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How to Identify Genuine Preachers and Teachings

Posted on by korgrocker

Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognise our good work among you.”
2 Corinthians 3:1-2 NLT

Men and women in certain professions must meet certain academic and vocational standards to be qualified to do the job required. A UK doctor, for example, has to complete a five-year medical degree followed by two years of foundational training. There is then the opportunity to specialise in a particular area of medicine. An accountant needs to meet a minimum educational standard, usually a degree, followed by on-the-job training, additional exams, and achieving chartered status following a further period of relevant employment. But for Paul, there seems to be a problem because, in the eyes of the Corinthian believers, many of whom he had brought to Christ through his preaching and Gospel messages, his credibility and “fitness to practice” seem to have lapsed. So Paul, rather tongue-in-cheek, asked them if he needed to polish up and resubmit his CV to be able to visit them again. 

It must have been the case that, because of a gap in contact between Paul and the believers in Corinth, or because other preachers and teachers had taken his place, the church had veered away from the foundations Paul had planted a few years before. So, a bit sarcastically, Paul asked whether he needed to bring “letters of recommendation” when he came to visit them. How did it come to this? Well, if we read his previous letter and even his previous chapter in 2 Corinthians, we can see that there were practises going on in Corinth that Paul, and Jesus Himself, didn’t approve of. For example, there was the man accused of sleeping with his stepmother, a practice that seemed to have been condoned by at least some of the congregation. And Paul reminded the Corinthians, “You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us” (2 Corinthians 2:17). Paul was an uncompromising preacher of the Gospel message, the Good News about Jesus, and all that He had done for both Jews and Gentiles. 

“A good tree produces good fruit,
and a bad tree produces bad fruit“

How do we pilgrims respond when a new preacher steps up to the pulpit in our churches? It depends on the denomination or movement to which we belong. The pulpit of the church of which I am a member is carefully guarded by the leadership because it is their duty to protect the flock from error. I can remember some years ago, when I was in an independent church, a visit by a recommended speaker who was to be the keynote preacher at a weekend conference. The leadership of my church didn’t personally know the man, but he came highly recommended by people they knew. However, it quickly became clear that he did not meet the standard set by the recommendations. A salutary lesson and one that I have never forgotten. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. … Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” Matthew 7:15-17, 20). Paul warned Timothy about teachers who preach a message that is not the Word of God. 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths”. Perhaps this had already happened at Corinth, with the congregation having appointed men who preached what they wanted to hear.

We pilgrims, however, can check out what we are taught from the pulpit against the Scriptures, the Bible that we know and love. Of particular concern to us are teachings that don’t check out with the actual Word God has given us through His Holy Spirit-inspired Biblical writers. If a new or different interpretation of a Bible verse is mentioned, even in passing, then alarm bells must ring in our minds and spirits. I remember some years ago, a respected teacher of the Word made a comment about marriage that seemed to indicate, from what he said, that more than one wife would be acceptable in certain circumstances. The church’s leadership issued a corrective statement the following Sunday, and the teacher from the previous week wasn’t seen again. 

But Paul, the Paul we know and love from his letters, should never have needed letters of recommendation. He reminded the Corinthians that the only recommendation required was the witness of their lives lived out God’s way, in accordance with what he had preached to them right from the beginning. What did the unbelievers in Corinth see in the lives of the Christians there? Were they no different to the rest of the Greek society, practising the same immoral lifestyles? Or were they distinct men and women of God, full of the Holy Spirit, and witnessing a Jesus who had come to save the human race? In our society, the same questions apply. Back to that old cynical question – “If I were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?” Sadly, I’m sure the answer for many would be “No”. Paul wanted to return to Corinth and find a people on fire for God and adhering to the purity of the Gospel. But if Jesus came today, would He find a people with the same spirit? Or would He find an anaemic church hunkered down, ineffective, and not living His way? Worth a thought?

