2 Corinthians 13:5d except ye be reprobates?

You will need to read yesterday’s blog to understand this in context. I left off this ending to this verse in yesterday’s closing quote. I did so because it is comments such as these that fear mongers latch onto and place too much emphasis upon. Fear mongers like to make a scathing accusation that all are in danger. A study of the Greek used here reveals a whole different meaning.

The Greek used for reprobates is actually two words with distinct meanings. The first is G5100 tis, which implies a certain one, some, sometime, or a while. Its use does not include all, accuse all, or even if one, not a lasting accusation, but perhaps a limited time. This would not be considered a permanent condition.

The second word is G96 adokimos which implies a counterfeit, used of metals or coins which are not approved. This when defined alone indicates a more permanent condition, a theft of sorts. This is where my use of rebate in the title comes into play.

Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

We invest time and effort in studying the Word to buy this gold. A rebate is a return on investment made. It is meant to receive back what you put in. We read commentaries, devotionals, study bibles, we listen to preachers and teachers, live and on video. We do all this and more to come to know Christ that much better than we did yesterday.

Fear mongers can only offer you a rebate that is counterfeit.

Luke 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

Did your mother hand you medicine and say to you “It’s good for what ails you.” Yes? Me too! All I understood at that moment was that I felt bad and I wanted to feel better. I did not know what ailed me, I didn’t care, I just wanted to be cured. The truth is, that sums up my whole life before Christ became the Lord of my life.

I’ve spent many years trying to discover what was ailing me. I thought that if I could understand what was wrong with me, then I could take another dose if I started to relapse. It never occurred to me that Jesus was like a polio shot, one and done. I had bought into a false teaching about backsliders. The fear mongers had whispered into my ears.

Ever wonder how that slow stiff mummy wrapped in binding cloth ever caught anyone in those horror films? They keep looking back at the cause of their fear rather than the clear path to safety. It is so obvious in those films it seems funny, yet we do the same thing to ourselves in this life we live.

How am I ever going to get out of ……… ? You fill in the blanks. We are all up against something that keeps us from being all that God has promised us in Christ. I don’t know your situation and I will not share mine. In truth what ails us isn’t the problem. We have taken the Rx and have not discovered what that is in us, Christ in us, that changes our situation.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you….

Focus on the cure, not the ailment.