I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating...have you ever wondered how differently the gospel message would have been spread had Jesus come in this day of modern communications? We tend to think that the gospel would have spread faster; but, I doubt it. I'm sure that God sent Jesus at exactly the right time, under the perfect conditions, for the Gospel to be spread exactly how He wanted it done.
Nonetheless, since Paul did not have The Cherokee Tribune, email or social media, he is in this letter expressing his frustration with the Corinthians over their being swayed from the Truth (which Paul taught) by false teachers. The text is 1 Corinthians 4, which I'm not going to reproduce here. I would suggest you open up a new tab in your browser, go to Biblegateway.com and read it before proceeding with this post.
He begins by warning the Corinthian believers that it is impossible to judge another person's motivations (vs. 5). This goes along with Jesus' admonition to "Judge not..." in Matthew 7:1-3. Some have twisted this to interpret it as a warning against "calling sin sin". This interpretation conflicts violently with Jesus' other teachings, such as the one later in that same chapter, about the tree and its fruit:
15-20 “Be on your guard against false religious teachers, who come to you dressed up as sheep but are really greedy wolves. You can tell them by their fruit. Do you pick a bunch of grapes from a thorn-bush or figs from a clump of thistles? Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree is incapable of producing bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. The tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and burnt. So you may know men by their fruit.”
Obviously, these verses describe looking at someone's actions and determining whether or not they are sinful, using as a measuring stick the Truth revealed in the Scriptures. Jesus was cautioning us about two things: 1) not to be hypocritical (Matt. 7:3-5) and 2) not to presuppose that we understand another person's motivations. Paul echoes the latter in 1 Cor. 4:3-5 (NET) - -
So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted because of this. The one who judges me is the Lord. 5 So then, do not judge anything before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts. Then each will receive recognition from God.
Paul is hesitating to judge the motives of the false teachers, because we can never really know what is going on in another person's heart. We can look at their actions (and ours) and determine by the Scriptures if they (or we) are sinning. But, only God "reveals the motives of the heart". (See also Jeremiah 17:10)
At any rate, that is not supposed to be my main focus today, haha!
Paul goes on to say, basically, that "while the cat's away, the mice will play". Look at verses 14-21: (NET)
14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children.15 For though you may have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, because I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I encourage you, then, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my dear and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power. 20 For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power. 21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
All this reminds me of that billboard that you may have seen here or there.
"Don't make me come down there!" Signed, God.
Paul basically is telling them that he will be making another visit to their congregation, and that in the interim he is sending Timothy to diagnose, and then, correct. They could either return to the truth...or else (vs. 21).
It is one of Satan's main goals to distort the Truth and divide (render useless) the Church. We still fight against this today. We all need to walk in humility and make sure that our own relationships with the Lord are secure. It is so easy to be led astray or wander unwittingly into some false teaching, or to destroy another person with our self-righteous "spiritual wrecking-ball". I am grateful for strong "stewards", leaders in our churches, who walk humbly, are faithful to their callings, who do their best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in their ministries. They are truly "examples to the believer" (vs. 16). (Tomorrow, we are going to meditate further on verse 4.)
Good morning, Lord. I don't think that this is my best post, but I pray You will use it for Your honor and glory. More importantly, teach us how to "judge" according to your Scriptures, first in our own lives and then with humility/meekness in the actions of others. Help us to adorn ourselves with love and gentleness, with our goal to be restoration, not demolition, of our brothers and sisters. May we remember that only You know another person's heart-of-hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.
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