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for our sins and lack of diligence in following Your ways. Kindle again the dying embers that exist in the hearts of many in this nation, and bring revival to Your church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Personal Profit

Posted on by korgrocker

You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.”
2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT
“For we are not like many, [acting like merchants] peddling God’s word [shortchanging and adulterating God’s message]; but from pure [uncompromised] motives, as [commissioned and sent] from God, we speak [His message] in Christ in the sight of God.”
2 Corinthians 2:17 AMP

The verse today is the last one in 2 Corinthians 2, and it comes at the end of a short section entitled “Ministers of the New Covenant”.  In a sense, that title includes all true believers, not just the church leaders, the pastors, teachers, apostles and all. We are all a “Christ-like fragrance” as we go about our daily lives in this sad and bad world. We are the “salt and light” that Jesus taught about in His Sermon on the Mount. But in this last verse, Paul speaks more personally and points out his true qualifications. There were men in his day who were false teachers, apostles, or prophets, and they somehow managed to wheedle their way into churches and people’s lives, finding that they could earn quite a useful living by doing so. But not Paul. His motives were driven and fueled by Christ’s authority.

In recent years, several high-profile “televangelists” have become wealthy through their ministries and donor-funded media empires. They promote the use of private jets as a “Biblical necessity”, and all based on the premise that faith can bring financial prosperity. Kenneth Copeland, for one, is reputed to have a net worth of over $300 million. Joel Osteen is another very wealthy man, with a net worth close behind. But are these men the “hucksters” that Paul warned about? That’s not for me to say. Some people say a minister should be kept financially poor by their congregation, because they say it will keep them humble, but I don’t endorse that premise either. Jesus warned about the dangers of false prophets in His Sermon on the Mount: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16). The Apostle Peter also had some warning words: “But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

How can we pilgrims avoid finding, or even getting involved with, a “huckster”, someone who peddles God’s Word for profit? The only way is to refer back to God’s Word to see if the message being preached is true. But there are other “red flags” that we should be aware of. One important test for me is about accountability. Who is the minister accountable to, and if there is a Board of Trustees or even just another person, how sound are their credentials? Another important thought is about promises. False ministers preach about guaranteed health, wealth, and success, neglecting the biblical teaching on suffering and the cross. Such ministers can also be very controlling, and they use fear, guilt, or shame to control church members and often discourage any questioning of their authority, with statements such as “touch not the Lord’s anointed”. Such a person will cleverly introduce their false teaching and doctrines in a way that seems and sounds plausible, drawing gullible people into believing that what they preach is indeed from God. And of course, there is the question of money, which in itself can become a “red flag”.

“They searched the Scriptures day after day“

In Acts 17 we can read about how the Berean people responded to Paul’s teaching. “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” (Acts 17:11). And that is how we pilgrims should approach any new preaching and teaching that we haven’t heard before. 

We pilgrims know and love the Lord, and as we stay close to Him, we will stay on the path of truth, supporting those in leadership who are truly God’s anointed. Paul said he preached “the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority” and then pointed out that God is watching him. Of course He is, and us as well. Our loving Heavenly Father watches over us constantly, keeping us right through His Spirit within us. And we are so grateful for His Word, the Bible, and all the truth that it contains. 

Dear Lord Jesus. Only You have the words of eternal life, and only You are the way, the truth and the life. Please deliver us from evil, we pray, and keep us on the path of everlasting truth. In Your precious name, we pray. Amen.

A Sweet Perfume

Posted on by korgrocker

“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?”
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT

In the days of the Roman Empire, victory parades were commonplace. A Roman general and his soldiers would return to their base city, march through the streets, parade their captured enemies, and burn incense. So, the crowds lining the streets would see and smell the victory. Paul often used the analogies of his experiences of the Roman army and soldiers in his letters. In Ephesians 6, written while in prison awaiting trial, he used the analogy of the Roman soldiers guarding him, relating the separate pieces of their armour to the spiritual armour we have as believers. So we read about the belt of truth that secures the rest of the armour and protects against lies. The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart and soul through God’s righteousness. Then we have the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, which provide stability and readiness through the Good News about Jesus. There is a shield of faith, a large shield used to extinguish the “fiery darts” of the enemy, his lies and accusations. The helmet of salvation protects the mind and thoughts, and the only offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, represents the Word of God. Ever since, Paul’s helpful analogy has been a strength and support for believers everywhere and ever since. 

