Slander

David made a statement back in Psalm 19, verse 14. It seems down through the ages that it's been very difficult to follow and practice. Chapter 19 of the book of Psalms, verse 14. David said, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. And so you find that David knew that what came out of his mouth, what he said, what he said to others, and what he meditated on, what he thought on, what went on in his mind, had to be acceptable to God. So how many people do you know who go around thinking about what, you know, what do I say, what do I think, is this acceptable to God? And yet this is exactly what the Bible tells us that we need to do. Notice what Christ said in Matthew 12 and verse 33, when he said something similar. Chapter 12 in the book of Matthew, and we'll begin to read here in verse 33.

Christ said, Either make the tree good in its fruit good, or else make the tree bad in its fruit bad. For a tree is known by its fruit. So we are known by what we do, by our actions, by our fruit.

And then verse 34, Brute of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

So what we say reflects what is going on in our heart, what is happening inside of us. A good man, out of the good treasures of his heart, brings forth good things. And an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men shall speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. The word idle simply means not working, not employed, inactive, insincere, false, unprofitable.

Another Greek lexicon says it's insincere language of a person who speaks one thing and means another. So he's talking about idle words, words that are not productive, that are insincere, false, unprofitable. So one of the guidelines that we have to ask ourselves is that when we speak, what we say is it profitable? Does it build up? Does it encourage? The Bible talks about edifying one another in our speech, encouraging one another.

Then he goes on to say, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. So our words are very important.

Now turn over a couple of pages here in chapter 10 of the book of Matthew, verse 34.

Chapter 10 and verse 34, we have a scripture that those of us have been around for a long time are very much aware of. But I would like to perhaps apply it in a little different way, a little different manner, and certainly hope that the application is an acceptable one. But let's notice here, Matthew 10, 34. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

I've come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies, in other words, his foes, will be those of his own household. And then he goes on to explain how that we have to put God before our father, mother, sister, brother, wife, husband, whoever it might be. And so God comes, excuse me, that God comes first, and you find that sometimes our enemies are those of our own household, families who turn on us because of what we believe.

Another application of this could be simply, we are the household of God. The Bible refers to the church as a household of God. Is it possible that we are Is it possible that we could have situations within God's church where one turns on another and in one sense becomes an enemy? In Matthew 24, Christ talks about there's going to come a time when the love of many will wax cold and that people will turn on each other.

And the implication is you know that this could happen even within the church of God itself. Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 3 talks about the time in the end that we live in today and that there's going to come a time when people will be so absorbed with themselves and not concerned about others that they will become lovers of themselves as it says here. This know that in the last days, it's the 2 Timothy 3 verse 1, then the last days perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers.

Now I want you to notice that word because we'll come back to it again. Disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous. That's another word that we will focus on. Without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, having the form, ceremony, they look good, but denying its power. The form, not the substance. The substance is the character, how you are, your heart, how you live, how you think. You know, what really makes you a Christian, not just the appearance that we might give to others.

Much of what we know about the first century church is revealed through the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul, when you look at what he did, he wrote 14 books of the New Testament. He raised up a number of churches all over Asia Minor, Greece, you know, all over that area. He trained many elders. He had men like Timothy and Titus that he worked with. When you look at the writings of the book of Acts, you will find that the book of Acts deals basically with Paul's ministry.

You don't find it writing well now. Matthew went over here and gives you chapter after chapter what Matthew did, or, you know, some of the other apostles. It's just not in there. Would it not be great if we could have the Apostle Paul as our pastor or pastoring one of God's churches today? The depth of knowledge, the wisdom he obviously had. I would love to sit down and ask him a little more about the sacrifices, the temple, you know, grace, you know, any number of things, and perhaps ask for some clarifications on Galatians, Romans, and a few other books that he wrote earlier to see exactly why he phrased things the way that he did.

Well, I want to show you today one congregation that Paul raised up. Now, he wasn't there all the time to pastor, but he oversaw the church, and he had the responsibility for the church, and he sent ministers of that congregation, and he wrote two fairly long books in the Bible concerning that particular church. We have here an example of Paul dealing with a local congregation and some of the problems that they had and some of their attitudes toward him.

