Loving when We Disagree -- 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, 2:1-2

2 Corinthians 1:8-11, 2:1-2


"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. . . . But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?" (NKJV)

Verse 8 in chapter 1 begins a section of writing that is understood by verses 1-2 of chapter 2. Paul begins explaining why he didn’t make a previously promised trip to the Corinthian church: after the rebuke in 1 Corinthians regarding the sexual sin of a church member, he didn’t want to come to them again with only rebukes. He put off his visit in order to give them time to process his letter and to deal with the issue. There is a wisdom that we can learn from Paul’s delay.

People process differently. They take different amounts of time and they use different methods. Not everyone can deal with an issue right now nor can most people respond appropriately within a short period of time. They need time to think about things before changing their opinions or how they do something.

Paul talked about this in both Romans and Philippians, acknowledging that there are believers who have differing viewpoints:

"Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you" (Philippians 3:15 NKJV).

Paul was completely confident that his "point of view" was God’s will. Paul didn’t give the same weight to differing opinions: "Well, you can have your opinion and I’ll have mine." He knew that what he believed (and what he had written) was God’s will. Paul had spent sufficient time in prayer that he was totally convinced that what he had written was exactly what God wanted; therefore, the reason that Paul wasn’t giving room for differing opinions wasn’t because he believed everyone had the right to their own viewpoint. Paul completely understood that those who disagreed with him would eventually agree with him as the Holy Spirit worked in their lives. He characterizes those who agree with him as being "mature" and those who disagree as still needing God’s revelation in this area of their lives.

People are at different places in their lives and need time to grow and mature. When faced with change or difficulties, they will likely process differently and at different rates. Paul understood this unique characteristic of the human psyche and made allowances for it while refusing to give way to a sinful opinion or position.

Paul takes a similar, but even more patient, stance in Romans 15:

"We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves." (Romans 15:1 NKJV).

Matthew Henry expands on Paul’s words:
"We all have our infirmities; but the weak are more subject to them than others-the weak in knowledge or grace, the bruised reed and the smoking flax. We must consider these; not trample upon them, but encourage them, and bear with their infirmities. If through weakness they judge and censure us, and speak evil of us, we must bear with them, pity them, and not have our affections alienated from them. Alas! it is their weakness, they cannot help it. Thus Christ bore with his weak disciples, and apologised for them. But there is more in it; we must also bear their infirmities by sympathizing with them, concerning ourselves for them, ministering strength to them, as there is occasion. This is bearing one another’s burdens." (Henry, M. 1996, c1991. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ro 15:1). Hendrickson: Peabody)


Matthew Henry uses the word "infirmities" from the original King James. This word is asthenema (Strong’s G771) and means "those scruples which arise through weakness of faith."

We are surrounded, in the Body of Christ, by believers who are at different stages of spiritual maturity, who mature at different rates and in different ways, and who are going through the spiritual growth process perhaps differently than we did. Some may be greatly hurting. Some may be defensive or brash. All need our support and love.

Paul tells us that we aren’t here to please ourselves, but rather we are here to minister to those around us, being strong to bear with their opinions without beating them down. The place of the mature believer is to pray for those less mature, to befriend them, to gently minister to them. In everything that we do, we are to consider the welfare of those around us, pouring out our lives for them as Christ poured out His life for us. This is truly showing love to the brethren: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16 NKJV) and "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35 NKJV). We love each other when we allow others to process at their own rate, to grow as the Spirit leads them, and to love even when we fail to agree.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Afflictions and Salvation -- 2 Corinthians 1:6-7

2 Corinthians 1:6-7



"Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."

People follow Jesus, are attracted to Him, for different reasons. Not everyone "comes" to Jesus for the kind of salvation that He intended to bring.

"But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (Acts 8:9-23)

Simon had developed a lifestyle that had granted him three things that he wanted:

• He wanted to be famous (v. 9-11)

• He wanted to do things no one else could do; he wanted to be special (v. 11)

• He wanted everyone to listen to him (v. 10)

When Philip came to town, Philip preached about Jesus, including the miracles that Philip had seen performed by both Jesus and the disciples. Simon was impressed with the miracles and became saved because of that. Simon wanted a release from the mundane suffering and trials of life and saw Christianity as a way to live happier, better, richer, and above the pressing concerns of day-to-day life (v. 13).