So, we pilgrims are caught up in a victory parade, but not as the victorious soldiers but as captives of Christ. Surely that is what we are, because we have been “captured” from the enemy, and rescued from the domain of evil and sin. Imagine the scene in Heaven, where our souls will be paraded before angels, as the saved ones, those who have believed in Jesus here on earth, and have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, and brought into God’s Kingdom of Light. 

The victorious procession was also marked by the burning of incense, producing a sweet smell as the captives marched past. As we pilgrims “march” around society, getting on with our lives, what sort of smell do we leave behind in people’s nostrils? The word ”smell” is an analogy for the impression we leave on others. This is where things can get challenging, because we’ve all experienced relief when an objectionable person leaves our company. That loud-mouthed bigot. That person who is intent on sharing their own particular Godless and warped ideology. That person in the office who is always sharing smutty stories or gossiping about their colleagues. They leave a bad smell in people’s intellectual nostrils when they leave. 

I got into a lift the other day, and there was a strong residual smell of perfume lingering behind. The person who left it there was probably totally unaware of this, but it serves as a reminder that we, too, will leave a smell behind. Will it be a nasty odour that discredits Jesus, or will it be a “Christ-like fragrance rising up to God”? We Christians can turn out to be objectionable to unbelievers around because of the way we portray ourselves and the way we present what we believe. “Objectionable” Christians are generally defined by actions or beliefs that are perceived as hypocritical, harmful, intolerant, or unloving by critics, secular observers, and sometimes other Christians. These examples often centre on behaviour that violates the perceived core tenets of Christianity (such as love and compassion) or on extreme, dogmatic stances. Ouch!

Paul wrote that the fragrance we leave is the “dreadful smell of death and doom” to those who are heading for a lost eternity. But those people who are unbelievers, with their resistance to the Gospel and Jesus’ message of eternal life, will just bat away the thoughts of salvation, even if they are still lingering in their spiritual nostrils. Not for them the wonderful fragrance of Jesus. As we come into contact with those around us, do we leave a nice smell, a fragrance that lingers and brings a touch of Heaven into their lives? Or do we leave nothing worthy of note from the encounter, smell or otherwise? It is a challenge for all of us pilgrims, because one day we will be asked to account for the times when we used the wrong perfume.

Dear Heavenly Father. We want to leave the right impression on those around us, because when they see us, they must see Jesus. If we’re doing anything wrong, or nothing at all, to create a nice perfume, please point out to us the error of our ways. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

A Door of Opportunity

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said goodbye and went on to Macedonia to find him.”
2 Corinthians 2:12-13 NLT

Troas and Macedonia, the first a city and the second a region in Northern Greece. We can read a bit more detail about these two places in Acts 16. On Paul’s second missionary journey, he travelled to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he met Timothy, who joined him and Silas as they journeyed on. It was at Troas that Paul received a vision, as we read in Acts 16:9-10, “That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there”. We can read more about what happened there in Acts 16. But Paul had a dilemma. In some ways, he wanted to continue his journey onwards to finally reach Corinth, but he found “doors of opportunity” not just in Troas but also in the Macedonian cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Paul was primarily an evangelist who planted churches, and the preaching of the Gospel drove him onwards. But he was also an apostle who was concerned about the churches he had planted. 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches”. 

We pilgrims have “doors of opportunity” at times on our Christian journeys. There will be occasions of rest, and others of fruitful service, but if we are open to the Holy Spirit, there will be times when God has a mission for us. Paul was just a human being open to being used by God. Of course, we will not have all the opportunities that Paul had because the world is a very different place today, but the Holy Spirit goes before us, opening doors. Paul wrote, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17). 

