The revival at Corinth

2 Corinthians 7: 8-12

I read this passage this morning and it was one of those moments where the scriptures just come to life for me. I've read this chapter many times, but this aspect of it just never come forth. I believe the Lord opens your eyes to scriptures, not all at once, but in doses. I got a dose this morning and I thought it was so interesting!

In verse 8 Paul is speaking about the letter he wrote to the Corinthians earlier. I would assume that would be the letter of First Corinthians. In that book some BAD things were going on in that church, and that was quite the serious letter. Lets examine the result of that letter:

8For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.

Lets look at the word "sorry"; there are four definitions, but I believe the latter two likely applied to the Corinthians because of the nature of that church at the time it was built:
1) to make sorrowful
2) to affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow
3) to grieve, offend
4) to make one uneasy, cause him a scruple

Now lets check out the usage of "repent":
1) it is a care to one afterwards
a) it repents one, to repent one's self

Other expressions of this particular word would be likened to:
* refers to an emotional change
* has reference to particulars,
* signifies nothing but regret even amounting to remorse

Paul was probably dreading writing that first letter. He probably was sorrowful in his heart that he even had to write such a letter to God's people! Lets not forget that men within the church were sleeping with their step mothers, others were cheating on their wives and not trying to hide it, needless to say with no intent on stopping. There were some awful things going on. He didn't want to write it, but he did write it, but he was sorry that he had to write it in the first place. We've all been in that predicament, haven't we? Some times the right thing is not always the easiest.

9Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

He saw the benefit of writing his letter. Yes, the Corinthians were probably embarrassed that Paul called them out on the sinful manner in which they were living, but Hallelujah the holy spirit was able to work in their hearts- they were not so hardened that they were beyond reproof. They were receptive to what Paul was saying, and though they might have been sorry they got "caught" by the preacher doing such things, or they were sorry that they had reason for accusation, nevertheless, their sorrow led them to get right with God. They were made sorry for the right reasons, they realized their error as it pertained to God, and they were thankful that Paul was bold enough to write the letter.

10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

We experience this, too. The Pastor is preaching away on something that is hitting close to home, and boy oh boy- are we feeling pretty sorry for ourselves in that service! The Lord deals with our hearts, and convicts us of our sin. This can only happen if the Holy Spirit is living within us, and that can only happen if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and had our sin debt taken care of by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for the sins of the world. But we know it doesn't stop there, we must still confess our sin as we sin day to day.

I would like to point out that the assertion that one is no longer a sinner
after they are saved- is NOT biblical. Yes, when we are saved, our sins are
washed away, but that does not mean we are not a sinner and will never sin again
in our lives. We continue to be sinners, our purpose in life from the time of
salvation is to become more Christ like- but we will not be sinless until we get
to glory. So I encourage anyone who listens to one who asserts that we're
sinless after salvation to think twice about listening to one who teaches
such things- they are NOT BIBLICAL.

The epistle of First John was written to believers, not the lost, and it
says:

1 John 1
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word
is not in us.

So the Corinthians confessed their sin and repented. The unrepentant believers that were put out of the church, some were probably reinstated to the church. Praise the Lord! I believe verse ten speaks of two different kinds of sorrow, heavenly sorrow, and worldly sorrow. It's rather self explanatory, but heavenly sorrow is the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's heart, which brings them to repentance. However, if a lost person is sorrowful, what is accomplished? Nothing, unless that sorrow brings them to the desire for salvation. In that case, they are brought into life by the repentance of their sins and calling upon Jesus to be saved. Otherwise, their sorrow accomplishes nothing but death in the end.

The following is a very "loaded" verse, there's a lot in there-
11For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Lets break it down and examine the words here- because they sorrowed unto repentance:

"what carefulness it wrought in you"
1) haste, with haste
2) earnestness, diligence
a) earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything
b) to give all diligence, interest one's self most earnestly

They were more careful about striving for what pleases God, and not themselves.

"what clearing of yourselves"
1) verbal defence, speech in defence
2) a reasoned statement or argument

I imagine that Paul's letter brought much discussion and conversation into the church. I am sure there were some rumors that were dispelled in the midst of their investigations. It is just as much reason to rejoice when someone who is being lied about, is cleared, as it is someone who being accused rightly, repents, don't you think?