When Peter came and the believers began to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit which was accompanied by even more signs and powers, Simon wanted to be able to bestow those kinds of powers upon others. Why? Because he saw the adulation that Peter received (and very likely rejected). Simon realized that having this power would increase his ability to achieve his three goals of fame, uniqueness, and adulation. Peter admonished Simon curtly because Peter understood that the life of a believer is by it’s very definition a life of suffering. The gifts of the Spirit aren’t given to make our lives better but to allow us to minister to those around us, particularly ministering the gospel (the good news of salvation) to those who are lost. We haven’t been given anything, including the consolation for our trials, for our own benefit but only so that we can be strengthened to tell others about Jesus.

Paul is clear in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 that afflictions and tribulations are part of the Christian life; they are part of the salvation process. Paul says "as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." Consolation, as we saw earlier is that by which we grow closer to the Lord Jesus through His instruction and encouragement. The sufferings are necessary for us to grow in maturity, to grow in faith. When we try to live lives that avoid suffering, we are actually short-changing ourselves because we are trying to "buy" our faith (as Simon was trying) without understanding at all what that faith means or its purpose.

Peter correctly identifies Simon as being "poisoned by bitterness." This is actually an idiom that describes extreme wickedness (Strong’s G4088/Vine’s). Peter further accuses Simon of being "bound by iniquity." We know from Romans 6 that we are no longer slaves to sin, but that as believers we have been freed to choose to serve God. But as Wesley taught (in great detail), we must choose to serve God:
"The flesh, the evil nature, still remains (though subdued) and wars against the Spirit. So much the more let us use all diligence in ‘fighting the good fight of faith.’ So much the more earnestly let us ‘watch and pray’ against the enemy within. The more carefully let us take to ourselves and ‘put on the whole armor of God’; that, although ‘we wrestle’ both ‘with flesh and blood, and with principalities, and powers, and wicked spirits in high places,’ we ‘may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Heritage of great evangelical teaching : Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and others. 1997, c1996. Thomas Nelson: Nashville)


The "flesh", our very bodies, desires so much for that which seems good to this life: popularity, ease of living, security in earthly resources, power and control of our circumstances. And yet Paul clearly outlines in 2 Corinthians that there are afflictions we must face in order to grow in maturity as believers. I know that I often spend a great deal of my own time and resources trying to make my own life better, focusing upon the temporary life here, rather than focusing upon the things of eternity. I would be better spent to approach each and every situation as if it had eternal consequences . . . because it does; to minister to each and every person as if their very lives depended upon me . . . because their eternal lives may; and, to lean more and more upon the wisdom and will of the Father who knows exactly what it is that I should do that would have eternal results.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

The Consolation that Matters -- 2 Corinthians 1:5

2 Corinthians 1:5


"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ." (NKJV)

Consolation. Paul tells us that when sufferings abound, so does our consolation. Now, I have to tell you, I don’t like that word very much. In the English language, my impression of consolations are sort of a "cluck, cluck" by an old mother hen trying to make someone believe that life really isn’t as bad as it is. "Consolation" goes with second place (consolation prize), a second chance with a lesser opponent (consolation game), and such.

Ug!

Thankfully the Greek is so much deeper and fuller, showing me so much more of what God has for me.

The Greek word is paraklesis (Strong’s G3874). The same root gives us Parakletos, one of the titles of the Holy Spirit. As the Parakletos, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter by being our advocate and teacher. That is a much stronger role than that of someone who simply pats us on the back and tells us everything will be okay.

Paraklesis has very broad meanings including "a summons for help; exhortation, admonition, and encouragement; comfort and solace which affords refreshment; persuasive discourse which is instructive and admonitory." By seeing these meanings, it becomes clear that the "consolation" which abounds in Christ during or through suffering is far more, far greater than simply the kind of consoling that I might envision.

When we are suffering, the consolation that abounds through Christ includes:

• A summons for help

• Instructive admonition and encouragement

• Refreshment


A summons for help

The Lord and the Lord alone is our help in times of trouble (Psalm 9:9-10). He is the only one we can count on to be there when we are hurting, when we have sinned, and when things are so bad that it seems nothing can help us. Our comfort comes because we can call for Him—summon Him—for whatever help is needed. The blessing is that He will provide the help that is most appropriate.

"Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence. If I say, ‘My foot slips,’ Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (Psalm 94:17-19 NKJV).

