If you know me, you know that I do not adhere to the concept that you need to offer smooth words before you offer words of correction. To the contrary, my personal study of the words that are used to flatter has revealed to me that smooth words may be some of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary!

2 Timothy 2:24-26 teaches us some of the ground rules for applying correction:

(24)  And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.

(25)  He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it],

(26)  And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God's] will. AMP

Many have used this passage to sat that we are not to quarrel therefore we should not get into ANY discussions that may lead to a quarrel. But what it actually means is that we are to allow the Spiritual fruit of self-control be in full effect when we enter into a place of correction. We are not let off the correction hook if we do not have enough self-control to stay out of a quarrel. Like in EVERY other area of our lives, we are to ask God who will give us what we need to do the work that He has before us.

There is no place where we are told that we are not to provide correction except where the Spirit of God has indicated to us that the time for repentance in a person has passed. That can be that he is to be turned over by the Church to satan for the destruction of his flesh or that God has turned him over to a reprobate mind. We are obligated to take the time to listen to what the Spirit is saying on these matters. Many are spinning their wheels trying to correct the uncorrectable, and avoiding the correction of those who are still candidates for correction only because we do not want to invest the time it takes to keep in tune with what the Spirit speaks to our hearts on these matters.

It’s so easy to apply the things that appear to be more loving than correction to our spiritual children, as we follow how the bible teaches us to be parents.  However, if we are honest, we have to admit that our society is showing us proof of what happens when parenting is done without correction. It feeds rebellion, which leads our children into hopeless situations.  The bible tells us that we are not to withhold discipline from our children. In fact, it says in Proverbs 13:24 that if we do, it is equal to hating them.

(24)  He who spares his rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines diligently and punishes him early. [See: Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13; 29:15, 17.] AMP

Lord that’s another topic altogether, or is it? Here’s another passage from Proverbs:

(13)  Withhold not discipline from the child; for if you strike and punish him with the [reedlike] rod, he will not die.

(14)  You shall whip him with the rod and deliver his life from Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead). Proverbs 23:13-14 AMP

How much more should we be willing to apply correction to our spiritual children? As we are walking in the fruits of the Spirit? Working from the advantage of having a transformed mind? The mind of Christ? leading our spiritual children to the seek the mind of Christ? Teaching them how to reach for concerns at are much more eternal?

Verse 26 above says that “he MUST correct”. It does not even imply that we are not to correct because of fear that a quarrel may break out as the church has been teaching recently. What is more likely is that we need to be prayed up and have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace when we go into a situation where correction is needed. It’s on us!

I have yet to find where God uses smooth words like a trained psychiatrist might do today.  God shared His unconditional love by many examples, but I have yet to see where He ever used smooth words to soften the blow of words of correction. The Old Testament is full of examples of how much He loved those whom He then chastened for their sin.

In the New Testament, Jesus was no different from the Father. In every way His words told us of His love, but never did He apologize for the words of correction that were to come.

In Luke 11:37-54 we can find a prime example of how Jesus approached sin in the religious community.  We find Jesus at dinner in the home of a religious leaders of His time. His host, once again, was a Pharisee:

(37)  Now while Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to take dinner with him, so He entered and reclined at table.

Almost immediately, we find that like in the other incident that we recently looked at with the woman who He allowed to anoint His feet, Jesus has once again offended His host:

(38)  The Pharisee noticed and was astonished [to see] that Jesus did not first wash before dinner.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I had to chuckle when I read verse 38.  I can imagine the look on this Pharisee’s face.  I can do so because I have seen that same look on the faces of modern day “church folks”. They are so busy looking for the flaws of those who they are unwilling to accept that they forget their own sinful selves. Jesus immediately points them back to the things that matter:

(39)  But the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and robbery and extortion and malice and wickedness.

God is my witness. If you talked to those modern day “church folks” like Jesus spoke to those ones in His day, you’d better be ready for a fight. Jesus knew it would offend His host, but did that stop Him? NO! He identified their sins, BY NAME! Then He pointed out their stupidity!

(40)  You senseless (foolish, stupid) ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He Who made the outside make the inside also?

How often do we look on the outward appearances instead of using the discernment that is a gift to every believer who is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Jesus brings the conversation with His host back to what is most important, the inside. He rebuked the ceremonial drills that they performed to make their outsides appear holy. He pointed out how ridiculous it was for them to be more concerned with whether or not He had washed before He ate while they were so filled with so much that was impure! Then He gave them instruction on the things they should have been doing instead.

(41)  But [dedicate your inner self and] give as donations to the poor of those things which are within [of inward righteousness] and behold, everything is purified and clean for you.

And, as if to make sure nothing was left out, Jesus went on to point out more of the details on exactly what they had been doing wrong as well as what they should have been doing instead:

(42)  But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every [little] herb, but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. [See: Lev. 27:30; Mic. 6:8.]