"what indignation"
1) indignation, irritation, vexation

Ever heard of "righteous indignation"? I've been accused of being "too passionate" when discussing things of the bible before. I never understood that, and the Lord always brought to mind that phrase. I'm sure when the Corinthians received Paul's first letter, people who might not have otherwise said something to exhort their brothers and / or sisters, did so after the letter. You know sometimes it is GOOD to get excited about the things of God!! Sometimes it is GOOD to step out on the ledge, and risk "sounding offensive" to one who is not walking with the Lord in the way they should, to the one who might not have a clear understanding of what God's Word says about something.

If we are ever going to accomplish something for the Lord, we need to learn when it's time to be bold! Instead of thinking about "peace always", how about thinking "God always ... peace in due time", because there will be times in a Christian's life when things are completely up in the air. Emotions will get high, and feelings will be hurt, just like in the Corinthian church- but do not hinder what God might be trying to accomplish through someone for the sake of "peace", you might just hinder some one's walk with the Lord. Praise God that the Corinthians got some righteous indignation in them and as a result their church was cleansed from the unholiness that was infiltrating them.

"what fear"
1) fear, dread, terror
a) that which strikes terror
2) reverence for one's husband

Do we think that after Paul's letter, that the people in the church feared the Lord just a bit more than they did before? Paul was probably hundreds of miles away- yet he knew what was going on in that church. They didn't even have phones, computers for internet, faxes, even the telegrams were not in existence then. Yet God saw to it that Paul knew what was going on. That alone, is amazing to me. I believe the Corinthians had a much greater respect and reverence for God after their cleansing. I also believe that husbands and wives had stronger relationships as well, because the infidelities were repented of.

"what vehement desire"
1) longing

I believe the Corinthians had a deeper relationship with God, and they longed for His return much greater than they did beforehand. How deep do we truly long for Christ to come back? How deep does that desire burn within our souls, that we would be burdened to seek others actively for His kingdom?

"what zeal"
1) excitement of mind, ardour, fervour of spirit
a) zeal, ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything
1) zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing
2) the fierceness of indignation, punitive zeal
b) an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy

Do you think they had a renewed excitement to serve the Lord above anything else they had going on? I bet they had a brand new soul winning program started and everyone attended! Do we really have a zeal for Christ?

"what revenge"
1) a revenging, vengeance, punishment
side note: With respect to 2Cr 7:11: "...meeting out of justice; doing justice to all parties.

It crosses my mind when I read this, how BIG of a revival must have happened in that church as a result of Paul's first letter calling on them to forsake their wicked sins. To think of the sins that were happening, their were some seriously broken families in that church. I know how hard it would be for me to reconcile with my husband if I knew he was committing adultery. It would take a LOT of grace through God for me to be able to "forgive and forget".

"In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."
I can only imagine an entire church experiencing such brokenness, for the entire church to be able to be reconciled one to another again. In today's churches certainly there would have been at least one family that would have left or fell by the wayside, yet, our bible does not leave us to believe that, but that ALL parties were reconciled! Praise God!!

12"Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you."

It wasn't that Paul was trying to stir up hurt within the church. Surly his letter could have been seen as that, like he was "judging". Lets remember, we ARE to judge, a righteous judgement. Surly Paul could have been deemed as "overly passionate", and some might think he needed to stop being so pressing in his letters. I believe the wife of the man who was committing adultery was thankful that Paul was so pressing, that he followed the Lord's lead and wrote that letter, so that her husband could repent and her marriage could be made whole again only through the power of God.

This passage perfectly explains, that even though sometimes someone might be saying something (maybe even to someone else) that makes you uncomfortable, it might be the better thing to pray for that person, and that God accomplishes His work in that person's life and / or what that person was trying to say, instead of labeling them as "too passionate", and not trying to understand what they are truly saying or convey through their words.

Paul was not happy about what he was having to write about, yet he wrote it anyway- because he knew that's what God would have him to do. As a result, the Corinthian church was redeemed from their sins because they listened to what Paul had to say, therefore, experiencing a GREAT revival in their lives.

Preeminence (pt2)

Sunday School Notes from 5/3/08, teacher S.V.

