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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.

Living In Sin

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

What a mess! A man in Corinth, presumably a member of the Corinthian church, had remarried and introduced another wife and mother to a family that included at least one male child, and this boy, now a man, and his new stepmother were having a sexual relationship. And not one apparently undertaken behind closed doors and in secret. The whole church knew about it, and the scandal was such that news of it reached Paul in Ephesus. Worse, the Corinthian church apparently condoned it. First of all, this was a situation that the Jews took extremely seriously, as we read in Leviticus 20:11, “If a man violates his father by having sex with one of his father’s wives, both the man and the woman must be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offence”. In other words, in the days when this was written by Moses, stoning to death would have resulted. What was happening in Corinth was an incestuous relationship, and even the secular standards of those days in the Greek culture did not think this right. From a Christian perspective, this was a terrible situation because any sexual relationship outside of marriage was considered a sin. 

In Genesis 2:24, the basis of marriage was laid down as God’s order for husband and wife relationships. “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one”. The writer to the Hebrews was also very clear about any sexual relationship outside marriage. Hebrews 13:4, “Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery”. This man in the Corinthian church was committing adultery with his stepmother, and Paul was angered enough to write to the people there. Adultery is defined as voluntary sexual activity between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. It is included in what the Bible calls sexual immorality, and there are plenty of verses that warn against getting involved with such a sin. For example, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6, “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honour— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before“.  

Jesus upheld the Law concerning adultery, but He went further in His definition of adultery. He said, “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Jesus called out the men in these verses, but it equally applies to women as well. And He went on to include divorce in His definition of adultery. “But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32). But in these 21st Century days of provocative dressing, it is very hard for believing men and women to follow Jesus’ teaching and we need to call upon the help of the Holy Spirit to keep us pure and holy before God.

God gave us very strict laws about any form of sexual immorality, and that hasn’t changed since the days of Creation. So, it is a damning indictment of the Corinthian church that they allowed an adulterous and immoral sexual relationship to flourish within their midst. Paul was quite right to call it out and deal with it. His remedy was for the man to be removed from the church.

For Christians today, “living in sin” is prohibited. It is joked about in our society, but in reality, it is a serious situation. Records of marriages in recent years show that over 90% of them were between couples who were previously “living in sin”, perhaps indicating that such relationships outside of marriage have become socially acceptable in our secular societies. So what happens when one of these cohabiting couples comes to church, wants to become members, and the congregation finds out? There has to be an acceptance of them in love, of course (not accepting what they are doing, though), but the pastoral team will embark on a course of correction, involving repentance and restoration to the way God has ordained. But with an adulterous relationship that involves a couple who refuse to change their ways, there is no alternative but to ask them to leave the church or fellowship. Sad, but that is what our faith teaches.

As with any sin, restoration to a position of righteousness and holiness comes through repentance involving turning away from committing the sin any more. In Ephesians 4:30, Paul wrote, “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption“. Just a few verses before, Paul also wrote,“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:21-24). In God, we are a new creation, living for Him. This life is a training ground for what is to come. We can’t get to Heaven with one foot in the kingdom of the world and the other in the Kingdom of God. Look what Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

But as with any sin, we pilgrims are always on the alert. Our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, and leading people, even believers, into sexual sins is one of his weapons. Remember the snake in the Garden – “surely God didn’t say …”?

Father God. We repent of all our sins, sexual or otherwise. And for those who are weaker in the faith and caught up in situations seemingly beyond their control, we pray for opportunities to help them and restore them to Your ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Punishment and Discipline

Posted on by korgrocker

“Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?”
1 Corinthians 4:18-21 NLT

There were some intransigent believers in the Corinthian church, arrogant people who thought they, and not Paul, knew what was best for themselves and their fellow believers. Apparently, they were great talkers, giving “pretentious speeches”, but without offering anything like the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives. So Paul gave them a choice, like any parent would do to a naughty child – punishment or change. In those days, apparently, children were disciplined with a “rod”, as was the case in this country up until relatively recent times. I can remember when I was at primary school, the headmaster kept a cane in a corner of his office, and, although only rarely used, it was a remarkably good deterrent. In Scotland, the teachers had a leather strap, or tawse, used for the same purposes. Today, legislation against smacking has been implemented, but a public display of physical punishment has been rare for many years. But Paul was never going to return to Corinth wielding a big stick. He was speaking metaphorically, of course, but making the point that there is such a thing as discipline for believers.

