Paradise, California.
Lahaina, Hawaii.
What comes to mind when I mention those two towns? What do they have in common?
Yes, wildfire devastation. Firestorms that destroyed nearly the whole towns.
I think most of us remember the terrifying and incredibly speedy devastation that each of these towns experienced as a result of a firestorm. It was now six years ago, on November 8, 2018, when nearly the whole town of Paradise, California, population 27,000 was destroyed in the course of a single day as a result of the Camp fire. Eighty-five lives were lost, 50,000 people were displaced and nearly 20,000 structures destroyed by a wildfire that moved so fast that firefighters believed it burned the equivalent of a football field every second.
Then there was the fire on the island paradise of Maui, in its capital city of Lahaina. Again, nearly the whole town was destroyed in the course of a single day--2200 structures were damaged or destroyed and more than 100 lives lost by a wind-driven brush fire that started outside of town.
The cause of each of the fires were eerily similar. A downed power line, a severe drought and strong winds proved to be a deadly mixture.
Did you know that there's such a thing as a spiritual firestorm? A spiritual firestorm can be as devastating to the spiritual lives of those who experience it as the physical firestorms that devoured Paradise and Lahaina. The Book of James defines a spiritual firestorm as a series of events that begins with an unbridled tongue: "So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among [c]our body’s parts as that which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our [d]life, and is set on fire by hell" (James 3:5-6).
It's a frightening description. Just like those physical wildfires, spiritual wildfires result from combustible conditions. The combustible conditions certainly include the tongue, generally involved at least one heart that is infected with a root of bitterness, and are often spread by, the dry brush of all things, a passive, listening ear and then the fierce winds of gossiping tonguesl.
And that's exactly what had happened, and was about to happen again in the church of Corinth, Greece in 58 A.D. For those of you who haven't been with us, the Church at Corinth on the isthmus between the Peloponnesian Peninsula and mainland Greece had been planted by the Great Apostle Paul about 51 A.D. He had remained there for 18 months building up the new believers in that church before he departed for other ministry opportunities in Europe and Asia minor. Now, seven years later, the church has been infected with division and dissension. This is now Paul's second letter to be delivered by the hand of his apostolic delegate, Titus, to Corinth in an attempt to put out the spiritual fire that was threatening to destroy the church at Corinth.
The causes were many, including the fleshly desires of the believers who had returned to the deeds of the flesh from the fruit of the Spirit that was intended to characterize true believers. There had been some substantial evidence of repentance after the writing of the first letter to Corinthians, a personal painful visit by the Apostle Paul himself and the visit of Titus the previous year. And yet a problem remained. That problem consisted of a number of false apostles, servants of Satan, as Paul described them, who had infiltrated the church at Corinth during his absence. They were rivals of the Apostle Paul, and they attempted to advance their own ministries among the Corinthians at the expense of the reputation of the Apostle Paul by spreading false accusations about his motives, his manner and his message. The problem was persisting in Corinth because the true believers in Corinth were tolerating these false teachers, their false teachings and their slanderous accusations against the Apostle Paul. Since the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians was at stake--these false teachers were threatening to lead the Corinthians believers entirely astray from their sincere and pure devotion to Christ, the Apostle Paul felt compelled to defend himself, not for his sake, but for the sake of the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians. He's embarrassed by the fact that he has to defend Himself, or boast about his spiritual accomplishments, in order to win the Corinthians back from the absolute spiritual disaster that following the false apostles threatened. But he does so, considering that their spiritual lives are at stake. And what he is, in effect, doing as he writes the last three chapters of II Corinthians, is he is attempting to put out the brewing firestorm that threatened the lives of all the believers in Corinth, and the integrity and testimony of the Church at Corinth.
His message in II Corinthians 12:11-21 can be summed up in this way: Defend and commend faithful servants of Christ or experience a destructive and deadly firestorm..
It's a lesson we need to heed at Risen King Community Church. We have a great thing going on here. We say we're all about Sharing God's Love with Jesus' heart and God's Word. We experience the love of Christ ourselves through the week and each Sunday here at the Cottonwood Room. And those who visit, if they stick around long enough, experience it as well, telling us that we are at least as friendly and caring as any church they have visited. Some believers who have been a part of many other good churches have said thing like, "I have never experienced this kind of love before."