Text: Colossians 3:1-11

It does little good if Christians declare and defend the truth, but fail to demonstrate it in their lives. They profess that the know God, but in works deny him:

Titus 1:16
16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

"Religion"
- With religion, you are still dead spiritually. Religion is what is natural to us, because eternal life is not religion. When you lose religion, you have not lost a relationship, you have lost: religion! A relationship was not there to begin with.

What should we do?

1) We should seek the heavenly:
Colossians 3
1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

What is in our mind, is what we put in it. If we spend more time watching TV or on the computer than reading our bibles, then TV shows or things from our computer lives will be what is in the forefront of our minds instead of what we read in our bible reading for that day. I like something someone I know said a long time ago, it was in the middle of a conversations about self help books for Christians, "spiritually motivating" type books ... she said "Lets quit reading books about the bible, and just start reading the bible!" I really liked that.

a) we died with Christ
If we lived in heaven, would we live the same way we do here? Or would we live differently? We should be living as if we were living with him. YES, that's a tall order to fill ladies (and gentlemen)!

b) we live in Christ
If we think about it, we really are already living with Him, because the Holy Ghost is living in our hearts if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We must put in practice what is right by Christ.

c) we are raised in Christ
When we were saved we gained heavenly status, and we should be seeking heavenly things here.

d) we are hidden in Christ.
Colossians 3:3
3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

2) We should slay the earthly (mortify) = put to death
Colossians 3:5-9
5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

As we see in the verses above this does not mean slay people, but slay the sin that is in our lives. Put it away, deal with the sin and get rid of it. When we were born again, we become new creatures in Christ and our salvation should reflect that very fact in our outward lives. Those things offend Christ.

a) Sensual Sin:
Satan has taken sensual things and used it to destroy the family. We must always be on guard for the sake's of our families that we do not allow such things to sneak into our homes. People used to be ashamed of such things being in public life and now it's an everyday thing. People are so densensitized to sensuality in the media it is just not an issue anymore. At the time this was written one of the popular songs on the charts is called "I kissed a girl". That would be fine, but it is sang BY A WOMAN! Years ago, there would have been a public outcry against that sort of thing.

Matthew 5:29-30
29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

b) social sin:
Colossians:
8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

Every one of us at some point in our lives have committed these sins, yet, society seems to think they're "not as bad" as the above mentioned sensual sin, but it is!! These sins separate a person just as far from God as if they were looking at porn online. How has it come that we think some sins are okay? What is wrath? It is anger exploding. What makes this "less" of a sin than looking at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue? ESPECIALLY when that anger that is exploding is towards your children? We should all repent!

3) We should strengthen the Christly:
Colossians 3:10-11
10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

"renewing" is kin to daily bathing. Each morning we should put on the new man of salvation, and put off the dead man that is in his sins. We should be constantly renewing ourselves in Christ, and that comes from washing ourselves in His Word, repenting to God our sins, putting on the new man and leaving the old one behind.

Has this helped you today? I sure hope so. Please leave me a comment if it has! If I can help you in away way please let me know!

Inheriting the wind

Sunday School Notes from 7-27-08, teacher R.S.

Proverbs 11:29-30
29He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Do you have a Christian family? Some cannot answer that question with a yes; because of that, when they make decisions for the Lord, it will naturally trouble his "house", his family. It is important to make the distinction that verses such as this are not speaking about troubling a house because of decisions for God, being a bad thing. NO, no one likes strife, and you want to live as peaceably as you can possibly live with all men. But we cannot shy away from making decisions for the Lord because the unholy in our "houses" might get upset.

On the flipside, what happens when a Christian in a family is the one who stirs up the strife? Oh that's not good at all, is it? We as Christians expect a higher level of behavior and standards from other Christians, realistically speaking. While we are all sinners, we are not to act like the ungodly. When we make decisions to follow the Lord in an area of our life, we are doing so in following His will for us, and other Christians should be in a position in their own walks to where they are able to support you, whether they would neccessarily make the same decisions as you or not.

