2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
After defending his ministry in 2 COR 10, Paul spoke with great emotion in 2 COR 11: 2-15 to the early church in Corinth about how they should respond to all the false apostles vying for their attention and trying to sway them from faith in Christ. In (2), Paul says, “I am jealous for you, just as God is…” In and of itself, that’s an extraordinary statement. It was not only true, but it was designed to shock his audience into focusing on God’s truth. They needed it. He goes on to say in (3), “I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ-in the same way that Eve was deceived by the serpent’s clever lies.” Other places in the Scriptures reveal that the city of Corinth was not a God-fearing place. Materialism and a myriad of false teachers hawking their lies were the order of the day. It was not an easy place for the young church to gain a strong foothold without Paul’s God-given leadership to get it on track. In our quest to better understand what God wants us to do in the face of false teaching, we will look at the example of Paul’s efforts to make God’s truth the first priority of the early church.
As this precious passage goes on, Paul speaks of his arrangement not to ask the early Corinthian church for financial support. He spoke of “humbling myself in order to make you important” (7b) and of allowing believers in Macedonia to supply him with what he needed to remain in Corinth preaching to them (9). This impassioned plea needed to impact the early church sufficiently to bring them to stronger, more obedient faith. Sinning in this part of the early church needed to be brought to a halt. God’s light is shed on the real problem in 2 COR 11: 13-15. “Those men [the false teachers] are not true apostles-they are false apostles, who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ. Well, no wonder! Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light! So, it is not great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve.” We are reminded of Christ’s words in MT 7: 15, “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.”
In having a deeper understanding of 2 COR 11: 2-15, we need to look at Paul’s concerns and Satan’s desires. Certainly a main concern for Paul was the weak faith of the Corinthian church. How can we miss the lesson from Christ’s Parable of the Sower [MT 13: 1-9, 18-23]? This is a classic case of the seeds getting squeezed out by all the thorns or seeds falling on hard ground and not being able to throw down roots deep enough to survive less than perfect weather and water conditions. Paul had a right to be concerned, but God was guiding him to take action that would help the problem. Satan’s desire is to bring misery, destroy faith, and take control of mankind’s souls. His strategy is exactly what Paul was addressing when he stated his fear that the false apostles would “corrupt their minds and they would abandon their pure devotion to Christ ” [2 COR 11: 3]. Never once did Paul forget that by enduring in our faith with obedience, God gives us the power to defeat Satan at his game. He wanted these Corinthians young in the faith to understand this well.
We must examine what the enemy is doing today to try to lead us from the truth. To begin, he tries to get us to believe man over God. Some examples of this are even being taught in some seminaries. Replacement theology, the belief that God is finished with the Jews and has now replaced them with Gentiles, is an example of false teaching that was found in a textbook used in one of the leading seminaries in this country, published by one of the leading Christian publishing houses. Another example is the belief in alternative lifestyles, such as homosexuality, fornication, lesbianism, living in covens practicing witchcraft and the occult, and other such sinfulness, as acceptable. Anti-Semitism in any form is another one. Hate groups, such as the Neo-Nazis, the American Nazi Party, the Skinheads, and the like are realities in today’s society. The practice of having sex with children that has been reported among some Catholic priests is another. Human rationalization leading to lack of ethics in the work place is another. Fundamentalist extremist Islam which leads people to think that it’s okay to carry out an Islamic Jihad by sending suicide bombers into Israel is an example. Any kind of man-centered thinking and actions delights Satan. We must choose to rob him of this pleasure in Christ’s name! Truth is what matters!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your desires are the opposite of Satan’s. You want us to know that You are the strength of our hearts, Your timing is perfect, Your energy for being our perfect Covenant Partner is continuous, You are Sovereign and Supreme over all, You know everything, and You are with us wherever we are. We need to be reminded that through the Holy Spirit, You are living within each believer. Thus, we must also understand that You are working through us. Dearest Abba, You have given us the power to know the truth through Christ, to be set free by it from Satan’s control and fate, and to defeat Satan’s attempts to destroy our faith. COL 3: 3-4, “For You have died and Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” We must not give up or allow weakened faith to enable Satan to crush us under his oppression. It is critical that we see his lies for what they are and not allow them to swallow us up in self-hatred, confusion, and doubt leading to sinfulness. Christ has told us in MT 7: 7, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” What great words of comfort You give us through Him. No matter how Satan tries to attack us, we can always turn to You; You will always be there for us. By Your word, You have given us a way to recognize when we are being told a lie. When we are discouraged, You offer us guidance and are our Advocate. We come to Your altar today to humbly offer You our confession and to pledge You our worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise and thanksgiving. We remember the words the Psalmist gives us in PS 103: 17-18 and love You all the more for them. “But for those who honor the Lord, His love lasts forever, and His goodness endures for all generations of those who are true to His covenant and who faithfully obey His commands.” We are Your faithful servants and friends. In Christ’s holy name, amen.
More on what it takes to avoid Satan’s seduction from the truth is the subject of tomorrow’s message. It always bothers me when I see young people heavily tattooed, wearing all kinds of jewelry in strange places on their bodies, and using drugs, smoking, and/or alcohol. That’s an indication that Satan has already begun his frontal assault on their minds. They think they are being cool; believers know they are not because they have spent time with God by studying His word. I’m am equally disturbed by unethical upper level managers and CEO’s who walk away with millions from companies in which the employees and stockholders are financially destroyed. They think they are “smart;” believers know they are not, because God makes the truth clear. In the end, sinners never come out ahead. They think they do, until the moment they are sentenced to the lake of fire and sulfur. Believers know long before this that they can enjoy eternal joy and fellowship with God, as long as they endure in faith. God’s righteousness is our blessing. His justice and love are immeasurable. We are covered by such love from Him as mankind has never before known. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn