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I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 13 and hold your place at verse 1. Last week I had attempted to make my way into chapter 13, but found that the better part of wisdom was that I needed to stop where I was and pick up again today.
Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. I wasn't ready for that amen, but okay, I'll take it. You know, when you're studying, you think, well, sure, I'll be able to get through all.
Of this.
And then you begin to preach it and it begins to come out of you and God brings to mind certain things and you realize, well, maybe it'd be better to stretch this out. And I will say, for those who have not been with us, this is part of a very long series that we've now been in 2 Corinthians and we are bringing it to a close.
And as soon as we are finished with this, we're going to be going right into the gospel of John. And I really do hope that that happens. And my plan is that that would happen before the Sunday before Christmas, that we would at least be in John chapter 1 verse 1 that Sunday, if not the Sunday before.
So if you want to begin pre-reading and thinking about the things that we're going to be learning in that gospel, go ahead and put your mind there. But again, we have been looking through 2 Corinthians now for quite a while and we find ourselves at a very difficult portion of the letter, difficult in many ways, not the least of which that it's difficult for us to hear because Paul is saying some very hard things and he's speaking against those who are bringing false teaching and corruption into the church at Corinth.
A group of people that he identifies as the super apostles. That is not a good thing. These are men who have elevated themselves because of their education, because of their oratory skills, because of their letters of commendation.
These men have come into Corinth and exalted themselves over the apostle Paul and over his teaching and as such have corrupted the gospel that Paul had used to plant the church. This was not something that was only happening in Corinth.
We read almost the exact same problem in the region of Galatia. When Paul writes to the Galatian churches, he tells the very same thing that men came in after me and they brought corruption and they brought false teaching and so he's writing to correct these things.
This was a problem from the beginning. False teaching has been a problem since the beginning of the church. There has always been those who stand firm on the bedrock of the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel and there are those who seek to bring people away into a false gospel, into a false teaching and to the destruction of their souls.
And Paul does not mince words with these men. He doesn't say they're simply errant brothers. He doesn't say they're simply men with which they could simply agree to disagree. No, he says you are behaving like the devil.
He says the devil is an angel or rather behaves like an angel of light. He disguises himself like an angel of light and his ministers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. That's the scary thing.
The false teacher, the cult leader doesn't come with a big sign on his shirt that says I'm going to destroy your soul. He doesn't come with a big sign behind him that says soul destroyer, cult leader, false teacher.
He comes with a beautiful smile. He comes with the winsome approach. He comes sometimes with the educated mind, but he's a danger still. And Paul is concerned about these men and he is concerned with the church that has willingly submitted to their teaching, have put themselves under these false teachers and in the church corruption, sinful corruption has abounded.
Last week we looked at chapter 12 verses 19 to 21 and in that portion Paul tells them, he says I'm coming to you, but I fear that when I come to you I will find you not as I wish. What does that mean?
I want you to repent. I want you to turn from this. I want you to recognize the error of what you're doing and turn from these false teachings and turn from this way. But my fear is that when I come to you I will find you not that way.
And the way he says it, there's sort of a cadence. He says I will find you not as I wish and I will be not as you wish. Which basically is saying this, when I come if I find you not repentant you're not going to like my response.
You're not going to like the way I respond to your unrepentance. And so today we come in having studied that last week into what Paul is telling them will be the response of their unrepentance. And the response of their unrepentance will be discipline.
That's the response. And I realize this is Thanksgiving week. And all how I would rather preach Psalm 107 or Psalm 136 or any other passage about being thankful to God. But as I was thinking as Brother Andy was talking and I was in the back preparing my heart I got to thinking we should be thankful.
We should be thankful for the rebuke of God when we are in sin.
Amen.
The Bible says do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you. Reprove a wise man and he will love you. How do we know if we are wise or a fool? How we respond when someone calls us to repentance. That really is a measure of foolishness or wisdom.
Do we respond in anger? Unwilling to listen? Unwilling to consider? Or do we heed the call to repent? Paul is calling the church as we are going to read in a moment. He's calling them. Please heed my call of repentance.
That way when I come there will be joy and not rebuke. So let's stand together and read. Beginning in verse 1 chapter 13. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
I warned those who sinned before and all the others and I warned them now while absent as I did when present on my second visit that if I come again I will not spare them. Since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me.
