Do you look at things
according
to the outward
appearance?
If anyone is
convinced in himself
that he is Christ’s,
let him again
consider this in himself,
that just as he is
Christ’s,
even so we are
Christ’s.
2 Corinthians 10: 7
Before I
begin I apologize for not having a blog yesterday but other necessities
required that I be gone from my office until late afternoon. But I'm back! Remember this: God loves His children and this blog is to teach us
all about God's love in His requirement for His children so that we can change,
if changes necessary, from the inside/out.
Paul in
this verse when he speaks of the "outward appearance," he is not
speaking about their apparel. James reminds us this: "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with partiality. For if
there could come in to your assembly a man with gold rings, and fine apparel,
and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay
attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him,’ You sit here in
a good place,’ and say to the poor man,’ You stand there’ or, ‘Sit here at my
footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts" (James 2:1 -- 4)?
Paul is addressing a problem that occurs in the Corinthian church and
often occurs in our present day churches and that problem is: people are
looking at the outward appearance rather than if that person is truly
speaking the truth of God's Word. Also,
unfortunately in this present day men and women want to attempt to show love by becoming more like one who is poor as though this is
actually helping someone who cannot dress as well as they do therefore by their
outward appearance have this false appearance of being poor as though this will
win someone to Christ, or make those who cannot do as well or dress as well
not to feel bad. This is not
right! If a person has a need and you
have the money to aid that person in their need: help them, raise them up and
show them what it means when one speaks of having respect for God. I am not saying dressing well is making one
respectful, but a respectable person dresses what is considered in their
culture, a respectful dress. We would
not meet the president of United Straits and dress in jeans and T-shirts and
sandals and be unkempt: no; we would put on our best suit, have a haircut,
polish our shoes even if we don't like the person who is presently the
president, we respect the office. Should
we not also dress in the same manner for our God in our Savior? But this is not what Paul is speaking about
here in these verses for the Greek word while it does speak about the
countenance of a person, the aspect of a person which is important for
us, or their appearance, no for this word has come to signify the presentation
of the whole person(s). What Paul was addressing is that some were
boasting of themselves, and were making a show of themselves as to be more
godly than others and yet all they were doing was presenting false appearances.
There are those of other denominations that we may not necessarily agree
with or with their doctrinal positions and yet they are a child of Christ. Therefore, we must not cut ourselves off
from those who differ from us as this would simply be cutting ourselves off
from Christ, and we must not deny our relationship to Him. We must not think that no one belongs to
Christ but ourselves. Yes, we may
debate these doctrinal statements by others and this has been done and is being
done since the beginning of the Christian Church, nothing wrong with this as
this is a way to test all things and then to hold fast to that which is
fine. But to simply just hold on to a
doctrinal position because that is the way you believe and nothing is going to
change you: well that's wrong. It is
okay to plead for ourselves, but our pleading must be against those who judges
and despises us, but just as they belong to Christ, and we belong to
Christ. We all profess the same faith,
we walk by the same rule, and that is that the rule is found in Scripture and not
some man made, that we have built upon the same foundation, and hope for the
same inheritance, even though we may differ, our God has commanded us love our
brothers and sisters.
Paul was being accused that he was
not a true apostle and even looked down upon his writings, so he had to make this
defense: "For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority,
which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall
not be ashamed -- lest I seem to terrify you by the letters. ‘For his letters,’
they say, ‘are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his
speech contemptible.’" (2
Corinthians 10: 8 -- 10). Paul then
goes on to defend himself: "Let such a person consider this, that what
we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when
we are present" (number two Corinthians 10:11). Let us consider this that what we say we are
is being manifested in all that we do and say, as in this example: if we say we
are respectful; then dress respectful, don't say one thing and then do another. This was an accusation against Paul but Paul
reminded them that he was no different when he was away from them as he was
with them, and will be with them. May
this be true of us.
He who is of a
proud heart
stirs up strife,
but he who trust in
the LORD
will be prospered.
He who trust in his
own heart
is a fool,
but whoever walks
wisely
will be delivered.
Proverbs
28: 25 -- 26
Show true Christian
companionship
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