Power to Destroy Strongholds

“I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete” (2 Corinthians 10:1-6 ESV).

It appears that there were those within the Christian community in Corinth who supported Paul and his ministry, and those who did not, who were false to the truth, and who were critical of Paul. So, Paul here is addressing some of those false accusations against himself and against Timothy, which seem to be primarily directed at Paul. And the part where he said, “I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away,” seems to be in reference to an accusation that was made against him.

Now, one of the criticisms was evidently boldly stated or suggested that Paul and Timothy were operating in the flesh and not in the Spirit, and that what they were doing and saying came from within themselves and not from God. And that might be like someone today accusing you of having a false theology when you aren’t teaching a theology at all, but just what you are learning from the Scriptures as you read them in their context and as the Holy Spirit points out the truth of what they are saying to you.

Now, we should definitely be those who test whatever we hear coming from anyone against the Scriptures, in their context, but we must guard against ignoring the truth of the Scriptures just because they don’t agree with our theology, too. For to test what we hear involves us looking at what the Scriptures teach, in their context, and us allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us what they actually say without us finding ways around them because they don’t fit with what we have always been taught.

I can remember early on in my life having been taught certain things from the Scriptures that I had grown to accept as truth, then being challenged as I actually began studying the Scriptures in their context. At first I was trying to make the Scriptures fit with what I had always been taught, but that just wasn’t working. And the longer I studied those Scriptures the more I realized that I could no longer accept what I had always been taught, but that I had to embrace what the Scriptures actually teach as fact.

But when we begin to realize what the Scriptures literally teach as opposed to some teachings we may have been taught early on in our lives, or presently, we have a choice to ignore them or to excuse them away or else to accept them for what they literally teach. But when we do accept what they are teaching as fact, and if we begin sharing those truths with others who had similar upbringings to us, we may face a lot of opposition, especially in particular areas which are considered “hot button” issues.

And so we may or may not have people opposing us and/or accusing us falsely of teaching what is false, or worse. But when we are opposed we do need to use the armor of God with which to combat the lies with the truth of God’s word, once we are fully convinced and very well biblically supported in what we know to be the truth of what the Scriptures are teaching on that particular subject. But, if in the process of this we find that we are in error in any respect, we must humble ourselves and admit our errors, too.

Now let me share this example with you. Forty three years ago we had neighbors who were of a different belief system from us, though both under the “Christian” faith, and these neighbors were trying to convince me that the Scriptures taught a particular doctrine that my upbringing did not teach. So I asked my pastor about it, and his response was, “Now dearie, don’t (something or other)… for our church denomination does not believe that.” But I wanted to know what the Scriptures taught; not what humans teach.

I want to know what the Scriptures teach in their purest sense and not what some church denomination or some preacher tries to tell me I am to believe. For the Word of God is truth, but not everyone teaches the truth. But when we discover that truth through our times of study in God’s word, and then when we share it with the Christian community, we should be ready to be opposed by others who hold to what they have always been taught and have come to believe, but we should keep listening to the Lord and keep learning.

And we must rest in the Lord and in his truth and in his righteousness and holiness. And even when we are being opposed, we must trust the Lord with the truth of his word that he will get his truth into the minds and hearts of the people, us included. All we can do is share the truth of what we believe the Scriptures teach, in context, and we can refute what we believe to be lies and misperceptions of truth, but only the Spirit of God has the power to change people’s thinking and believing, according to the truth of his Word.

So, the encouragement to all of us here is that we need to be students of the Scriptures who are listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and who are studying the Scriptures in context, especially in context of the whole of the New Testament. And we need to be willing to have our beliefs altered if the Holy Spirit points out to us certain truths in the Scriptures which contradict what we have always been taught or have come to believe as truth. And then we need to walk in that truth and share that truth with others.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

10,000 Reasons

Matt Redman / Jonas Myrin

The sun comes up

It's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass

And whatever lies before me

Let me be singing 

When the evening comes

Bless You Lord

And on that day

When my strength is failing

The end draws near

And my time has come

Still my soul will

Sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years

And then forevermore

Forevermore

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

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