9/13/13

9/13/13

I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them. I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God's power. Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. (2 Corinthians 13:2-6 NLT)

Deal with it.
I think this is a good warning for Churches everywhere. Their sins had been pointed out to them, yet no change. They weren't becoming more righteous, they were wallowing in their sins. Paul was an agent of change. But in fact, it was Christ that was that agent. Paul was pleading for them to deal with it, to take care of it on their own. Now we don't know the outcome in Corinth, but we have a pretty clear vision of what we need to do, and what they needed to do. Self examination is key to our success in cleaning up our lives. The truth is, if we look close enough, if we really look at ourselves in the mirror, there is plenty to work on. The point is, we need to work on it, not just wallow in it. We cannot defeat sin if we are not intentional. We need to be intentional.

Sent from my iPad