Not Repenting After Corrections From Spiritual Leaders

[greggordon]

I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. - 2 Corinthians 12:21

There are many tests for the humility of our walk with Christ. One of them is how we react to correction and namely correction by spiritual leaders in the body of Christ. It is never easy to consider we have been wrong in an area of our life and our decisions have caused hurt towards others. Paul the Apostle was encouraging the Corinthian believers to repent fully of their past behaviours, he was full of grace towards them that they could change. But sadly in the 2nd letter he wrote to them at the end he started to doubt whether they had changed. He wrote, I fear there would be "discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder" (2 Corinthians 12:20) still among you! An arrogant attitude says I am never wrong, it says people need to listen to me. Arrogant, proud, haughty men were in the Corinthian church who were not even listening to leaders in their gatherings and were rejecting the Apostle Paul himself. You could possibly hear one of them saying, "I have no authority over me, I only submit to Christ!" It sounds spiritual but in the end such an attitude is of a decieved individual who is found apart from Christ in his pride.

The Corinthians were submitting to what Paul called, "super apostles" (2 Corinthians 12:11). These men where ear-tickling preachers that told the people what they wanted to hear. One thing they did not speak about was sexual sins or against disorder and discord in the body. All they probably wanted was the peoples money and esteem. Paul highlights at the end of his letter that "many" have "not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged." No wonder they were not correcting a young man who was in incest (1 Corinthians 5). What shocked me is when I read the word "many"! The Corinthian Church was compromised and were neglecting the cure to their ills which was godly leadership and true spiritual elders guiding them. They were blind leading the blind into lives of sin and selfishness. The end was many who were slandering each other, name-calling, talking behind backs and ultimately division in the body of Christ, something that grieves the heart of God. Paul labored with them and sought to visit them again to spend time with these children of God and tend them like a Shepherd. This comes close to home for us, are we willing to submit to correction by spiritual leaders in the areas of our lives that are amiss. Or do we seek to always justify ourselves and not accept even the godliest of men who counsel against our decisions. Our way of repentance is to humble ourselves under such correction and allow Christ to start to be formed in us again.

[Josh]

Hi Greg!  Welcome to the forums!  How'd you hear about us? 

Interestingly, just today I taught on 2 Cor. 11-12 as part of a larger series on 1 and 2 Corinthians. 

It is indeed interesting that from the early days of the Church, God's people have struggled with the same divisions, pitfalls, and distractions.  When I say interesting I mean it is simultaneously  a) a shame and b)  a wake up call and c) scandalous of God and humbling for us that He purposefully chooses to make the Church (with  it's many "Corinthians")  his primary agent in the world. 

I love how Paul, even in his exasperation, models God's love, patience, and commitment to truth in regard to his infant churches.  So many lessons to learn here. 

I often laugh about how the Corinthians had no way of knowing that all their issues would be the template of Christian reflection on how to be the church despite our brokenness for ages to come. 

[Josh]

Here's a link to the sermon if interested: www.aletheiacf.com/audio-teachings-2017.html

[greggordon]

Feb 12, 2017 16:18:16 GMT -8 Josh said:

Hi Greg!  Welcome to the forums!  How'd you hear about us? 

Interestingly, just today I taught on 2 Cor. 11-12 as part of a larger series on 1 and 2 Corinthians. 

It is indeed interesting that from the early days of the Church, God's people have struggled with the same divisions, pitfalls, and distractions.  When I say interesting I mean it is simultaneously  a) a shame and b)  a wake up call and c) scandalous of God and humbling for us that He purposefully chooses to make the Church (with  it's many "Corinthians")  his primary agent in the world. 

I love how Paul, even in his exasperation, models God's love, patience, and commitment to truth in regard to his infant churches.  So many lessons to learn here. 

I often laugh about how the Corinthians had no way of knowing that all their issues would be the template of Christian reflection on how to be the church despite our brokenness for ages to come. 

I found the forums on a web search, it appears there are fewer and fewer christian discussion forums on the internet perhaps because of the heavy use of social media like Facebook.

Good observations towards the Corinthians Church.   Paul definitely models one of the best servant leader examples for us in the Bible in how he dealt with them.