How many times have you been in a situation where you thought you saw the way out or the solution only to find that your solution simply mucked things up worse? I certainly have been in those situations. The blessing of the Lord’s comfort is that His answer, His solution, is always perfect! When I sin, He provides mercy. When I’m anxious, He provides comfort. The consolation of Christ is that we can cry to the Lord and He will hear us (Psalm 3:4, 120:1).


Instructive admonition and encouragement

I don’t like to be admonished. I like being right and I hate being told I’m wrong. So there is great peace in knowing that when the Lord admonishes me, He is also there to encourage me. In other words, He doesn’t admonish me and then abandon me (which happens to us often in life). His admonishment is couched in encouragement; His only point in admonishment is to encourage us to improve, to become more like Christ.

"He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge? The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off His people nor will He forsake His inheritance." (Psalm 94:10-14 NKJV).

Receiving the Lord’s correction, His admonition, and His teaching is a blessing for us because it will give us rest from the days of adversity. Once we have learned the lesson for which the tribulation was given, that lesson is done and we can move on with the Lord to other lessons.


Refreshment

Life is a burden. There may be times when it isn’t so, but there are many times when it is so. Even for those of us who seem to smile and laugh, there are often hidden sorrows and anxieties; we feel greatly burdened if not for ourselves then for the problems of those around us. The Lord brings admonition (teaching) as a time of refreshing. Life can seem grim because we see only one way to go, but the Holy Spirit can teach us that there is another option, one of His making, and suddenly we can feel energized and refreshed. We no longer feel burdened because there is another way, a better way.

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:19-21 NKJV).

Times of refreshing are a promise from God. We can depend on them, look for them, even seek them, remembering that as we seek these times what we are really seeking is the Lord Himself, to bask in His presence, to trust His judgment and His plan, to learn to rejoice in His will and His love.

The consolation that the Lord has promised begins with a call to Him for help, continues with receiving His gentle admonition and welcomed encouragement, and concludes with a time of refreshing in His presence. As tribulations abound, so does in equal or great measure the consolations of our Lord toward us. The comfort comes that our Comforter—not just a process, but a real Person—is no further away than a whispered cry for help.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

And the Good News Is . . . (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

2 Corinthians 1:3-5


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. (NKJV)

It seems in this passage that Paul begins by delivering some rather bad news.

The "bad news" is that we will have tribulation. In fact, Paul describes the tribulation as "the sufferings of Christ abound[ing] in us." This is actually worse than it seems. The Greek is perisseuo (Strong’s G4052) and means "to superabound, be in excess, to be abundant, to exceed, to remain over and above." This is more than "just" suffering. This is suffering to some kind of extreme.

The initial thought of having sufferings is something from which we, with reason, want to avoid at all costs. Suffering hurts, whether physical or emotional, and no one in their right mind wants to suffer.

Or so we have been taught to believe.

But there is a higher purpose in our suffering, a purpose which might change our minds about what we are going through. Andrew Murray writes:

"Abide in Christ! This is indeed the Father’s object in sending the trial. In the storm the tree strikes deeper roots in the soil; in the hurricane the inhabitants of the house abide within, and rejoice in its shelter. So by suffering the Father would lead us to enter more deeply into the love of Christ. Our hearts are continually prone to wander from Him; prosperity and enjoyment all too easily satisfy us, dull our spiritual perception, and unfit us for full communion with Himself.
"It is an unspeakable mercy that the Father comes with His chastisement, makes the world round us all dark and unattractive, leads us to feel more deeply our sinfulness, and for a time lose our joy in what was becoming so dangerous. He does it in the hope that, when we have found our rest in Christ in time of trouble, we shall learn to choose abiding in Him as our only portion; and when the affliction is removed, have so grown more firmly into Him, that in prosperity He still shall be our only joy. So much has He set His heart on this, that though He has indeed no pleasure in afflicting us, He will not keep back even the most painful chastisement if He can but thereby guide His beloved child to come home and abide in the beloved Son. Christian! pray for grace to see in every trouble, small or great, the Father’s finger pointing to Jesus, and saying, Abide in Him." (Heritage of great evangelical teaching : Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and others. 1997, c1996. Thomas Nelson: Nashville).


