirit when he wrote it, but Scriptures to confirm this are not exactly plentiful in the Bible. The commentaries point to Revelation 2:26, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations”, quoting the words of Jesus to the church in Thyatira. We also read in Revelation other indications that believers will rule and reign with Jesus. In Revelation 20:4-6, John wrote, “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years“. Earlier in Revelation we also read, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10). In Matthew 19:28 we read, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel“. I believe Paul had a glimpse through the Holy Spirit of a time to come when believers today will be in a position to judge unbelievers, but how that will be isn’t very clear. Perhaps the reference to judging angels applies to the time when the devil and the fallen angels are judged and then cast into hell (see 2 Peter 2:4).

We mustn’t forget, however, that today, in the here and now, we pilgrims are in a position to judge the world. Although Jesus said, “do not judge lest you be judged”, we have to be aware of God’s position on sin and evil. If God has said something is sinful, then we too must agree, and this effectively means that we have to make a judgment about another person’s behaviour, or a situation that has arisen in our society, or even about a law that our secular lawmakers have passed. Such a judgment has to be made in accordance with God’s absolute truth, not the relative truth that the world adopts. Take abortion, for example. Our lawmakers have passed a law legalising the abortion of babies still in their mother’s womb, even though God’s truth is that a new life starts at the point of conception (see Psalm 139). So we believers judge that the very act of abortion is wrong and sinful, because we have God’s authority from His Word to say so. In a similar, less dramatic way, if we see someone “shoplifting”, that is stealing goods from a shop or somewhere, then we have the right to judge this act because the Bible is clear about the fact that theft is a sin. However, Jesus was clear that those who observe such a thing happening must be careful about casting judgement because He said, “For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). We must also be careful that we don’t judge someone based on what they look like. For example, if a person looks a bit shifty or is dressed in a way that offends us, then we mustn’t cast judgment on them purely because of their appearance. In John 7:24, Jesus said, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly”. A quote from “Gotquestions.org”, “Christians are often accused of ‘judging’ or intolerance when they speak out against sin. But opposing sin is not wrong. Holding aloft the standard of righteousness naturally defines unrighteousness and draws the slings and arrows of those who choose sin over godliness”. John the Baptist got his head chopped off because he called out Herodias for her adulterous relationship with Herod. He may have been silenced, but Herodias and Herod’s sins were clearly written in God’s books; Revelation 20:12, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books”. 

If we pilgrims find ourselves in a situation where we are judging, then we must be careful about what we judge and how we go about it. Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). We need discernment and courage as we interface with a sinful world. We need to pray, and pray again, to properly receive God’s truth and His recommended course of action, because without it, we might end up in a difficult situation that impacts us directly. We may one day find ourselves in a place where we are judging the world, but today, this is not something we need to concern ourselves about, because perhaps the only person that we should be judging is ourselves.

Dear Heavenly Father. You are Truth, the whole Truth, and everything about You is true. We pray for discernment and a reigned-in tongue, so that we will not speak out of turn, or in error, in judgment in any situation in which we find ourselves. Please lead and guide us, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Lawsuits

Posted on by korgrocker

“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t you realise that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realise that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers!”
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 NLT

Paul has finally moved on from the chapters about the man sleeping with his stepmother, and he has now picked up another scandal in the Corinthian church. Apparently, there has been an occasion when a believer and member of the church has taken another believer to court, over some matter, perhaps concerned with business dealings. This would not have been about something illegal, but probably a civil matter to be settled in a secular court. In those days, the courts had a reputation for being corrupt, with bribery of judges and juries commonplace, but it would not just have been about the business dispute. The two parties concerned would have publicly attacked each other’s characters, and estrangement and animosity would have followed. What sort of dispute would this have been? Well, it was perhaps between a builder and a supplier, with one blaming the other for the quality of bricks. Or it could have been between a customer and a supplier of goods, with the dispute over the quantity of what had been ordered. But regardless of what the problem was, Paul was horrified that a dispute between two believers had to be settled in a civil, secular court.

