One of the most important questions any Bible-believing church must ask itself is this: How will we respond when we find that gross, even unrepentant sin is present in our church body?
Many of us who fashion ourselves as born-again Bible-believing Christians might respond something like this: Well, not like the Roman Catholic Church has.
In the US, determined reporting by the Boston Globe newspaper (as captured in the 2015 film Spotlight) exposed widespread abuse and how pedophile priests were moved around by Church leaders instead of being held accountable. It prompted people to come forward across the US and around the world.
A Church-commissioned report in 2004 said more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years, in cases involving more than 10,000 children - mostly boys.
A 2009 report found that sexual and psychological abuse was "endemic" in Catholic-run industrial schools and orphanages in Ireland for most of the 20th Century.
By 2012, the Roman Catholic church had paid more than $3 billion dollars in settlements to abuse survivors.
Again, as I mentioned, it was easy for Bible-believing evangelicals to point the finger until a years ago when an investigative team of reporters for two Texas papers revealed that top officials in the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention had covered up sexual abuse by both volunteers and church leaders, preferring to protect churches from lawsuits rather than potential future victims from the same abuse. Apparently, hundreds of Southern Baptist Convention church leaders and volunteers been criminally charged with sex crimes since 2000. The series of articles also detailed numerous incidents in which denominational leaders mishandled, ignored or concealed warning that Southern Baptist churches were being targeted by predators.
So, what's a church to do? Well, these are troubling and difficult issues, but one serious thought we're consider this morning is this: How about doing just exactly what the Word of God, the Bible, tells us to do. Though these situations are never easy, simply obediently following the Word of Jesus and His apostles in the New Testament could have saved many victims from the abuse and pain they experienced from repeat offenders.
As we come to the final chapter of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, we find ourselves confronted with some very sharp words written by the Apostle Paul. The great apostle is about to visit the Church at Corinth, Greece for at least the third time, after writing at least three letters to them in an attempt to resolve the church's many sin problems. However, at the conclusion of all these attempts, Paul is still concerned that when he comes for his third visit, he may find that many Corinthian believers and possible unbelievers had persisted in their sin, and that there may well need to be a personal spiritual confrontation. Chief among the sins was the slander and gossip propagated by the false apostles who had infiltrated the church and had sought to discredit the Apostle Paul. But also, among the sins mentioned in II Corinthians 12:20 were not only "strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances, but also impurity, immorality and sensuality.
So again, the question we're asking this morning, is this: How should our church deal with gross and unrepentant sin when it is found in our midst. Specifically, what we will find in II Corinthians 13 is how to prepare for a spiritual confrontation--when someone may have sinned in your fellowship of believers and needs to be confronted.
Be certain of your facts, your faith & your motives and don't make exceptions for anyone for any reason.
Again, the Apostle Paul has planned a visit. And he's preparing both himself and the Corinthians for the worst-case scenario: The Corinthians really haven't repented as his associate Titus had reported, they have either covered up their sin successfully or they have perhaps fallen back into it. And Paul will ultimately have to deal with it personally when he visits.
So, Paul's words are at this point very sharp, or some might say he's very blunt. He gets to the point here with regard to ground rules for confrontation if the confrontation is necessary.
And the first thing we learn from verse one is this: Always make sure of your facts by requiring two or three witnesses. In any confrontation about a supposed sin, always make sure of your facts by requiring two or three witnesses.
II Corinthians 13:1: "This is the third time I am coming to you. "Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses."
Now as Paul writes this, he is quoting two passages. The first is Deuteronomy 19:15 which was God's instruction to Israel about how to judge anyone accuses of a crime or offense within the nation. The second reference, which I'm almost certain was in Paul's mind, were Jesus' own words in Matthew 18:15-17 about how believers are to handle sin or offenses among themselves.
It's worth reading Deuteronomy 19:15 in its context. So, we will: "One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you."
So, we are here dealing with serious sin, some crimes that might have warranted the death penalty in ancient Israel. Obviously, the consequences of heeding a false accusation could be catastrophic, the wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent person. Thus, the judges in Israel had to be sure of their facts. The Law required two or three witnesses before anyone could be convicted of a crime or an offense. That's because a single witness could be a malicious witness--one who intended to do great harm to someone else through his false testimony, effectively slander, the violation of the 9th commandment--bearing false witness against his neighbor. So, this entire section deals with how to handle all kinds of serious offenses, but especially slander, false accusations against an innocent person. What does it say should happen to the person who is a malicious witness--in effect a malicious slanderer. He should receive the same punishment he intended for the person who was accused. Boy, you better bet this discouraged anyone from making false accusations against others. And sadly, this kind of provision is rarely or never a part of criminal law today, likely resulting in hundreds, if not thousands of wrongful convictions in our nation every year.
So, the question is this: How do you determine when someone is a malicious witness. By requiring that there be at least two or three witnesses of the alleged crime or offense. Now Deuteronomy 17:6-7 went even further in cases that involved the death penalty. It required not only two or three witnesses, but that the hands of the witnesses must be the first involved in putting that person to death. So there were all sorts of means that the Lord put in place to prevent the execution of an innocent party who had been the victim of slander, or malicious witnesses.