Many Christians think that doing good works for God will earn them their salvation. Others recognise they are saved but believe salvation could not be that simple, and they feel pressured to do philanthropic work, even on a small scale, just in case they have misinterpreted the simplicity of the Gospel. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul wrote, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it”. But in the next verse, Paul wrote, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. So, we are saved by grace alone, not by anything we can do for God. But through our salvation, we have work to do “which God prepared in advance for us to do”. 

We pilgrims will encounter “doors of opportunity” which we will not discover located in the pew on which we are sitting. What we mustn’t do is walk by the doors, failing to push them open and discover what is behind. They may not look like opportunities, but more like drudgery, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will discover a time of blessing as we serve God and His people. The doors before us include opportunities to reach people with the Gospel. Peter wrote, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). That is a very wide job description, but one that has one thought at its core – service to others. So we pray and ask God to show us a door so that we, too, can be an instrument in His hand to build His Kingdom.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please show us the way so that we can do the work that you have prepared for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Standing Firm

Posted on by korgrocker

“I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.”
2 Corinthians 2:9-11 NLT

Paul wrote that he had forgiven the man who opposed him and disrupted the other Corinthian believers, and Paul asked them to forgive the man, too. But he went on to mention the devil and his evil schemes. The devil has nothing new that will impact Christians, but we must be aware of his strategies and methods, and who he is most bothered by. Peter warned the believers in Asia that he is like a roaring lion: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Peter proceeded to say, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith…”. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 about the weapons we have available to “stand firm” when the devil is on the prowl: “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). 

“Stand firm … and be strong in your faith”

So what are these devilish “strategies”? From our verses today, there is a connection with forgiveness, or lack of it. If the believers in Corinth had decided that the man causing the offence was beyond being forgiven, even if he had left the church, there would have been an opportunity for the devil to point an accusatory finger at them for denying Christ’s teachings. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, said, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). And as the Roman soldiers hammered home the nails, “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing … “ (Luke 23:34a). Unforgiveness is a spiritually debilitating disease that will sap our strength and stunt our Christian lives. But it is pretty serious if any of us hold unforgiveness in our hearts, because, as Jesus said, God will treat us in the same way, and without forgiveness, there is no possibility of salvation. 

The devil will fight against us, and many a Christian has fallen under the onslaught of his attacks. If anyone in the Corinthian church had refused to forgive the man in question, then the devil had won the battle. He would have succeeded in snatching someone from God, and if that person never subsequently came to a place of seeking forgiveness both from the man and from God, then they were in danger of being lost forever. 

It is worth meditating regularly on the verses that describe our spiritual armour. As we consider the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, we have all the protective armour that we need. And then we have one further offensive weapon that the devil cannot stand before, and that is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Three times in the wilderness, the devil tried to tempt Jesus away from His mission, and each time Jesus had a Scripture ready to block the attack. We can read them in Luke 4. But what would have happened if Jesus hadn’t remembered the Scriptures He required? Come to that, do we know the Scriptures we need to “stand firm” when the devil attacks? There is only one way to resolve ignorance: reading the Bible.

The devil has no jurisdiction over true believers in Jesus. There are many who claim to be believers, but who are confused or ignorant about the Christian faith and what it means. We find them in some of our denominational churches, where liberal theologies abound. In such churches, there are blatant deviations from Scriptural truths, and the people in the pews suffer the consequences. In a church near where I live, the congregation is devoted to its building. The devil isn’t bothered about them because they are no threat to him while they are trying to fix the fabric of their church. And if they even spark into spiritual life God’s way, then all he has to do is to poke another hole in the roof and divert their attention back onto their building. The congregation is now mostly elderly and sadly dwindling. 