The church I'm referring to is a church in Corinth. When you look at 1 and 2 Corinthians, it shows the church that had a lot of problems. Paul had to deal with those problems. He had to deal with a number of the members there. In 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, beginning in verse 1, we find that Paul expresses a concern here.

Beginning in verse 1, he says, So one thing he admonished them to do is to hold fast, don't give up, unless you believed in vain. So it shows here that it's possible to believe in vain.

Now the word vain means futile or useless, that they're believed.

They believe, but it turns out to be useless in vain. In Galatians chapter 4, we have another example of Paul addressing the churches in Galatia. And as you realize that there were more than one church in Galatia, Galatia was a region. And in Galatians chapter 4 verse 11, Paul, in writing to this church, says, I'm afraid for you. So he expresses a fear, a concern, lest I have labored for you in vain. I've labored. I put in a lot of effort, but he was concerned about them. He was worried about them. Well, brethren, I am looking at the church of God today, and I'm not just talking about our local congregation, but the church of God as a whole, I have grave concerns for God's church today. We have a lot going on within the church that should not be going on, simply because people are not acting in the way, in the manner, that they should. There's a lot of slandering going on. There's a lot of blaspheme going on, evil speaking, gossip, misinformation being spread with apparently no concern for verification of the information. And even if it were verified, should it be repeated, is the story. Now, this is not a sermon on gossip. You could go back. There are dozens of scriptures in the Bible to deal with gossip, although gossip ties in with it. We live in an age that is completely different from the first century as far as information. Possipol writes a letter to the church in Corinth. It's hand-delivered to perhaps the pastor, Apollos. He gets up on the Sabbath. He reads a letter to them, and then maybe he keeps the letter. Somebody might ask to read it, or it's passed on to another church area. Today, you can put anything you want to on the web, on the internet. You can say anything about a person you want to, and that person has no defense whatsoever. And this is very, very much used. It's a tactic that is used in politics today. Attack your opponent. Attack whoever you don't like. Accuse them. And as we lead up to the November elections, you see this type of thing going on constantly. Attack ads where they attack someone and they accuse them. And then you've got to come back and try to defend yourself. If you don't say anything, then you're automatically guilty. If you say something, then you are accused of slinging mud. Either way, you lose. And part of this is what we find was happening with the Apostle Paul in the church in Corinth. So let's go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

I don't normally in a sermon just take a book and go through a book. Now, I'm not going to read 1st and 2nd Corinthians to you today, but I would suggest that during this coming week that it might be good for you to read through these books in detail. They're easy reading. I'm going to hit some of the high spots. 1 Corinthians, there's hardly a chapter that goes by that you do not have a problem being raised by Paul that he has to address. And just some of the problems were divisions, picking champions, contentions, quarrelings, misuse of gifts that God had given to the church, especially misuse of tongues, interpretation of tongues. And you could go on and on with some of the problems. But let's begin here in verse 1, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 1. It says, Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, who the will of God and sosthenes our brother, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all who in every place call in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours, grace to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. So there's no doubt that this is the church of God. Paul says it is. He says that they've been sanctified. They've been set apart. He refers to them as saints. So he's obviously dealing with the church, just says, you know, I can get up in a church today and preach, and we're the church of God. We're God's people. He says, I think my God in verse four, always concerning you for the grace of God, which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by him and all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short and no gift. So you find that all of the gifts they had. And I think it's interesting to note that people can be given spiritual gifts and that people who have spiritual gifts can have spiritual problems. Likewise, having the gifts does not negate the fact that we have human nature and that we still have to fight and battle with that type of nature. Going on here in verse 10, he said, I plead with you, brethren. So you find that Paul is not just saying, well, you know, you can take this if you want to. He says, no, I'm pleading with you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you. But that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind, same judgment. What has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, of those of the Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now, I say this, and each of you says, I'm a Paul. He's my favorite minister. I'm a Paulus. He's my favorite. He's a better speaker. Or I'm a Cephas. Well, you know, Peter, he's my man. Or I am Christ. He asks, is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

So here we find them picking and choosing who they wanted to follow. And he goes on to show that that was not the proper thing to do. The same occurs in the church today. Human nature hasn't changed. We have the same type of situation. Now, he goes on in this chapter, showing that God hasn't called the great the mighty. He's called the weak of the world. We go on over to chapter 2, verse 1, and you find that Paul says, look, I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of Christ. He goes on to say he didn't come with a lot of human wisdom. He just came preaching the Word of God to them straight from the Scriptures. And so it was Paul who raised his church up. He wasn't there all the time. Apollos apparently was left to be the local pastor of the church. Going on to verse 16, he says, for who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ.