Is it actually possible that our experience of the love of Christ in this wonderful church family could be lost. You bet it is, according to Scripture and my long experience--Scripture here being by far the greatest authority on this subject.
And so, we do well to heed the Apostle Paul's concerns this morning as they are expressed beginning in verse 11 of chapter 12 of II Corinthians.
First, Paul admits that he is embarrassed to have found it necessary to defend and commend himself. He has only done so, as it turns out, because no one else in Corinth was apparently willing to do so for him. And the danger of not defending his ministry in light of the danger the false apostles posed to the spiritual welfare of the folks he had led to Christ in Corinth was too great. They could indeed be entirely led astray from Christ by these false apostles whom he had written preached a false Gospel and a different Jesus by the power of a deceptive, demonic spirit.
So, his first point is this: Defend and commend faithful servants of Christ against slanderous accusations. Defend and commend faithful servants of Christ against the slanderous accusation of their opponent. In other words, it is our responsibility, when we hear scuttlebutt, or false accusations made about the spiritual leaders in our midst to defend and commend them, lest they and their ministry be discredited.
As a result, he writes in verse 11: "I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually, I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, though I am a nobody."
Paul would normally regard self-commendation or boasting about his spiritual pedigree as a foolish thing to do--because most often such boasting is motivated by pride or selfish ambition. He's uncomfortable with it on the surface of things, but the truth of the matter is that he is not motivated to boast about himself or commend himself for his own ego's sake. It's not about Him, or his ministry that he is concerned about. He is concerned about the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians, and so he engages in defending and commending his own ministry in comparison to the false apostles, because if he didn't do so the Corinthians might be entirely led astray spiritually. They might end up following a false Christ and a false Gospel to their own spiritual destruction.
And as he writes this verse, it occurs to him that he should never have had to defend or commend himself to the Corinthians. Why? Because the Corinthians themselves should have been the ones to defend and commend the Apostle Paul to and against the false apostles who were false accusing and slandering Him. And so, he admits here, very honestly, that it was the passive response of the Corinthian believers themselves to these false accusations levelled against him, that compelled the Apostle Paul to do what they hadn't done--namely defend and commend him for his ministry.
Now the interpretation of verse 11 hinges on who Paul is talking about when he mentioned "the most imminent apostles." The way the NASB translates this gives the impression that Paul is here addressing himself in comparison to the most imminent among the true Apostles of Christ--the likes of Peter, and John and James. However when you examine the Greek behind this description, you discover that he uses the exact same terms that he used in II Corinthians 11:5 where he talks about the so-called self-described super apostles, in other words, the false apostles, that were troubling the church at Corinth. In this context, he is not comparing his ministry to that of Peter and James and John, other true apostles. He could care less about that. What concerns him here are the false accusations of his rivals, the false apostles named as such in II Corinthians 11:13. This is reflected by the NIV’s translation of II Corinthians 12:11—it calls the “most eminent apostles” more properly the “super apostles,” reflecting Paul’s sarcastic reference to his rivals.
And so let me paraphrase what Paul is really saying in verse one: "I have become foolish in commending myself. You yourselves drove me to it, because you did not defend or commend me against the false accusations of the false apostles. Actually, I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to of these so-called self-describesd super apostles, who are really false apostles, even though I am a nobody."
Now the next question we might ask is why the Apostle Paul calls himself a nobody, when he is really a somebody? It's because the Apostle Paul recognizes that apart from the grace of God, he would be a nobody. He was the chief of sinners, saved by the Grace of Christ from blaspheming God and persecuting Jesus Christ. And it's only because of what Christ has done in Him and through him, that He has accomplished anything for Christ. Thus, apart from Christ, He was nothing. As he had said in I Corinthians 15:10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am." And only by the grace and power of God had he had such a powerful and extensive ministry.
So, what's the root of the problem that Paul is addressing in Corinth? It's that false apostles out of selfish ambition were ceaselessly slandering him, resulting in divisions in the church and potentially leading true believers astray.