But we pilgrims are Bible-believing, blood-bought, children of God, and nothing will pull us away from a life spent in His presence. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first instalment that guarantees everything he has promised us”. With God on our side, we are invincible, but only if we live our lives His way. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray Jesus’ prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses and deliver us from evil” in faith and with grateful hearts. On Your Word we stand firm forever. Amen

Causing Hurt

Posted on by korgrocker

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.”
2 Corinthians 2:5-8 NLT

It seems that in the Corinthian church was a man who was a bit of a rebel, and caused Paul some pain. What was that all about? It doesn’t appear to be the man who was publicly sinning by his sexual relationship with his stepmother. So there was someone else causing trouble, perhaps by challenging Paul’s authority, as he confessed to having felt some hurt. Even though this man was opposed by most of the believers, it appears that he repented of his rebellion, and Paul encouraged them to forgive, comfort, love, and, I expect, move on. 

Perhaps there had been a bit of a power struggle in Corinth, with this individual trying to assert his authority and dispel Paul’s. But before we say this couldn’t happen in churches today, something occasionally disrupts a leader’s position and causes problems. The Church of Scotland seems prone to that. I know of two ministers who, in recent years, were put into a position by the actions of the church’s governing body, the presbytery, and were forced to leave their posts. The first was a man I much respected and who had been quite successful in building up the church in a village near where I lived, increasing the congregation’s size through the positive nature of his ministry. But he was a “born again” man who was open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in the church and people’s lives, and there were two or three “elders” in the presbytery who were very much against him for this. They undermined him at every opportunity and made his life very difficult. So he left and was appointed to another congregation elsewhere in Scotland. The second was a lady minister who is no longer practising in that role due to ill health, but, again, the presbytery was strongly opposed to change and to any attempts to bring the church closer to the Bible. 

The church I currently attend is better governed than the Church of Scotland, with the local pastor supported by a small local leadership team, and with the knowledge that he has a pastor himself who is a member of the national leadership team. Security and accountability strengthen the leaders and the congregation. 

The Bible describes rebellious people as those who defy authority and reject God’s word. In Old Testament times, there was a king who began well but ultimately disobeyed the Lord’s commands. That king was Saul, and he was instructed by Samuel to completely destroy the Amalekites together with their livestock (1 Samuel 15:3). But Saul didn’t do what he was asked to do, and he spared the Amalekite king and the best of the livestock. The outcome was severe, and we read in 1 Samuel 15:22-23, “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king””. It was all downhill for Saul after that, and the chapter ends “… And the Lord was sorry He had ever made Saul king of Israel”. 

So now to us pilgrims. Are there any rebels amongst us? Are there times when we push back against the teaching we receive, or grumble about the pastor or minister in the company of other rebels and cause dissent and distress? Or perhaps it is a broader issue involving rebellion against our political leaders or other civil authorities. Paul wrote, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished” (Romans 13:1-2). The current UK government is turning out to be very unpopular amongst the electorate, and there is much grumbling going on, even amongst God’s people. We must be careful and remember that we are citizens of God’s Kingdom, and of a different spirit. 

It is not always possible to avoid hurting others, no matter how hard we try. There are times when we have to stand for the truth of the Gospel, and this will cause offence and hurt some people. But we leave such times in the hands of the Holy Spirit, who ultimately will bring conviction for sin. We must read the situation well and share the love and grace of Jesus. No one will surely be hurt by that.

Dear Father God. Please help us to share the Word, the Good News about Jesus, sensitively and lovingly, to those around us, never causing hurt unnecessarily. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Tough Love

Posted on by korgrocker

“That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.”
2 Corinthians 2:3-4 NLT

Paul didn’t want to return to Corinth so that he would have to deliver another confrontational message. He wanted to visit them in a way that gave him “the greatest joy”. If they were joyful, then so would he be. But his first letter wasn’t an easy one to write, and Paul referred to “great anguish” and “a troubled heart and many tears” as he wrote it. But he wrote it, not out of a malicious or frivolous motivation but because he loved them greatly.

