The Devotional – 1092 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

The Devotional – 1092 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

One of the best examples of repentance for me is like taking a trip somewhere. A long trip and then finding out that where you intended to go is not the place you are at. Then even when you know that you will never make it to your destination, you keep plugging along seeking alternate routes in a place where everything is foreign. Of course the problem only intensifies! It is hard to put on the brakes so to speak, then it is even harder to acknowledge defeat. The self-conscious effects of guilt begin to flare up and your emotional response to the moment and explodes into other reactions of less luster until finally you admit it. “I am travelling down the wrong road and need to turn around. At this point the biblical word of repentance is accomplished in the mind and life can return to normal.

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 2 Corinthians 7:2-12

Over the course of two or three epistles (one could be lost) the apostle has dealt with many issues, but one of the main topics is his desire to be accepted by the church as an apostle of Jesus Christ and a teacher of biblical truth. There are some in the church, no doubt in leadership that are less minded of the apostle and seek to rid themselves of him and his ministry. Here in our passages this morning he appeals for the church to change its mind and repent from this lack of faith.

“Open your hearts to us”! We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, and we have cheated no one. What a statement! This complaining and busybody sinful condition within the church at Corinth has been going on for at least two years. The apostle is concluding his appeal for the church as a whole to repent from its downward condition. He now will give his last appeal and assume that those who will repent “will” and of course those who will not may seek another dead end road.

Verses 3 through 5 remind me of the struggles that local pastors are faced with at every meeting. It may not be with the same words, but a good pastor along with his ministry leaders have the congregation in their hearts continually and can equally say as the apostle Paul does “you are our church family, in our hearts to die together and to live together”. This is a bold statement and it carries a heavy weight.

For example: Take the complainer or the busybody the one who is willing to spread his or her manure throughout the church family about “how to run this or that ministry!” Or enjoy the spreading of gossip of events they know something of. Then have some tragic event develop within the personal life of the complainer or busybody. They reach out to the church leadership for prayer and support. Now the leadership is not naïve of the manure and no doubt the church is being kept clean by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The leadership will respond as it should, we see this in 1 Cor 7:9, not that one is made sorrowful in the face of adversity, but that this godly sorrow leads to repentance and that nothing spiritually is lost, thus leading one or many to “salvation sanctification”. This would not be possible if the leadership held a grudge, or ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit.

If the leadership did hold a grudge the church of Jesus Christ would be no better than the world and these sorrowful effects would produce spiritual death. Not only a spiritual death for the complainer or busybody, but the church family too! Certainly the number of sins within any local church is enough to destroy the church and its leadership within a matter of months. Yet we must praise the LORD that He (God) is the One who places pastors and teachers in authority and not the pulpit committee.

The Devotional – 1091 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

The Devotional – 1091 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

Each of us, without exception have a scheduled meeting with GOD. This thought can be placed in the back of your mind, but it cannot be placed out of your mind. And God be praised… He will remind you from time to time that you are on schedule for that meeting. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has assigned this thought in the heart as a “God given task” or more clearly an appointment, one that God made for you, thus at some time in the future you and I will meet with God in eternity. Now if you read this verse without the context surrounding it you may just think “hogwash” so the challenge is to read verses 1 through 15 and especially verse 15. Justice will require an account of the individual wickedness of mankind. This is what is being said in Ecclesiastes 3:15 – “and God requires an account of what is past”.

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 and 7:1

The epistles of Paul, Peter, John, James and others plead with us to receive the grace of God with purpose and also warn us to not receive it in vain. Can we not understand that if we seek to know God, that in doing so we open the door to His Promises and Challenges? What if you gave a promise to someone and they took no thought of it, how would you handle that?

God says “in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you” (Isa 49:8) and also in our passages this morning, verse 2. Therefore it is not convenient for those of us who are saved to live as one who is not holy. Now, or today is the day of salvation (everyday). God helps us each day to be holy. Ministers seem to be better at this than you and me as it is a prerequisite in order that their ministry is not blamed for being unholy.

The apostle Paul says that they commend (place) themselves and ministries in God’s care, then he gives us a list of the things that are a cause for many ministers to fall away from the grace of God and holiness. A pastor and friend explains that 15,000 pastors turn away from ministry every MONTH, that is 180,000 people per year who once heard the call to be holy, who now have for the most part turned away from faith.