Now Jesus Himself applied this principle of two or three witnesses in the case of resolving sins or offenses between believers. He did so in Matthew 18:15-17. He says: "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."
So, Paul's use of the phrase "every fact must be confirmed on the testimony of two or three witnesses" in the context of the Old Testament Law and especially Jesus' instructions in Matthew 18:15-17 tell us this: He was clearly talking about what we often call today church discipline. He had given those in Corinth, whether they turned out to be true believers or false confessors, plenty of opportunity to repent. The time had come for judgment to begin with the house of God, and he was warning everyone that that time had indeed come.
So, Paul's point here is that if a spiritual confrontation was going to take place, the principle of the requirement of two or three witnesses would be applied. Since slander and gossip had been so rampant in Corinth, he was not going to receive any accusation against any believer in Corinth accept on the testimony of at least two, and likely preferably three witnesses.
And so, it also tells us what we must do in any similar situation. We hear a bad report about someone. You don't receive it or act upon it, or even form an opinion about the person or the supposed circumstances unless you have two or three witnesses. Got it? Get it! Good. It's essential when there's a spiritual confrontation. Two or three witnesses required. No less. Never forget. Or serious errors in your judgment or the judgment of others may result in terribly unjust consequences for those falsely accused--yes even in church.
So, then verse two begins to make more sense. Paul's telling us he will make no exceptions for anyone who is found in sin. The spiritual lesson for us in our spiritual confrontations is this: Don't make exceptions for anyone for any reason. Don't be partial, because of someone's position, his friendship, his kinship or his fame. Be just. Justice must prevail.
In verse two Paul is reminding the Corinthians of what he personally told them on his second apparently painful visit. He writes: "I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone."
Wow! What a warning! We must ask ourselves exactly what the Apostle Paul was preparing to do to anyone who ignored his warning.
But first, it's important to examine exactly who he is addressing with this warning. He is clearly addressing those who have "sinned in the past" and may still be unrepentant. When he refers to "all the rest" he is likely referring to all the rest who may be involved in unrepentant sin. He's telling them the time is up. He has been patient, but although God is patient, He is not infinitely patient with sin. Because God is just and wants to protect future victims of the same sin, at some point God will bring a day of reckoning. That day of reckoning will come when the Apostle Paul shows up for now the third time. Again, remember, plenty of patience, and love, and persuasion has already been applied by the Apostle Paul. There has been already at least one painful visit to deal with the problem, in addition to all the teaching he did in the first 18 months he was in Corinth about these matters, and there had been three letters, two of which we find in the New Testament, and they are two of the longest letters written by the Apostle Paul to anyone. He has gone to great lengths to prevent sin from continuing in Corinth. And it is now time to root it out.
And that actually answers the next question we might ask about what Paul has said here in verse two. Exactly what does He intend to do. What is he threatening the potentially unrepentant sinner in Corinth with? Well, I don't think he's going to shoot them, do you? No, I don't think he's going to become physically violent. What He's threatening to do is exactly what Jesus said would be the final step of church discipline--disfellowshipping the unrepentant sinner from the church--that is treating the person like a Jew would have treated a Gentile or a tax-gatherer. Not treating them like a believer, but as the Apostle Paul Himself put it in I Corinthians 5:11-13, not associating with the unrepentant sinner, even expelling the wicked person from among the Corinthians.
Now again, you might ask why such a severe reaction is necessary. Paul gives some reasons in I Corinthians 5:3-9, as he talks about a man who was involved in open incest within the Corinthians church--he had taken his father's wife to be his own wife, incredibly, and the Corinthians, at the time, had congratulated themselves for accepting such a perversion in their midst. So, Paul writes about why they must disassociate themselves from such sin, and from such a sinner if he were to remain unrepentant: I Corinthians 5:6-9: "Your boasting (about how accepting you are of sin and sinners) is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven (the sin and, if necessary, the sinner) so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven (sin) nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
In other words, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole barrel. Because serious sin is not deal with summarily, others will be encouraged to sin in the same way. I’ve seen this happen in churches--one young wife decides to leave her husband for another man; and guess what, one of her best friends decided to do the same. The church took action, and one of those marriages and families was saved as a result.
Now why does Paul put it this way. When I come, I will not spare anyone. The verb spare is actually a military term. Here it's being used for a spiritual battle. And Paul is telling the Corinthians that there will be no partiality in his judgment. He's not going to excuse anyone, or ignore anyone's sin. For with God, excuses will not result in forgiveness reconciliation and restoration. Only repentance results in forgiveness and reconciliation.
So, the second principle for churches as well as individuals, when it comes to serious sin, 10 command kinds of sin, make no exceptions for anyone. For God is no respecter of persons, and neither should we be. We have already seen what happened in the Catholic church and to some degree the Southern Baptist Convention when great sinners were spared. The abuse continued and spread. It even became endemic in some places! What a tragedy! As long as I'm part of this church that will only happen over my dead body!
