Have you ever had to defend yourself? Have you ever had to defend yourself to people who should know and trust you? It’s not a happy feeling. That, however, is what Paul is doing in chapters 10 & 11 of 2 Corinthians.
Essentially people were saying, “He talks tough in his letters, but when he’s here he’s a no-show. All talk. No action.” Can you imagine that? Paul? This guy traveled all over the known world and stood before government officials, kings, angry mobs, and many others to declare the Gospel! To think him timid is nearly slanderous!
What Paul was, was humble. Humble and timid are two different things and sometimes people confuse the two. Apparently there were those who were bragging about their achievements in Corinth. They were people who looked impressive and acted impressively. People began comparing them to others and Paul’s appearance suffered by comparison.
Paul protests the attack on his integrity and authority here. He says, “Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, so also are we.” In fact, he points out, he is the one who introduced them to Jesus and proclaimed the Gospel to them so they could believe! “Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.”
What do we do when people attack us? The world hasn’t changed in this regard, and people still accuse and falsely accuse us. We’ve talked in the past about being called hypocrites. People look at Christians’ response to abortion, homosexuals, and other issues of morality and call us judgmental, un-loving, and out of touch with reality. Some of us have even experienced hostility both inside and outside the church as we’ve sought to live out our faith. What do we do?
Paul’s example starts with being Christ’s. We belong to Jesus because he saved us by shedding his own blood to wash our sins away. We are redeemed because Jesus died for us, and that hope is extended to our antagonists as well. We are always forgiven sinners who live among sinners Jesus died to forgive – whether they believe it or not! We belong to Jesus. That truth is paramount!
Paul then looks at the facts. He examines his life. In his situation, he did nothing to deserve the treatment he was getting, but he responded humbly and lovingly. However, sometimes when we look at our record we will see that we do deserve the comments that are made of us. Too often we get defensive and protest. But, when the things we do don’t match the message of our faith, we should acknowledge that, and repent. Remember that at our core we belong to Jesus because he died to pay for our sins. We are not perfect people, and we shouldn’t act like we are, or like we’re better than others.
What is surprising is how freeing that can be. We don’t need to put on a show. We can be who we are in Christ – forgiven, loved, called, chosen. Then we can love others in such a way that their lives are transformed too by the forgiveness Jesus won for all of us.
Essentially people were saying, “He talks tough in his letters, but when he’s here he’s a no-show. All talk. No action.” Can you imagine that? Paul? This guy traveled all over the known world and stood before government officials, kings, angry mobs, and many others to declare the Gospel! To think him timid is nearly slanderous!
What Paul was, was humble. Humble and timid are two different things and sometimes people confuse the two. Apparently there were those who were bragging about their achievements in Corinth. They were people who looked impressive and acted impressively. People began comparing them to others and Paul’s appearance suffered by comparison.
Paul protests the attack on his integrity and authority here. He says, “Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, so also are we.” In fact, he points out, he is the one who introduced them to Jesus and proclaimed the Gospel to them so they could believe! “Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.”
What do we do when people attack us? The world hasn’t changed in this regard, and people still accuse and falsely accuse us. We’ve talked in the past about being called hypocrites. People look at Christians’ response to abortion, homosexuals, and other issues of morality and call us judgmental, un-loving, and out of touch with reality. Some of us have even experienced hostility both inside and outside the church as we’ve sought to live out our faith. What do we do?
Paul’s example starts with being Christ’s. We belong to Jesus because he saved us by shedding his own blood to wash our sins away. We are redeemed because Jesus died for us, and that hope is extended to our antagonists as well. We are always forgiven sinners who live among sinners Jesus died to forgive – whether they believe it or not! We belong to Jesus. That truth is paramount!
Paul then looks at the facts. He examines his life. In his situation, he did nothing to deserve the treatment he was getting, but he responded humbly and lovingly. However, sometimes when we look at our record we will see that we do deserve the comments that are made of us. Too often we get defensive and protest. But, when the things we do don’t match the message of our faith, we should acknowledge that, and repent. Remember that at our core we belong to Jesus because he died to pay for our sins. We are not perfect people, and we shouldn’t act like we are, or like we’re better than others.
What is surprising is how freeing that can be. We don’t need to put on a show. We can be who we are in Christ – forgiven, loved, called, chosen. Then we can love others in such a way that their lives are transformed too by the forgiveness Jesus won for all of us.
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