Personally, I know of a believing businessman who was in a business partnership with another man, two men both in the same church. But one man made a poor decision that resulted in the loss of a substantial sum of money on a construction project. Worse, the partnership was consequently dissolved, and one of the men had to choose between taking his partner to court or accepting that he would personally lose a significant sum of money, covering the debt. There was little the church could do to help, although the rights and wrongs of the case were clear. The outcome was that the wronged partner decided to quietly take on board the financial loss, concluding that if the matter had gone to court, the experience would not have been honouring to God or the church of which he was a part.

But back to the Corinthians. How should the dispute have been settled? Paul asked them, “Can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?” The proper remedy was to settle the matter themselves in a Godly way that would bring a proper resolution and which would not lead to a significant rift between the two believers. If necessary, involving other believers in the process would have been beneficial. We know that God is the Righteous Judge, and any matter brought before Him and in His name would have an eternal significance. There would have been no corruption and no ungodly outcome. Problem resolved.

What is the difference between settling a civil dispute inside and outside the church? Firstly, there should not have been a problem caused by either the quality or quantity of goods supplied in the first place. As believers, we must work to the highest, righteous standards, to ensure that what we do is beyond the normal expectations of society. This principle is not just about builders and the like, but applies in all areas of our lives. As an example from the 19th century, Hartley’s jam was a market leader in the UK. William Hartley’s deep Christian faith guided his business ethics and practices, influencing his brand’s reputation for quality, and there are many other examples of men and women who put their faith in God before their wealth and business interests.

Was Paul advocating that all civil disputes should be settled within the church? Not necessarily, I think, because it depends on the circumstances. Maybe Paul was just focusing on this one particular situation as being suitable for internal resolution. Or perhaps he was developing a theme that originated in the Corinthian church’s reputation for quarrelling, fearing that there were more potential lawsuits lurking in the wings. Paul wrote, “Can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves“? It would have been a disaster for the church there if even the smallest dispute had to be settled in a secular, civil court.

How do we pilgrims handle a disagreement with another believer? Jesus said, “‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:23-26). There we have it – words straight from the Master’s voice.

Dear Father God. Please forgive us when something inside of us rises up and causes dissent and strife, or worse. Help us to resolve matters and keep a clear conscience in matters of both relationships and business dealings. In Jesus’ name. Amen.




Judging the Church

Posted on by korgrocker

“It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.””
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 NLT

Now here’s an interesting Scripture. Paul said that it was the responsibility of the Corinthian congregation “to judge those inside the church who are sinning”. But didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged“? But actually, as we drill down into what Jesus said, we find that there is a standard by which believers will be judged, and that standard is applied to the believers in the church who are sinning. Yes, it is judgment, and the judges, the church believers, will themselves experience the same standards, but applied to themselves. In a previous blog, we considered church discipline, as Jesus laid out in Matthew 18, but how else could this process be followed without judgment being involved? So the guilty person or people have to be removed from their fellowship, as Paul and Moses said, at the behest of the congregation. I suppose that the problem comes if the congregation is split on the issue, some wanting to deal with the sin, and others saying, “let’s give him a chance – after all, everyone sins, don’t they?”

Earlier in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote, “Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns” (1 Corinthians 5:5). This is another mystery that needs further thought. The man has openly sinned, and presumably, he has refused to change his ways. Incidentally, the stepmother has not been included in Paul’s recommended disciplinary actions, so perhaps she is not a member of the church in Corinth and has been included among the unbelievers outside of it. If this is in fact the case, then Paul wrote that she is outside the jurisdiction of the church and therefore not their responsibility. Paul was clear that it would be God who judges the unbelievers, not the church. But the man himself must be handed over to satan. In other words, he has to be removed from God’s protection in the church because of his sin, and once on the outside with the unbelievers, he will perhaps be attacked and tested in the same way that Job was. We read in Job 1:12, ““All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence“. Other theologians think that this means satan will be given the freedom by God to end the man’s earthly life, either quickly or through a long-term illness. But there is always the hope that God may use satan’s destructive work in the man’s life to lead him to repentance. For the man, the hope is that this action will result in the eternal salvation of his spirit. It is unclear if the man is understood to be a believer who will ultimately be saved by God’s grace or an unbeliever who may come to genuine salvation by this act of removing him from the church. But the goal of church discipline is not retaliation, but rehabilitation: to convict the man of his sin, to encourage repentance and restoration. Galatians 6:1 “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself”.