So he shows here again that he's not talking to people who don't have God's Spirit. They have the mind of Christ, he said. Now in chapter 3, he carries on, I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual. I couldn't talk to you as those who are really spiritual, but as to carnal and as the babes in Christ. Now, why did he think that they were carnal? What are the signs of carnality? How can you tell if you're acting carnal? Well, let's go on. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it. And even now you're still not able. Are you not still carnal for where there is envy and strife and division among you? Are you not carnal and behaving as mere men? See, just like the unconverted, like people in the world, like politicians. When one says, I'm a Paul, another says, I'm a Paulus, are you not carnal?

Who then is Paul? Who's a Paulus but ministers through whom you believe? As the Lord gave each one, I planted Paulus water, but God gave the increase. So Paul always gave God the glory. So here you find he shows that there's no other foundation we can leave than Jesus Christ, that we need to build on it. He shows that you build either with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, or stubble. Now, if the character we're developing is wood, hay, and stubble, it'll burn up in the trials and the tests. And so he was concerned about that. So rather than we can have problems and divisions, that doesn't mean that we're not God's church, but it does mean that we shouldn't be that way. That's not the way God intended it to be. In chapter 4, so far Paul is talking to them and pointing out to them some of their problems. Let's notice also what he points out that they were saying about him. In chapter 4, verse 1, let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mystery of God. Moreover, it's requiring stewardship, the one be found faithful. But with me, it's a very small thing that I should be judged by you. So here we find they were judging Paul. They were criticizing him. They were evaluating everything that he did. Or that I should be judged by a human court or in the human day around. In fact, I don't even judge myself. I know of nothing against myself. He said, look, I don't know of anything, any charge he can bring against me. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord.

Members were judging his work. They were judging his actions. And again, you find they were speaking out. When someone does this and they're judging, they were judging Paul, do you think they kept this to themselves? The very fact that he says that you were judging me implies that they were sharing their thoughts with others. Because if they kept it to themselves, how did Paul know anything about it? The only way he would know anything about it is if they were talking to others and thereby somehow the information finally comes down to him. Now beginning in verse 6, he says, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes. Now you may learn in us not to think beyond what it is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. Now the word puffed up here means to be arrogant. You find that part of their problem was a spiritual arrogance, spiritual pride, being puffed up, thinking that they were better than others. And yet Paul goes on to show what the apostles went through. Notice the story. In verse 7 he says, Who makes you to differ from another? And what do you have that you do not receive? We get all of our talents and abilities from God. We get our spiritual gifts from God. Then he begins to use a little sarcasm in dealing with the people because he says, Well, you're already full. You're already rich. You've reigned as kings without us.

And indeed, I wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you. So he's using a little sarcasm with them. Verse 9, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned the dead. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools, for Christ's sake. But you're wise.

We're weak, but you're strong. You are distinguished, but we're dishonored.

To the present hour, we both hunger and thirst. We're poorly clothed. We're beaten. We're homeless. We labor, working with our own hands, being reviled. We bless, being persecuted. We endure. Being defamed, in other words, they were spoken against. We're intrigued.

We have been made as the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things until now.

Well, that's not a pretty picture he paints of himself, Barnabas, and some of the other apostles, the way that they were looked upon and treated. So in verse 14, he says, I don't write these things to shame you. And I could say the same thing. I don't speak these things to shame you, but as my beloved children, I warn you, Paul said, for though you may have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you don't have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I had begotten you through the gospel. He was the one who brought the gospel to him. He was the one who introduced him to the truth. I mean, this is basically what he's saying. As a result of this, he says, look, verse 17, for this reason I've sent Timothy to you. He wanted Timothy to go there to try to help these people. Verse 18, he says, but some are puffed up, or some are arrogant, as though I were not coming. Verse 21, what do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod?

