It is not a sin!

In a letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul asked “Did I commit sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?” (II Cor. 11:7).  It was absurd to think that Paul sinned by showing his humility and preaching to the brethren for free. But obviously someone twisted things and made it seem like the apostle was in the wrong.

This is nothing new. Even today, people claim it is sinful to do certain things that are simply not wrong. Here is a short list of several things that it is not sinful to do:

1. Eat pork. Certain meats were deemed unclean under the Old Law. But now, under the gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing is to be considered unclean (Acts 10:10-15).

2. Get married. Many religious groups teach that it is wrong for religious leaders to marry (I Tim. 4:3). However, anyone can get married as long as it is lawful (Matt. 19:9).

3. Never get married. It is true that woman was created as a companion for man (Gen. 2:20-25), but some people take this too far and say that everyone must marry. Recall that Paul encouraged people not to marry if they could bear it (I Cor. 7:7-8).

4. Say someone is wrong. So often you hear that if you point the finger, you are judging!  However, how can you help the sinner without pointing out the sin (James 5:19-20)? It does seem odd that anyone would think it is sinful to point out sin (Gal. 2:11).

5. Question religious leaders. If teachers are not to be questioned, what do you do if they teach error? Students must be able to question teachers. Allowing error to go unchecked is wrong (Acts 18:24-26).

                                                                                                                           Chuck                                                                                     

How can you say it and then deny it?

The brethren at Corinth were told something by Paul that is a bit hard to follow. Paul told them this: “For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while,” (II Cor. 7:8). So did Paul regret sending the letter or not?

The answer is simple that Paul both regretted and did not regret sending the letter. Paul wrote to correct something in the lives of the brethren. They needed to repent, which meant that they were going to be told that they were doing something wrong. Paul knew that in order from them to repent, godly sorrow was needed (2 Cor. 7:10).

The lesson is very important for us to see. People have become very “politically correct” in all aspects of their lives, including spiritual matters.  Many religious teachers are doing all they can to try and make people feel good while still trying to teach the need for repentance.  You cannot do it! The gospel of Christ is full of hard lessons – at some point we must address these things directly in order to enable genuine faith. Paul’s ultimate goal was not to get the Corinthian brethren to feel bad – it was to get them to repent and be pleasing to the Lord. The same is true today. We are not happy someone weeps over a sin they committed, but we are thankful at the same time because that sorrow is necessary to inspire repentance.

We, like the apostle, want people to repent and be converted (Acts 3:19). We may regret that they will feel bad for their sins because we do not want to see someone full of sorrow. Teachers should not be so hardened as to enjoy the inner pain people can feel when they are convicted by truth.  On the other hand, we should have no regret for teaching the truth, especially if people repent. We should find solace in seeing their sorrow turn to joy by making things right.

May we all see the need to regret and at the same time not regret. Perhaps some people regret not having regrets – think about it.

                                                                                         Chuck