There is a doctrine in some evangelical churches that says “once saved, always saved”, and they point to this verse in 1 Corinthians 5, amongst others, as justification. He may be outside the church now, but there was a time when he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. So, did God’s grace then apply to his situation eternally, and mean that regardless of his subsequent sins, even if he was unrepentant, that he would be saved anyway? Personally, I don’t think so, but there are probably those who do. Thankfully, it is God who is in control, and we pilgrims have faith and trust in Him that He can be trusted to do what is right.

Paul wrote that it is the responsibility of those in the church, the believers, to implement what he has recommended. But sometimes church members are reluctant to get involved, fearful of doing something wrong, or ending up in a situation that might, for them, go very wrong. There is also the incorrect interpretation of what Jesus said about judgment, which bothers some. But we know that through Jesus and by the power of His Spirit, we will access all the wisdom that we need.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please lead and guide us in Your ways as we stumble along through this life. We pray for our leaders and those in our churches, that they will hear Your voice and do what is righteous in Your eyes. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Associating with Sinful People

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 NLT

It’s a difficult balance. Should we, Christian pilgrims, isolate ourselves from worldly people, thereby keeping ourselves pure, holy and sinless, but in the process prevent any chance of contact with people who desperately need to hear the Gospel? It seems that Paul had written a previous letter about this to the Corinthian church, but it has somehow become lost in the mists of time. In that letter, it appears that Paul warned the Corinthians about sexual sins, but it appears that they chose to ignore his exhortations, hence the weight given to his admonishment about the man sleeping with his stepmother. Paul explained that he wasn’t suggesting that the Christians in Corinth should stop meeting with worldly unbelievers, but that they should shun people who claim to be believers but still behave sinfully, and particularly those committing open and blatant sexual sins.

The problem of association, then as now, with worldly people remains a problem, because to fulfil our Christ-given mission, we must have contact with them. Such people may even be our friends or family members. A bit later on in this letter, Paul wrote, “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). But he didn’t say that he would participate in worldly behaviour and customs to do the soul winning. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, he wrote, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” 

So what should we do with believers like the man and his stepmother, if we find them in our churches? We have covered the question of church discipline in a previous blog, but Paul continued to make this important point in his letter. The Apostle Jude wrote, “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives” (Jude 1:22-23). We must do our utmost to be merciful to those in our congregations and pray and help them to deal with their sinful behaviour. In his letter, Paul was, I think, referring to persistently unrepentant people in churches who had refused to change their ways of sin, but who still wanted to participate in the church activities, and even claimed to be believers. We find this in churches that tolerate the practices of certain sexual sins, with claims that you can be a Christian but still violate the Biblical foundations of sexual ethics. So a liberal faction is accepting of such people, and traditional and fundamental Bible believing Christians keep them at arm’s length. This leads to the dilemma facing true believers, because such sinful behaviour won’t necessarily lead to the exclusion from public meetings of blatantly sinning and self-claimed believers, but on the other hand, they have to be isolated to avoid their sin from tainting the rest of the believing church. A difficult balance that needs much prayer, grace and wisdom to achieve. 

In these circumstances, we turn to Jesus for guidance. He spent much time in the presence of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and so on. We find his grace at work in the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery (where was the man by the way!). The establishment wanted to stone her to death, but the story ended with Jesus refusing to condemn her, instead commanding her to sin no more. We must take His grace and love into our associations with everyone we meet in the world, and in our churches, we must also do the same. There is no other way for pilgrims to behave. We cannot judge people because that is God’s prerogative, but we can separate ourselves from sinful people, because that is His command. We love the sinners, but hate and avoid the sin.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are building a pure and sinless church of which we are a part. We pray that we hear Your Spirit when we come into contact with sin, and pray also that You grant us the wisdom we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yeast

Posted on by korgrocker

“Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realise that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.”
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NLT