He is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test. I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.
But we pray to God that you may not do wrong. Not that we may appear to have met the test but that you may do what is right though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth but only for the truth.
For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you. And when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of authority.
That the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Father in heaven hallowed be your name. Father as we consider today your word given to us through the apostle Paul. His call to the church at Corinth to repent.
And his dire warning that if they do not repent that he will not spare them discipline. Lord I pray that there would be among us a spirit of humility. When it comes to our own areas of sin which we struggle with.
I pray Lord that we would hear the call to repent and turn. And Lord that by the power of your spirit that you would give us that strength. I pray that we would examine ourselves. Lord we every week we take the Lord's table.
And we're told in the commission of the table to examine ourselves. And Lord Paul here says examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. Lord I pray that we would find ourselves trusting in Christ today.
That we would find ourselves following after him and his commandments. And in the areas Lord where we have not I pray that we would repent. And Lord where our brothers and sisters need to come alongside us and strengthen us.
I pray that they would. And Lord God I pray as we as I preach that you would keep me from error. For you know oh God my many failures. And I ask that you strengthen me now for the preaching of the word.
That I would decrease that Christ would increase. That the spirit would fill me in the preaching of what I am saying. Lord would go out into the ears of the people. That it would not just reach the ear and the mind but the heart.
And that your spirit would apply these words to our heart. In Jesus name amen. God has established three spheres of authority in the world. Those three spheres of authority all have structure. And within that structure there is a method of applying correction.
The three spheres of authority begin first in the home. The home has a structure of authority. Fathers are called to lead the home. Mothers, wives are called to respect their husbands. To submit to him and to lead the children together alongside him.
The children are called to respect the mother and the father. And when the children choose not to respect their parents. The bible applies a method of discipline. It's the rod. The bible says the man who spares the rod hates his son.
This week I was teaching at set free and I said that very thing. I said the bible says a man who spares the rod hates his son. And one of the men corrected me. He said no, no spare the rod spoil the child.
And I said that's a common colloquial phrase. And there is some truth to that. I said but that's not actually the text. The text doesn't just say that when we spare discipline. Spare our children of discipline.
When we hold back discipline. When we do not discipline our children it doesn't just spoil them. But it shows a form of hatred. Because if we love our children we will discipline our children. If we refuse to discipline our children it's often because we love ourselves more.
Because disciplining our children is hard. So spare the rod hate your son says Proverbs. Structure in the home. The government has structure from God. It says that God appoints those over us for the purpose of rewarding the good.
And punishing the evil. Boy doesn't the government often get that backwards. And you know God rebukes that. When the government gets that backwards God says woe unto those who call evil good and good evil.
And therefore the voice of the church should cry out and say you are a minister of God. You as the government are a minister of God. And you are wrong and you need to repent. There's nothing wrong with calling the government to repentance.
They have a job under God to do. And we should expect them to do their job. And when they don't we should speak out. Nothing wrong with that. Is everything right about that? But the government has a method of discipline.
Romans 13 says the government does not bear the sword in vain. The government wields the sword for the purpose of punishing evil. Very first sermon I ever preached in this church. Very first sermon I remember ever preaching in my life was on the Sunday after 9 -11.
It's a long story as to how it got to that point. But my first sermon was here preaching after 9 -11. And I preached Romans 13 and I preached that text. The government does not bear the sword in vain.
We're about to go to war. We've just been attacked.
We need to pray for our nation.
I was young. I didn't know what to say but I knew that was right to say. We need to pray for those who are going to wield the sword. Because the government does have a sword and it has a righteous purpose in it.
I'm not saying the government's always right. But there is a right way to wield the sword. Because that's a structure God has provided. Because the sinful nature of men must be put into check. Years ago I sat in a seminar by Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman.
He's an army ranger and he's a brother in Christ. And in the seminar he said this. He said we could go a day without a lot of things. We can go a day without food. We can go a day without water. We can go a day without a lot of things.
He said but you cannot go one day without there being some check against injustice. Because if you let everything go into anarchy for one day it would never be brought back. It would never be put back into order.
If there was disorder for one day and every police officer stayed home. Every military man stayed home. And everyone was allowed to do what their heart desired for one day. It would never be able to pick up the pieces.