I think that we often spend great amounts of time pleading with God to remove the suffering, when, if we understood its purpose, we might instead embrace it with open arms. Who doesn’t want to be closer to Christ? Who doesn’t want to feel His communion with us even stronger? Who doesn’t want to be refined for the purposes of the Kingdom? And yet when we continue to beg for the suffering to be removed, we are turning our backs on the fact that there are usually clouds before rain, hard work before strength, darkness before light. Murray wrote: "He does it in the hope that, when we have found our rest in Christ in time of trouble, we shall learn to choose abiding in Him as our only portion" (emphasis mine). Life in America is infused, even bombarded, with things that please our flesh: food that is tasty, entertainment to distract us from the mundaneness of life, soft beds, comfy clothes, flattering talk. We are lulled by, even drawn to, those things which feel good and which satisfy our emotions. And yet, that is not the better thing! We are being deluded by the Enemy to settle for that which is temporary when our Heavenly Father so longs to give us that which is eternal. And the eternal only comes through the door of embracing the sufferings of Christ. We follow Him by picking up our cross just as He did. We cling to Him by taking up His yoke. We become like Him by understanding the purpose of sacrificial living and embracing it as fully as the human body can.

So, in a sense, perhaps it isn’t bad news that we will have tribulation. Perhaps Paul understood because of his own life experience that it is good news that we will have tribulation and even better news that through tribulation God will provide comforts beyond our wildest imagination. Perhaps what we are searching for, a cessation of the tribulation, is the wrong thing. Perhaps in embracing the tribulation we are facing only then will we receive the full comfort from the Father of all comforts. Perhaps what we need to do is instead of praying that our tribulation goes away, press in and push forward with open arms so that we can fully become that which the Father has longed for us to become.

Perhaps tribulation is really actually good news . . .

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

God Will Comfort You -- 2 Corinthians 1:1-5

2 Corinthians 1:1-5



Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

"The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation"

This is a crazy world we live in. There’s no getting around that. And it seems, as I get older, that the craziness just increases year by year, month by month, even sometimes day by day.

I think part of it is that we know so much more now than previous generations have known about what’s going on in the world. With a tap of a finger, we can access—usually on our smart phones—news headlines from across the entire planet: what’s going on in the US, what’s going on in the Middle East, what’s going on in Africa. And all with glowing (and often disconcerting) images. The evil that is in the world becomes very real when it’s displayed with video.

Tribulation. In the Greek, thlipsis (Strong’s G2347). It is anything which burdens the spirit.

I think that people are greatly burdened these days. It doesn’t matter that most basic creature comforts come readily to our fingertips. We are greatly burdened by demands on our minds to change how we think and act toward others; by events that influence our lives but which we cannot change; fears that the future may not be better, but in fact may continue to spiral out of control. We wake up expecting—even just hoping—that somehow life will get better "today" only to find that our circumstances continue to disappoint, even bring more turmoil, more concern, more pain. The cry seems to be going out from all quarters: "Is there nowhere to turn?"

And yet, God—our God—the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. All comfort. The Greek pas (Strong’s G3956) meaning "all, every, any, thoroughly" (emphasis mine). In every situation, for every circumstance, through every pain and heartache, our Father—the God who has given us permission to cling to Him and call Him by His name—has promised to provide completely and thoroughly comfort in our time of distress.

"If I say, ‘My foot slips,’ Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (Psalm 94:18-19 NKJV).

Our Father’s promise is to provide mercy and comfort through every situation; there is nothing He can’t do and nowhere He won’t go. When we sin (when our foot slips), He is faithful with His mercies to forgive. When we are surrounded with anxiety, His comfort within our very soul is there to delight us.

"Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life. . . . Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight." (Psalm 119:49-50, 76-77).

His promise is that His Word, given to us from His very heart and preserved over these many years by His own Spirit, will be our comfort when we turn to Him. There isn’t a calamity that our Father hasn’t already seen, not a trouble for which He hasn’t already provided what we need, not a pain for which He hasn’t already given comfort. We simply need to turn to Him, to open His Word, and seek that which He has already given.

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3 NKJV).

Our Father in Heaven, let it be so.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

The Gates of Hell -- Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18


"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

The Supreme Court of the United States just released an opinion that has granted the right of marriage to the LGBTQ community. Men can now legally marry men and women can now legally marry women. The Evangelical community is up in arms.

Things in America will never be the same.