That’s the thing about love, true agape love. It requires courage and determination to apply to another in a situation that is ultimately in their own best interests. It particularly applies to a parent and a child when the young person is in danger, or has already embarked on a course of action that would lead to destruction of one kind or another if allowed to continue. But there in Corinth, there were some who had decided to behave in ways that were incompatible with their faith, and some form of correction was required. The man sleeping with his stepmother was a situation involving blatant sin, and, for the two people concerned, as well as their friends who must have condoned it, they needed to know what they did was sinful in God’s sight. So rather than ignore it through a misguided application of love, Paul confronted them head-on, pointing out the seriousness of the situation. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, “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”. He continued, “Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man”. These must have been difficult words to write, but behind them was a feeling on Paul’s part of disappointment that the Corinthian church had come to a point where they had accepted such behaviour. Paul used this situation to expand the scope of what holiness means to a believer. 1 Corinthians 5:11, “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”. In other words, if there is sin in the church, then deal with it, because otherwise the whole congregation would end up on the slippery slope that ends in hell. 

Tough love is a widely used phrase in parenting, but its reach is broader and extends to facets of society both inside and outside the church. What would Jesus think or do? was a phrase widely used in teenager camps, and it is true, because the last thing a believer truly wants is to go against the words and character of Jesus. Tough love started at the point where a person comes to faith in Jesus, and we see the ultimate expression of such love in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. God Himself, our loving Heavenly Parent, set forth, through Jesus, the reality of the position He is in when dealing with sinful mankind. He set out a choice between two outcomes: eternal life with Him and eternal life without Him. I can remember being told of a situation where a mother, faced with continuing and unacceptable behaviour from her son, had to say in the end that unless he stopped behaving in the way that he was, then she had to assume he didn’t want to be her son anymore and was no longer welcome in her home. Tough love at a human level, but nothing compared to the ultimate choice offered to mankind.

But tough love for a Christian didn’t end in John 3. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference” (Revelation 3:19). And the writer of the Hebrews letter wrote, quoting Proverbs, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child” (Hebrews 12:6). I suspect all believers, after they have been on their journeys of faith for a while will have experienced God’s discipline in one way or another. To some, it would have been devastating. To others, it would have been ignored. But in the end, discipline, especially from God, is designed to keep a person on the “straight and narrow” path to eternal life. 

Back to my 1970’s song with the chorus line, “I’d rather live in his world than without him in mine”. That ultimately, in a spiritual sense, is the desire of us pilgrims. We willingly accept all of God’s discipline because one day we want to live with Him in His world, Heaven itself. There is no better place to be.

Dear Father God. We know we mess up at times, and ask for Your forgiveness. We ask You today to search our hearts, and point out to us the error of our ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Causing Grief

Posted on by korgrocker

“So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved.”
2 Corinthians 2:1-2 NLT

The word “grief” is usually associated with that feeling of intense sorrow at the loss of a loved one after they have died. It is an emotion difficult to describe unless you have already experienced it, but it is accompanied by a range of other emotions that supplement feelings of loss. People often spend their remaining years with a feeling of regret that they didn’t do more for the person who has died, or spend more time with them, even to the point of imagining things that build on feelings of guilt. Some even remember the final days of the relationship as stressful, marked by arguments and the added burden of words later regretted. I can remember a conversation with a church leader who had suddenly lost his wife to an unexpected heart attack, but a few months later, he said his biggest problem was loneliness, a side effect of the grieving process. Spending a lifetime with a spouse is a difficult bond to break, and the only solace a Christian has is the thought that one day they and their fellow believers who have been left behind will be able to meet up with the one who has died. They would also be comforted by the thought that their loved one, assuming they died as a believer, would now be in a better place, free from the sickness and pain that might have blighted their final moments and even years.

Today, however, Paul uses the word “grief” in these initial verses of 2 Corinthians 2, in the sense of trouble or annoyance. Paul had decided that he wouldn’t cause them further difficulties by delivering a rebuke for their behaviour in person, even if it was well deserved. It would be a visit that would otherwise cause pain to both Paul and those believers in his Corinthian church plant who listened to it. Can we let our imaginations run for a moment, as we think of Paul standing before the congregation? There would be a sense of anticipation, perhaps even antagonism, because they would have known from his previous letter that Paul had something to say that they didn’t want to hear. Those, such as the man living with his stepmother and their supporters, if they were still present, would have had a good idea of what was coming. Perhaps others felt resentful about Paul, unsure of his authority. The church leaders would have had a discussion with Paul before the event, which might have added to the stress that was most likely already present. So really, it would have been understandable for Paul to consider that a face-to-face meeting might have been counterproductive, and it would have been better to hand-deliver another letter by men who were prepared to travel to Corinth, who knew Paul and the situation, and who could tailor the message to achieve a better result. 