So the government has a role. Has a position. Punish the wicked. Reward the good. So that's two spheres of authority that God has established. But God has established a third sphere of authority. Particularly in the life of the believer.
For the follower of Jesus Christ. The third sphere of authority is the authority of the church. Now that may seem like a surprise. Especially if you are one who maybe has been brought up with a very autonomous spirit when it comes to your faith.
Many people today. Oh I don't need the church. I just need me. And Jesus. And my Bible. And I'm on an island. And it's okay. I don't need anyone else. There is no such thing from a biblical perspective of lone wolf Christianity.
That is a myth. And I would say as much as I love our nation. It is a byproduct of so much of what we have ingrained in ourselves. With the American culture of individualism and self-focus. We forget that we are called to be part of a community of faith.
And to be responsible to that community of faith. This is why when somebody says, Oh I don't have to go to church to be a Christian. Are you crazy? Where do you get that? 90 of the New Testament is written to the churches.
Right?
Well all I need is my Bible.
Well yeah. In the Bible it said to the church of Ephesus. To the church at Philippi. To the church at Thessalonica.
To the church of Corinth.
Where are you getting this idea that you don't need the church? It's a myth. And we establish this myth because we like the idea of autonomy. We don't like to be responsible to anyone. Well I'm responsible to God.
But are you really? Or are you just responsible to yourself? You see with the structure of the church. There is actually order. Paul says all things are to be done decently.
And in order.
The church has an order and a structure. From the very beginning there was order and structure in the church. Now we see in the book of Acts. There was somewhat of a development of what that looked like.
But we see very early on. There was the establishment of those who would lead the church. We call them elders, deacons, presbyters. I'm sorry elders, pastors, presbyters. And the Greek word episkopos mean overseers.
Where we get the word episcopal.
The one who oversees. Translated bishop in the King James Bible.
My King James consortium right there. And that's that word. Bishop comes from the word overseer. Or elder. Elder comes from presbyteros. The one who is an older or wise man in the faith. Who is called to lead God's people.
Shepherd is also a word where we get the word pastor. There's another office. It's the office of deacon. The deacon is a servant of the church. The deacon is one of the ones who leads by example. Showing the church what it looks like to serve.
And to do so selflessly and lovingly. And for the glory of God. And we see that structure very early. And we see the body working among itself. Paul says the body is like a physical body. The eyes and the ears and the mouth and the hands and the feet.
And all of the parts of the body work together. And the hand cannot say to the foot. I have no need of you. And I cannot say to the ear. I have no need of you. For if we were all an eye. Where would be the sense of hearing?
And if we were all an ear. Where would be the sense of sight? Paul uses that example to say. The body of the church is put together in a structure. And in that structure there is a form of correction.
The form of correction that the Bible establishes for us. It's called church discipline. Interestingly enough. The word church only is used twice in the gospels. All of Jesus's words that we have recorded.
In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Only twice is the word church uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Both of them are in the gospel of Matthew. One is where he is speaking to Peter. After he makes the great confession.
And he says upon this rock I will build my church. That's one of the times where we see the word church used by Jesus. But the other time that the word church is used. The only other time where the word church is used.
Is when Jesus is giving us the order of operations. That come in the act of church discipline. Most of you are familiar with the text. But if you're not you can go and read it. It's in Matthew chapter 18.
Jesus said if your brother sins against you. Go to him and tell him his sin privately. And if your brother repents. You have won your brother.
It's over.
By the way. It has to be over. Because if you have forgiven your brother. If you have said I forgive you. And he has received your forgiveness. It does not need to then become. A position for conversation with anyone else.
This is why it says go to your brother privately. Because if you go to your brother privately. You tell him he sinned. He repents and he doesn't do it anymore. His repentance is demonstrated to be true.
Why tell anyone else?
There's no need. But if your brother refuses to repent. You take two or three witnesses. And I want you to know. Paul mentions the two or three witnesses in our text today. This is a long introduction.
But I'm building to help us understand this text. Paul is talking about discipline in this text. Paul actually says. I'm coming to you the third time. Like the law says two or three witnesses. He's actually identifying his third visit.
As the third time he's going to witness their sin. But Jesus said. If a person sins. You go and get two or three witnesses. You take them. You call them to repent.
If they repent.
What happens then?
Nothing.
That's done.
You've restored your brother.
No more conversation.