And maybe they shouldn’t be.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that gay marriage pleases God. It can’t possibly as homosexual acts are a sin. Father God doesn’t base His ideas of right and wrong on our lustful ideas of "true love" or "soul mates." The concept of marriage is based on the relationship that He wants to have with us and that concept isn’t going to change. Ever.

But there are several things we need to think about, to remember, to perhaps even embrace for the first time.

First, there is no such thing as a "Christian" nation. Nowhere in scripture does it say that a "country" en mass can or will be saved. The only nation that was designated as a "nation unto God" was Israel and even then, the writer of Hebrews clearly explains (chapter 11) that only through faith in God is anyone saved, including those born into the house of Israel. "Saving a nation" is a secular idea that was permeated in the early days of the Church after Constantine made Christianity the "state religion." The idea was that any nation conquered by Rome would become "Christian." The problem is, being conquered never changes someone’s heart; only the Holy Spirit can do that!

All along the United States has been "playing" at being Christian. It has been a society that tried to embrace Judeo-Christian values (whatever that means) without the power of the Holy Spirit. What we really wanted, as Christians, was a nice, pretty place to live without the requirements of having to evangelize (more than inviting people to church) and without being "offended" because someone who wasn’t a Christian might sin in front of us. Actually, it’s surprising that the charade lasted as long as it did. And, of course, like all charades, it was simply smoke and mirrors as the Church ignored the obvious (and usually not invisible) effects of congregations living in self-absorption. Even early on, the American Church used doctrine to oppress those that it wanted to ignore or, even worse, exploit. Christianity was reduced to a culture and God never intended for that to happen.

Second, by trying to create a Christian culture, the American Church focused on the sins of those on the "outside" of the Church and failed miserably to police itself as we are instructed to do in scripture. Our judgmental natures were super-focused on the unsaved around us while we grew more and more lax about the sin in our own lives and in the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters.

As an example . . . I was struck with the irony yesterday of reading, on the same news page, both the announcement by SCOTUS of the legality of gay marriage and the report that the grandson of Billy Graham had resigned as the senior pastor of a very large and influential evangelical church due to adultery. If this kind of perverse sin has permeated even the very family of the one of the greatest evangelists of our day, we have to admit that there is something very wrong within the Church in America. We can no longer look to our unsaved neighbors as the cause of our demise; we must look to ourselves!

Third, the American Church has come to have privileges given to very few within our nation: freedom from taxation, honored positions within the community, and luxurious buildings. It used to be that the Church was the place where the poor could go to find respite from their poverty. Churches provided housing, food, clothing, and comfort to those who were without (for whatever reason). Little if any of that is done anymore. Church schools charge tuitions equal to private schools. Church pastors earn salaries (including benefit packages) equal to CEO’s of large businesses. Church members come on Sundays to gather in coffee cafes, sit in padded chairs with cup holders, and drive home in cars whose payments are more than most mortgages.

We are no longer hospitals for the disenfranchised. The American Church has become a country-club industry.

In the next months or years ahead, it is very likely that things will change greatly for churches . . . and it should! We should be ashamed of redecorating our large, air-conditioned buildings when there are children starving in our communities. We should be ashamed of criticizing the unsaved when sin is rampant within our own ranks. And we should be ashamed of wanting tax-free status when all we do with it is build another "country club" for "us four and no more."

Whatever happened to the Church that Christ built?

"I will build my Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it."

Nothing . . . nothing . . . NOTHING can stand against the Church that Christ is building. The question is, are we part of that Church? Are we willing to, as the apostles, give up everything in order to follow Christ? Rather than bemoaning that a false culture is quickly disappearing, we should instead be embracing our dear Lord and everything that He stands for . . . including righteous living, sacrificial giving, and eternal Hope in our Savior and His plan for the Church.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Mercy and Judgment -- James 2:13-18

James 2:13-18


"For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (NKJV)

What are the works of faith?

It seems that every day another moral crisis hits a famous Christian. (Perhaps part of the problem is that very phrase: "famous Christian." Maybe we were never intended to be famous.) Satan and nonbelievers use every opportunity to point out how hypocritical Christians are. (Translation: How sinful we are when the world thinks we are to be sinless.) And it’s difficult to know which side of the argument to take. Should we expect other Christians to be overcomers, living lives without sinning? John Wesley believed that Christians can live without sinning. And Paul preaches over and over again that we are to step away from our sinful pasts and to embrace the holiness and righteousness that is, and always has been, God.

