 The title of our sermon this morning is Judge with a Righteous Judgment. Judge with a Righteous Judgment, we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, now in verses 7 through 11. As we come to our text this morning, 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 7 through 11, this third section of Paul's letter to the church at Corinth, the second canonical letter, the second letter that we have in our Bibles to this church at Corinth. The apostle Paul has certainly changed his tone. He's made a change of direction here, changed his tone from a beautiful and theological commendation of Christian ministry in the first section to an exhortation to generous giving for the suffering saints in Jerusalem in chapters 8 and 9. Paul now leans in, so to speak, he lowers his shoulder, so to speak, to deal decisively with false teachers that have been running afoul within the church for long enough. This is, there is in Corinth an enemy insurgency and Paul intends to deal with that insurgency. Won't be long before Paul himself will make a visit to the church at Corinth and it's this future visit that has Paul concerned and has Paul instructing the church with respect to these enemy combatants in Corinth. Now, the Corinthian church, those believers in Corinth have a responsibility to deal with those false teachers. The church, those people, have a responsibility to deal with those in their midst who are teaching false doctrine and the Lord has graciously given us all the instruction that we need to do that faithfully in the body. Brothers and sisters in the church, that's our responsibility. Someone comes in here teaching any other doctrine. We are to faithfully deal with that. We are to faithfully deal with the wolves who intend to creep in unnoticed in our midst. You are responsible. When you hear of error, you're responsible to deal with it. When you encounter error, you're responsible to combat that with the weapons of our warfare that are mighty for pulling down strongholds. You, brother, you sister, you and I are responsible to do that together. We have responsibility in the church. We need to take heed to the instruction given us by the apostle Paul. This church in Corinth needs to do that. Our church here needs to do that. We need to be faithful to the Lord in these things. We are charged to take a stand and to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. We must put down any enemy insurgency that exalts itself that rises against the knowledge of God. So Paul calls them now to a holy and spiritual warfare in chapter 10, verse three, where Paul says, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are carnal or not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Now, Paul with the church in Corinth is concerned about their will and their ability to wage this kind of warfare, to wage this kind of battle. He says of them in chapter 11, verse three, look at that with me. Paul says, I fear less somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we've not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you've not received or a different gospel which you've not accepted, you may very well put up with it. He says in chapter 12, verse 20, for I fear rest when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish. So he pleads with them in chapter 10, verse one. Paul begs them in chapter 10, verse two. He pleads with them and he begs them. He begs them. He impores them to what end exactly? What is he pleading with respect to? What is he begging them to consider? He's pleading with them, begging them that they would remain be safe in Christ by putting out of the church those that would lead them astray into error. Anything that rises against the knowledge of God, it is to be put down in our heart and mind using the weapons of our warfare that we've been given by grace in the spirit of God, right? Everything that presumes to exalt itself against the knowledge of God, we are to take that thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We're to cast down arguments. We're to use the weapons of our warfare and strive in the faith. These things are damning and dangerous. So those people, those dear brothers and sisters in Corinth, must cling to the word of God. They must cling to the apostle. They must cling to the teaching which accords with godliness, and they must contend earnestly for the faith. They must take the more earnest heed to the things which they have heard, let's say, drift away. They must put away from themselves those ministers of Satan, which they have allowed to gain a foothold in the church. Why? Why would that be? Chapter 11, verse 2, Paul says, For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. That's why, right? That's why he's looking forward to that day when these brothers and sisters will be presented a chaste bride to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul then directs the church now in chapter 10, verse 7. This is on his heart. This is on his mind. This is our context. And so he addresses the church in chapter 10, verse 7, and he says to them literally in the Greek, look at what's in front of your face. Look at