The problem for Paul concerned church discipline and sinful issues that needed correction. Jesus taught about correcting another believer in Matthew 18, and He laid out a three-stage process that began with a private conversation between the sinner and the one bringing correction. A positive response from the person who had sinned was the best outcome. I wonder if that first step had been tried with the man sleeping with his stepmother? From his first letter, I doubt that this was the case because of the public way it had been raised. Jesus continued with the second stage: “But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses” (Matthew 18:16). At this point, the one being corrected would hopefully have responded positively, but I suspect if it got to this stage in a church today, the person would have resigned and moved on to save themselves public disgrace. However, Jesus continued to stage three with: “If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). 

Paul didn’t want to be a stage-three apostle, bringing public correction, because it would have created an atmosphere of grief rather than joy. Understandable, of course, but sometimes there has to be pain before gain. Thankfully, today we have the authority of Scripture to help us in our journeys through life, and public denouncement from the pulpit is rare. We live in the Kingdom of God, and the rules concerning behaviour and sin are well established and followed. But there are still young Christians who need guidance and help in their early years. 

Above all the issues raised, however, we pilgrims know our loving Heavenly Father and His grace and forgiveness. We have a personal relationship with Him through prayer, and we have His Word, the Bible, for reference to keep us strong and full of faith. Through our praise and worship, we honour Him in the way that He deserves, and we are full of joy in these last days in the knowledge that soon we will never experience any form of grief ever again.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Paul and his letters and his faithfulness, building on the foundation provided by Your Son, Jesus. We worship You today. Amen.

By Your Own Faith

Posted on by korgrocker

Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn’t return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke. But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.”
2 Corinthians 1:23-24 NLT

Paul finally explained why he changed his travel plans: he wanted to “spare [the Corinthian believers] from a severe rebuke”. What that was is revealed in 1 Corinthians 2, so more on that later. But Paul had been led by the Holy Spirit to delay his return and instead write another letter, in the hope and expectation that this would be sufficient to resolve the problem. Paul said he wanted to work with the Corinthians so that they would become “full of joy” as their faith was put into practice. 

People can sometimes lack the ability to see a problem in their lives, one that needs to be addressed and resolved. For such people, a gentle hint is sometimes sufficient to correct the situation. But at other times, some form of direct action is necessary, and that was obviously the need in Corinth. The spiritual ears of the believers must have been rather dull or even stopped up for Paul to think it was necessary to deliver a “severe rebuke”. Paul mentioned their faith, and working this out practically in their lives was the route to a life “full of joy”. 

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it is only experienced as a believer lives their life God’s way, working in accordance with His will. Joy is a deep, lasting and internal delight rooted in God Himself, rather than through temporary circumstances. It is a spiritual strength that enables believers to remain hopeful and thankful even during difficult times. Unlike happiness, which depends on a person’s circumstances, spiritual joy can be found even in times of suffering. James starts his epistle, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (James 1:2). Joy is found in God’s presence, and that includes our redemption and eternal hope, bolstered by the Holy Spirit who lives with us. Psalm 16:11, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever”. Joy comes from a willingness to trust God in all that we are and do, as we are obedient to His ways. Joy also shows the strength we need to keep going, even when times are difficult. Nehemiah 8:10, “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

So, it is obvious that a person who has some kind of communication problem with God is behaving in some way that stops the connection. Perhaps unrepentant sin is the problem. Or a person may have abandoned their walk of faith and lapsed into a worldly state, neglecting Bible reading or prayer. There seemed to be a problem in Corinth with the faith of the believers, but that is a foundational part of being a Christian. We remember the Scripture, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Paul didn’t want to tell the Corinthians how to apply their faith in their daily lives, and neither should a pastor do so today. We believers have to work out how to apply faith in our own lives, or we will miss out on the promises of God. Faith is not an academic thought or something on a Christian’s wishlist. James wrote, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? … So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:14, 17).