Paul had the authority. He could come with the big stick, correct them with a rod. Or should I come in love and in the spirit of gentleness? You see, this is one reason why Paul hadn't come to him yet. They had accused Paul of lying because he didn't come when he said he was coming. At least a couple of times before, Paul said, I'm going to come. And they said, well, you didn't come.

And so they accused him of not keeping his word. Now Paul said, look, I am going to come the next time. And the reason I didn't, as we'll see, he didn't want to have to come and correct. He thought he could write a strong letter to them and maybe they'd take the correction and repent and change. If they didn't, then he would have to deal with it. So in chapter 5, beginning in verse 1, he said, it's actually reported that there's sexual immorality among you.

And such sexual immorality is not even named among the Gentiles. A man has his father's wife. And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that has done this deed might be taken away from among you. So again, they were arrogant. They were puffed up. They were vain. They thought, well, we are so loving. We are so understanding. We've been over backwards. And Paul said, no, that's not how you treat this man. You deal with the problem. In verse 6, he says, your glory, and so they were glorying in their approach, is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven, leaven is a whole lump, little sin is going to affect the whole church. And then he goes into the days of unleavened bread. Verse 9, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Now, you'll notice Paul had already written a book to these people. 1 Corinthians is not the first book Paul had written, but it was not included in the scriptures. These two, what we call 1 and 2 Corinthians, were. Then he goes on to say, yes, certainly, I did not mean with the sexual and moral people of this world, or covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. In other words, you're going to get away from all these people. You've got to go to the backside of the moon. Well, we can't do that.

So he's explaining this, but now I've written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, covetous, or an idolater, reviler, drunkard, extortioner. No, with such one not even need eat. For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside, but those who are outside? God judges. Therefore, and I want you to notice the language he uses. Put away from yourself the evil person. So he called the fornicator an evil person. Now, most of us would say, oh, you can't call somebody evil, but what he was doing was evil. It was wrong, and Paul certainly did that. Now, in chapter 6 and verse 7, we find in chapter 6 they were going to law against one another, and in verse 7 he summarizes what was going on by saying, now therefore it is already another failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? Know you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do things to your brethren. Do you not know that the unrighteous are not going to inherit the kingdom of God? And so he goes on to again to explain who's going to be in God's kingdom and who will not be in God's kingdom. So we find here again almost every chapter of 1 Corinthians dealing with a problem that had to be corrected and where they were misusing the gifts that God had given them. Many of them probably thought that the apostle Paul, boy he's tough, you know, he's really hard on people. Probably Apollos was a little more gentle, a little kinder, so therefore, you know, some liked Apollos, some liked Paul. Now, in chapter 9, in verse 1, chapter 9 verse 1 here in 1 Corinthians, Paul said, Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work and the Lord? If I'm not an apostle to others, yet doubtless, I am to you. I mean, they would have to acknowledge that he was an apostle because he raised the church up there, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense, so notice, Paul is having to defend himself here, and he said, my defense to those who examine me is this. So there were those who were examining him, and he said, well, this is my defense. Do we have a right to eat and drink?

Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? You might remember that Paul was a tentmaker, and as a result, when he would go into a number of these areas, instead of him taking the tithes and offering, he didn't want to be accused of being in it for the money. He sat up and shot and made tents, so he was having to pull double duty. He was preaching to them, and he was also working on the side. And so they were examining him, accusing him, and then he had to defend himself. Then we come over to chapter 10 in verse 6. Chapter 10 talks about, and he refers back to the Old Testament examples. Now, there are hundreds of examples in the Old Testament that the apostle Paul could have cited. He obviously cites here, beginning in verse 6, certain examples, because apparently these were some of the problems the church there faced, some of the difficulties that they had. And so he knew that they had to deal with these. In chapter 10, beginning here in verse 6, he says, Now these things became our example to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. So one of the problems in the church he cites here is lust. And do not become an idolater, he says. So some of them were idolaters. And do not let us commit sexual immorality in verse 8. Nor should we tempt Christ, as some of them also tempt. In verse 10, nor complain, as some of them also complain, and were destroyed by the destroyer. In the Old Testament, especially the book of Exodus, you find that the Israelites complained all the time. They complained, you know, we want food, we want meat, why don't we have water, it's too hot. You know, who made you a ruler over us? And so they complained against Moses and Aaron. He brought us out here to kill us in the wilderness. You know, we're tired of eating this manna, and they would go on and on and on, complaining. So he explains and goes through some of these. So Paul warned them of these situations.