what's in front of you. It's a command in verse 7. It's not a question. The ESV has it right here. Look at what should be obvious to you. Our ministry is a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God being preached here is the word of the living God, right? My example, Paul would say, is the example of one bloodbought poured out on the sacrificing service of your faith. Judge according to what you see before you. Judge according to facts. And over the next two and a half chapters, these two chapters that we'll spend a good bit of time together in, Paul will set before them a defense of his apostolic ministry, and he'll do that among them for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of their own souls. These false teachers in Corinth understand that to undermine Paul is to undermine the gospel that he preaches. To undermine the man is to undermine his message, and that's what the enemy wants, right? The enemy knows that where the word of God is preached, the word of God does not go out void. It accomplishes that purpose for which it is sent, and that's what the enemy wants to stop. And in order to stop Paul's message, they anticipate stopping the man. They're going to attack Paul, Paul's in a position now of reluctantly having to defend his ministry. He says in chapter 12 verse 11, look, I have become a fool in boasting, and you, Corinthians, have compelled me. So Paul then in chapter 10, he says, I said it before you. I'm going to set my ministry before you. All the evidences that are there, I'm going to set before your face, and you, Corinthians, should be able to judge based on the evidence. Look at what's in front of your face. Look at the evidence. Judge then between what is true, holy, just, good, loving, right, biblical, faithful. Judge for yourself. Judge what is truly commended by God and Corinthians. As you judge that according to evidence what is commended by God, make a determination, make a judgment of what is not. You're going to set an opposition that which is true and right and just and holy and good, and that stands in opposition to that which is not, that which is error and false and damning and dangerous. Judge with a righteous judgment. I think it's important as we consider our context to understand who these enemies were. We can glean a good description of who they were by looking at our context. Paul doesn't hear, give us a mugshot. He doesn't give us the description. He doesn't outline it for us, but if we look carefully at our context, we can figure out exactly who these dastardly fellows were in our text. Look at the text with me in chapter 3 verse 1. It's apparent from chapter 3 verse 1 that these were intruders not from within the church, not of it had been raised up within the church, but these were intruders from outside the church. Those that had come to the Corinthians with letters of commendation. Paul asked, did we begin again to commend ourselves in verse 1? Or do we need, as others do, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? In other words, there were those there among them who were there with commendation letters from the outside. They were coming to Corinth with this commendation to gain influence among them. They're from a group back in chapter 10. They're from a group in chapter 10 verse 12 that commend themselves. They commend themselves among themselves, right? They're in a small group and then you've got one brother commending, this brother, another brother, these aren't brothers, these are false apostles, correct me? They're commending one another. They're commending one another, commending themselves in chapter 10 verse 12. They're measuring themselves by themselves, comparing themselves among themselves. In chapter 10 verse 15, they're boasting in the labors and in the accomplishments of other men. In chapter 11 verse 4, they're teaching significant theological error, such that Paul alludes here that it is 10 amount to a different Jesus, a different spirit, a different gospel. In chapter 11 verse 5, and the verses that follow, they claim to be superior to Paul. They consider themselves to be super apostles. In chapter 11 verse 13, Paul calls them false apostles, ministers of Satan. In chapter 11 verse 22, and this is key, they claim to be Hebrews. These are Jews, Jewish ministers of Christ in verse 23, but obviously from Paul's defense, you look at Paul's defense, these false apostles aren't being persecuted the way that Paul is. Paul says, I'm a Hebrew, but look at the persecution that Paul has faced, these Jewish so-called apostles, these Jewish false pretending apostles of Christ, ministers of Christ, are not being persecuted the way that Paul is. So you combine these clues along with Paul's concentration on the place of the law and the ministry of the new covenant from 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and it appears obvious that the enemies in Corinth were none other than the same Judaizers that plague the churches of Galatia. Jewish men, Jewish leaders, professing, professing to be followers of Christ who wanted to add works of the law to faith in Christ as necessary for salvation. In Galatians