We're done.
We move forward.
But what happens if he refuses the counsel of two or three witnesses? He's to be brought before the church. Only other time the word church is used. Is in the corrective sense. And in the great confession with Peter.
It's in the descriptive sense.
I will build my church.
And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This is Jesus's great proclamation.
By the way.
If anybody ever says. Jesus didn't come to establish a church.
Baloney.
Absolute baloney. Greek word baloney. That's what it is. Jesus certainly came to establish a church. He says. He says the very thing.
On this rock.
I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Certainly he came to establish his church. His church is his people. His church is his bride. His church is not a building or a basilica.
His church is those who trust in him. And are filled with the holy spirit.
He came to build us.
We are the church.
Christ says.
I build my church.
And he says.
If a person is in sin. And refuses the counsel of two or three witnesses. He is to be brought before that church.
Why?
Is it for shame? Is it for embarrassment? Is it for intimidation? The purpose. Is so that the person brought before the church. Would feel the weight. Of all of God's people saying you are in fact. In sin.
It's one thing if somebody comes to me and says I'm in sin. Maybe we'll disagree. Two or three people come to me and tell me I'm in sin. It's time to start considering maybe I am wrong. But when the whole church looks at me.
And says yes. We indeed have considered the situation. And we all agree that you have violated God. And you're refusing to repent. The person then has a choice. Will I heed the counsel of God's people.
All of God's people. Filled with the holy spirit. As Mike likes to point out. The priesthood of the believer. Every believer filled with the holy spirit. Is now together in concert with one another. Having called you to repentance.
And you look at them and say. I disagree. Or and this is the two ways people respond to discipline. It's always one of two ways. Either I don't think I'm wrong. That's common. Or I'm wrong and I don't care.
I mean I cannot tell you. How many conversations I've had with people. And you may think I'm exaggerating. I promise I'm not. How many conversations I have had with people. Who have said. I know it's wrong.
But this is what I'm going to do. God will forgive me. That's the attitude. I know it's wrong. I'm going to do it. God will forgive me. So the church calls the person to repentance. And then there is the final step of discipline.
The final step of discipline is the one. That no one. Wants to have to.
Pursue.
And that is the step known as excommunication. Excommunication means they are no longer part of the covenant community. They have demonstrated. By their failure and refusal to repent. They have demonstrated.
There is something wrong in their heart. They have demonstrated they're unwilling to address that thing. And we can no longer in good conscience call them brother. Now we can't say whether or not they're saved.
Because we don't have the power to say you're saved or you're not saved. But we can say you have by doing this thing. By continuing in this thing. By refusing the counsel of the church. You have demonstrated yourself.
To have no desire to be a part of this. Now that's what it looks like. And it's ugly.
It's not beautiful.
It's beautiful only in this sense. When God's people are protected. That's beautiful. Because discipline has two purposes. Discipline has the purpose of protecting the flock. And for restoring the fallen.
And that's the goal. Is to restore. Is to restore. But you remember in 1 Corinthians 5. When Paul dealt with the man who had sinned against his father. By sleeping with his father's wife. And Paul says you ought to have already dealt with this man.
You ought to be mourning over this. And what did he say? Deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. So that his soul may be saved in the day of the Lord. You have to turn him over to his sin.
This is tough. Y 'all don't look happy. Sometimes I wish there was a mirror right here. It's not my favorite subject. But it is something that as elders we have to deal with. It's part of ministry. Unless a church refuses to do it.
And I said this last week. I'll say it again. If a church turns a blind eye to sin. It's a false church.
That has to be understood. If a church refuses to deal with sin. It's not a church. In fact the reformers. When they were identifying what constitutes a church. I mentioned this last week. They said a church preaches the true gospel.
A church administers the sacraments. And a church practices discipline. And if a church fails any one of those three things. It is not a true church. So with all that as our underscore of this. I want us now to read what Paul wrote.
And understand why he's writing it. There are men who have taught false doctrines. There are people who have received those doctrines. And are living according with them. According to last chapter. He actually said there are some of you.
Who are living an open sexual sin. He says sexual immorality. And sensuality. He mentioned sexual sin. He said this is happening. And if you don't repent. When I come there's going to be consequences.
Paul's not leveling a threat. He's saying this is the procedure Christ gave us. And it will be exercised. So let's read. He says this is the third time I'm coming to you. Every charge must be established.