Imagine the scene. Here is a man openly sinning by having a sexual relationship with his stepmother, and, worse, the church in Corinth accepts it. There is no censure. No attempt to put things right. Perhaps the leadership in Corinth thought that they were being “progressive”, following a convoluted logic based on God’s grace and forgiveness. But whatever their thoughts, having such an open, sinful display was not only accepted but also boasted about. In the Churches of Scotland and Wales today, there is a similar situation, with people of certain sexual orientations and practices being not only accepted, they have also been appointed to church leadership roles. So we have a lesbian bishop in Wales and a gay minister in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and these are supposedly Christian churches in Christian denominations. Such sin exposes the wickedness in the hearts of mankind, a situation little different from the world just before the Flood. We read about the situation then in Genesis 6:5-6, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. That poignant picture of God’s heart breaking through the extent of man’s sin and wickedness has always touched me greatly. Aren’t we grateful that God made a covenant with Noah, as we read in Genesis 9!

But back to Corinth. Paul admonished the Corinthians for boasting about their acceptance of the sinning man in their church, and such boasting even reached Paul’s ears. People must have been so scandalised about what was happening in Corinth that they found Paul and told him what was happening. We can just about imagine that it broke his heart as well. So, Paul put pen to paper and sent this letter to the church in Corinth, and he didn’t pull any punches. Of course, he didn’t spew vitriolic anger onto the paper, but set out his concerns in a measured and loving way. And he reminded the Corinthians that if they let sin into the church it is like yeast in a batch of dough. As any baker knows, the dough becomes infused with the yeast solution and starts to rise. Great when the yeast is “good” yeast, but if the yeast is bad, then the whole batch of bread will be bad as well. This is a good analogy about what was happening there, and one that equally applies to our churches in the UK today.  Sadly, those Christian communities that condone sin will eventually wither and die, because, as Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, their love of Him had grown cold. “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches” (Revelation 2:5). If Jesus removes His lampstand from a church it means that His presence won’t be there anymore, and instead the congregation becomes a religious club. Yes, it might survive for a while, but it will eventually close down. But the encouraging news is that there is still a Christian church in Corinth, claiming roots all the way back to Paul’s foundation in the first century. Paul’s letter must have contributed to their future.

The question that we pilgrims have to ask ourselves concerns the church or fellowship that we attend, and also our role and influence within it. Two important factors that are both concerned with yeast. Paul’s analogy about yeast and dough is based on the impact that sin has in both the life of a believer and the life of their congregations. We have to start by examining ourselves. David, the Psalmist, wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). Paul also wrote on a similar theme, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). And one more verse from 2 Peter 1:10 in the Amplified version, “Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behaviour reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin]”. We pilgrims have to realise that if there is any sin within us, visible or secret, then we are in danger of introducing bad yeast into the “dough” of our church. Such sin might not be what we first think of in terms of the sexual mayhem happening in Corinth, but it might be the little things, such as how we conduct ourselves in the meetings, or how we respond to the other believers there. Do we complain and quarrel? Do we “roast the preacher” on a Sunday afternoon after church? Do we generally undermine the work and witness of the church, quenching the Holy Spirit in the process? If we find ourselves doing such things, then it is essential that we get before God in repentance and sort out our attitudes and behaviour.

Secondly, we must always be on the guard for any sin that is creeping into the church we attend, always doing what the Berean Christians did. We read in Acts 17:11, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth“. If we are uncomfortable about a message preached from the pulpit, then we must diligently look for the answer in the Bible, which is our final arbiter. Sometimes, however, we will hear a message that seems ok, but even then still doesn’t sit easily with us. In such a case, we leave it on the “back burner” and ask God for confirmation through His Spirit. 

Jesus taught much about the Kingdom of God, of which we pilgrims are a part. It is coming, and nothing will stop it. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day failed. The liberal and “progressive” bishops and ministers of today will be equally unsuccessful in frustrating its coming, even though they have no idea that that is what they are attempting to achieve. Luke 13:20-21, “Again [Jesus] asked, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about thirty kilograms of flour until it worked all through the dough’”. Slowly but surely, regardless of attempts by the devil, the world, and even the church to stop it, the Kingdom of God is growing throughout the world just as yeast permeates and penetrates its way through the batch of dough. One day, the process will be complete, and then we will experience the End of the Age. Will that be in our lifetimes? We don’t know, but we must be ready. Our lamps must not be allowed to run out of metaphorical oil. Ever.

