https://www.slideshare.net/MarvinMcKenzie/2-corinthians-111012-to-cut-off-occasion
TO CUT OFF OCCASION
2 Corinthians 11:10-12 (KJV)
As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
I want to begin this Sunday school lesson by responding to one of the resources I looked at in my studies for this lesson.
The teacher[1] exposited this passage in the most literal fashion:
· Paul, the writer
· Had adversaries in the church in Corinth
· So, Paul, the writer, took liberty to deal with his adversaries
The expositor made it clear that this passage concerned Paul, the church in Corinth and his adversaries within it.
He aggressively believes that the Bible is inspired of God and therefore without error.
But he approaches his teaching of the Bible in a scholarly manner, practically denying that it has application to you and me.
In response I give you,
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The Bible assures us of two important truths concerning itself:
· That all of it is given by inspiration of God
· That it is meant to “furnish” the man of God
In other words, God did much more than preserving Paul’s corrections of his adversaries in 2 Corinthians so we could read about it and know it is true.
God perfectly preserved this exchange between Paul and his adversaries so we would have “tools” to help us in our own exchanges.
Having said all of that, let’s return to 2 Corinthians, where I want to examine verses 10-12.
2 Corinthians 11:10-12 (KJV)
As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
Paul insisted here that he would not give up his “folly.” No man would stop him.[2]
Paul said he would do what he did. Even if someone said it was foolish, even if someone said it was unloving.
Paul then said he would do what he did, “I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion.”
The question I want to try to answer is, “What did Paul do to cut off occasion, to take the teeth out of his adversaries’ bite?”
To cut off occasion,
*I. HE WOULD KEEP DEFENDING HIS OFFICE
2 Corinthians 11:4-5 (KJV)
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
He had every intention to continue:
A. Asserting that he was an Apostle
He came behind the other Apostles in no way.
· He was called by Jesus, just as they were
· He was taught of Christ, just as they were
· He was commissioned to preach, just as they were
It is not inappropriate for a preacher to stand behind his office.
He had every intention to continue
B. Preaching the same gospel he had preached
The pressure was on by the adversaries to tweak his message a bit, in this case it is almost certain that they wanted him to add some Old Testament works to Christian grace.
He refused to buckle under the pressure and to change his message to keep this group of antagonists pacified.
He had every intention to continue
C. Insisting that any other gospel was not a gospel
· It takes boldness not to give into pressure to change.
· It takes greater boldness, confidence, to declare that the change is evil, wrong.
To cut of occasion of the adversaries, Paul would keep doing what he was doing.
To cut off occasion,
*II. HE WOULD KEEP HIMSELF FREE OF THEIR “SHACKLES”
2 Corinthians 11:7 (KJV)
Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
We dealt with that last week, didn’t we?
· Because he loved this church
· Because he sought to see them strengthened in their faith
· Because he wished the adversaries to be corrected
Paul would not wear the shackles of their financial support.
Three things about money
A. Money is an earthly commodity, not a heavenly one
There is no money in heaven. “You can’t take it with you when you go.”
B. Money is a temporal commodity, not an eternal one
You can’t keep it. Its purpose is as a tool, so you will always spend it and that means, if you depend upon it, you will always need more of it.
C. Money is a corrupting commodity, not a redeeming one[3]
Money is necessary in this world, but loving it and coveting after it will always lead to trouble.
There is a shackle attached to every dollar we receive.
· Be sure you are aware of the shackle.
· Don’t take on too many shackles and
· Only accept those shackles that not hinder the Christian walk
He wouldn’t take their financial support at least in part because he loved them and wanted to correct them.
To cut off occasion,
*III. HE WOULD KEEP HAMMERING AT HIS ADVERSARIES’ ERROR
2 Corinthians 11:12 (KJV)
But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
This puts us really into the verses following this one. I hope to bring a lesson on them next time.
Notice
2 Corinthians 11:13 (KJV)
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
He didn’t say, “Bless their hearts, at least they’re sincere.”
· He said they were false apostles
· He said they were deceitful workers and
· He said they had transformed themselves, it wasn’t the work of God, into the apostles of Christ.
And that is only the beginning of his preaching against them in the verses to follow.
Conclusion
I remind you of, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Every passage of the Bible is meant to furnish us or to provide us with tools for life and godliness.
It is not folly for a preacher to hammer against the errors of those who disagree with him, even if those people are in the same church or close to the people in the church.
It’s not unloving or unkind
It’s just meant to correct the error.
[1] I think I will choose to keep his name out of this work.
[2] By the way, it wasn’t foolish. It was just that someone could accuse him that it was foolish.
[3] 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV)
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
No comments:
Post a Comment