chapter 1 verse 6, Paul calls it a different gospel, which is really not another. Paul calls it in Galatians chapter 1 verse 7, a perversion of the gospel, a corruption of the gospel. And in Galatians chapter 1 verse 8 and in verse 9, Paul pronounces condemnation, damnation on anyone who preaches it, on anyone who preaches it. So these men, Judaizers, already wreaking havoc on the churches in Galatia with their false gospel, these men were eloquent speakers. They were well taught. Many of them would have grown up under popular Jewish rabbis and Jewish teachers. They were steeped in Judaism. They were highly reputable, commendable in many circles, very well spoken of. They were well paid for their services, puffed up with their own self-importance. The masses would have flocked to them. He said under Gamaliel, they would have flocked to these men. Paul describes them as deceitful workers, ministers of Satan masquerading as angels of light and ministers of righteousness. And even though that's the case, Paul describing them as ministers of Satan, even though that's the case, many in the church at Corinth have been caught up with the deception Calvin instead of this passage. The passage is expressive of chiding or rebuke, expressive of chiding or rebuke. And that the Corinthians are reproved, the Corinthians are corrected because they suffered their eyes to be dazzled with empty show. These false teachers, as Peter says, they speak great swelling words of emptiness. And the Corinthians have become dazzled with the eloquence of their speakers, dazzled with the popularity of these speakers. And Paul says to them, look at what's in front of your face. Look at what's in front of your face. Judge with a righteous judgment. Incidentally, the title of our sermon comes from the Lord's own words in John 7 verse 24, where he says, do not judge according to appearance, but judge with a righteous judgment. These men were steeped in judging one another according to appearance. We live in a world, we live in a world that screams for everything to be judged according to appearance. Don't we? Righteous judgment. Righteous judgment is the one cardinal sin of the age. If anyone presumes to make a righteous judgment, that one is condemned for it by the world. Big is the evidence of God's blessing. Popular is the evidence that something is true. Appeasement is the chief mark of wisdom, the wisdom of this world. Compromise. Compromise is the path to unity. Polite and polished is the hallmark of a good sermon and short. Cleansed of any offense. Offense is the cardinal sin. And many in a church like this, right, you and I would consider the blessing of the Lord in our church. Many in a church like this might be tempted to say, well, that's not really any concern to us. We see past these things, don't we? The Lord has been gracious to us. The Lord has matured this church and blessed this church. We have many godly brothers and sisters here who love the word of God, who teach from the word of God, who understand the word of God, who apply correctly and biblically the word of God. So we might be tempted to say, that's no concern to us. We see right past all that nonsense. We understand truth. We wouldn't judge according to outward appearance, would we? Brothers and sisters, there are men in the church today. Men that we listen to. Men that we otherwise respect who are even now today compromising in the face of a social justice error that threatens the unity of the Lord's church. Today they are doing that. There are men, brothers and sisters, in the church today. They're in the church now who are compromising at every turn in the face of an insurgent stance on homosexuality that threatens to undermine the life-transforming message of the gospel itself. And that is taking place among those that we listen to. People that we would respect. That's happening today. There are men and women in the church today who flaunt liberty at the expense of love and they call that righteous. There are many who have come in and out of these doors who profess those things. Who, although the Word of God is clear, they would say, it seems right to me that I should do this. So many, it seems unloving to break off fellowship with ungodly, so-called Christians who are in their sin. And because it seems unloving to them, they will compromise. It seems harsh to them to call out sin and error when there must be a voice for righteousness from the people of God against the error of this world. It seems oppressive to call for high commitment in the cause of Christ. It seems, it seems, it seems right. We're tempted to judge according to outward appearance and not to judge with a righteous judgment. We need the Word of God to inform our understanding. We need to submit ourselves to the truth of the Word of God and not judge according to appearance. The Word of God challenges our presuppositions. It challenges our so-called preferences. It challenges what seems to be right to us. Why? Because what seems right to us is a way that leads to death. There's a way that seems right to a man, and that way leads to death. And how many people do you have to see leave