Paul now addresses the accusations of the false apostle against him. They have said about him in II Corinthians 10:1 that he was meek when face to face, but bold when absent. So he says this is going to come down in verse 3: "since you are seeking proof of the Chris two speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you."
What is Paul getting at here? He is saying that even as Jesus was meek and humble on our behalf in going to the cross for our sins, so Paul Himself had conducted himself with meekness and gentleness in all his previous visits to the Corinthians. But just as Jesus had demonstrated the incredible power of God in His resurrection, so the Apostle Paul would, if need be, demonstrate that same authority and power in discipling the unrepentant sinners in Corinth, when personally present, if the occasion demanded it. So don't take his supposed weakness, his gentleness and humility for granted. Jesus as Jesus had cleansed the temple, so Paul would be His agent in cleansing the Church at Corinth from the unrepentant sinners in their midst.
So, Principle #2: When it comes to your spiritual confrontation, don't make exceptions for anyone for any reason, regardless of who they are. Forgiveness is always available when there is genuine repentance. But forgiveness does not come because of excuses.
Ground rule #3 for Spiritual Confrontations: Examine your spiritual condition carefully before the confrontation. Examine your spiritual condition carefully.
Verse 5, Paul writes: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in your--unless indeed you fail the test. But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test."
Paul is exceedingly aware that the real problem in Corinth may well be that there are some false believers in their midst--people who are professors of a relationship with Christ but are not possessors of saving faith in Christ, or His Spirit. He is telling them that maybe the real problem is their bad fruit demonstrates they are not true believers--that their actions demonstrate they are false believers. At the same time, he assures them that he has tested himself, and they should be assured that he has not failed the test, that he is a true believer, and not a reprobate.
Now verse 7 is a crucial point for any minister that gets involved in the kind of firestorm of slander and gossip that Paul is fearful he may encounter here. Paul goes into this confrontation absolutely confident that He is okay with the Lord--that He is right with the Lord despite all the accusations made against Him. This is critical. Because it's easy to begin to believe all the lies that are being circulated about you in the midst of a situation like the one Paul has encountered in Corinth. If he didn't believe he was right with God, he would have disqualified himself from this ministry among the Corinthians, having been deceived and discouraged Himself, and leaving them to the devil's deceptions. Miles, remember this!
And then ground rule number 4 for spiritual confrontations: Make sure your motives are right-pray for the repentance & restoration of the sinners, not their condemnation. Pray for the repentance and restoration of those who sin, not their condemnation.
Verse 7: "Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, seen though we may appear unapproved." Paul's goal is correction for those who may oppose him, not condemnation. For Paul, a win is not proving himself right at their expense, but bringing them to repentance, righteousness and restoration.
And Paul makes a statement that is true for all of us involved in such a confrontation in verse 8; "For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth." We cannot condemn when there is no reason to condemn. We cannot seek to win just simply so we can be vindicated. No we will do what is right even if others may disapprove of our actions.
"For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong; this we also pray for you that you be made complete.
The verb for complete here is important. It is the Greek word katartizo. It means to mend or heal. It's used in the Gospels to describe the disciples when they were mending their fishing nets. It's used in other contexts for setting a bone which is out of place. It is often used in the New Testament with the idea of making something right that was wrong, fixing a wrong and making it whole and right again. The idea is restoration.
So, I think a fuller translation of this verse would go something like this: "For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak--that is humble and gentle--but you are strong spiritually--this we also pray for you so that you may be fully restored and healed.
And then Paul explains why his words are so sharp in chapter 13. It's because he doesn't want to have to be so sharp when he is personally present with them. It's a preventative measure--"For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity--or be so sharp, in accordance with the authority which the Lod gave me for building up and not for tearing down."
It's the same sentiment he expresses in Galatians 6:1: The goal of a spiritual confrontation is the repentance, reconciliation and restoration of those who have sinned, not condemnation. Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted." Notice the goal is restoration, in a spirit of gentleness, well aware that you might be tempted to sin as well.
Ground rule #4: Pray, and pray for repentance and restoration, not condemnation.
Paul now comes to the closing benediction--the closing prayer for this letter.
And it's a great closing prayer, that also happens to demonstrate the reality of Trinity, that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit each play an important role in our salvation and spiritual growth. And his wish for the repentant sinner is to experience the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit by being fully restored to the Christ-like walk of faith.
He tells us all to rejoice, and be restored in the grace , love and fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit--the ultimate goal of a spiritual confrontation.
"Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete (be restored) be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
That's what we hope is the ultimate result of any spiritual confrontation: The restoration of love, joy, peace and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, spiritual confrontations can be difficult and distressing, but in the end, it will be worth it all.
Are you facing a spiritual confrontation? Be sure of your facts, your faith and your motives, and don’t make any exceptions for anyone. And this can be the result--the restoration of love, joy, peace and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Let's pray.
