05.29.2016 How to confront others - sharp rebuke or gentle appeal? 2 Cor. 13

Lord, thank You for those who have sacrificed for our freedoms. Thank You for the blessings and freedoms we have to worship without any fear of persecution. Lord, so much of that is because of those who gave their lives for our freedom and we thank You for them. As we finish 2 Cor, speak to our hearts – help us to take what we have learned and make it real – I pray that the words of scripture would change us and we would be confronted – things deep within us – would be exposed – who we really are – and what is going on in this world.

Starting next week – we have had a team that has been going through our values as a church – and we will have different ones sharing about what we have been learning.
2 Cor. 13: 1 This is the third time I am coming to visit you. By the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter will be established. 2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.
Paul is ready to confront those who need to be confronted. This is different language for Paul – there is a time when confrontation is necessary – a time when we must confront.
Love, at times, needs to be ready and willing to confront. There is a false thinking about love that it doesn’t confront – rather, it ignores, or passes over. But the Bible is clear that genuine love needs to confront when necessary.
Now, in relationships of love, most of our confrontations should take the form of an appeal.
Paul said in Titus – do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather, appeal to him as a father. Appeal to older women as mothers, appeal to younger men as brothers, and women as sisters.
There is a time for a sharp rebuke. That is the case here. We see with Paul, the majority of the time – Paul approaches people’s struggles with an appeal. The key is discerning the difference – it is the most important thing to recognize when one is necessary.
What we see with Paul in this situation – the people that Paul is about to “not spare” – we know from the context that they are influential powerful people who are leading others astray. That is the majority of the letter.
Jesus said much about stumbling blocks – better than a millstone be tied about a neck and thrown into the sea than to be a stumbling block. Paul is able to make a difference between those who struggle with life and those who are stumbling blocks. Paul is patient and kind toward those who are struggling in sin – if you see someone caught in a sin – he says in Galatians – like caught in a net. Or like someone who falls, we don’t sharply rebuke them for it, do we? Instead, we try to sympathetically get them back on their feet. That is the metaphor in dealing with strugglers. But there are times a sharp rebuke is necessary.
Jesus gives the best examples of when to do this – read the gospels – see how He handled it – and imitate that. Jesus had sharp words for some – contrast and compare who He dealt with gently and harshly. Then do the same.
What I have found – our tendency – when someone’s sinful action is regularly repeated – the more you would expect they would need to be sharply rebuked. But when you read Jesus – He did NOT do that! The ones who struggled with addiction – or struggling mightily with an area of sin – He does NOT sharply rebuke. But the religious leaders – those who are controlling and manipulating – proud and arrogant – those are the ones He came strongly against – because they are enslaving others.
He is not weak toward you but is powerful among you.

Paul – there is a lot of comparing and contrasting going on. Things that should not be together – power and weakness. How does power work THROUGH our weakness – how can we engage the power in and through our various weaknesses.
4 For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.
Yes, Jesus was weak – but not helpless. Weakness in Jesus is a chosen weakness. He purposed to be weak. When He stood before Pilate – do you not know that I have authority? You don’t have any authority – but what My Father has given you. If my kingdom were of this world, my soldiers would be at my command. He chooses to lay His life down.
In the Greco-Roman world – humility was a very negative characteristic – today – humility – we are proud to be humble!
Service was only for slaves! And yet, God’s concept of greatness is completely different from what the world says – and we need to be shaped by what God says.
To the Corinthians – power was the removal of weakness. But for Paul, power did not come through the removal of weaknesses, but it came through those very weaknesses themselves. Our power in ministry is borne out of our weaknesses and works THROUGH our weaknesses. We need to learn to let power flow through weakness.
Jesus was crucified because of weakness – but through that there is power. It is the same for us – we are weak in Him – but live together with Him because of His power toward us. To experience the resurrection – we need to experience the cross. Because we belong to Christ, we share in His weakness and resurrection.
So, I’d like to move on and give some ways this works out. The Bible uses a series of metaphors to explain how this takes place – first the metaphor of darkness and light – John 1 talks about this – but also