In Hebrews 12:5-6,  we read, “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child””. I don’t know about you, fellow pilgrims, but I can’t remember recently ever hearing a sermon based on these verses. Hardly something we would like to hear from the pulpit, I’m sure, but these verses are in the Bible for a reason. So, why would God ever need to discipline us? In the case of the Corinthian church, perhaps divine discipline was required to focus the minds of the rebellious talkers on the basics of their faith, with a view to changing their thinking. And so it might be with any believer. We all have a tendency to continue in sin and rebellion against God, and sometimes God allows something to happen that puts a stark choice before us. He pushes us to a point where we have to decide to follow Him, regardless of the potential pain and His ways, or continue in sin, taking the easy way out. But what choice do we make? A true Christian will submit to the disciplining process and come through all the stronger for the experience. Sadly , though, many will abandon the faith, the pull of sin and the world too strong to resist. It is difficult to know what form God’s discipline will take until it happens, but the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what we need to know and do.

The writer to the Hebrews continues, “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?” (Hebrews 12:7). Even without physical punishment, a child growing up in a loving home will experience some form of discipline and punishment, such as the loss of privileges. As the old Proverb says, “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24). Sadly again, this proverb, containing so much sense, is rejected because of its reference to a physical remedy, and missing the whole point that discipline has a root in love. The next verses in Hebrews explain the reason why God disciplines his children. “If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?” (Hebrews 12:8-9). The last thing God wants is the prospect of having a spoilt, rebellious child joining Him in Heaven, and so He brings discipline through His love and grace.

Back in the Corinthian congregation, what would Paul’s threat of a rod of punishment look like? The implication is that he could use a demonstration of the Spirit’s power to bring about correction and change. We know that Paul moved in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they were demonstrated to the church there in Corinth. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God”. The contrast was stark. Paul used the gifts of the Holy Spirit to give authenticity to his preaching, but the arrogant Corinthians preferred to talk with “pretentious speeches” without power. The signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit were widely known in those First Century days. And even in my life as a believer, I have been in congregations where a word of knowledge has publicly exposed something that is wrong in a church or even calling out someone in the congregation, resulting in much soul searching and squirming in seats!

Paul said to his Corinthian “children” that he would come either with a rod or “with love and a gentle spirit”. But in reality, his love for the people there would have underpinned anything he had to say and do. God never acts in a harsh way, and it is always with love that his discipline is delivered. And so it was with Paul.

So, fellow pilgrims, are any of us going through a difficult time at the moment? Is God seemingly far away, and our prayers difficult and unanswered? Are we struggling with an issue that we seem to be unable to overcome? Well, it is always possible that through our circumstances, God is disciplining us. We need to get on our knees and repent and ask for His forgiveness, bringing before Him the issues that we are finding so difficult, praying for guidance and a straight path through our dilemma. Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way”. And the previous verse reminds us that ” … God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness”. God desires children who are righteous and holy, like His Son, Jesus. There is no other way we can enter Heaven overburdened with the worldly baggage of sin and unrighteousness.

Dear Heavenly Father. A sobering thought this morning, and one which our souls recoil from experiencing. But we thank You for Your love and discipline, because it prepares us for life eternal with You. Amen.