On the evidence of two or three witnesses. That's from Deuteronomy 19 .15. You cannot establish guilt simply by one person's word. Even if the person is guilty. It's not. It will not hold up in God's court.
Because it's too easy for one person to. In an attempt to hurt someone else.
Make up something.
Has to be on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Now people ask. What is he? Why is he? What's he saying here? I already said I think it's his third time coming. But some people think that the two or three witnesses.
May be Titus and the two people that he's sending beforehand. And so there is some disagreement as to how. How he's using this language. We know Titus has already been there. Titus is going back there.
We talked about this in chapters eight and nine. And Titus is bringing with him. Two men to help him with the collection. That's being picked up and brought to the church at Jerusalem. So there are two or three people going before Paul.
So that could be what he's referring to. But because he says this is the third time I'm coming to you. I think it's actually referencing. Paul is being somewhat. Somewhat creative in his use of this saying.
My third time seeing you is going to be the third witness against you. It's going to be my third time saying guys. I've been here. This is my third time and it's going to be the proof. I warned those who sinned before and all the others.
And I warned him now while absent as I did. When present on my second visit. Now the second visit of Paul is not recorded anywhere. And there are some commentators. Who disagree on what Paul means by this.
Some people think the second letter was his second visit. And it wasn't actually a physical visit. And they base that somewhat on the first part of the book. Where Paul is talking about the fact. That he was supposed to go and didn't.
And so there is some conflict here. As to how we understand this. But he does say. I warned them now as absent as I did. When present on my second visit. So it lends to the idea. That there may have been some kind of a short visit in between.
Where he witnessed their sin. And he called them to repentance.
And then he left.
So that's possibly what's being referenced here. But we have no record of it outside of this one text. So this is where we are with that. But he says. I warned those who sinned. As I did when present on my second visit.
That if I come again. I will not spare them.
Spare them what?
What is Paul saying? I won't spare them. Rebuke and a call to repentance. And excommunication. If it is not received. That's my only way of understanding what. Because Paul is not coming with a. With a Billy Club.
Paul's not coming to physically assault them. Because that's not the way church discipline works. Home discipline. Uses corporeal punishment. Not capital.
Thankfully.
But corporeal. Meaning we actually do. Strike our children. As a form of discipline. Spare the rod. Where's the rod go? On the hind end.
Right.
That's corporeal. Meaning against the body. That's what the word corporeal means. So there's corporeal punishment. That is enacted to our children. The state has the sword. That certainly is corporeal.
Because the sword can be used to lop off a head. Or to run someone through.
The church does not bear a physical rod. By which we correct people. Neither do we bear a physical sword. By which we lop people's heads off. So what is Paul saying I'm going to spare them from? The only recourse the church has.
The recourse of participation. If you continue in this way. Your participation will be cut off. Sometimes it's participation in the elements. Don't take the table. You're in a state of sin.
Don't do this.
The bible says what? People doing it in a way that is wrong. Eat and drink damnation unto themselves.
It's protective. Don't do this.
Participation. But then participation in the body. Excommunication. Something again. That's the furthest that can be gone to. Paul says I'm not going to spare them. I'm not going to overlook it. I'm not going to come and pretend it's not happening.
When I come if it's. Notice what he says. If I come again. I warn them. If I come again. I will not spare them. I will not spare them. Discipline. Now verse 3 and 4. Paul is responding to what he foresees is an objection.
Because there are those who have been objecting to his teaching. So Paul is going to respond to their objection. He says since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. Now why would he say that? Because there are those who have said he doesn't have Christ speaking in him.
This is what the false teachers have said about Paul. He's not speaking for Christ. He's speaking for himself. He's not really a man of God. He's a selfish man or he's a false teacher. This is what they have claimed about Paul.
Paul says for you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you. But is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness. But lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him.
But in dealing with you. We will live with him by the power of God. Paul is going back as it were to the original accusations of the letter. And we've seen this throughout the letter. The accusations of the letter are Paul is weak.
His ministry is weak. He doesn't have integrity. He doesn't do these things. His whole life is everywhere he goes. He's put in prison or the riots start. Every boat he's ever been on has sank. His life's a mess.
How can you follow this guy?
He's weak.