We pilgrims, though, are faith-filled believers, journeying on as we live out our days in this world, and looking forward to the next. In the process, we please God by applying our faith to everyday events, making a difference as salt and light in our communities.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the times we doubt and lose our faith perspective. Regardless of our circumstances, we turn to You in worship, deeply grateful for all You have done for us. Amen.

United for Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first instalment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NLT
“Now it is God who establishes and confirms us [in joint fellowship] with you in Christ, and who has anointed us [empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit]; it is He who has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfilment of His promise of eternal life].”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 AMP

Starting with that first Day of Pentecost, all believers in Christ have been rewarded by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who has acted as a “seal”, identifying us as part of God’s family with all the benefits that this brings. This was a reminder from Paul that the Corinthians, to whom the letter was addressed, were no better than he, and he was no better than they. Our second Bible version today highlights this: “in joint fellowship”, because there is nobody who is better than anyone else before God. All believers have been equally anointed, commissioned and sealed with the Holy Spirit. There is a unity here that cuts across denominations and movements. Before God, we are equal, one with another.

It seems impossible that this is the case, because each person is a unique creation, with their own physical and mental attributes, abilities, gifts, and upbringings and developments. Some people rise to high office in governments and companies. Others never progress beyond the shop floor. Some people become preachers; others become missionaries or pastors; others are happy just to sit in a pew. But none of this has anything to do with the central point Paul was making – we are all equally blessed by God to be members of His family. 

“God has given us different gifts
for doing certain things well“

But at this point, it may be appropriate to prick the bubble that’s forming. It is sad that some, perhaps many, Christians do not want to be fully involved as members of God’s family in the way that Paul implied. What does it mean to us individually that we are commissioned in Christ, empowered with the gifts of the Spirit? To some, this is an energising motivation to get more involved in spreading the Gospel, perhaps by becoming a missionary, working for a Christian charity, or simply sharing the wonderful news about Jesus whenever an opportunity arises. There is a man I know who is employed part-time to collect trolleys from the car park at our local supermarket and return them to their designated area just outside the store entrance. But he makes no secret of his faith and shares the Good News whenever he gets the opportunity, stopping people in the car park and even the City Centre High Street to and from work. He chips away at the atheistic and agnostic facades of his fellow workers, totally impervious to what they think of him. But others put evangelism, whatever its form, on the back burner, thinking that such thoughts and desires will have to wait until they have time, perhaps rationalising their thoughts with excuses about their health, busy lives, or a lack of opportunity. But Paul wrote that with the gift of the Holy Spirit came certain responsibilities. Romans 12:6, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you”. Paul also wrote, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (1 Corinthians 12:7). He took it as fact that each believer would receive at least one gift, so the question for each of us pilgrims is this: what is our spiritual gift and are we using it “to help each other”? We can find a list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, and various helps are available to identify which gifts we possess. But one gift we all have is the ability to share our testimonies with our friends, family and neighbours.

“Now all glory to God“

Jesus commanded us to “love our neighbours and ourselves” and to “make disciples”, and in obedience to Jesus, we can call on the empowering of the Holy Spirit, who resides within each one of us. There are two verses in Ephesians that never fail to intrigue and challenge me. They are, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21). That is some power we have! It’s not weak and feeble, and only selective to whom it is given. We all have the opportunity to call upon it, so why don’t we leverage it to realise great works for God? It’s the sort of question that makes us feel a bit uncomfortable because there are no caveats that release us from the challenge. But in prayer, we ask God for His help in using the gifts He has given us day by day, proactively for Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for our laziness and lethargy. We desire to do Your works as You have asked. For Jesis’ saler. Amen.