Unfiltered Church By Ethan Wentzlaff

Jun 08, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Sin’s Foothold and the Church’s Hammer

A church cannot thrive while tolerating open rebellion. Like mold in a home, unaddressed sin spreads quietly—quarreling, gossip, and sexual immorality weaken the body’s foundation. Paul warned Corinth to confront these issues before his arrival, not with gossip but through biblical accountability. God’s power shines brightest when His people refuse to compromise truth for comfort. Cleaning up sin isn’t about perfection but pursuing holiness together. [07:36]

"Quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, disorder, impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced."
(2 Corinthians 12:20–21, ESV)

Reflection: What specific sin in your community might require courageous love to address? How can you participate in restoring truth without self-righteousness?

Day 2: The DMV of the Soul: Failing Forward

A driver’s test doesn’t create failure—it reveals it. Paul turned the Corinthians’ criticism back on them: "Examine yourselves." Testing our faith means asking if Christ’s presence actually reshapes our priorities, spending habits, and secret habits. Fruitless faith is like a car that won’t start—it claims functionality but cannot move. God’s grace meets us in the breakdown lane. [17:32]

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test."
(2 Corinthians 13:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels most like a “performance review” with God? Where might you be wearing a “Christian hat” instead of surrendering to transformation?

Day 3: Holy Kisses and Uncomfortable Calls

The early church traded small talk for holy kisses—awkward, intimate, and real. Modern avoidance of eye contact and phone calls mirrors Corinth’s preference for polished appearances. Hebrews commands daily encouragement to combat sin’s hardening effect. Unfiltered community means showing up to small groups, lingering after service, and risking awkwardness for the sake of sharpening. [30:33]

"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
(Hebrews 3:12–13, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step could you take this week to move from digital connection to face-to-face encouragement? Who needs your presence more than your posts?

Day 4: Weakness as the Womb of Resurrection Power

Crucifixion weakness birthed resurrection power. Paul leaned into his timidity, letting God’s strength confront Corinth’s sin. A church obsessed with influence, wealth, or polished preaching misses the paradox: true power dwells in surrendered frailty. The same Spirit that raised Christ equips us to clean up sin not by grit but dependence. [15:11]

"For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God."
(2 Corinthians 13:4, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel most inadequate to address sin or lead others? How might God use that weakness to display His strength?

Day 5: Fellowship’s Tangle: Where Grace Gets Messy

Paul closed his raw letter with a trinitarian benediction—grace, love, and fellowship. Real church life tangles these three: forgiving the critical, comforting the messy, and sharing life beyond Sunday. Like family reunions with arguing cousins, sanctification happens in the grind of showing up, not the fantasy of flawless community. [36:20]

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
(2 Corinthians 13:14, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your church family irritates or challenges you most? How might God use that relationship to deepen your dependence on His grace?

Sermon Summary

Paul closes 2 Corinthians by calling the church to an unfiltered life together, not a polished performance. The visit he is planning will be his third, and the text insists that real love deals with real sin by real witnesses. Paul refuses to play along with a filtered version of church life. He names the obvious disorders already cataloged at the end of chapter 12, and he ties their clean-up to the basic, biblical process of accountability: not a gossip club, but brothers and sisters coming alongside one another so that every charge stands by two or three witnesses and every step aims at restoration. The church cannot settle for appearance; it must pursue holiness.

Paul then flips Corinth’s idea of power. The Corinthians chased a platform; Christ carried a cross. The crucified Lord looked weak, but he lives by the power of God, and that is the power Paul intends to bring to bear. The way forward is not white knuckling but leaning on the Spirit. God meets his people in weakness and, by that very weakness, puts his strength on display.

The text then turns the spotlight inward: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. The point is not a legalistic checklist, but the living presence of Christ in a life. Is “Christian” just a hat for Sunday, or is it who a person is when the calendar, the checkbook, the conversations, and even the browser history are on the table? James says faith without works is dead, Jesus says fruit reveals the tree, and the psalmist prays, Search me, O God. Grace secures salvation, but grace also bears fruit.

Paul’s heart stays pastoral. He prays not to be proved right but for their restoration. His authority exists to build up, not tear down. Even after tears and pushback, he aims at their good and asks God to make them strong.

Finally, the closing lines sketch what an unfiltered church looks like on the ground. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree. Live in peace. Greet with a holy kiss. The body is family, not a feed. Digital convenience cannot replace embodied presence. Hebrews calls the church to exhort one another every day so that no one is hardened by sin’s deceit. Relationships are messy and inconvenient, but they are where real growth happens. Small steps count, and the benediction names the supply: the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit.