Paul says Christ was crucified in weakness. But he lives by the power of God. What does that mean? Christ in the incarnation. And I'm so excited to preach the gospel of John. And all the years I've been here, I've touched on it many times.
Preached text out of it. I've never preached all the way through it. I'm so excited. But the beauty of the gospel of John begins with the incarnation of the God man. And understand this, beloved. The beauty of that is humility.
The incarnation is humility. In fact, we read this in Paul's letter to the Philippians when he says, Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
But he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
You see, Christ, though he was in the form of God, did not count that equality with God something to be held on to. But he came in the form of a man. And he humbled himself first by simply becoming a man.
That's great humility.
But it's compounded by the fact that he not only became a man, but he became a man who was going to die a shameful death on a cross, naked, stapled to a tree. That is all the degradation of the God-man throughout his life for the purpose of his exaltation.
Because the text goes on to say, Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. So at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. See, the life of Christ can be seen in a humiliation exaltation motif. He was, remember in John 17, glorify me with that glory that we shared before the world was.
He was in glory with the Father from all ages. He is there. He descends in the form of a man, comes to the earth in great humility, takes on the weakness of man, dies on the cross. And then God exalts him to the position that he was in before.
And now the position of being the forever God-man who we will worship throughout eternity. And Paul is using that example. You say, I'm weak. You're calling into question me because of my weakness. Christ was weak, but he lives by the power of God.
Yes, I am weak, but I'm coming in the power of God. You see, that's the picture Paul is painting here. He says, I'm coming and I'm coming in the power of God. Now, next week, I'm going to spend a whole sermon on verse 5.
Because verse 5 stands on its own. Even within the context, it seems to stand as a light. Because verse 5 says, examine yourselves to see what? Whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. We're going to talk about what that means next week.
A whole sermon on what it means to self-examine. So for the sake of time, I'm going to simply say how it fits in the context. Paul says, I'm coming. I'm coming and I'm not going to spare discipline. And I'm coming in the power of God.
Therefore, examine yourselves. Check yourself. You knew it was coming. Like that's what it's like. You need to check yourself because I'm coming. Or do you not realize this about yourself? That Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test.
Oh, what a shameful, sorrowful thing to consider. That we would be in Christ's church, among Christ's people. But all with an air of pretense. The Bible calls certain people pseudo-Adelphoi. Adelphos means brother.
Pseudo means false. The pseudo-Adelphoi are the false brethren. Paul says, examine yourself. Test yourselves. And then he says this. I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. Paul, remaining humble in the midst of this, says, I hope that you realize we have not failed the test.
And I hope that's how you find us. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong. Not that we may appear to have met the test. But that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. And this one's kind of difficult to understand.
But the way I understand what he's saying here is basically this. He's saying, when I come to you, if you have to be called to repentance, you'll see that I'm going to do exactly what I say I'm going to do.
But if I come to you and you have repented, then I don't have to do what I said I'm going to do. And it's going to seem like I failed because I said I was going to do it.
Then I don't have to.
But guess what?
That's better.
It'd be better if I didn't have to do it. Even if it looked like, hey, I didn't fulfill what I said I was going to do. I don't have to if you repent.
I don't have to move forward.
I don't have to do it if you simply do what you should do. And then he says in verse eight, for we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. This is all in truth. And the truth of the matter is this.
When I come, if I find that you have not repented, there's going to be a wielding of God's discipline. If I come and you have repented, praise the Lord, it will be over. And it will all be according to the truth.
For we are glad when we are weak and you're strong. And then please, if you underline your Bibles, if you make notes, look at the end of verse nine. Your restoration is what we pray for. Beloved, any time church discipline is brought to bear, the attitude towards the person should be the end of verse nine.
Your restoration is what we pray for. We pray that you would be restored. For this reason, I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come, I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
Now, Paul is being very honest with them right now. Paul is saying, I have a certain authority that God has given me. What authority did Paul have? Apostolic authority. He has the authority as one of those whom Christ has called directly, has anointed specifically, called him apostle.
He has been made the apostle to the Gentiles. He has specifically said earlier in this letter, he says, there are some men that run in different lanes. You are my lane. Literally, I planted you as a church.
I have responsibility to you the same way a father has a responsibility to his virgin daughter. And these rapists have come in to ravish you. And I'm coming to bring discipline against these men who would hurt you.