Now, we could go through chapter 12. In chapter 12, he explains the proper use of gifts.

He explains in chapter 13 that the better way is love. Chapter 14, they were misusing the gifts of tongues. They were trying to impress people. And so he explains how tongues should be used, interpretation of tongues. Chapter 15, there were several had false ideas about the resurrection, so he wrote to straighten that out. But let's go over to 2 Corinthians, beginning in chapter 1. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 15. Again, this is where we find them accusing him of vacillating about coming there to speak to them.

Paul writes in verse 15, In this confidence I intend to come to you before that you might have a second benefit to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, be helped by you on my way to Judea. Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? You know, was this something that I said, yeah, I'll come, but I didn't really have any plans, didn't mean it. For the things I planned, do I plan according to the flesh? That with me there should be yes, yes, no, no. I read this last week, if you'll remember.

But God is faithful, in verse 18, our word to you was not yes and no, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was preached among you. And he goes on in verse 20, saying the promises of God in him are yes, in him amen. But they were accusing him of vacillating. But the reason why Paul decided not to come, he wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians, and he thought, give them time. They'll have time to read the letter, think about it, apply the principles, change and repent. And so when I finally do come there, they will have changed, and things will be a lot better. I mean, that was his approach. So in chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, chapter 2, verse 1, he says, But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. So he didn't want to come there in sorrow. You know, they would be all upset. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? So if he had to come there and correct them, then they'd be upset, they'd be sorrowful.

He'd like for them to cheer him up, but they'd be all sorrowful, so that wouldn't happen.

So he goes on to say in verse 4, For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. Now, a lot of times we don't realize this when the Apostle Paul wrote a very strong letter, and he did on several occasions to some of the churches. You'll find that Paul did that not because he was mean or tough, but because he loved the people. Does God correct us? Well, sure he does. Hebrews 12 tells us that God corrects us. Why? Because he loves us. If he doesn't love us, he wouldn't correct us. When we had our little children, did we correct them? No. And sure we did. If your children were about to run into the street, you'd say, no! Don't run into the street! And you would correct them, and you would teach them, because you were concerned for their safety. You were concerned for them. And Paul here, out of much anguish, affliction, tears, said he was extremely concerned for the people and for them spiritually. And then going on here in verse 17, very interesting Scripture says, for we are not, as so many, peddling the Word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. So he said, we're not peddlers. We're not just selling the Word of God. We're not in it for the money. We're doing this because out of sincerity, because God has given us the charge to do so. Then in chapter 3, apparently there were some people coming along. They had letters written, commending them, saying, well, you know, this man is a minister, or this man is an apostle, this man is a great man. You know, listen to him. Well, Paul in verse 1 says, do we begin again to commend ourselves, or do we need, as some others, epistles of condemnation, or commendation, I should say, to you, or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle, written in our hearts, known in red by all men. See, they can clearly see you. You're a church of God. How did you start? Well, you know, I came there, I preached to you, and so on. Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And then he goes on to talk about the spiritual or spirit intent. So the Apostle Paul says, look, I don't need a letter from you showing that I'm an Apostle, that I can take around and show others. The very fact that you're here, that you are a church, you're up and running, shows that, you know, that.

Now, if you go on over to chapter 6, verse 11, he says in verse 11, Old Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you.

See, I'm not doing anything in secret or hiding things from you. He said, we've spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. You're not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now, in return for the same, I speak as to children. You also be open. Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, he says. And so he goes on to show how God is our Father, and that he was certainly one who was open with them. But they did not always respond in kind, as we see in chapter 10. Let's go over to chapter 10 here, 2 Corinthians.