Key Takeaways

1. Clean up obvious, public sin Real love does not look away from disorder; it engages it with clarity and witnesses so that restoration, not rumor, has the final word. Public sin hardens hearts and confuses the whole body if it goes unchecked. Accountability is not cruelty; it is care with a goal. [08:23]
2. Power flows through confessed weakness Corinth’s pedestal power dies at the foot of the cross. The risen Christ puts his strength on display right where his people stop pretending and lean on the Spirit. Repentance is not losing power; it is plugging into it. [13:58]
3. Examine yourselves for living faith The call is not to pad a resume but to look for the living Christ at work in real time. Fruit does not earn salvation, but it does show life. A quiet audit of time, money, words, and habits often reveals what a creed can hide. [19:03]
4. Church is family, not content Programs cannot replace presence, and streams cannot stand in for shared life. Comfort, correction, and courage are learned in the same room, over time, with names and stories. Embodied rhythms make saints sturdy in a world that thins attention and frays ties. [30:10]
5. Pray for restoration, not winning Intercession refuses to make opponents out of siblings. Prayer re-centers motives so that truth is served and people are mended. Authority is healthiest when it is willing to look weak if it means the flock becomes strong. [27:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:12] - Unfiltered faith, no masks
[06:14] - What an unfiltered church means
[07:36] - Third visit and the hammer
[08:23] - Naming the obvious sins
[12:05] - Jesus’ path for discipline
[13:58] - Power made perfect in weakness
[16:54] - Examine yourselves in the faith
[17:32] - The driver’s test picture
[21:52] - Faith that works and bears fruit
[23:44] - Audit time, money, and words
[27:39] - Praying for restoration
[29:37] - Continually connect with others
[30:57] - Digital drift and embodied life
[36:20] - Grace, love, fellowship benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
2 Corinthians 13:5-11 (ESV)
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 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.

Observation Questions

What specific sins does Paul list in 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 that needed addressing in the Corinthian church? [08:23]
According to Matthew 18:15-17, what steps does Jesus outline for addressing sin within the church? [12:05]
How does Paul redefine "power" in 2 Corinthians 13:4, contrasting it with the Corinthians’ cultural understanding? [13:58]
What practical areas of life does the sermon suggest examining to test genuine faith (e.g., calendar, checkbook, conversations)? [23:44]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul emphasize the role of "two or three witnesses" (2 Corinthians 13:1) when addressing sin? How does this guard against gossip or hypocrisy?
The sermon states, "Power was something to display on a mantle, but God’s power is shown in weakness." How does Christ’s crucifixion redefine strength for believers? [15:11]
James 2:14-17 warns against "faith without works." How does this connect to Paul’s call to "examine yourselves" in 2 Corinthians 13:5? Is this a contradiction to salvation by grace?
Hebrews 3:12-13 urges daily exhortation to avoid being "hardened by sin’s deceit." Why is embodied community essential for this, rather than digital connection? [30:57]

Application Questions

When have you seen sin addressed in a way that led to restoration (like Matthew 18) rather than gossip? What made that process healthy or unhealthy?
The sermon asks, "Is ‘Christian’ a Sunday hat or who you are when your calendar, checkbook, and browser history are on the table?" What area of your life feels most disconnected from your faith? [23:44]
How can you intentionally "lean on the Spirit" (instead of "white-knuckling") in a current struggle where you feel weak? [15:34]
What small step could you take this week to engage more deeply with your church family (e.g., staying after service, joining a group, sharing a struggle)? [35:29]
Paul prays for the Corinthians’ restoration, not his own vindication. Is there a relationship in your life where you need to prioritize restoration over "winning"? How? [27:39]
The sermon warns against treating church like "content" instead of family. How has digital convenience (streaming, social media) shaped your view of community? Where do you need to prioritize presence? [30:10]

Sermon Clips

25s

#FromWeaknessToPower

“God stepped down out of heaven. He took on flesh, the son of man, and he he lived a perfect life, and he took all of our sins to the cross, the past, present, and future, and he died. The text says he died in weakness. But praise God that he didn't stay in weakness. Scripture also says he rose in power with the power of God.”

28s

#FaithExamined

“Are you living in the faith that you claim to be a follower of? Are you living in that? And Paul is calling them to examine whether they truly belong to Christ and whether they are living in the saving reality of the gospel. So the question isn't, do you believe? Because even the demons know and shutter. But but do you live in the transforming work that that he's he's done for you?”

30s

#EncourageEveryday

“That's a beautiful picture of what the church is. Encourage each other. When? On Sunday? As long as today is called today. We are to be continually connecting with others. And yes, regardless of if you're introvert, regardless of if you're an extrovert, regardless of if you're What's the other word? Antisocial or or or social, you know? Regardless of where you fall,”

21s

#GraceOverChecklist

“Transformed by the Holy Spirit, and if God is working in our lives, there should be fruit. There should be evidence that God is working in us. And once again, not being legalistic, not saying, hey, here's a checklist of everything you should be doing to be a good Christian. That's not what scripture is about. We we will always have shortcomings, and the grace of God meets us there.”

21s

#SharpenOneAnother

“We should come here and sharpen each other. And yes, that means if if if we spend time in a church family, people will see us at our highs, people will see us at our lows, People will see us in our successes, and people will see us in our worst sins. And we need to be okay with that because that is what it means to be a part of a church, to be a part of an unfiltered church.”

26s

#RedefinePower

“So the Corinthians, the the church of Corinth, because of the super apostles and because of the culture, they had a corrupted view of power. They viewed power as success. They viewed power as influence, as wealth, as public recognition. Power was something that could be put up on a mantle and displayed for everyone to look at. But in God, we see power is is presented differently.”

22s

#ChurchAsFamily

“You in our calling as as as a church, we we get it laid out in the final few verses here. And it's not simply just to put on a good church service and to manage good programs, but the calling of a church is is to be a family, is to be with one another, to aim for restoration, to comfort one another. Yes, to greet one another with a holy kiss.”

21s

#AddressAllSin

“We need to clean up the obvious sin because the church of Corinth, they're a great example for us. They swayed off course, and the danger of sin is real. That's our challenge is how do we, as a body of believers, clean up the obvious sin. But then also is is is we we need to talk about the obvious sin, but we also can talk about the sin that we hide.”

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