this place who go off into their sin into apostasy before you will realize and acknowledge that the Word of God is true and that we must submit ourselves to the truth of God. We submit ourselves to our own preferences. Brothers, sisters, listen, you're in trouble. Submit yourself to the Word of God, the truth of God. Judge with a righteous judgment. What does the Word of the living God say? That's what I need. That's the truth I need. Judge with a righteous judgment. Listen, do not give in to the wicked spirit of this age. Do not give in to the compromising spirit of this age. Do not give in to that compromising spirit that says, listen, you don't have to give all to be his disciple when the words of the Lord Jesus Christ say exactly the opposite. Don't be deceived, brother. Don't be deceived, sister. This is a weak and decrepit and feeble and powerless age. It's a compromising age. Paul says in chapter 10, verse 18, it's not he who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. That's the combination that we must be after, the combination of God. That comes through a faithfulness to his word. Follow the Word of God. Obey the Word of God. Live for Christ according to his word and trust the Lord for the strength to do it. And over the next two chapters in 2 Corinthians, Paul is going to give us an apostolic defense now for claiming to that which is good and true. He wants this church in Corinth to cling to that which is good and true and right and holy and just. And he wants them to cast off error, cast off worldly reason, cast off worldly thinking, and he does all that beginning with our text. So we consider these chapters together. Paul will call us one to judge according to truth. In the chapters that follow, we are to judge according to truth. Secondly, we're to judge according to fruit. We're to look at the evidences. What is the fruit that is produced by the righteous work here of the Spirit of God amongst these people? We're to judge according to fruit. Lastly, we're to judge according to character, character. Now first look with me at verse 7. We're to judge according to truth. Paul asks question in the New King James, other translations. Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? Again, that is far better translated as a command. It's an imperative. It's better to translate it as a command. Look what's in front of your face. Face the facts is what it essentially means. Paul says, face the facts. If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ, let him again consider this in himself that just as he is Christ, even so we are Christ. Or even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed. Now Paul begins that statement in verse 7, essentially stating to them, listen, face the facts. Look at what's in front of your face. In other words, judge objectively. Judge objectively. Judge according to clear facts. And then Paul follows that statement with a clear reference to the claims of the false teachers in Corinth. If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ, that's what these false teachers are claiming, right? They're claiming to be from Christ. Well, Paul, the apostle Paul claims to be from Christ. He claims that his ministry is from Christ. And now you have an insurgent of false teachers in Corinth. They claim to be from Christ. Paul, using singular pronouns here, if anyone, he, him, singular pronouns, but I don't think he necessarily has one person in mind, right? As much as he's making a blanket statement about anyone who would make such a claim. If anyone comes making a claim to be speaking for Christ, right? Anyone can make that claim. John says many anti-Christ have already come. Many anti-Christ will continue to come. Anyone can come making a claim. Anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ. He's confident in his own profession. Then let him consider this. Just as he is Christ, Paul says we are Christ. A lot of people can come making a claim. I'm Christ's servant. I'm Christ's apostle. Many will come in his name, masquerading as ministers of Satan, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. But let the one who makes that claim consider this, Paul says, we make that claim too. We make that claim too. Just because they claim it does not make it so. The claim doesn't settle anything. This issue will not be settled on the basis of a mere claim, on the basis of mere words. We don't take them at their words, Paul says. That claim is going to be backed up. And it's going to be backed up by evidence. So in Corinth, think about the context. You have false teachers on one side claiming to speak for Christ. They're eloquent, well spoken, well paid, well dressed, well commended. By worldly standards, they're the best speakers. They say all the right kinds of things in all the right kinds of ways. They're commended by all the right people. They're not offending anyone. They're not offending anyone. They're not suffering the way that Paul is suffering. They're not causing offense. People like them. They're attracting the masses to them. And on the other side, on the other side you have Paul and you have Titus. They also are claiming