Discipline
This week's goodness is on 2 Corinthians 13:1-10:
This letter is the last in a series of letters from Paul's troubled relationship with the church in Corinth. They were steeped in the idolatry of denominationalism, and in all kinds of sexual immorality. Complicating things further, they had false teachers among them who would try to divide them against Paul and the rest of the church, suggesting that he wasn't a true Christian, or that he was just interested in their money. This exchange of letters had gone on over the course of a year or so, and the church had disciplined some people, but sin was still rampant. People were still violent, selfish, jealous, immoral, etc.
People had separated themselves into factions, the same as we do with denominations, and identified their Christianity with those groups rather than with Christ himself. "I'm a Paulian." "I'm an Apollosian." And I don't know what it is with the Bible and sexual immorality, but it comes up everywhere, and the Corinthians didn't just tolerate it, but were proud of it. And on top of that, they had character issues.
Paul writes his letters to remind them that this is serious stuff. God loves us, but there are actions and attitudes that he hates, and which he will not tolerate forever. As Christians, one of the reasons God puts us together in groups is so we can challenge each other to be better, to flee from stuff that God hates, and to intervene when nothing else works. It's that intervention that Paul is talking about in these verses, and which he dreads and holds only as a last resort.
God didn't hate the Corinthian people. And they had good points, like their charity work. But at the point when we become Christians, we are transformed into Christ's representatives. And it is difficult for us to represent him when we're doing stuff that is so counter to his desires, and so offensive to him. At that point, we're not doing our jobs, but we're still expecting to get paid in grace. However, grace isn't payment. Grace is the act of not pressing criminal charges. It is the decision not to turn the debt over for collection. It is not an endorsement or a kind of spiritual benefits check. We still need to take sin seriously, even if we find ourselves slipping up constantly. We need to say "This is not OK."
Paul's letters to them say "You guys have so much potential, please don't screw this up for yourselves." Even in threatening to come shake up their house and intervene in their church affairs, Paul still urges them to come to their senses. He begs them to examine themselves, and to pray and see if they are OK. He doesn't want to be the agent of God's discipline. He gives them every chance.
Still, a church without discipline is a church without love. In a perfect world, everyone would hear perfectly from God. Reality isn't that neat or pretty. In reality, even the most evil of men have good intentions and see themselves as saints. And sin has the ability to deaden us from God's voice in some areas. To think we can escape it on our own is to put ourselves on a pedestal above all of those men in history who have ever sinned.
Discipline is the rough hand on the shoulder, pulling a child from running into traffic. It's the bloody nose an adult gives to the bully. It's the shameful expulsion of a disruptive person from a group of people who are there to learn and grow. Nobody wants to be the person to carry those things out. Nobody wants to be the shepherd. In that way, Paul is just like the rest of us.
Still, even Jesus, the poster boy for grace and love, warned that he would come back with a drawn sword (kind of the 1st century version of a loaded rifle.) He called people to repent while they still had time. He didn't say "Whatever you do, it's cool with me. I don't care, as long as the tithe dollars keep flowing." In the early church, there were actually stories of God striking people dead where they stood, for certain sinful things they'd done. Grace is amazing, but it's not a license to sin. It's a very precious gift, and disrespecting it disrespects the God who paid for it. Enough can be enough, if you have the wrong attitude about it.
So, we're bought and paid for, but we've still got some work to do. We're representatives of Jesus Christ. Let's help each other get it done. Don't be so derelict in your duties that you force your friends, or your church, to be harsh with you, to embarrass you, or even to cut you out of their lives. Picture Paul, who, even far away from the Corinthian church, and even though his visit was still not for awhile, still dreaded the idea of having to bear the flaming sword. Think of the times you've had to be harsh in a friend's life, or a child's life. Don't be that spoiled brat. Don't let your sin be the cause of someone else's anguish.
This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
This letter is the last in a series of letters from Paul's troubled relationship with the church in Corinth. They were steeped in the idolatry of denominationalism, and in all kinds of sexual immorality. Complicating things further, they had false teachers among them who would try to divide them against Paul and the rest of the church, suggesting that he wasn't a true Christian, or that he was just interested in their money. This exchange of letters had gone on over the course of a year or so, and the church had disciplined some people, but sin was still rampant. People were still violent, selfish, jealous, immoral, etc.
People had separated themselves into factions, the same as we do with denominations, and identified their Christianity with those groups rather than with Christ himself. "I'm a Paulian." "I'm an Apollosian." And I don't know what it is with the Bible and sexual immorality, but it comes up everywhere, and the Corinthians didn't just tolerate it, but were proud of it. And on top of that, they had character issues.
Paul writes his letters to remind them that this is serious stuff. God loves us, but there are actions and attitudes that he hates, and which he will not tolerate forever. As Christians, one of the reasons God puts us together in groups is so we can challenge each other to be better, to flee from stuff that God hates, and to intervene when nothing else works. It's that intervention that Paul is talking about in these verses, and which he dreads and holds only as a last resort.
God didn't hate the Corinthian people. And they had good points, like their charity work. But at the point when we become Christians, we are transformed into Christ's representatives. And it is difficult for us to represent him when we're doing stuff that is so counter to his desires, and so offensive to him. At that point, we're not doing our jobs, but we're still expecting to get paid in grace. However, grace isn't payment. Grace is the act of not pressing criminal charges. It is the decision not to turn the debt over for collection. It is not an endorsement or a kind of spiritual benefits check. We still need to take sin seriously, even if we find ourselves slipping up constantly. We need to say "This is not OK."
Paul's letters to them say "You guys have so much potential, please don't screw this up for yourselves." Even in threatening to come shake up their house and intervene in their church affairs, Paul still urges them to come to their senses. He begs them to examine themselves, and to pray and see if they are OK. He doesn't want to be the agent of God's discipline. He gives them every chance.
Still, a church without discipline is a church without love. In a perfect world, everyone would hear perfectly from God. Reality isn't that neat or pretty. In reality, even the most evil of men have good intentions and see themselves as saints. And sin has the ability to deaden us from God's voice in some areas. To think we can escape it on our own is to put ourselves on a pedestal above all of those men in history who have ever sinned.
Discipline is the rough hand on the shoulder, pulling a child from running into traffic. It's the bloody nose an adult gives to the bully. It's the shameful expulsion of a disruptive person from a group of people who are there to learn and grow. Nobody wants to be the person to carry those things out. Nobody wants to be the shepherd. In that way, Paul is just like the rest of us.
Still, even Jesus, the poster boy for grace and love, warned that he would come back with a drawn sword (kind of the 1st century version of a loaded rifle.) He called people to repent while they still had time. He didn't say "Whatever you do, it's cool with me. I don't care, as long as the tithe dollars keep flowing." In the early church, there were actually stories of God striking people dead where they stood, for certain sinful things they'd done. Grace is amazing, but it's not a license to sin. It's a very precious gift, and disrespecting it disrespects the God who paid for it. Enough can be enough, if you have the wrong attitude about it.
So, we're bought and paid for, but we've still got some work to do. We're representatives of Jesus Christ. Let's help each other get it done. Don't be so derelict in your duties that you force your friends, or your church, to be harsh with you, to embarrass you, or even to cut you out of their lives. Picture Paul, who, even far away from the Corinthian church, and even though his visit was still not for awhile, still dreaded the idea of having to bear the flaming sword. Think of the times you've had to be harsh in a friend's life, or a child's life. Don't be that spoiled brat. Don't let your sin be the cause of someone else's anguish.
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