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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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   You Are Here: Bridge / Galley / Pastor's Pen / Pathways Through Paul
Pathways Through Paul Daily Devotional
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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional

December 25
Merry Christmas!
Click on verses for Full Scripture
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Today's Pathway:


 II Corinthians 12:20-21
  1. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:
  2. And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

His Majesty's Service

 Yesterday we saw Paul tell the Corinthians that he was afraid that when he arrived they would not be doing the things that they should. He listed numerous problems that existed in the church. As I pointed out yesterday, all those in verse 20 deal with the believer's relationships with others, which is something that all Christians should be examining in their own lives.

 "Debates" are quarrels. The word has been defined as "a spirit of antagonistic competitiveness that fights to have its own way, regardless of cost to itself or of harm to others. It is produced by a deep desire to gain the highest prominence and recognition possible." The word "envyings" comes from a word that means "to boil". This is not simply someone wishing that he had something that someone else has. This is an all consuming jealousy. "Wrath" comes from a root word that means to breathe heavily. The meaning of this word is clearly illustrated in Luke 4:28-29:

"And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong."
When people are filled with wrath they have a desire for vengeance. "Strife" can refer to being divided into factions. It carries the idea of contentiousness, extreme selfishness, rivalry, and those who seek only their own at any cost. "Backbiting" simply means "to speak against''. It involves speaking about someone in such a way as to belittle them or defame their character. "Whisperings" refers to "derogatory information about someone that is offered in a tone of confidentiality, gossip, or tale-bearing." It is similar to backbiting, except that backbiting is more public and whispering is more private. The sin is the same, the only difference is the number of people who hear it. "Swellings" means to be puffed up with pride. "Tumults" refers to instability, or a lack of order. The term is used for the disruption of the church by worldly disputes among the brethren. James 3:16 uses the term this way:
"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion ("tumult") and every evil work."
Paul has referenced all of these sins at one time or another in his two epistles to the Corinthians, and now he is warning them that if these attitudes and actions don't stop, he will be forced to deal harshly with them when he arrives.

 In verse 21 Paul fears that he will be humbled when he arrives in Corinth because his spiritual children, whom he has loved and taught, are living carnal, fleshly lives. John wrote,

"I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth" (II John 1:4).
Paul fears that he will experience the opposite of that: he will be grieved ("bewail") because he finds his children walking in error. It is very disheartening for someone who has been in a position of leadership, whether in the home or in the church, to have invested countless hours and tears into someone only to see them ignore or reject what they have been taught. Paul is particularly concerned because there are those in the church who have been involved in sensual and sexual sins and have refused to repent of them. "Uncleanness" normally refers to moral uncleanness in thought, word or deed. "Lasciviousness" means a lack of moral restraint. Bruce Hurt calls it,
"the kind of sexual debauchery that characterizes much of modern society and that is often flaunted almost as a badge of distinction."
It is clear from this that church members are capable of the worst kind of sins. As a pastor I have seen all of the things mentioned in verses 20-21 in churches. The only solution is repentance. There must be a change of heart that results in a change of action.

 If any of us struggle with these or any other sinful thoughts, speeches, or behaviors, we need to repent today. It is the height of hypocrisy, and foolishness, to celebrate the birth of our Savior and live a life so contradictory to His teachings.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

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His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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