to speak for Christ. In chapter 11 verse 6, Paul says untrained in speech, not eloquent, not smooth. In fact, his speech in chapter 10 verse 10 is contemptible. Contemptible. He is heavy handed in his letters, even terrifying the false teachers would accuse. When he's among you, they say, he's weak, timid, vacillating, duplicitous. He's poor. Look at Paul. He's poor. He's itinerant. He can't even live by his speaking. He has to make tense to make ends meet. He's constantly persecuted, hated by all the right people, bearing in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ, always delivered over to death for their sakes. And Paul is saying, false teachers on one side, Paul Titus, those men on the other, Paul is saying, this matter in the church is not going to be settled on a claim. This isn't going to be decided by mere words. He says to the Corinthians, in effect, listen, you are going to have to judge with a righteous judgment. Look at the fruit. Look at the evidence and judge with a righteous judgment. Notice verse eight. Paul says, for even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, Paul says, I shall not be ashamed. Now, false teachers, the false teachers in Corinth have accused Paul of being authoritarian. They've accused them of being heavy handed. And so Paul picks up that accusation and says, even if I boast more about that authority, the authority with which you say I'm heavy handed, the authority with which you say I am oppressive, even if I boast more about that God given authority, the authority, by the way, that was given by the Lord and used for building you up, not carrying you down, even if I boast somewhat more about that authority, I will not be put to shame. That's what it means. I shall not be ashamed in verse eight. I shall not be put to shame. If I boast even more in this way, Paul is saying, listen, it's not an empty boast. It's not an empty boast. It's not an exaggeration. What I'm saying, Paul says, will be proven to be true. And it'll be proven to be true such that I will not be put to shame because of the words that I've said. What I'm saying, Paul says, will be proven to be true. In what way is it proven? It's proven by its effects. It's proven by its fruitfulness. So like the false apostles, Paul is boasting that he's been given authority by the Lord Jesus Christ among them in the church. But Paul says, listen, when I boast of the authority that's been given to me, the authority that's been given to me for your edification and not for your destruction, I'm boasting of something that's true. And he knows that those false apostles, those wicked false teachers in Corinth are boasting about something that is not true of them. They've not been given that authority by the Lord. So Paul says, when my claim then is tested, when it's tested, when you judge with a righteous judgment, you're going to see that the validity of my claim is proven and I will not be put to shame. That's essentially what Paul is saying in verse eight. Now, one of the means, one of the means by which that claim will be tested and proven in the sight of the Corinthians is through verse eight, edification, the building up of the church, the godly use of that authority given by the Lord himself is used by the word of God exercised in the power of God's spirit produces the fruit of edification in the Lord's church. Look around. Paul says, look around. Judge with a righteous judgment. Look at what's in front of your face and make a judgment according to righteousness. Judge for yourselves, Corinthians, judge for yourselves in cornerstone. Look around. The use of that authority, the authority to preach the word of God and apply the word of God, that authority exercised in the power of God's spirit produces edification, produces the building up of the Lord's church. So now, when those in Corinth look at what is right in front of their eyes, when they look at the evidence, when they look at what's before their face and they judge according to the truth of what they see, what do they see in Corinth? They see the fruit of Paul's labor among them with the gospel. What do they see? They see genuine brothers and sisters who've been saved, converted under the preaching of the gospel. Brothers and sisters who have been matured in the faith, who have been grown up. They see themselves persevering in the faith under Paul's preaching. They see the continued growth, the continued maturity of the church. Why? Why? Because that's what God does through the faithful preaching of his word. Now, we are immeasurably blessed to be able to serve in this church. I mean that like my brother, the other elders, but you and me, we are blessed to serve here. Why? Why? Because the spirit of God that works through the preached word here. And when you labor with a brother, with a person, with a lost person, or with a brother, with a sister to explain the word of God to them, in large part the people of God respond to the preaching of God's word. They are edified by it. They grow through it and you see maturity and growth taking place all over this church. Why? Because we're so good at preaching the Bible. No. Because