this morning as God searched my heart it came to mind for the thousandth time
...all the individuals, some very close in relation, others less so,
who are holding something against me or
against whom i am holding something.
as i sat there i was reminded of philip henry's principle
of confessing every sin one knows himself to have committed
ideally, i suppose, immediately,
but most healthily and definitely before sleep swallows the day.
i have found great help in this
and been encouraged by it.
but there are these long standing 'difficulties'
that satan keeps dragging out to try to drown me spiritually..
old wounds, offenses, call them what i will,
they still remain.
i try to excuse myself pointing to the lamentable state of
the visible church.
a church i have perceived to be and now
have found by personal experience to be
so far from following Jesus' words commanding
what we now refer to as church discipline
as to offer a context in which
sins committed by one supposed brother against another
can be resolved as Jesus taught in matthew 18.15-20.
in each of these cases i have either approached
with desire for reconciliation and/or scripture in hand..
repeatedly...
only to have the other, so far from apologizing
or admitting
to either stonewall (refuse to answer, refuse to even talk)
or justify what they have done/are doing
inspite of the black and white evidence before them
of what God says about this.
but recently i was led to do a quick look at all the occurrences
of the word 'synagogue' (both singular and plural"
which occur in the new testament.
the evidence is undeniable that Jesus never forsook
the synagogue from beginning to end.
the one in His home town of nazareth,
from which He was driven in rage
and only because it was not His time
escaped being murdered....
He returned to.
many of His controversies with the religious leaders
took place within the meeting area of the synagogue
and there was more than one occasion in which
he brought life changing healing to individuals there.
so i have come to the conclusion
that to avoid controversy over truth in the visible church
would be contrary to the example of Jesus.
who knows, many might be healed
who would otherwise possibly remain spiritually maimed
for life...(to their own destruction?)
so more turbulent waters seem to lie ahead..if i obey.
but i know one thing is true in principle,
that every time i have done bloody battle with
personal sin in my life...
the result has been well worth the agony and difficulty.
based on that i assume the same will hold true
battling sin,
unconfessed
and in many instances never lovingly reproved
among those who profess faith in Christ.
years ago i read in augustus strong's theology,
speaking of church discipline,
an illustration of what it means to ignore it..because difficult.
an old man is quoted as saying,
'i hate to comb my hair!
i do it every six months
and then it nearly kills me!!"
so another great test lies before me:
will people who know me,
if they were honest,
testify that they found me a true friend while here on earth?
my mind this morning went from,
again,
for the 'manyeth' time (!)
agonizing in mental conversation with those
with whom i have tried to reconcile differences...
for some reason,
to the verses in proverbs speaking of being a friend.
they are: 17.17;18.24;27.5-6
17.17-a friend love at all times
and a brother is born for adversity.
(this commentary is taken from delitzsch on the proverbs)
he translates,
at all times the right friend shows himself loving;
and as a brother is he born for adversity.
his thought is that 'friend' and 'brother' are not two different persons
but rather are fused into one person,
in other words the friend who shows himself loving at all times
especially in time of adversity,
is a true, a right kind of friend
and in the end he has been found to be as close as a natural born
brother would be.
his comments..the relation of a friend and brother are accordingly
related to each other climatically
(climate-prevailing temper; temper is adjustment)
in other words, he seems to be saying that it doesn't matter what
one's title of relationship is
but rather it matters how, exactly, he relates.
in title he may be 'brother'
but as his way of relating is adjusted to
-loving at all times
-ie. even loving in time of affliction
his name may be friend
but his function is brotherly.
18.24-a man of many friends comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
he translates,
a man of many friends cometh off a loser;
but there is a friend more faithful than a brother.
many 'friends' bring a person to loss
(literally, make a person brittle)
24b points back to 17.17 above
immanuel has given the right explanation:
'a man who sets himself to gain many friends comes finally to be a loser,
for he squanders his means,
and is impoverished in favour of others.'
but, on the other hand,
if one has one single friend who never leaves him no matter what,
and is there to assist him through difficulty..
that one has all that is needed, true?
(of course this is the picture of the Lord Jesus...
but it is a blessedness to encounter His double, with flesh on.)
27.5-6- better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.
faithful are the wounds of a friend,
but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
he translates,
better is open accusation than secret love.
faithful are the wounds of a friend,
and overloaded (plentiful) the kisses of an enemy.
concealed censure is concealed love;
but it is much rather the neglected duty of love,
-love without mutual discipline is weak, faint hearted,
and, if it is not too blind to remark
in a friend what is worthy of blame,
is altogether too forbearing,
and essentially without conscience;
but it is not 'hidden and concealed love'.
the meaning of the proverb is different;
it is better to be courageously and sternly corrected-
on account of some fault committed-
by any one, whether he be a foe or a friend,
than to be the object of a love
which may exist indeed in the heart,
but which fails to make itself
manifest in outward act.
there are men who continually assure us of
the reality and depth of their friendship;
but when it is necessary for them
to prove their love to be self denying and generous,
they are like a torrent which is dry
when one expects to drink water from it. job 6.15
such 'secret' love, or, since the word is not nesetarth
but midetharath, love confined to the heart alone,
is like a fire which,
when it burns secretly,
neither lightens nor warms;
and before such a friend, any one who
frankly and freely tells the truth
has by far the preference,
for although he may pain us,
yet he does us good;
while the former deceives us,
for he leaves us in the lurch
when it is necessary to love us,
not merely in word and with the tongue,
but in deed and in truth I john 3.18
the contrast to neemanim, true, ie. honourable and good
(with the transference of the character of the person to his act),
would be fraudulenta ie. false.
concerning the description of the kisses..
literally 'to heap up, properly a heap of goods or treasures.
this third meaning gives to the kisses of an enemy a natural adjective:
they are too abundant, so much the more plentiful to veil over the hatred,
like the kisses by means of which judas betrayed his Lord..
in conclusion, we learn from scripture that a friend
1. always loves (ie. does what God would)
2. can be counted on to 'be there' to help even in, and through, the greatest difficulty.
3. tells you when you are not as God ('s word) would have you.
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