“Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?
“Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.” (2 Corinthians 12:14-21 ESV)
The context here, which really begins in chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians, is that of false apostles (false teachers, false preachers) who were preaching a Jesus other than the Jesus that Paul and the other NT apostles taught, and who were preaching a gospel different from the one that they taught and that the people had initially accepted. And these false apostles were not only teaching a false Christ and a false gospel, but they were bringing the true apostles into disrepute so that Paul was forced into having to defend himself.
So they were the ones taking advantage of the people, not Paul and not the other NT apostles who were called of God. For Paul was a man of God and a man of integrity who did and said what he did and said as carried along by the Holy Spirit and out of sincere concern and love, like the love of a parent, for the believers in Christ in Corinth. And he was willing even to put up with persecution and false accusations against himself in order to get the message of the gospel out to the people for the salvation of their souls.
And we are faced with a similar situation today within the gatherings of the church (or what are falsely being called “churches”). For we have many false apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers within the gatherings of these said “churches” who are promoting a distorted and altered Jesus and his gospel of salvation. And they are taking advantage of the church by persuading them to believe the lies and to reject the truth and to partner with them in their false church and in their false Jesus and with their false gospel.
Now they mask the truth of what they are presenting to the people by calling it something other than what it truly is. They claim that they are teaching the true Jesus and the true gospel of salvation, but what they are really teaching is a very distorted Jesus and altered gospel message. But they call it “love” when it is truly “lust” disguised as love, for they are not looking out for the interests of others but for their own interests, to build their own earthly and worldly kingdoms which are of the flesh.
So they distort the truth of the gospel by taking Scriptures out of their context to make them say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. They do teach Christ crucified, dead, buried, and risen again for the sins of the entire world, but they teach a cheapened form of God’s grace which does not require death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands. And they belittle those who do teach the necessity of death to sin and walking in obedience to the Lord.
But they sound like they are all “love” and “kindness” in what they teach while they present those of us who teach the truth of the gospel as those who are teaching “works salvation” or “Lordship salvation,” i.e. they accuse us of being harsh and unloving and of being judgmental and not full of grace, but while the opposite is true, for we are teaching the true grace of God while what they are teaching is a false grace which makes no requirements for its adherents to die to their sins and to obey the Lord.
So what they are teaching is that we can “believe” (not usually biblically defined) in Jesus, have all our sins forgiven, and be on our way to heaven, but regardless of how we live our lives from that moment forward. For it is all in the profession of faith where they guarantee their adherents forgiveness of all sins and eternal life with God. But Jesus said that not everyone saying to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, we have many professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are still living for the flesh, still walking in deliberate and habitual sin, still doing what they want to do with their lives while believing heaven is secured for them for when they die. But Jesus said if we are going to come after him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience. For if we hold on to our lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and obey our Lord, then we have the hope of heaven (Luke 9:23-26).
Thus, we have “churches” full of people of the flesh who are claiming Jesus as their Savior while they continue in sinful practices such as lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, slander, gossip, fighting amongst themselves, and sexual immorality and sensuality, etc., for they are buying into this cheap grace gospel, which is not the gospel of the Scriptures. But please know that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, that we will not inherit eternal life with God.
For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. And Jesus died on that cross to put our sins to death with him so we will now die with him to sin, not just once but daily, and so that we will follow him in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power of God, and for the glory and praise of God (Titus 2:11-14; Romans 6:1-23).
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Login to view embedded media
catholic-link.org
www.catholicnewsagency.com
www.osvnews.com
justthenews.com