the spirit of God does that through his word preached. And the evidence of that is the fruit that the spirit produces at the preaching of his word. It's amazing, isn't it? But it shouldn't like surprise us. That's the way God has said that it will work. When you're faithful to preach his word, it is going to edify the church, increasing knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be increasing knowledge of God, increasing victory over sin, increasing joy, increasing love, increasing fellowship, right? Increasing faithfulness, increasing abounding graces. When the text is preached on giving like chapters eight and verse nine, chapter nine, what happens? Faithful giving results, right? Because people of God respond to the word of God preached in the power of the spirit of God. We see the fruit of that in the edification of the body. We see, right? They should see in Corinth objectively how the Lord has used Paul to build them up and not tear them down. Someone can have an opinion, right? That Paul, he's harsh or he's heavy-handed. Everybody can have an opinion. Someone else may have an opinion. He's not heavy-handed enough, right? How many people are in this room? That's how many opinions we have in here. But what does Paul say? Paul says, look at what's before your face. Look at the evidence of what's being produced. Is the edification of God's people by the spirit being produced in the church, right? What's the fruit of the teaching and preaching that is going on in that place? Is it people being saved? Is it people being grown up in the Lord? Is it people growing in maturity, growing in faithfulness, growing in love, growing in joy, growing in fellowship, growing in stability? Is it people growing up in unity or are they growing up in discord? Are they growing up in love or are they growing up in contention and strife? Right? Look at what's before your face and judge with the righteous. Judgment. See objectively how the Lord has used, in this case Paul, but here in our case Paul in his letter, how is the Lord using his word to edify the church? To build them up, not tear them down. No matter what those wicked false teachers claim, no matter what that divisive, godless, so-called brother outside the church says about us, that doesn't look at what's before your eyes and judge for yourself with the righteous judgment. In fact, if we consider the fruit of the false teaching that goes on, the fruit of false teaching, what do we see? We see division, discord, contention, strife. We see clicks and factions in the church. We see infighting and rebellion. It's amazing to me. It's a gift of the spirit of God, the peace and unity that we share in this church. That's a gift of God. But what happens when a divisive man comes in among us or when someone in our midst becomes divisive? That peace and that unity is threatened, comes under assault and you can feel it gutterly, can't you? It's like, wait a minute, what are you doing right now? We see the evidence of it. Sin spreading unchecked like 11. The Bible says you'll know them by their fruit. We know false teachers, false teaching by their fruit. Look at what's before your eyes. Judge with the righteous judgment. These false teachers are clouds without water. Speaking great, swelling words of nothingness, emptiness, carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea jude says foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And those that heed them become like them, twice dead, fruitless trees pulled up by the roots, fomenting waves of the sea foaming up their own shame. Paul says look at what's before your eyes. Don't follow after them. Stay with the word of God. Judge with a righteous judgment. Paul in the church at Corinth exercises the authority given to him by the Lord for the purpose that it was given, namely building up the church and the preaching and teaching in Corinth no matter what they want to say about it is having that effect. The preaching and teaching in Corinth is building up the church of the living God, building up the people of God. And we see the evidence. Now we see the evidence of that in our church. Amen. That's nothing about which we should boast ourselves. May it never be our boast is entirely in the Lord, entirely in the Lord. That's the Lord's doing. The Lord is gracious to us, has blessed this church through the preaching of his word. And the Lord is the one who is edifying his body. But look at the evidence. Praise God. Amen. Praise God. The word of God, when the word of God is preached in the church with God given authority, the fruit of that preaching is observably and objectively proven. Consider this church for a moment. A church like this does not happen by accident. The elders here can't quickly affirm fast enough that we are nothing. Thank you, brother. But this church does not happen by accident. The love for the Lord that is so clearly evidenced by the people here, the love that we enjoy among the brothers, the peace, the unity, the biblical maturity, the growing maturity, our growing knowledge in the Lord, the commitment, the faithfulness, the joy. This church is a fruit of the spirit of God