And I write these things while I'm away, that when I come, I don't have to be severe in my use of that authority. Beloved, do you understand? Paul would rather come to a repented Corinth.
Anytime.
I want you to hear this. This is important. I've had to go to people who were in sin, call them to repentance. I've seen other people have to go to people who are in sin and call them to repentance. And it has never, ever been easy.
It has always been hard. Lack sleep beforehand. Voice trembles a little when you go to them. Only a few people in the world like conflict. Most of us don't like conflict. And we especially don't like it when we know we're going to have to tell someone that they're wrong.
But understand this. If someone does come to you in love and points to a sin in your life and calls you to repent, they have already, almost in every case, I can't speak for every person. I know for me and for those people that I've talked to, they have already prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed that your response would be positive.
And that's what Paul's saying. I write these things while I'm away, that when I come, I may not have to be severe. But rather, when I come, you will have heard these words. And responded positively. Beloved, Paul says, I don't want to be sharp with my words.
I don't want to be sharp when I get there. That's the King James that says sharpness. Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, said this. He said, Paul's wish is that the sharpness with them would be with his letters, not with his words.
Hear what I've written so that when I come, my words don't have to be equally as sharp. Because God gave me authority in the church to build it up, not to tear it down. But understand, part of building up the church is to address sin.
Some people think if you address sin, the church will never grow. The reality is, if you don't address sin, it doesn't matter how much it grows. If you don't address sin, it doesn't matter if you have 30, 300, 3 ,000.
If sin is not addressed, it's not a church. The modern landscape of churches makes it very hard to practice discipline. Today, if a person is excommunicated from one church, they walk 600 feet, walk into the next church, and are welcomed with no questions.
Open arms. But that wasn't the case in Paul's time. There was no Second Baptist Church of Corinth. To be removed in Paul's time was to be put out of the community of faith. It was to be cut off from the table of the Lord.
It was to be cut off from the ministry of the word. Therefore, the consequences that Paul is addressing actually had teeth. Today, we've cut out the teeth. And most churches that practice discipline understand that the likely result of discipline will not be restoration, but will simply be a refusal to listen and a running to the next church that won't call out sin.
Beloved, we can't solve that problem, but we can recognize it. We can recognize that if, in fact, the goal of a person is to not hear the church, then that says something about their heart, whether they're welcomed in another church or not.
This is a serious issue, and it is one that is hard to really practice when it's required. Some churches who have practiced it have faced lawsuits. Some churches that have practiced it have been besmirched in the media, social media, and online.
But the command of Christ is not to satisfy the world, but to follow what he tells us to do. Therefore, as a church, we continue to pray that when these situations arise, we would prayerfully and godly, in a godly way, follow the command of Christ.
So let me close by saying this. None of us today claim any level of perfection. All of us struggle daily with the difficulties of the flesh, fighting against the flesh, the world, and Satan who's behind it all.
No one is saying that we believe in some form of sinless perfectionism by which you must adhere, or else you won't be saved. But we are saying, and this is going to point towards my message next week, we are saying that when we are in Christ, it changes our heart and our disposition towards sin.
And if we continue to love our sin and are unwilling to battle it, and we want to live in it, then that is a problem that has to be addressed. So we're going to have the table in a few minutes. Table says examine ourselves.
I'm going to remind you today and next week, it is not examining yourselves for perfection, because if so, don't dare any of us touch it. But it does ask us, are we harboring in our lives a love for a particular sin, a love for a particular sin, or a desire to stay in a sin, that we have not turned over to Christ?
It's a struggle. Does grace cover all of our sins? Absolutely. But if we look at our lives and refuse to repent, the Christian life is a daily life of repentance. If we refuse to repent, we are in fact saying that we love our sin more than Christ.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven, this is a difficult subject. Certainly one that is hard to preach, hard to hear. And I pray, Lord, that no one has heard me today and thought that this is in any way calling for some type of works-based salvation.
For we know that we are saved only by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone. But the faith that saves, Lord, is a faith that changes the heart. And if we have refused, Lord, your call, your commands, we've rebuked them, if we've hated them for the sake of doing our own thing, I pray, Lord, that today we would repent, find comfort in the work of Christ that covers all of our sins.
We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen. So, the instructions that our Lord gave his disciples, we find it...
