Examining Our Faith

This will be the third time I am coming to you.

"By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word

shall be established."  (Deuteronomy 19: 15).

I have told you before, and foretell as if I were

present the second time, and now being absent

I write to those who have sinned before,

and to all the rest, that if I come again

I will not spare -- since you seek a proof of Christ

speaking in me, who is not weak toward you,

but the mighty and you.  For though He was

crucified in weakness, yet He lives with Him

by the power of God toward you.

2 Corinthians 13: 1 -- 4

            As we now come to the close of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians we find Paul speaking of several things in the first is that he was going to deal with those who were continuing to send even though having been given instructions on how to live.  How often is it that one hears instructions, especially instructions from the Word of God, and then go about as so they never heard, or as the saying goes "he goes in one ear and out the other."  So many were seeking proof that Paul was an apostle chosen personally by God and that those words spoken by him inspired by the Holy Spirit.  How often does it happen that people see your change of life and your conversion to the Word of God, which means, your conversion to follow Jesus Christ, only to question your life and your decision?  Now, we must be reminded that we are not to boast of ourselves and the fact that we have decided to follow Jesus because this is a sign of a proud mine in the mark of folly.  It is the duty and the responsibility of the practice of Christians to humble and to abase themselves in this in obedience to the command an example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This flies in the face of the culture of this world whereby men and women, children, are taught the very opposite and that they are to seek for grandeur and not allow themselves to be abased for any reason, that they are the center of their world.  We also must remember though, prudence must direct us in what circumstances it is needful to do that which we may do lawfully, even our speaking of what God has done for us, in us, and by us.  We don't go running around touting our Christianity and shouting that we are called by God to go into certain things for Him.  This will not bring glory to our God and Savior even though we may have good reason to boast.  Paul never glorified himself and his infirmities, and our Savior Jesus Christ neither accepted glory or praise even though he was the promised Messiah, a one for which the Jewish nation sought.  How is this possible for us to carry out in our lives?  Paul once again tells us how: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?  -- unless indeed you are disqualified.  But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified" (2 Corinthians 13: 5 -- 6).  Sometimes it is very important due to our English words not carrying the complete meaning that the Greek words to examine those Greek words to get a deeper and four understanding.  The Greek word "πειράζετε" means to test, to endeavor, to scrutinize, to discipline, to prove, and to examine.  It also signifies testing whose intentions was to discover whether a person or thing was good or evil or strong or weak if the outcome already was known to the tester come to reveal the same to the one being tested.  Sinners are said to tempt God, when they put Him to the test by refusing to believe His word until he manifests His power.  This is a problem that I've had to confront when speaking to those who have become so involved by attending churches that teach special revelation or go to school such as the Supernatural School of Redding, where they focus on the manifestation rather than on the Son of God Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, this Greek word is present, active, indicative, or imperative, therefore, is not a suggestion that the command in that command is that we had all kinds, presently, in the present, and examine my testing our faith.  Did not Paul write this to the Thessalonians: "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (2 Thessalonians 5:21)?  The word forecast here is also a president and Dick gave or imperative and also carries that we are to presently, and all kinds test everything and then to hold to that which is good and it is only good if it from the word of God and not from some man's presupposition that is led into a false interpretation.  Paul then adds: "Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth" (2 Corinthians 13: 7 -- 8).  What more can a Christian hope for then to be approved by God and called his faithful and discreet slave?  Or you may feel as though you don't have the strength to be this kind of Christian but this is not the truth: "For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong.  And this also we pray, that you may be made complete" (2 Corinthians 13: 9).  Jesus Christ remained strong as He approached the cross to endure this most horrible type of death for He had before Him a purpose for which He came to earth and held fast to the will of God and by this He had strength.  You too may feel weak and without strength, but you are strong, your strength comes knowing your purpose and that purpose is to live as a child of God and live in His will.  We allow no evil entertained; rather we reject the culture of this world.  Our strength comes because the Holy Spirit lives in all of the children of God.  Lean upon the Holy Spirit and you can face any circumstance that befalls you.  Praise God!