Colossians 1: 13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Before we come to Christ, we live under and in the realm, the power, the kingdom of darkness and evil. A person who has not come to Christ is living under the kingdom of evil and darkness. When we come to Christ, we are transferred – removed from that kingdom – we no longer belong to the evil empire – we are no longer servants of darkness. But in Christ, there has been a complete transformation – we have entered an entirely new kingdom – and instead of serving darkness, we have been given power to serve the light – to serve light and love. The reality – in Christ, for those of us in Christ, this has already happened. We are under the kingdom of light.
We think – where is this world coming to? But we really don’t know that the world is ruled by darkness. We tend to think it looks pretty good. But the scripture really doesn’t teach that – it teaches a stark contrast. It has always been bad – and the only light is found in Christ. It has always been that way. This was written 2000 years ago.
2nd metaphor – death and life.
Col. 2:13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Before Christ, we are spiritually dead. What does a dead person do? Absolutely nothing. Before Christ, we could do spiritually NOTHING. All we were doing was decaying. But in Christ we are made alive. This too has happened: our insides have been wholly and completely transformed. There is a cosmic and eternal change that takes place when a person comes into relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to believe this about ourselves. When you are trapped in a sin – realize – there has been a cosmic transformation inside of me – in relationship to whatever area you are caught.
Slavery and Freedom.
Romans 6: 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Before Christ – we were SLAVES to sin – it controls us. Now we are free – we have choice – and the reality – the experience of freedom and no longer being a slave is a long process. Sanctification means becoming holy – like Jesus – set apart. Benefit – this is a lifelong process that will not be completed until the end – though all this is true – you are no longer a slave to sin – it takes your whole life to make this a part of who we are.
When He appears, we will be like Him – we will be changed. That is when it happens. We should see that change taking place as we go along. It is slow for some and slightly faster for others.
Life experience – there are some things that changed dramatically instantly when I became a Christian – everything else has been incremental. I don’t know of anyone that has not been the case. Yes, we are forsaking one way of life for a different way of life. You gave up the idols you worshipped. We call them goods, products – they worshiped products – they are just smaller – have screens – whatever. But from that point on – there is a deep character change that must begin to take place and those changes are conforming us to the image of Christ. There is a long way to go. I may not have a long way to go to catch up to you – but I have a long way to go to catch up to Jesus.
This is a great passage
Isaiah 40: Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
He is not saying He strengthens weakness – but rather increases HIS power through our weaknesses. It is a transferring of His power to our weakness.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
We don’t have eagles – we have hawks – and some say this is not a good translation – probably vultures – and we have lots of those. These birds – they don’t flap flap to lift up – they get a stronger force – hot air – to lift themselves up. It is not making our wills stronger – but catching the warm air of the Spirit
Cooperative power – we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
1 Cor. 15 – I am what I am by the grace of God – I labored more than all of them – it is grace and then we work – we cooperate with the grace that God has placed in us. Death to life – darkness to light – slavery to freedom – how does it work? It works by us working – o shucks – why did that have to get stuck in there.
2 Peter 1: 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence,
Make every effort
in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
All this power is available – there for us – and then you work as hard and as smart as you can. Some practical things – in our small group – we are working on this – how to do spiritual practices. I will teach as a step – we are changed through training in discipline and practice. For those of you who follow basketball – one all-star once said – it takes practice.
We change our want-to-dos by committing to the practice that we don’t want to do. We change our desires by committing to exercises we don’t want to do – things that don’t come naturally to us. How do you become a good musician? Practice! How do you become a good golfer? Practice never worked for me!
If you are going to have surgery – would you want it to be the doctor’s first surgery? I’d rather they practice a lot first.
So it is with our spiritual life – it is through practice that we change – spiritual practices to do on a daily basis.
Foster –The Spiritual Disciplines –
The good and beautiful God -
Here is the key – reading the bible, studying, prayer, fasting, serving – but what is key – routine and consistency. Place and time. People who become professional athletes have routines and consistency. That is how they get good. Without routine and consistency – place and time – you will not get good.
2nd – realistic goals – they need to be doable – it needs to match your real world schedule and responsibilities. How many of these practices can you do on the way to work – if you are willing to explore and commit to them?
3rd – it is important to learn to do spiritual practices with others.
Say – reading your Bible – you may not be able to do this with someone else – but in small group – you can read the Bible together – see what God says – but you can talk to your spouse about what you are learning.
Praying with others – learn to do this.
We can go on – finally – the goal of spiritual disciplines is to not do them! Here is what I mean by that. Learn to do these practices to such an extent that they become natural to us. We see this with Michael Jordan – at times would close his eyes at the foul line.
You may see it with Jordan Spieth putting – closing his eyes. You don’t even need to look
I have a practice of saying – I am not in a hurry. I don’t have to do that anymore.
I used to be impatient – and I’ve learned to shut down the impatience.
Make it natural to who you are.
Lord, thank You – and we ask – thank You that You have made this power available to us and all we have to do is cooperate – to allow it to flow through us. Help us to do that – to make the effort so this power can flow through our souls.