Wednesday, December 10, 2008
2 Corinthians 10:8 For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
HELP OTHERS HAVE FATHER'S APPROVAL
Apparently when Paul reminded them of the authority he had as an apostle of Christ, some of the people in Corinth said, "Look at the way he boasts about his authority! Is that how a servant of the church acts?"
Paul says, "I won't be ashamed of what Christ gave me for the purpose of building you up."
Some people are suspicious of those given authority. They think that everyone granted authority will abuse it. This certainly wasn't the case with Paul.
Did you know that he went out of his way in Corinth not to be financially supported by the church there? He accepted charitable support from other churches while he was in Corinth, but none from them. He didn't want to be a burden to the Corinthians in any way. Yet some of the Corinthians had the nerve to point the finger at "arrogant" Paul.
Learn from Paul. Don't be ashamed of the authority that you have as a follower of the Son of God. When people show that they are not sorry for their sins, you have the authority to tell them that they stand apart from Jesus' forgiveness so long as they refuse to repent.
When people show that they are troubled by their sins, you have the authority to tell them their sins are truly forgiven because of what Jesus did in their place.
We call these powers given to the Christian the "binding key" and the "loosing key." They are given to Christians for the purpose of helping people, not hurting them. The correct use of the keys helps to ensure that a person will receive God's approval on the Last Day.
Christian, don't be ashamed to use what Christ gave you.
(About the "keys" see also Matthew 16:19, John 20:21-23, 1 Corinthians 5 with 2 Corinthians 2:5-8)
