A pastor who knows how to use it as a mirror

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.  …  These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11)

                Those of us who believe in Jesus need to look in the mirror often.  In particular, we the pastors should look in the mirror more often than the lay people.  We should properly look at ourselves in the mirror face to face.  Therefore, we must know ourselves.  And we must not live a life of going to far with our thoughts, our words and our actions.  If we neglect to look in the mirror, we will no longer be a voice crying out in the wilderness.  But like David, in the kingdom in the middle of the city, we will become proud and sin, and will bring the holy name of God down to the ground and hide His glory.  We should diligently reflect ourselves in the spiritual mirror of God's holy word.   And we should always in fear that we may sin against God in our own arrogant thoughts, which we unknowingly have gone too far.

Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ must be those who can use it as a mirror.   In particular, we pastors should be able to use it as the mirror more deeply and wider than the faithful lay people.  What should we really use as the mirror?  The discipline of God's holy love, which we received for our past sins, should be used as the mirror in our present life.  Of course, because we repent of our past sins, God has forgiven us.  And even though God doesn’t remember our sins, we should remember.  We must remember that we were disciplined by God for the sins we committed at that time.  Even if we no longer suffer from the rods we received at that time, God's precious lessons from the discipline we received at that time must be engraved in our hearts.  In particular, as we remember our God revealed to us at that time, and as we remember His justice and holiness, and His holy love, we must not commit the same sin again.

In 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11, as the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the believers in the Corinthian church, he mentioned about the sins that the Israelites committed in the Old Testament Exodus time.  He mentioned about some of the Israelites who were idolaters (v. 5; Exod. 32:6), committed sexual immorality (1 Cor. 10:8; Num. 25:1-9), tested the Lord (1 Cor. 10:9; Num. 21:4-6), and grumbled (1 Cor. 10:10; Num. 14, 16).  And he said, “Now these things occurred as examples …,” “These things happened to them as examples …” (1 Cor. 10:6, 11).  He also said to the Corinthian church believers that the reason the Bible records what happened to them is to warn them, “on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (v. 11).  Why did Paul speak to the Corinthians church believers like this?  The reason for this is because Paul tried to prevent the Corinthian church believers from setting their hearts on evil things as the Israelites did at the time of Exodus (v. 6).

We should not enjoy sinning.  Rather, we should fear sinning.  The reason is because a holy God will reveal His holiness to us when we enjoy sinning against Him.  Of course, this holiness of God will be revealed to us in discipline.  But we must feel God's holy love through this discipline of God.  Then, we will use God's discipline as a mirror for us so that we will not commit the same sin again in our present life.  Therefore, if we think that we are standing firm, we must be careful that we don’t fall (v. 12).