Now, I, Paul, myself, am pleading with you by makeness and gentleness of Christ. So, notice again, he pleads with them, who in present am lowly among you, but being absent and bold toward you. Paul, when he was away, could write strong letters. When he was there present, they said, well, you know, he's not very strong. But notice verse 2, but I beg you that when I am present, I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walk according to the flesh. Now, I want you to notice there were some of the members there in Corinth who thought that the apostle Paul walked carnally. I mean, how he dealt with the church, how he dealt with the people, what he said, that he was walking according to the flesh. He says in verse 3, though we walk in the flesh, we're all human beings, we're living in this fleshly body, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God, for the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down, then, he says, arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So he's not only just talking about himself, but he's relating this to the church, that you need to cast down all these arguments and all these high things and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

And so this was his exhortation to them. In verse 7, Paul said, do not look at things according to the outward appearance. And again, there are those who judge according to the outward appearance, and there were those in Corinth who were judging according to the outward appearance. If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ, let him again consider that in himself, that just as he is in Christ, even so, we are in Christ. So he said, okay, you consider yourself a Christian, you're in Christ, you're part of the church. Apparently, there were some there who even doubted whether Paul was in the church. He said, you know, we're in Christ also.

Now in verse 8, we get into some of the nitty-gritty of what he had to deal with there.

He says, even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority. So Paul had authority, which the Lord gave us, for what? Well, for edification, to build them up. That's why.

Not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed, lest I seem to terrify you by letters.

So he said, I know some of you are terrified by my letters. For notice what a number of the brethren in Corinth said. For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful. Boy, you don't want to get a letter from Paul. They're weighty and powerful.

But his bodily presence is weak. See, Paul wasn't a real strong man. Apparently, he'd gone through a lot of whippings, as we know. He had been whipped several times. He'd been floated around in the Mediterranean Sea on more than one occasion. He'd been stoned and left for dead. His nose could be cattywampus. He had apparently poor eyesight. He may not have been the most beautiful individual. May have had some teeth knocked out. We don't know exactly. He was not a trained orator, but he was a scholar. He could certainly research and quote all day along the Old Testament scriptures. So they said, well, his letters are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak. And his speech is contemptible. He was not an Apollos. Apollos was a great orator. But Paul, they said, well, his speech is contemptible. And then he says, let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letter when we are absent, such will we also be indeed when we're present. So he said, this time when I come, that what I've been saying in my letter, I will also say to you personally. And so, verse 12, we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. So there were some in the local congregation who were commending themselves, praising themselves. They were comparing themselves to others, or they were comparing Paul to others. But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise, he says. And so Paul very clearly brought out the problems that they were having. So you can see some of their attitudes towards Paul and what he was dealing with in this church. When the Apostle Paul lists here in 2 Corinthians, all of the beatings that he had gone through, all the jailings he'd gone through, the night and day he'd been in the deep, all of this. And then he goes on to say, beside all of this, is the care of the churches. Paul did not only have 1 Corinthians to care for, but he had all of the churches in Greece, all of the churches in Asia Minor, all of the churches in Galatia. He had all of these areas to think about, provide church pastors, to train ministers, to provide manpower, to deal with problems that would come to his attention. And yet, was it appreciated by everybody? Well, obviously, from the 1st and 2nd Corinthians, no, it was not.

Have things changed? I say they haven't. I say the same things have occurred down to the centuries, still occur in God's church. Chapter 11, verse 5, Paul says, I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most imminent Apostle. You pick him, he said. I'm not inferior to him. Even though I am untrained in speech, I'm not in knowledge. So, his knowledge, his scholarship, was without parallel. Speaking, he wasn't a great speaker. Then he goes on to talk about fossil apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And we're all familiar with that. Well, talking about the suffering, why do you suppose the Apostle Paul, going on here in verse 22, talks about all the suffering that he went through? Why do you suppose that he goes through all of that? He says, are they Hebrews? So am I. Verse 22. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seat of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool.