Who is aiding and abetting this destructive process, this spiritual firestorm that has been kindled? It is the Corinthians believers, who are listening to all these false accusations and doing nothing to defend or commend the Apostle Paul against them.
In other words, they are foolishly lending a passive ear to this slander and gossip. They are doing absolutely nothing to defend and commend the very man who had risked life and limb to bring the Gospel to them in the first place. And it's a sin! Their passive listening to this gossip and slander against the Apostle Paul demonstrated a fearful lack of appreciation and protection for one who had given so much to save them from their sins. How could they allow the poor Apostle to be set adrift on a vulnerable journey without their protection?
Do you know what they were doing? They were entertaining accusations against an elder, a spiritual leader, with no sense of obligation to protect their beloved Paul from the destructive things that were being said about him. The result could be the destruction of his reputation, and the destruction of his ministry. If no one commended or defended the Apostle Paul against these false accusations, his influence and thus his ministry among the Corinthians would be ruined. And the false apostles would win, and the Corinthians Church would be entirely led astray!
So, the question is what do you do when a godly and faithful spiritual leader in your church is verbally attacked. When someone decides it’s open season on an elder's character and credibility, and he voices his criticisms to you, what should you do? Listen passively. Agree with him? Commend him? Even tell others of these accusations? No!!!
The answer is found in two places: Matthew 18:15-17 and I Timothy 5:19. First Matthew 18:15-17: "Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
In other words, the first thing you should do is ask him if he has talked to the brother who has offended him. And if he hasn't, direct him to do so. And in my opinion, if he refuses to do so, don't listen to him, and even tell him that he’s not going to go to that person, you will do so on his behalf and let him know of that person's concerns. That will make him think twice about sharing his offenses against anyone with anyone but the supposed offending party.
Then, according to I Tmothy 5;19, we are especially to give the benefit of the doubt to the spiritual leader, or elder in our midst. I Timothy 5:19: Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses." In other words, if Matthew 18:15-17 hasn't been applied, and there aren't two witnesses as a result to the offense of the offender, and he's an elder, do not accept the accusation as being true. If someone is an elder, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. And if we have regard for what the Apostle Paul says about himself here with respect to the faithful spiritual leaders we know, we have a responsibility even to defend and commend them. We can't afford to be passive listeners, because the ministry of these spiritual leaders is at risk, and more than that the unity of the body may also be at risk.
So, the lesson: Defend and commend the godly spiritual leaders in your midst in the face of false accusations. Now, of course, there is always the chance that an accusation might be true--in that case it will be demonstrated by the presence of two or more actual witnesses to the misdeed. Without those, you don't let such accusations go; you confront them.
And so, Paul then continues to defend himself in the succeeding verses. In the course of this defense, he provides us with several criteria to evaluate godly servants of Christ by.
First, he mentions the fact that, with respect to his apostolic ministry, God has been at work through him.
The principle I draw from this is: Recognize how God has worked through the faithful spiritual leaders you know.
Now the Apostle Paul's situation was unique among spiritual leaders. He was a certified Apostle of Jesus Christ. Among the qualifications of a certified Apostle of Jesus Christ are that he must have been a witness of the resurrected Christ, commissioned to take the Gospel to the world by Christ Himself. This is evident from Acts 1:22 and I Corinthians 9:1. Now based on that, I don't believe there are any certified apostles today, because no one in this century has seen and been commissioned by the physically resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Still another qualification, as also mentioned in Hebrews 2:1-4, was a ministry characterized by miracles, signs and wonders. And this is what Paul appeals to in verse 12. This is what distinguished him from these so-called super apostles who were really false apostles: "The signs of a true apostle were preformed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles."
Now, since there aren’t true apostles today, I think it would be unfair to evaluate any minister of Christ on that basis today. But what we can evaluate a minister of Christ about is whether it is evident that the work of God is being accomplished through Him. Are people being saved? Are their lives being changed? Are they becoming disciples of Christ? Is the church edified by his ministry? Is his life and ministry characterized by Christlikeness? Paul even refers to this in II Corinthians 3:2 as one of the reasons the Corinthians need to listen to him. As he refers to the letters of commendation the false apostles relied upon to gain a hearing among the Corinthians, he writes, “You are our letter, written in your hearts, known and read by all men.” In other words, the changed lives of the Corinthians themselves ought to demonstrate to them that the Apostle Paul was a genuine servant of Christ, rather than the false apostles who were accusing him.