Dear Father. Your Kingdom will prevail, and we pray for the stamina and resources we need to stand firm to the end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In The Spirit

Posted on by korgrocker

“For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 5:3-5 NIVUK

Just to recap, a man in the Corinthian church is having a sexual relationship with his stepmother, and the church seemed quite comfortable and accepting about what was going on. The news about this had reached Paul, but how did he find out, in that age, without the internet and mobile phones? In 1 Corinthians 1:11, we read, “For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters”. ‭‭So some people from this family must have travelled to Ephesus, and there they found Paul and updated him about what was going on. I suppose the other thing we can infer from this is that not all the people in the Corinthian church were in agreement about what was happening there.

In this day and age, a true Christian church would not accept any form of sexual immorality and would deal with it along Biblical lines, but it is true to say that some denominations are quite “liberal” in their teaching and ethos, believing that the verses highlighting the need for sexual purity don’t apply today. Quite how they overlook verses such as Galatians 5:19-21 is a mystery to me. These verses read, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God”. Sadly, today, as an example, the Anglican church has a liberal or modernist faction that views scripture as being interpreted through reason and tradition, an approach that acknowledges that Christian beliefs and practices can evolve over time and that social and political action can contribute to God’s kingdom. But in the process, they have abandoned what the Bible says. So perhaps in the Corinthian church, there was the start of a liberal theology that gave more weight to love and acceptance rather than sin and restoration. But Paul was having none of it, and perhaps it is a shame that he cannot speak today in the Anglican corridors of power.

Paul called for the Corinthians to hold a church meeting, and Paul said that he would be with them “in the spirit”. Did that mean that Paul had some form of supernatural power able to transport him to their meeting? Or was it less dramatic, by Paul announcing his spiritual authority as an Apostle and making his views clearly known to the meeting as though he was there in person himself. We note from the previous verses in 1 Corinthians 5 that Paul treated the matter extremely seriously, and he expected the church there to adopt a state of mourning and evict the man from their congregation. 

There was an occasion in the Bible where someone was transported by the Holy Spirit to another location. Philip was one of the early deacons engaged to serve the church in Jerusalem, but an angel told him to go to a certain place where he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a civil servant to the queen there. We can read the account of the interaction between Philip and the eunuch in Acts 8, which resulted in a baptismal service taking place in an adjacent lake or river. And we then read in Acts 8:39, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing”. In another place, we read what happened to the Apostle John in Revelation 1:10, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet“. John was caught up into a spiritual realm where he received his amazing Revelation. But as far as Paul was concerned, there was nothing more dramatic than the spectre of his letter and the instructions contained therein hanging over the Corinthian congregation as they discussed what to do. 

What happened to the man that Paul said should be evicted from the church? We don’t really know, although this might have been the man in 2 Corinthians 2:5:8, “I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him“. If it was the same man, then Paul’s presence “in the spirit” was enough to bring about change and reconciliation. 

Practically, today, for us pilgrims, we too must be careful and observant in listening to the Holy Spirit about what is happening in our churches and fellowships. The enemy will always try to find a way to drive wedges between believers over something that starts small and apparently insignificant, but in the end grows into a big issue that splits a church. There is a tendency for believers in a congregation to “go with the flow” when it comes to certain matters, but instead, believers must be led by the Spirit to make sure a situation as occurred in Corinth never happens. We must pray for our leaders and congregations that God’s wisdom will prevail.

