WERE THERE BAD RELIGIOUS LEADERS BACK THEN? There have always been unfaithful religious leaders.
- 2 Corinthians 11:20.
- While we might think that our own time is uniquely bad, there have always been unfaithful religious leaders.
- Five things v. 20 points out:
a. Enslaves you.
- Galatians 2:4 – the Judaizers were pushing their set of rules for being a true Christian.
b. Exploits you.
- 1 Corinthians 9:1-23 – Paul refusing the wages he was due in order to further the gospel.
c. Takes advantage of you.
- 2 Corinthians 12:16 – Paul noting that he did not trick his church to take advantage of them.
- I also can’t help but think concerning this fifth example about the recent fall from grace of Jerry Falwell Jr. He clearly abused his power at the university and was taking advantage of his position.
d. Pushes himself forward.
- Acts 8:9-24 – Simon the Sorcerer wants the power for his personal benefit.
e. Slaps you in the face.
- It is possible that this fifth reference is to physical abuse that the false teachers subjected their people to. We know that such things frequently happen when there is an imbalance of power and those in power have little genuine love for those beneath them.
THREE THINGS PAUL POINTS TO AS SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP:
- In the majority of our text, Paul lays out his credentials for apostleship. We want to look at what specifically he highlights, but first we need to ask why he does this. It feels like bragging.
- Ways to think about it:
a. It’s possible that the Corinthians were not fully aware of parts of Paul’s resume, so he is letting them know what all is in his life story.
- An analogy would be someone visiting her pastor to share about an unfair firing. She complains, wondering where God is in the midst of her troubles. Her pastor is sympathetic and offers some Biblical answers. She is dismissive, however, because the pastor doesn’t understand what it’s like to go through something like this that leads you to question God. The pastor then shares that 30 years ago his first wife died of cancer two years into their marriage. It establishes his credibility to speak on the issue.
b. It’s possible that the Corinthians had been distracted by the false teaching and had forgotten about what things are primary.
- In the old movie Philadephia, Denzel Washington’s character says, “Explain it to me like I’m a six-year-old.” You would hope that the Corinthians had more spiritual maturity than would require such an obvious, simplistic explanation, but they didn’t. They required the basics, which is what Paul gave them. “Here are the fundamental truths about what I’ve done for the gospel and for you.”
c. It’s possible that the Corinthians were sidetracked by Paul’s unimpressive personal presence.
- Despite the fact that we have made Paul today into the man who could do no wrong, Paul himself notes earlier in the book that people felt “his letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing” (2 Corinthians 10:10). This lack of personal charisma, coupled with the great attractiveness that the false teachers apparently possessed, could have led the Corinthians astray.
- Whatever the reason, Paul feels compelled here to forcefully lay out his life story and his apostolic qualifications in a clear way.
- Sometimes we have too much tolerance for questionable behavior from our religious leaders. They need to have more than good delivery. They need to have more than words that sound impressive. Their lives need to reflect the love, humility, and servitude of Christ.
- Although Paul is obviously a unique situation and we need to be careful about extrapolating too much from his life in looking at the lives of Christian leaders today, let’s examine the three main things he lays out and see if there are points of contact with what we should expect of our Christian leaders today.
1. HIS SUFFERING.
- 2 Corinthians 11:23-27, 30-33.
- Let’s review the suffering that Paul went through for the gospel (vv. 23-27, 30-33).
- Why does Paul share the first list and then come back to another incident in vv. 30-33? The Expositors’ Bible Commentary suggests three possible reasons: a. It may have been the incident that shattered the remaining pride of Saul the Pharisee; b. It may that his detractors were referring to it as an embarrassment to Paul; or c. It may be that it was the first time his life was threatened as a Christian.
- Clearly Paul had suffered greatly and repeatedly for the gospel.
- What does this look like today?
a. In many countries (though thankfully not in America), being a church leader can result in physical harm and even death.
b. On a much less dramatic but still painful scale, it can also look like emotional abuse (as members treat pastors harshly without regard for the impact on the pastor), the accumulated toll of the community having unreasonable expectations on your behavior, or the pain of betrayal by key leaders within your church.
- In this world, Christian leaders will inevitably deal with some issues like that.
- [story of Charles Stanley becoming pastor at First Baptist Atlanta]
- It is fair for those going into the ministry to be warned: there will be struggles and suffering from this job. Thankfully Paul represents an extreme example.
2. HIS SYMPATHY.
- 2 Corinthians 11:28-29.
- In v. 28 Paul notes his sympathetic love for his churches. He wants his spiritual children to grow. He wants them to avoid false teachers. He wants them to get rid of the sin in their lives. He is not one to start a church and then forget about them when he moves on to another town.
- In v. 29 Paul tells us that these concerns get deep inside him. When someone is weak, he feels their weakness. When someone is led into sin, he feels the burning of that sin. This is reminiscent of a parent of a teenager living and dying by the mistakes and stupidity that their child’s decisions bring.
- There is an old saying that there is a difference between a pastor and a preacher. It’s a lot easier to get up and be a preacher than it is to be a pastor. At a revival once, I heard the preacher say he wished his job was just to show up and bring the Word and then leave. It was the people, he said, who exhausted him.
- No doubt people can be exhausting, but that’s the pastor’s role.
- A good religious leader is going to have love for his people. He is going to have sympathy for their struggles and difficulties.
3. HIS SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS.
- 2 Corinthians 12:1-4.
- Unpack Paul’s experience detailed in those verses.
- Now, that is not a common experience. Clearly John had a similar experience, which he detailed to us in the book of Revelation. But it is not a common experience.
- What I think we can say here, though, is that Paul had a supernatural encounter. The power of God and the vision of God were moving in his life. Those are both things that every religious leader should have as part of their ministry.
a. The power of God.
- You should be able to see God moving in that pastor’s life. It will happen through answered prayer. It will happen through providential encounters. It will happen through the Word going out.
b. The vision of God.
- The gospel presents a vision of the world that is dynamically different than business as usual. It’s a vision of who God is, how He is working in the world, what His values and priorities are, where He is taking history, etc.
- Pastors point people to a way to encounter God’s working in the world. It’s a way by faith and not sight. It’s a way that requires exploring the mysteries of God. And pastors pull back the veil to show people the Holy of Holies.