Incline your ear and hear

the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my knowledge.

            For it is a pleasant thing

if you keep them within you;

            let them be fixed upon your lips,

so that your trust may be in the LORD;

            I have instructed you today,

even you.

                        Proverbs 22:17 -- 19

Learn the ways of the Lord

Richard L. Crumb

Living The Will Of Our Covenant Keeping God

Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished

among you with all perseverance

in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

For what is it in which you were inferior

to other churches, except that I myself

was not burdensome to you?

Forgive me this wrong!

Now for the third time I am ready to come to you.

And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not

seek yours, but you.  For the children ought not to lay

up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls;  though the more abundantly I'd love you,

the less I am loved.  But be as it may,

I did not burden you.  Nevertheless, being crafty,

I caught you by cunning!

2 Corinthians 12:12 -- 16

            How often a person picks and chooses certain scriptures to fit their presuppositional doctrine without examining the whole of Scripture and even doing word studies so to arrive at truthful doctrine outlined for us in the Bible.  Far too often!  There are those churches who subscribe to such things as the supernatural even having Schools of Supernatural where they teach all about signs and wonders and their students go about attempting to perform signs and wonders.  Yes, Paul performed signs and wonders: yet there is no mention of what those mighty signs and wonders were so we are left in the dark when it comes to knowing whether or not it was healing, or raising the dead, or any other form because it is not stated.  We are reminded: "Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.  For I will not dare to speak up any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient -- in my key signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.  And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation" (Romans 15: 17 -- 20).  Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and never mentions that we are to subscribe to signs and wonders.  As ambassadors for Jesus Christ, rather we are to preach the gospel for every person does not come to understand that they are sinners and in need of a Savior then if any type of miracle performed their focus is on the miracle and not upon Jesus Christ.  It is the gospel, nothing more, nothing less for the gospel points us to the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Far too often people focus on the means rather than the agent.  Now comes a word that we see as prerogative, "crafty."  So we examined the Greek word and find that this word is only used once in Scripture here in second Corinthians Chapter 12 were 16 and refine the apostles speaking ironically or maybe he is really quoting an accusation made against him by his detractors for this is what he has been defending himself against in this chapter.  He caught his detractors by cunning, that is, by his argument in favor of what he has done and who he is in Jesus Christ.  The Corinthian church was an example of his efforts to bring to them the gospel and we must not forget that in his first letter he was not commending them on their misuse of spiritual gifts and attempted in every way to correct them to bring them in line with what he had taught.  Now, Paul continues and even seems to get somewhat angry at the accusations that has been thrown against him: "Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you?  I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him.  Did Titus take advantage of you?  Did we not walk in the same spirit?  Did we not walk in the same steps?  Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you?  We speak before God in Christ.  But we do all things beloved for your edification" (2 Corinthians 12:17 -- 19).  Then Paul lovingly addresses the Corinthians: "For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such if you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbiting was, whisperings, concedes, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have send before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewedness which do they have practiced" (2 Corinthians 12: 20 -- 21).  Paul was grieved at the apprehension that he should find scandalous sins among them, and not duly repented of them.  We too have reason to be well those who sin, and have not repented.  There are those who have not yet received grace to mourn and lament their own case making their case more lamentable.  If these have not yet repented most of us, who stand strong for God should love them and even mourn for them but we are not to be afraid and fearful to speak truth and kill them the will of God.  Especially this is true by those false teachers who have drawn aside followers and have diluted those followers.  We are to be the professors of the gospel just as Paul was so this is true of us also.  The question then is: have you repented of your sins and are you being the ambassador of Jesus Christ and spreading the gospel?

Then the Angel of the LORD

            came up from Gilgal to Bochim,

and said: "I lead you up from Egypt

            and brought you to the land

of which is more to your fathers;

            and I said, "I will never break

My Covenant with you.

                                    Judges 2: 1

Your God, Jehovah, keeps His promises

Richard L. Crumb

Learning That We Are All In Jesus Christ

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord

three times that it might depart from me.