From 2 Cor 6:4-10 the apostle Paul describes the result of being ordained, blameless and holy. This one can expect persecution and stress. But what is so encouraging to me is in the face of all of this he says; “O Corinthians we have spoken openly to you, our heart is open to you. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own personal affections.

Now return (repent or change your mind). One of the major areas of a failure in holiness is our desire to be equally bonded with the ways of unbelievers, this is impossible. What sort of fellowship can you or I have with an unbeliever, certainly we cannot have a righteous relationship, therefore our relationship would be mixed or we would be… less holy, get the picture? What covenant does the Temple of God have with the temple of idols? NONE.

God has given us His Spirit to live in us, thus we are told by ministers that we are a temple of God, the Holy Spirit is “housed” in our soul, mixing with the unbelieving world is to mix righteousness with unrighteousness. For the saint of God this should be NONSENSE, for the world around us it is called RELIGION. Therefore we must be willing to come out from among the unbelieving. Not in the sense of total separation, but in the sense of conforming.

The Devotional – 1090 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

The Devotional – 1090 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

Everyone who joins the military is regarded as a military person, from the individual who is a recruit to the individual who is nearing retirement all are considered military personnel. These folks are not members of an organization and they are not civilians. Everything about a person in uniform speaks loudly of their (should be) commitment to their country, they are set apart for the defense of their country. Yet, not all of those in the military are functional military personnel. They are in name and attire, but they have no heart for what is required of them. Many of these fall into trouble and are disciplined, incarcerated or discharged simply because they refuse to conform to the Military Code of Conduct.

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 2 Corinthians 5:12-18

As we begin – verse 12 speaks clearly that men and women like to boast, but that most boasting is mainly for all the wrong reason. The apostle speaks clearly about boasting with these words “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith (Rom 3:27). Here in our passage this morning the apostle is saying the same thing, he is simply approaching faith and boasting from the standpoint of “outward appearance and the inward heart”.

Proverbs 27:19 – reveals to the reader that if you desire to know what is going on in a person’s life you will find out nothing by looking at his or her outward appearance. Look into his or her heart and you will see the real deal. For the believing person who believes in Jesus Christ according to scripture; this heart is flooded with the “grace” of God and they are by definition “citizens” of the kingdom of God (Heb 11:13-16).

The section of scripture we are looking at this morning is another one of those difficult passages. While the apostle is speaking to believers, there seems to be something else on his mind which is going to surface and take over his thoughts. I believe he reveals this transitional process with verse 13. As God reveals His written word (the scripture) men and women become believers. Until that point we are considered fools for Christ sake, but when one believes, they believe with “soundness of mind” and foolishness no longer exists.

For example: how would you think, if I said: “I feel constrained to go further with this because I feel as though I am walking on thin ice and yet I know that I am not! The apostle Paul has already said this, so I am simply walking my thoughts through the footsteps of his mind”. Therefore I am on solid ground. He says “for the love of God constrains us (confines us to this thought, it is at the moment overpowering and all that can be thought about). This thought is thus: “IF ONE DIED FOR ALL, THE ALL DIED” Wow! Immediately my thoughts were driven to John 1:29.

So while the apostle began writing about the viewable condition of the saints heart before God, God begins to move the thoughts of the apostle to all the peoples of the world in that the LAMB, the LORD Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for ALL people by being their SIN bearer. Verse 15 says the He (Jesus) died for all (sin; even while it is active in all individuals is powerless against them) if they would only BELIEVE (John 11:23-26).

Can we then not see our neighbor, friend, family or co-worker through the love of God – “For God so loved the world” and should we not be about demonstrating this love to our unbelieving acquaintances? Even the double-minded believer knows the answer to this question, so the apostle Paul ties the wonderful thought that we are no longer to live as unto ourselves, but to live for HIM who died for THEM and ROSE again for all of us.

As we conclude for this morning I am reminded of the opening paragraph. Many of us have waxed cold of our calling in Christ. We look, act and play the part of Christendom, our outward appearance looks good to the unbelieving because it is as phony as they are real. The effects of secular humanism, or even Islam on our American way of life is the work of Satan who is diligent, while the work of “believers” in the death and resurrection of the LORD Jesus is slack. Thus we are being disciplined by God for our works that lack the faith to prove it. Remember God’s Operational Code of Conduct is FAITH.