working through the word of God, building up the people of God. Does that mean, congratulations, brother and sister, we have arrived? No. As much as we understand that that is the grace of God to us, we also see, don't we, just how immeasurably far we have to go. And bolstering and fueling our faith in the Lord's goodness to us that should drive us and motivate us to keep fighting, keep running the race, keep pressing forward because we've seen the Lord's goodness to us already. He is not against us, brothers and sisters. He is for us. The opposite is also true. The opposite is also true. When you see a church that is doctrinally or theologically weak, decrepit, unsound, unbiblical, that is also a fruit. When you see a group of people who come together who claim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and yet none of them are following the Lord Jesus Christ, that is also a fruit. You put a divisive man in the church, allow that divisive influence to spread unchecked. And what fruit do you see? Contention, strife, discord, disunity, sin, rebellion, Proverbs chapter 26 verse 20. Listen to this. Where there is no wood, the fire goes out. And where there is no tail-bearer, strife ceases. Do you see the comparison? No wood, fire is gone. No tail-bearer, strife is gone. Praise the Lord. What the encouragement does? Don't allow a tail-bearer in your church. Deal with the tail-bearer. They're either going to come to repentance or they're going to leave. Charcoal is to burning coals and wood to fire. So is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a tail-bearer are like casey trifles. People like to gobble them down. They go down into the inmost body. Listen, fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with silver dross. He who hates disguises it with his lips. In other words, he says things that sound good and what he says that sounds good disguises his hate. Underneath it is hate. He disguises it with his lips and lays up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, don't believe him. Judge with the righteous judgment, right? When he speaks kindly, you run into that guy at the mall, at the restaurant, on the parking lot, wherever you run into that guy, and he speaks kindly. Listen, don't believe him. Don't believe. He's so nice. No, he is not. I think maybe there's just no. He speaks kindly. Do not. He sounds reasonable. Do not. I think he's really good meat. No, do not believe him. For there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. How is it, brother? How is it, sister, that his wickedness is revealed before the assembly? How is it revealed? It's revealed through fruit. Judge with the righteous judgment. Look at what is before your eyes. What does that life look like? What do they look like? What are they saying? And what's the fruit? What do you see? What's the evidence? His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. That has happened here so many times. It is proverbial from the Proverbs here. We're to judge according to truth. We're to judge according to fruit. Lastly, we're to judge according to character. Verse nine, Paul says all this, lest I seem to terrify you by letters. For his letters, they say, verse 10, are weighty and powerful. Those aren't compliments in the context. But his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible. Let such a person consider this that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be indeed when we are present. Now with this statement, verses nine through 11, Paul once again picks up the accusation of verse one, where Paul says, listen, I am the one who they say in presence and lowly among you, but am bold toward you in my letters when I am absent from you. These false teachers probably seizing on the strong rebuke that came to the Corinthians in the severe letter. They're seizing on that rebuke. Other strongly worded corrections that the Corinthians desperately needed for their good. And they labeled Paul as a result of Paul's correction. As a result of Paul's rebuke, they labeled Paul as abusive, as harsh and unloving. And so he was trying to intimidate the Corinthians into submission, right? That's what they're accusing Paula by sheer volume, by sheer the weight of my anger. I'm going to intimidate the Corinthians into submission. That's what Paul is being painted as here. But Paul says, I don't want it to seem to you, verse nine. I don't want it to seem to you as though I am terrifying in my letters. I don't want it to seem that way. I desire your good, Paul says. I'm calling you to repentance. Listen to Paul's heart in chapter two, verse four. Paul says that letter, that severe letter, written to them out of much affliction, much anguish of heart, Paul says I wrote to you, with many tears. Not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. It's out of love, out of anguish of heart that Paul writes. The false teachers would say in verse 10, his letters, they say, weighty, powerful, they're authoritarian. One called them tyrannical and aggressive. But they say his bodily presence is weak, his speech, contemptible. That's a passive participle there. It means that they were, when