I needed these verses! A great friend provided the first and I ran across the second:
2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV) " Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Hebrews 12:14 (ESV) " Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
2 Corinthians addresses "brothers". These folks would be fellow Christians. Instead of being critical, melancholic or even malevolent, we are to rejoice! Rejoicing is a positive outlook. We're Christians now; we must act like it! No! "Act" is wrong. We are to behave or live as Christians. We're to have a Christian spirit. Too many people are just "acting".
"Aim for restoration", we're told. At one time we brothers were in harmony. Pride often gets in the way and contentions arise. We are to be restored to the original relationship; not the pre-Christian one, but where we were when we were born again. (Surely we were joyous!). In fact, the Bible tells us:
Matthew 5:22 (ESV) 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."
This scripture uses the term "reconciliation". We are to restore that close relationship which we must have with a brother in Christ! It's a synonym of restore. Where were we before the anger? We were not angry! A contention, normally caused by pride, creates anger. Certainly we can disagree! If we're dogmatic, pride replaces reason. If we throw out an insult in anger we need counseling. We need to be told what Christ expects. (These verses do exactly that!) If we have even caused a brother to be contentious, before our offering is respected, we must first make things right with out brother. That's the "love" part in "loving thy neighbor as thyself"!
2 Corinthians also say "comfort one another"! How can we do that when we have a critical spirit?
This verse basically says. "Don't criticize based on assumptions, but rebuke in love." If we're always ready to "jump" onto a person who may be sinning, we're in no position to restore anyone to Christ. We are as the Pharisees if we're always waiting and watching for someone to break the law, and they were referred to by Jesus as "vipers". The Pharisees in general, had a "critical spirit", and their judgment was unrighteous. How do we "comfort". We admonish in love. Our teaching is not to condemn, but to correct! We condemn when our hearts are angered. We correct when our hearts are loving!
2 Corinthians tells us to "agree with one another". Of course we're going to have unresolvable doctrinal differences because we're not God. Some matters just can't be settled. We're to agree to disagree, and to disagree without anger nor hard feelings. We don't always have to be right because we're just not! Why would we get angry if someone disagrees with us? Pride! Pride interferes with agreement and comfort and is the original sin!
"Live in peace" 2 Corinthians tells us! If we seek to restore, comfort one another and be agreeable, we will have spiritual peace and that critical spirit of John 7:24 will be replaced by love and charity! What's more, we're told "the God of love and peace will be with you". We remain in communion with God! The flipside of that is if we don't endeavor to live in peace, we'll be in ill communion with God!
Hebrews 12:14 links "striving for peace" with holiness. To be holy, we are to be Christlike. Being at peace with our brothers, even our enemies, is a prerequisite for holy living. Without peace between brothers, holy living is a farce! A genuine Christian works on the critical spirit we all have! I have it and you have it to some degree. We can improve and God knows when we're truly being humble.
I cannot change others, but I can change me. I can't change me without the Comforter. All that I've written applies to me. If by coincidence you find it applies to you as well, then Christ has the answer... love!
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