And He said to me,

"My grace is sufficient for you,

for My strength is made perfect

in weakness."

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast

in my infirmities, that the power of Christ

May he rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12: 8 -- 9

            When we study scripture often we come across portions that are obscure and hard to understand and often have several interpretations.  This adds to our confusion.  To eliminate the confusion we must trust that God has given by the Holy Spirit inspired words first to those to whom the writer is writing and secondly that which we are to draw out from what was written to them so that we have an increase in our faith and life.  What we have learned so far is that Paul spoke of a person who apparently went into the third heaven or paradise and we find that this is actually speaking about the presence of God.  This person went to be in the presence of God.  And while there saw and heard things that he was not to utter.  Why?  Let us look at the account in Matthew of the Transfiguration of Jesus upon the mountain whereby Moses and Elijah appeared to him, Peter, James, and John.  Here well transfigured before them the face of Jesus don't like the sun come as close became as white as the light and a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying "this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!  And then Jesus instructed James, Peter, and John: "Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to know one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead" (Matthew: 1 -- 9).  There is a time when what one has revealed to him is not to be spoken of until a particular time.  Paul was instructed that which was seen, that was inexpressible, was not to be spoken of to anyone.  Paul only outlines that this was done and this being outlined for the Corinthians instructs the fan and I that we are not to be caught up in exhilaration, rather we must refrain from this and simply to be humble before our Lord and Savior and before our fellow Christians.  Paul has had to address the Corinthian Christians at times in a harsh manner to remind them of what they had been taught for the culture of the day he was disrupting the Christians there and bringing upon them false teaching.  Like the Corinthian Christians we live in days where there is a religion that even ancient Lot found himself, one that abounds whereby there is streamed the profession but this profession is shallow in many places and within many people.  Lot found, Paul found, and we too can find there is a certain kind of Christianity that has become fashionable.  Fashionable because a person belongs to some denomination or as a showing of a zeal for the interest of their denomination; even to talk about the leading controversies of the day; and by popular religious books as fast as they come out, delay them upon your table; to attend meetings; to subscribe to societies; to discuss the merits of preachers; to be enthusiastic and excited about every new form of sensational religion which crops up -- all these are comparatively easy and common attainments.  Unfortunately, they do not make a person singular as they become like sheep following after the goat that is leading them wherever. There is no requirement for sacrifice and the cross becomes only words and is a picture but not the reality of faith.  One likes to be exalted, and you have a form that seemed to be spiritually minded when in fact it is far from that truth.  To walk closely with God is to be really spiritually minded.  If one is spiritually minded than one must remember that we are strangers and pilgrims, furthermore, we are the ambassadors for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We are His witnesses and we are to be distinct from the world in our employment of our time, in our conversation, in our amusements, in our grass.  We are to be a faithful witness for Christ in all places.  This requires if we are to be one who is a true witness for Jesus Christ to be prayerful, humble, unselfish, good tempered, quiet, easily pleased, charitable, agent, meek.  This requires of us can be so jealously afraid of all manner of sin so that we crumble a lie to those dangers from the world.  This is not common among many who call themselves true Christian but worse than this is an absence of those things because they're not felt nor are they bewailed as they should be.  Paul spoke: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  I have become a fool in boasting, you have compelled me.  For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing" (2 Corinthians 12: 10 -- 11).  Paul gives us a picture not just of himself, but a picture so that we can see what is required of a true Christian, and Authentic Christian.  Our trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ and His promises.  We do not boast that we are Christians and even if all those things which are reproaches upon us we stand firm for Jesus Christ knowing that we are aliens in this world and that we have already been legally assigned to happen, that is to be in the presence of God for eternity.  As the old song goes: "This world is not my home I'm just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere in the blue."

I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;

            I hate the work of those who fall away;

it shall not cling to me.

            A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will not know wickedness.

                        Psalm 101: 3 -- 4

Place your focus upon Jesus Christ

Richard L. Crumb