Have you ever noticed the one thing that caused the apostle Paul the most mental anguish and distress? He places his finger squarely on it in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 21, “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….” SIN, unforsaken and unrepented in a congregation Paul had nurtured caused him the greatest anguish and grief! Such behavior prompted Paul to even question their conversion, whether they had ever truly been justified and granted God’s HOLY Spirit. “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, HOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU, except you be reprobates?” (See 2 Corinthians 13:5). Paul feared that many in the Corinthian assembly were false converts, false brethren without, God’s powerful Holy Spirit given to prevent them from sinning, enabling them to live holy lives.
There are many such deceived persons in the various “Christian” assemblies even today, thinking Paul himself was the servant of sin due to their gross misunderstanding of what Paul wrote in Romans 6, 7 and 8. They are utterly blind to the many statements made by Paul in all of his epistles that clearly reveal that this apostle was a supremely godly man. They portray Paul as a defeated Christian, one who struggled continuously against the temptation to sin and usually losing the battle in that struggle. They have no comprehension and understanding at all of Romans 7, and will use their erroneous interpretation of that chapter to excuse their continued sinning while urging others to adopt their view, assuring them believers cannot stop sinning, pointing out, “See, even this mighty apostle obviously sinned every day of his life!” Unable to discern the voice of the Shepherd, they flee from those who speak and teach the truth! Try enlightening them to the truth and they will flee from you and refuse to hear your words of truth and wisdom. Beware of false brethren as they infiltrate themselves in many assemblies. A word to the wise……
Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley