Soundbites from 2 Corinthians: Truth not Deception

'we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.' 2 Corinthians 4:2

What a challenge this verse is! How often, in conversations with work mates or family, do we try to 'cover up' the bits in the Bible we find difficult or that we know they will find offensive? Do we only give them half the picture, talking about God's love and never His judgement? Paul's letter to the Corinthians has much to teach us about genuine gospel ministry. Paul was being compared to so-called 'super apostles' and showy men who were more impressive with their speeches, and yet preached a different gospel. He makes a genuine defence in this letter that he is the real deal! He has been faithful to God's truth in the gospel, and he has not used deception in order to pander to his audience.

Paul had to tell the Corinthians some hard truths. Many of them were from a totally pagan background, and he had to call them to repent from their sinful ways in order to enter genuine relationship with God. In 1 Corinthians 6 he wrote:

'Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.'

Paul did not simply tell the Corinthians about God's love for them in Christ; he also taught them that genuine faith was always accompanied by genuine repentance from former ways of living that were against God. Note his phrase 'Do not be deceived'. Perhaps some false teachers were telling the Corinthians that they could live however they wanted to- it didn't matter to God. Sometimes it's easy to leave out of our gospel presentations that God calls for His people to live holy lives that stand out from the crowd. But we have to give people the full picture. We can't pretend that the Christian life is easy- it's not! It's a struggle against our own desires, particularly if in the past we've been used to living how we wanted to.

But here's the point: if we don't set forth the truth plainly, we actually lose our impact as Christians. Why would anyone see the need to be a Christian and trust in Christ, if they feel they are 'good enough' by themselves? Without the whole gospel, we end up with no gospel at all. We need to remember that we will stand before God one day and give an account for how we have represented Him and His message to the people around us.