2 Corinthians 2
If the old devil can't get us one way, he will try another. This is why proper love and proper discernment is necessary in all things. In 1st Corinthians Paul dealt with the serious issue that the church had one among them committing open adultery with his father's wife. The church thought they were okay and didn't need to worry about it. After all, are we not saved by grace and not works? Paul quickly admonished them and made it clear that they should be grieved, not rejoicing that one among them was living in sin and still claiming to be a spirit filled child of God. Paul quickly asked them to correct the man and not even pray for his physical healing if he were to get sick. The man apparently repented and turned from his ways but now the people are going to the opposite extreme and are not to easy to forgive. Paul is admonishing them to forgive him and restore the fellowship they had with him before he sinned. We are to seek to restore anyone who commits error and sin. Our job is to save the lost, not just to condemn. If one refuses to change or repent, we are to let the person know that they have sinned and leave him or her up to God. While we are not to condone sin, we are to restore and forgive one who repents and shows a desire to make himself right with God. If one repents and we do not forgive, we stand in jeopardy ourselves for Christ said that we are to forgive if any trespass against us. This may be the first love the Ephesians church had lost when Christ was admonishing them. They were great in sound doctrine and rebuked those that claimed to be something they were not, yet they were complimented by Christ for not allowing false teachings of the Nicolaitans. They had left there first love. Perhaps they had lost their compassion for the lost and those in trouble spiritually as well as forgetting the presence of Jesus in their midst and His compassion for all of us. True love will correct the wrong because the end result is the saving of the soul but true love also will forgive when a person asks forgiveness and desires to turn to the right way.
Satan continues to defile the church where and when he can. If he can't get us to forsake righteousness and allow sin, he will try to get us to be so strict and straight-laced that we have no compassion upon the poor, suffering, the sinner or the repentant saint. When we study the teaching of the 7 churches in Revelation we see examples of the types of error that can creep into a church. Some can be lukewarm and claim to have so much love that they never correct or reprove sin and some can be so strict that they lose their compassion for sinners. Both extremes are wrong.
To those who will receive the gospel, we are as a sweet fragrance but to those who reject the gospel, we are not a fragrance but a reminder to them that they will suffer loss and eternal death.
Corrupting the word of God would be to leave out part of it and only preach the good things or preach the bad and not comfort by preaching the good. Another way is to take verses out of context to push a doctrine that fits what we want to convey instead of what the word itself teaches if one leaves the verse in its surrounding context. An example would be to quote. Isaiah's prophesy:
We could use just that part of a verse to put with anything we wanted to teach as God's new thing. Some have done it. Yet here is the whole verse:
If one reads the whole chapter, we see that God is talking to Israel with a promise that they will be restored after being in bondage to Babylon. It is clear also that the Lord is talking of the time of Christ's second return when HE (Jesus Christ) will set up His kingdom and Israel will be restored all their land that was promised to Abraham. Those who quote, "God is doing a new thing," needs to be careful not to add to or take away from the word of God. The new thing God does is bring salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ. The new thing is the new birth when one receives Christ whether as an individual or as a nation. The new thing to the church has already been revealed. The new thing is salvation through Christ. How can we improve upon that which we already have? Behold He makes all things new. This is first the new birth then the new kingdom at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is within each and every believer. This is the new thing. That one can be lost and separated from God but through Jesus one can be saved and inherit eternal life. That is the new thing and not some manmade thing we use this verse to teach. When God completes this new thing, it will be when Christ comes back in person to set up His kingdom and casts out the evil. That new thing can happen to each one of us as individuals but one day it will happen to the whole world. Isaiah prophecies of the restoration of Israel and bringing Israel back into fellowship with God that they lost because of sin. The new thing is the first and second coming of Jesus Christ to bring eternal life to all who believe.
|
||
HOME |
SITE MAP |
BIBLE STUDY INDEX
©2020 oldpathlighthouse.com |