they heard Paul speak, they were moved to contempt. Just to hear his, they're like, to hear his voice, right? They accused Paul of being authoritarian in his letters and a coward in their presence. They accused Paul of lacking compassion in his letters and lacking confidence in their presence. And essentially what they're saying is, listen, how can you follow such a man? How can you follow this guy? Really? Paul responds in verse 11, let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be indeed when we are present. When present, Paul says, you're going to find me entirely consistent. That's what Paul says. I'm consistent in word indeed. And what you have here really is this beautiful double intention, right? This double meaning to Paul's statement. Paul's saying, my character is clear from my letters, you dear brothers and sisters in Corinth. And you're going to see the same loving, compassionate, concerned, confident, hopeful, faithful, joyful apostle when I'm there with you. But to the false teachers in Corinth, those false teachers, this is a very thinly veiled threat. You think that I'm authoritative in my letters, but that when I'm with you, I'm weak. Let it be known to you, you wicked false teachers, that you're going to be very, you're going to find me very consistent in my exercise of authority when I get there. To you, you'll find me just as authoritative when I'm in your presence as when I'm writing a letter. Paul says you can't judge according to appearance. You can judge according to my proven character, whether in my letters or when I'm present among you. My integrity, Paul is saying, my character is consistent. I have been strong and I have been loving. My character is consistent. What gives Paul the confidence that his character, whether absent or present, is consistent? What gives Paul that confidence? Is it confidence in his own mind, his own heart, his own ability to navigate these murky waters? No. It's because whether absent or present, what is Paul doing? Paul is preaching the immovable, inviolable standard of God's Word. And God's Word is consistent, amen? Never wavers, never waffles, and Paul is preaching, teaching, and applying the Word of the Living God. The basis for our consistency. The immovable standard is the Word of God. The false teachers in Corinth are not so. False teachers are duplicitous, vacillating. They're two-faced liars. They're exactly what they accuse Paul of being. And why? Because they have strayed from the teaching of God's Word. They're not teaching God's Word. What they say and do serves their own interest and they will twist Scripture in order to have their own way, to manipulate, to coerce. Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 3, he says, these men by covenants will exploit you, by covenants will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber. Down in verse 18 he says, they speak great, swelling words of emptiness. They allure through the Word of God, no, through lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by whom a person is overcome and by him also he is brought into bondage. Now maybe they do so for the sake of popularity. Maybe they do so for the sake of building a name for themselves. There are some today, otherwise godly men who are tempted to compromise because they're concerned about losing influence. Or they're concerned about the political fallout, the decisions that they make, the things that they say. False teachers, maybe they're out building a following for themselves, building their own church, their own cult personality. Maybe the sick joy of gaining an ally to their own cause motivates their actions. While, all the while, the real men of God are doing the hard work of correcting, separating, loving, confronting, preaching, teaching, and applying the Bible. And Paul is here saying, in the beginning here of chapter 10, will lead us into chapter 11. Into chapter 12, Paul is here saying, what you see is what you get. If the word of God is being preached, there will be commensurate fruits. What you read, Paul says, is what you get. Paul says, my character is proven before you and consistent. So as we consider the next couple of chapters together, over what will be the next couple of months, what would Paul have us understand from this text? Listen, brother, sister, don't be swept away by lies of the enemy. Don't be swept away by what you may think in your own heart and mind seems right to you. Where do we go for our answers? We go to the word of God. What do we need, brother? What do we need, sister? We need the preaching of God's word. Forgive me, forgive us. That doesn't always come to you in the manner in which you like it or prefer it. But praise God that it comes to you. It's his gift to this church that the Bible is preached here. We all have preferences. We all have opinions about these things. But listen, submit yourself to the word of God. Trust in God for the truth of his word and apply what you hear and live according to what you hear. Don't be swept away in the lies of the enemy. Judge with a righteous judgment. And that's how the Lord builds up his church. Is it not? Amen. Let's pray.