Do you want to know how to avoid the problems associated
with church discipline? Don’t walk in a disorderly fashion! It’s that simple!
Paul told us the truth: you know better! If you are a child of God, you know
better. Always remember that lost people are going to do the kinds of things
lost people do because they are lost. But Christians know better because the
Word of God tells them and the Holy Spirit reminds them how we are supposed to
live. I overheard something the other day that I was not intended to hear. When
the person realized that I was in the room, their whole demeanor changed. They
knew they had done something wrong. Did that person feel guilty? I don’t know,
but they were sure unhappy about being caught. Christian brothers and sisters,
we know how we are supposed to act, and we know what we are supposed to do when
we stumble into sin. We repent, and repentance makes things right. We get into
trouble when we try to cover up our sinful behavior, pretend it didn’t happen,
or ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
There are many things that I admire about Paul, but one
thing I admire greatly is the fact that he was willing to put himself out there
as an example for people to emulate. I don’t know if it worked like this in his
day (I’m almost sure it did), but today when you use yourself as an example,
you are called “self-righteous” or “holier-than-thou.” Paul didn’t care. He
told these early Christians that they knew how to behave because they had seen
proper Christian behavior modeled for them by himself.
We need more of that today, but no matter how hard you try
to live the Christian life, someone will be there to make accusations and tear
you down. If you stand against sin, they say you are intolerant or that you are
a legalist. If you confront the sinner, they say you have an anger problem.
Paul didn’t care what they said, and neither should we!
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