Living By God’s Power

Posted on by korgrocker

“Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?”
1 Corinthians 4:18-21 NLT

Do we believers talk a lot about the things of the Kingdom but fail to leverage the power available to us through the Holy Spirit? I think we probably do, because there is a disconnect between what happened in the early church and what is happening today. When was the last time we had a prayer meeting that was so powerful that the building shook, for example (see Acts 4)? When was the last time we were in a meeting where the power and presence of the Holy Spirit were so evident that healings occurred, a crescendo of praise erupted spontaneously, and everyone spoke out in tongues? Of course, the Cessationists claim that all this would have finished with the death of the Apostles, because they believe that certain spiritual gifts, particularly those considered miraculous or revelatory, ceased to be active after the first century. They believe gifts like speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing are not meant for the church today. In contrast, we have the Continuationists (like me) who believe that the miraculous gifts mentioned in the Bible, such as healing, prophecy, tongues, and miracles, are still given by the Holy Spirit to believers today and should be actively sought after and practised in the church. Whichever position we follow will have a profound effect on how we view and believe the Bible. Take, for example, 1 Corinthians 12, a chapter where Paul taught about the Spiritual Gifts. A Cessationist might be comfortable with the Holy Spirit gifts of service, enabling us to help each other (vs 4-7), but they would start to become a bit uneasy when it comes to verses 9-10, “The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said”, and in the end they would get a black marker pen out and find themselves redacting parts of these verses, because they don’t believe they apply today. After all, if they don’t believe what is written in the Bible, then they may as well remove the bits they disagree with, or treat the Holy Scriptures as nothing more than a good read or a history book detailing the life of the Jews and the early Christians.

As a Continuationist, I have no problem in accepting these verses, and those written anywhere else in the Bible about miracles and healings, prophecies and tongues, and in fact, I have personal experience of the Holy Spirit moving in healings and miracles. Some years ago, my daughter was totally healed of a brain illness with a prognosis so poor that my wife and I were told to expect, and prepare for, the worst. But she recovered through God’s grace and healing power, and her hospital medical notes were completed with the comment “this is nothing short of a miracle” written by an unbelieving medic. Today, through her, we have two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren (so far), bringing blessings upon blessings. We serve an amazing God, who loves us and cares for us.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers that there was no use in all their “pretentious speeches” and accompanying arrogant talk because there was a lack of God’s power at work. But what does “living by God’s power” really mean? In our own lives, God has supplied all that we need for life in His Kingdom. 2 Peter 1:3, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself through his marvellous glory and excellence”. We may not have the riches and means to live a prosperous life in our natural years, but God has supplied all that we need for life in His Kingdom. There is a difference. Jesus said to the church in Smyrna, “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! … ” (Revelation 2:9a). Here was a fellowship of believers who had little financially but who were rich with the resources and power of the Holy Spirit. Also, our needs have been met by God with all the resources of God being placed at our disposal. In our earthly lives, we are in the middle of a battle described by Paul in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms“. And Paul continued to describe the whole armour of God, set out to replicate the physical armour of the Roman soldiers to whom he was chained. We know the passage of Scripture, with the defensive items followed by one offensive weapon – ” … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b). And finally, Paul exhorts us to “pray in the Spirit”

Are we pilgrims living in God’s power, so freely available to all those who believe? Or are we in a place of fear and anxiety, depressed by world events, and hoping that Jesus comes soon? We pilgrims are made of stern stuff, solid in our faith, and dependable in times of crisis. Psalm 112:6-7 is a pillar in our faith, “Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered for ever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord“. We share Scriptures like Psalm 105:4-5, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced“. We can all recall the difficult times when God came through for us, and we strengthened ourselves with prayers of “do it again, Lord” when faced with a crisis. It is a tragedy that so many pilgrims can be stoics, gritting their teeth when troubles come against them, and sometimes hoping against hope that the Lord will return soon. But, folks, we have access to God’s power, and when we live by it, we are in a different world. Even when the world and society are falling apart around us, we can stand strong and firm, living in the power of God.

Dear God. Your power is limitless. Please forgive our lack of faith and help us to grasp all You have us with both hands, as we walk day by day in his sad and bad world. In Jesus’ name, amen.