On the other hand, we are told to live lives that reach out in the love of Christ to those who are less than perfect. We are told to be Christ’s hands, His feet, His heart to a hurting world. (And that hurting doesn’t just extend to those outside of the Church). And so, what become the works of faith? Are we only faithful when we give physical comfort to the hungry, to the homeless, and to the sick? Or are we also faithful when we extend mercy to those who have made bad—even horrible—choices?

Are we to be merciful, even to each other? For, according to James, mercy triumphs over judgment. Every time and in every way.

I find it interesting that the Greek work used in James 2 for "judgment" is krisis (Strong’s G2920). According to Vine’s, krisis can mean both the investigative process and, sometimes, the condemnation that results from the investigation. In James 2, it appears to have that meaning of the justice that rightly brings condemnation as a result of an act which is wrong or sinful. The RSV translates this verse this way:

"For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment."

There are two great truths here. First, there is judgment and there is mercy and we can choose how we approach life. As Christians, we have the right to either (within the Church) and can approach other Christians as we deem appropriate. But knowing that, the higher road is mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

So when do we extend mercy and when do we judge?

"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:1-2 NKJV).

Restore. In the Greek, katartizo. To mend what has been broken. There are those times when we are overtaken by sin. Vine’s defines it as this: "where the meaning is not that of detecting a person in the act, but of his being caught by the trespass, through his being off his guard." These are times when we are tired—physically or emotionally—when we have been stretched beyond our normal limits, when life comes crashing in with disaster or distress, and suddenly we find ourselves turning to sin, enmeshed in its grips because it was easy or available or offered. This isn’t the kind of sin where someone chooses again and again and again, but rather the single sin that presented itself and we fell into it because we failed to stop ourselves and ask if we should be involved.

In these cases, mercy triumphs over judgment. In these cases, we are immediately convicted of the sin and our sinfulness. Regardless of the intensity of the sin, we want to find a way out and the Church should gently restore us. We, who see others in similar situations, should also gently restore those, and heeding to the warnings of scripture, not fall ourselves into the same (or similar) sins.

These are not the same situations as Christians who have embraced the same sin time after time after time. These sins the apostle Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 5:

"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— snot even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13 NKJV).

Notice that while Paul begins the paragraph describing sexual sins, he doesn’t stop there. This list isn’t intended to be inclusive, but rather exemplary in nature. In other words, Paul isn’t just saying don’t associate with these people, but the intent is that we not associate with any Christian who embraces evil as a matter of habit or daily practice.

"Put away from yourselves the evil person." Not the evil person (or people) who are outside of the Church, but the evil people who are inside the Church.

Wow! That is a harshness that we often don’t see. How do we balance that with mercy? I believe the balance comes from Galatians 6:1 in the restoration process. If the person wants to be restored and genuinely demonstrates that resolve, then we work with them to mend the brokenness and restore them in mercy. However, that being said, if the person continues to live in the sin, then we must—as Paul emphatically commands—separate ourselves completely from that person until they decide to stop sinning. That is when we must choose judgment over mercy.

"Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? . . . Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:2, 9-11 NKJV).

The apostles and leaders of the New Testament Church expected that believers would strive to live without sin (not embrace it). And if someone else who claims to be a believer is living this kind of lifestyle, it is our duty to "judge" them in the sense that Paul spoke of in Galatians 6. We are to go to them and, as gently as possible, lead them away from the sin. But if they resist, then we are to put ourselves away from them; they are an evil person.

That being said, there is no room for gossip or talking about that person with someone else. If they refuse to turn from the evil, our next and only recourse is to pray for them. That is so hard in a society where social networking (and gossip) is our daily communicative diet. You can’t even go onto the Internet or turn on the television without hearing gossip about someone or another. But we aren’t to gossip. Ever. Regardless of the reason. And even more so when we are talking about another Christian:

"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" (James 4:11-12 NKJV).

We are, instead, to pray for each other.

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16 NKJV).

Why pray? Because we may find ourselves in a similar situation and need all the help and prayer we can get from our brothers and sisters in Christ:

"For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22b-23 NKJV).

And in this way, mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy from others brings prayer into our lives. Mercy from us compels us to pray for others. Mercy from the Lord grants forgiveness when we seek Him.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.