Dear Father God. We do indeed pray for our pastors and other leaders, that You will grant them wisdom and power through Your Spirit. Please also fill us afresh with Your Spirit so that we can walk in Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Church Discipline

Posted on by korgrocker

“I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 NLT

Jesus gave us some teaching about church discipline. This has only rarely had to be followed, in my experience, but the process is there. There was a real problem in the Corinthian church because they were accepting an immoral and adulterous relationship between a man and his stepmother. Perhaps they had misinterpreted Paul’s teaching about grace. In Romans 5:20-21, he wrote, “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord“. Paul was effectively saying that as sin increases, God’s grace increases even more. In other words, sin cannot grow past God’s capacity to give good to those who deserve His angry judgment instead. Paul concludes that God’s grace is the greater ruler. It reigns over sin and death. How? He declares righteous all of us sinners who, by faith, receive his grace-gift of Jesus’ death for our sin on the cross. He wrote this letter to the Romans probably while he was staying with the Corinthians, so it is very likely that Paul shared his understanding of God’s grace with the Corinthian church. Did they therefore decide that sinning was fine because God’s grace would cover it? They may have deliberately ignored the verses that Paul wrote over the page in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”. So we have sin and God’s grace, and a congregation that seemed to be setting their own rules, based on a misunderstanding, deliberate or otherwise, of Paul’s teaching.

But Paul soon had them back on track, pointing out that rather than pridefully accepting the immoral situation, they should instead have been “mourning in sorrow and shame” and started the process of evicting the man (and presumably his step-mother) from the church. But back to what Jesus taught, something we find in Matthew 18. There are three steps to follow:

  1. Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over”. The first step involves a low-key opportunity to point out that there is a sin that needs to be dealt with, and the sinner and the one who has observed it have a chat and hopefully resolve the problem at that point. Such an approach requires much love and gentleness, with the situation kept strictly private and confidential. Of course, there has to be a good relational and trustworthy bridge with the one who is the sinner, who must also be prepared to be obedient, repentant, and recognise the fact that God is at work in his life. 
  2. Matthew 18:16, “But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’”. Things are getting a bit more serious now because the sinner involved has failed to respond to the first step. But the second step is still intent on the restoration of the miscreant, with additional witnesses helping to resolve the problem. Again, privacy, love and gentleness are involved because the “brother or sister” will by now be feeling a bit under siege. It may at this point be helpful to involve a church leader, who would be able to assist with a plan of action and would be able to follow up with some Biblical help.
  3. Matthew 18:17, “If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector”. The third step is the nuclear option, and the one that Paul was advising the Corinthian church to follow. There is still a chance of repentance and restoration, and it would be a very stubborn and hardened sinner who would let things go this far. However, note that Jesus didn’t teach that the sinner should be excluded from the church. Instead, he or she would be allowed to sit in the meeting, as if they were a random unbeliever who walked through the doors. If such a thing happens in our churches today, we welcome the visitor and treat them with love and acceptance, and if sin is apparent, then we still love the sinner but hate the sin. 

To be fair, my experience is that after the first step, the poor person involved is more likely to leave the church and find another, or reject the idea of church, and even God, for good. In the case of the situation in Corinth, Paul was so appalled about what was going on that he advised that the man involved be ejected from the church, perhaps an early example of the practice of excommunication. 

So what can we pilgrims learn from this? We need to guard our hearts and lives, striving for a sinless existence. Some Christians have a tendency to think that any private sin can be brushed under the carpet, and they can continue to appear righteous and holy in the pews. But there is a verse in Numbers 32:23 that reads, “But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out”. I can think of one high profile Christian leader whose sins found him out when he was caught with a prostitute, and I know from my own experience about a church pastor who turned up one day at church with a new car, paid for, he said, from a businessman’s gift, but sadly he lied about a win through a scratch card purchased from his local newsagent. In 1 John 1:8-9, we read, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”. We pilgrims must walk in holiness and truth, and be secure in our knowledge that God loves us and wants our highest good. That’s why Jesus came, to seek and save the lost, those who otherwise, through their sins, were heading for a lost eternity. And we soberly remember that one day that was us, dead in our trespasses and sins. But we are now children of God “ … created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24b). What a wonderful Saviour! And as each believer functions in the way that God desires, any problems within the church will be nonexistent, eliminating the need for “church discipline“.

Father God. In the same way that You discipline Your children, You will discipline Your church. One day, we will all attend the wedding feast as the Bride of Christ, without sin and being holy and righteous in Your presence. Thank You. Amen.