What is family?
Well, if you are saved, you are part of the family of God. Usually you will be able to recognize your brothers and sisters in Christ in public, because there's a peace about them that surpasses normal, human understanding. I believe the verses above can apply to family in our home, and family as in the body of Christ. Sometimes within the body of Christ there seems to be people that others just do not want to listen to. I know in my own experience there have been people in whom I have tried to reach out to, to be a friend to, to counsel with, and they just do not want what I have to offer them. They may not even realize I see it, but it become obvious after a period of time, they did not want what I had. I have to say it hurt! Sometimes when we distance ourselves from our family, we are distancing ourselves from what our family has to offer us.

Proverbs 15:27
27He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

"Inherting the wind"- lets discuss the charactristics of wind, shall we?
Sometimes you cannot tell which way the wind is blowing. Our teacher spoke about golfers who will take a few pieces of grass and toss them in the air to see which way they blow to be able to see which way the wind is blowing. Wind can be elusive, destructive, or restless- but one thing you can count of, it is always on the move! Do we really want to inherit that for ourselves? being tossed to and fro, never knowing what direction we'll be going next?

The fruit of the spirit- something we all should be fostering in our walks with God:
Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We must be striving for fruit, and not heading in a direction where we would be inherting wind like characteristics. Homes should have order. Some homes have invisible problems, even though they appear to have order on the outside. They might be burdened, or heavy hearted. Do you pray about the problems in your home, or do you complain about the problems in your home to the Lord (and others)?

We should be happy and content with what the Lord has given us.

Numbers 23:27
27And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.

King Solomon describes an unsettled home as a troubled home. What do you want to leave for your kids? I know we have a lot of work to do in our home if we are to leave a legacy of peace and order to our children!! A home inheriting wind will turn into a whirlwind, just like a hurricane builds speed.

Proverbs 11:29
"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart."

The fool is always living for his sin, and rejects God's wisdom. Righteous people produce living fruit. If you had an apple tree tha did not produce apples, would you allow it to stay, or would you cut it down? Most people would cut it down in order to plant another tree in its place that would produce fruit. A wise person is a model for a meaningful life. People will reap the life they live in this world- no one sins and gets away with it. Your sin will always find you out, one way or another!

What sin do you have in your life that you have not dealt with yet? There are alwaus consequences for our sin, some consequences are bigger than others. Sometimes it takes years for those consequences to surface, but they will surface. When they do, it is going to hurt, too. The world is knocking on our door- we must strive to protect our families while reaching the world with the gospel of Christ.

Homosexuality (and other sins) in scripture

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.


Boy that passage covers a multitude of sins! I mean, the Corinthians were one heathenous (is that a word?) bunch. Chapter number five spoke about men sleeping with their father's wives, which I would take from that their step mothers. I'm not sure who has studied this pasage before but this also covers the homosexual lifestyle under the term 'effeminate':


The Greek word * for effiminate is "malakos", which means:

1) soft, soft to the touch
2) metaph. in a bad sense
a) effeminate
1) of a catamite
2) of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man
3) of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness
4) of a male prostitute


and now I learn something new, this is moreso towards homosexual men. It speaks further in "abusers of themselves with mankind", that phrase is rooted in the Greek word * "arsenokoites", which is defined as:

"one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual", and the Greek word also used in 1 Timothy 1:10 as " ... for them that defile themselves with mankind ...".


People tend to think of sins in "levels of badness", like some sins are less than others. ALL sin is bad, equally. However, some do not realize that the sin of homosexuality has a harsher consequence than other sins, because it is literally such an abomination in His eyes because He is holy.

re: Isaiah 40:25
"To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One."


So to see His grace and mercy so abundant in scriptures as in the pasage above, Praise Him! As such were the Corinthians, but they were washed, sanctified, and justified by the blood of Christ and His finished work on the cross!


But here's the challenge: say you are not a homosexual ... or an adulterer ... or an extortioner ... or a thief ... or covetous (that you think!) ... or a drunk ("alcoholic") ... or a "hell raiser" that uses profanity ... perhaps you're just a good ol boy (or gal) that works hard, keeps to yourself, maybe does some community service ... maybe even goes to church on Sunday. Do you know if YOU will inherit the Kingdom of God? For sure? The only way to do so is to be born again, that is what the bible teaches with no exceptions. There's never a "better time" to get saved, to be born again, the time is now, if you have not made that decision. If you would like to talk about this more, please feel free to email me at wendyswhims@gmail.com, okay?