So, second point this morning: Recognize how God has worked through faithful spiritual leaders, especially when they may be under attack.
A third consideration should be the nature of their service. Have they been self-sacrificing? Remember their self-sacrificing service.
Now Paul talks about the uniquely self-sacrificing way that he ministered to the Corinthians, in comparison with all the other churches, apparently, that he had founded. He refused to accept any financial compensation from them in order to remove any doubt about his real motives for ministry among them.
Verse 13: “For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you. Forgive me this wrong! Here, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children."
I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less."
Why does he pose that last question? Because, even on this point of refusing to take compensation from the Corinthians, he had been under attack by the false apostles. Somehow, they had maintained that his refusal to accept payment for his ministry among them, which he admitted in I Corinthians 9 that he had a right to do, was an indication that he was not a true apostle of Christ, as though his ministry wasn't worth payment. Somehow, Paul sarcastically asserts what the false apostles may have been saying, that even that had been a subterfuge for greed. So he writes in verse 16: "Be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit."
Paul belabors this point in verses 17-18, because it is so often an accusation that unbelievers use about true servants of Christ. I remember my Dad when I took him to Swindoll's church even saying about Swindoll that he was just another guy making a living. Yeah, we're all in it for the money! What a joke!
So, he asks them if any of the members of his ministry team which he had sent to them had taken advantage of them in any way. He was certain that they hadn't. Verse 17: "Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?"
And so, a fair way of evaluating a ministry and his ministry has to do with whether his ministry has been self-sacrificing. Was he in it for the money? Or would he have been involved in the ministry regardless of the money. I guess a few folks get rich in ministry, but not very many. Certainly, I haven't.
And then a third criterion, the matter of pride. What are they really all about? Is it self-edification, ego-service, pride? Or is it all about building up or edifying other believers?
Again, the lesson in verse 19 is this: Protect godly ministers who are all about building others up rather than building themselves up or tearing others down.
Verse 19: "All this time, you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.”
In other words, all this boasting, all this defense of his reputation and ministry, here is not about the Apostle Paul and his ministry, it is all about serving Christ and building up the Corinthian believers in the faith. Their very relationship with God and salvation depends on them following the true apostle, Paul rather than the false apostles who are defaming him.
And finally, Paul admits his fears about his upcoming visit to the Corinthians. What he fears is that a firestorm has already started, and that he will have to be a spiritual firefighter in the midst of the flames. He fears that fleshly attitudes and the carnal deeds of the flesh have taken over among the Corinthians, because the Corinthians have so readily accepted the teachings and slanderous accusations of the false apostles. Where, is, after all, that love of Christ that is to be characteristic of the relationship between true believers in Christ?
In verses 20 and 21 he's telling us: 'Beware of the consequences of doing nothing when godly leaders are under attack. Put out the fire before it becomes a real firestorm. Don’t just let the fire burn or fan the flames!
Verse 20: "For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish an may be found by you to be not what you wish, that perhaps there will be strife, jealous, angry tempers, disputes, slander, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced."
What Paul fears for Corinth is what we all ought to fear if we do not confront slander and gossip for what it is, at its source, even in the mouths of friends and fellow believers who have not been careful with their words. His concern is that a firestorm will develop from our lack of obedience to the ninth commandment: "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. His concern is that we will not love as Christ love demands, for love protects those whom it loves from the attacks of others bent on vengeance and destruction.
And thus, if we are rightfully concerned about preventing a spiritual firestorm, we will put out the kindled fire, the tongue that speaks rashly and bitterly by defending faithful servants of Christ against the accusations of their detractors.
Remember what happened in Paradise, and Lahaina--how paradise was lost. Put out that spiritual firestorm before it starts--defend and commend, protect those who deserve it from the accusations of those who are careless with their words.
Let’s pray.