I am more. Labors more abundance and strikes above measures and prisons more frequent and deaths often from the Jews five times I received 40 stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked the night and the day I've been in the deep. Journeyings off in perils of waters. Perils are dangers of robbers, dangers of my own countrymen, dangers of the Gentiles, dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilderness, dangers in the seas among false brethren in weariness and toil. He goes on and on and on. Why is he saying these things? Because he's defending himself. He's defending his ministry. He is showing that he's not in it for the money that he has given all for the sake of the church. And he makes that very clear. Chapter 12, you find that Paul had visions and he also cites this. Again, this is a defense of himself. He shows that, you know, okay, you have gifts. Well, let me tell you, I was called up into paradise. But he puts it in the third person so that, you know, they might wonder who it was. And then dropping down to verse 19, he says again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ, but we do not, but we do all things beloved for your edification. For I fear less when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish. He said, I'm afraid when I come that I'm not going to find you repented. I won't find you changed. I won't find you the way that I wish. Why is he afraid that he's going to find? Well, less there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, backbiting, whispering, conceit two moths. Less when I come again, my God will humble me among you and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, the fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced. So he was very clear that he was concerned about their carnal approach.

So on verse 1 of chapter 13, this will be the third time I'm coming to you by the mouth of your three witnesses. Everything he says will be established. I've told you before and foretell you as if I were present the second time, and now being absent, I write to those who have sinned before and I tell all the rest that if I come again, I will not spare. This time I'm going to deal with the problems.

And then he said, will you seek proof of Christ speaking in me?

And he goes on to show that it's by the power of God. So verse 5 he says, examine yourselves as to whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves. So instead of examining me, you examine yourself. Instead of testing me, you test yourself is what he's saying. You need to know that Jesus Christ is in you. Then finally in verse 10, therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness. So he said, you want me to come and use sharpness with you according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction. Well, I've only hit the high points here. There's so much more in these books. As I mentioned earlier, I would suggest that you go back and read these two books this week. I started out by mentioning slander and blasphemy. The word slander in the Bible means to utter false charges or accusations that defame another person's reputation.

Anytime you read or you see or you hear somebody defaming another individual or their reputation, that is slander, when directed towards God is called blasphemy. Now, you find blasphemy in the Old Testament generally meant insulting God either by attacking him directly or mocking him indirectly, making fun of God, cursing God, but also it's used in the New Testament to mean almost the same thing when it refers to a human being as to slander, including any word or action that insults or devalues another human being. Blaspheming means to injure the reputation of to defame or to slander. You get into tail-bearing, which is gossiping, and we haven't even touched on that. Another definition of slander is evil malicious talk intended to damage or to destroy another person. Now, I'll tell you what, I have another whole sermon to give on this. I mean, in my notes right here. I haven't gotten to it. I've got the whole example of Jesus Christ. What was Jesus Christ accused of? Was he slandered? Did they call him illegitimate, a bastard? They accused him of drinking, being a glutton? Did they accuse him of being a drunkard, having a demon, casting out demons by the alzubah? Did they accuse him of immorality, eating with sinners, and so on and so on and so on? You can go through and you'll see that Jesus Christ, who was absolutely perfect, was slandered by those of his day, was blaspheming.

And even when he was crucified, he didn't say anything. He just kept quiet. And finally, when he did, they said, well, this is blaspheming. And they went out and crucified. They accused Jesus Christ of being in league with the devil.

There are literally dozens and dozens of examples that we could quote concerning Paul, concerning Christ, concerning others of the servants of God. And then I have a whole section dealing with tail-bearing, gossiping, slandering, and defaming other people. We might just read one scripture, and that's Romans chapter 3 and verse 8. Notice what Paul says here.

And why not say, let us do evil, that good may come?

So do evil and good may come, as we are slanderously reported.

This was slander. Somebody was slandering him and saying that Paul was saying this, as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation, he says, is just.

So, brethren, that's something that we will have to talk about.

And I knew we would probably not get there, because I had so much material in 1 and 2 Corinthians. As I brought out to begin with, brethren, we have to be extremely careful with careless words, with our thoughts, and what others say about the character of other people.

We all will have to give an account in the day of judgment. There's not one of us here, standing or sitting, who will not have to give an account to God of every idle word that we have spoken, of everything that we think we do. Paul and Christ were slandered. They were gossiped and judged all the time. Remember, there is a God in heaven. He sees our hearts. He sees our minds. He knows our thoughts. If He knows every hair on our head, every step that we take, every bird that falls to the ground, He certainly sees all hears all. He knows all of our thoughts and our hearts. Just remember what David said, but the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, my God!