(43)  Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and [you love] to be greeted and bowed down to in the [public] marketplaces.

(44)  Woe to you! For you are like graves which are not marked or seen, and men walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially defiled].

Verse 44 could refer to the fact that there is no evidence by their fruit that they pursue a relationship with the Lord. Their lives do not bear the marks of having been with God.

In verse 45, we see the shrapnel flying as if from a hand grenade Jesus tossed into the midst of this gathering. Now we see there are others who may also feel the sting of conviction when correction comes from The Word:

(45)  One of the experts in the [Mosaic] Law answered Him, Teacher, in saying this, You reproach and outrage and affront even us!

Just so there was no misunderstanding, He made sure that the Scribes understood that, yes, He could include them in His condemnation.

(46)  But He said, Woe to you, the lawyers, also! For you load men with oppressive burdens hard to bear, and you do not personally [even gently] touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

How many feel the weight of the traditions of men? It’s shoveled into huge barrels and tied to the backs of those who are then taught that they were created for the sole purpose of carrying them. In verse 47-51, the Lord makes it clear that by continually rebuilding the traditions of their fathers, they are continuing in the sins of their fathers:

(47)  Woe to you! For you are rebuilding and repairing the tombs of the prophets, whom your fathers killed (destroyed).

(48)  So you bear witness and give your full approval and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they actually killed them, and you rebuild and repair monuments to them.

(49)  For this reason also the wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, [some] of whom they will put to death and persecute,

(50)  So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against and required of this age and generation,

(51)  From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against and required of this age and generation. [See: Gen. 4:8; II Chron. 24:20, 21; Zech. 1:1.]

The sins of the fathers are not only being passed on to the sons, but in Verse 51, Jesus tells the scribes that the blood of the prophets who were slain, will be required at the hands of the generations who continue in those traditions. Even those traditions that were taught to them by their murderous fathers.

How many prophets have been turned away from fellowship, because modern day church folks have no understanding of what it means to hear the word of God spoken through a prophet? They are turned out, like outcasts, labeled as crazy or weird. They are rejected by those who will not take a word of correction from their own pastors, let alone from the mouth of a prophet who says “thus saith the Lord”. They are rejected because “this is the way we were taught” or “this is the way we have ALWAYS done it”. In Mark 7:7-9 Jesus puts it this way:

(7)  In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men. [See: Isa. 29:13.]

(8)  You disregard and give up and ask to depart from you the commandment of God and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and faithfully].

(9)  And He said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and nullifying and doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (your own human regulations)! AMP

In verse 52 we see that not only do the listeners refuse to learn what the Lord is saying to THIS generation, but that they have hindered and prevented others from seeking to find it out on their own. 

(52)  Woe to you, lawyers (experts in the Mosaic Law)! For you have taken away the key to knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and you hindered and prevented those who were entering.

It is heartbreaking to watch the thousands who believe that what comes from the mouths of those who have been approved by men as leaders of the church is all that they need to know about God. They are hindered from seeking out their own knowledge of what the Lord would have to say to them in the Bible. They have been taught to believe that they are not qualified to learn on their own. The bible says to this in James 1:5 that God will give wisdom to ANY of you who ask:

(5)  If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. AMP

The Spirit was given to us to lead us into the truth. John 16:13-14 tells us this:

(13)  But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].

(14)  He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. AMP

He’s here folks. Jesus promised!

God knows how much we need Him. That’s why He sent Him. And while He’s here, the Spirit will guide us into ALL truth. Your pastor may have some good stuff for you, but if you are not going in for more on your own, you are missing out! There is NOTHING in this world like the fellowship with the Father and the Son or with the Spirit of the Living God!

You may have leaders who know everything that is humanly possible about the bible. I say, yes! Pick their brains if they will share with you. But don’t be put off from studying on your own.

Jesus spoke the truth about His host. He could do so because He spent time in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit alerted Him to what was REALLY going on with these men. Jesus was led of the Spirit of God and has set an example here of how we are to deal with sin!  He did so from the standpoint of one who was discerning the truth. From the standpoint of one who was walking in the Spirit and therefore was able to bear witness by the fruits of the Spirit in His life. He did not quarrel. He stated the facts. And left them. They were then free to continue to plot his arrest:

(53)  As He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees [followed Him closely, and they] began to be enraged with and set themselves violently against Him and to draw Him out and provoke Him to speak of many things,

(54)  Secretly watching and plotting and lying in wait for Him, to seize upon something He might say [that they might accuse Him].

I pray that the Body of Christ will become that which the Lord intended her to be. Including being a witness to the love of God and an example of His righteousness. We can’t do it if we continue to run from the work of the Lord in each of us that will make it possible for us to apply the word in a balanced way. Running from every difficult situation is NOT what Jesus showed us to do.

May your desire to please God be greater than your desire to please or be pleased by men.

May the Spirit strengthen you to do His work!

Walkininthespirit

5-30-06