2Cor 5:12 Commendable Behavior
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bcbs...@yahoo.com
Feb 2, 2024, 7:37:33 AMFeb 2
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Commendable Behavior
2Cor 5:12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
One thing which reasonable people evaluate is the sincerity of the messenger. For there are so many people who want to promote their particular cause by misleading people, that it is naive and gullible not to scrutinize the messenger. Like, what is the messenger getting out of it? Does he get paid for this? Not Paul. Instead he gets persecuted. He was ostracized and threatened with death by his own people - the Jews - because of his message. He faced hostility wherever he went. There is nothing in Paul which does not stand up to scrutiny with regards to the sincerity of his convictions. So few "ministers" today have such credentials.
Paul speaks in this manner because he is dealing with the issue of celebrity seeking present in Corinth as it is today. I see Christians throughout much of the history of Christianity to this day following Christian celebrities like a bunch of mindless drones, unreasonable, being impressed with the outward appearance. Jesus said of the religious hypocrites of his day, "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’" Mt 23:5-7 He says of them, "You hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Mt 23:25 and "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean." Mt 23:27
2Cor 5:12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
One thing which reasonable people evaluate is the sincerity of the messenger. For there are so many people who want to promote their particular cause by misleading people, that it is naive and gullible not to scrutinize the messenger. Like, what is the messenger getting out of it? Does he get paid for this? Not Paul. Instead he gets persecuted. He was ostracized and threatened with death by his own people - the Jews - because of his message. He faced hostility wherever he went. There is nothing in Paul which does not stand up to scrutiny with regards to the sincerity of his convictions. So few "ministers" today have such credentials.
Paul speaks in this manner because he is dealing with the issue of celebrity seeking present in Corinth as it is today. I see Christians throughout much of the history of Christianity to this day following Christian celebrities like a bunch of mindless drones, unreasonable, being impressed with the outward appearance. Jesus said of the religious hypocrites of his day, "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’" Mt 23:5-7 He says of them, "You hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Mt 23:25 and "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean." Mt 23:27
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