Maybe I am showing my age. Do you remember the TV drama called Minder with George Cole playing the lovable chancer, Arthur Daley. Arthur was a business man who was decidedly dodgy. Among other things, he sold overpriced used cars but he was not averse to engaging in any business as long as there was money to be made. He was crooked and deceitful. Would you have bought a used car from Arthur Daley? Incidentally, I wanted to show a picture of George Cole as Arthur Daley but it was copyright and therefore illegal. In view of the content of this blog, you can understand why I did not show the stock photo.
Here is the verse we are going to focus on in today's Day Share.
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; 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 everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
[2 Corinthians 4:2 NIV]
Paul is saying that he was not an Arthur Daley. Here is how one Bible scholar sums up Paul's character.
"Not for him the subtleties of the unscrupulous politician or the subterfuges of the ingratiating salesman." [ R. V. G. Tasker]
In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes a very profound statement. He says that 'we have renounced secret and shameful ways.' We might misunderstand what Paul is really saying. He appears to be saying that he has come to realise that he should make a change and stop going in for anything that is secret or shameful. But the tense of the verb (the perfect tense) is making the point that this is the way he has always behaved. He has been consistent in his principles which governed his conduct. He has never been willing to do anything underhand or secretive. He has not tried to deceive anyone.
Paul is not talking about running a commercial business. He is not referring to selling his produce in the market place. I once worked beside a teacher who had a stall at Saltcoats Market and he made money from selling antique linen dish cloths - but they were fakes. He imported the cloths in bulk and used chemicals in his classroom to make them seem Victorian. Paul is talking about the establishment of the church at Corinth and other places. He did not use any form of deception to win converts. He was totally transparent and honest. He was not so eager to win over people to the cause of Christ that he was prepared to try a trick or two to improve his appeal. He was 100 % honest and transparent. This is how all church leaders should behave today in a corrupt postmodern world. It is essential that we do not stoop to the level of the world. Our politicians have resorted to underhand means to win public support: we have been disappointed with the conduct of business leaders and civil leaders. The Christian Church needs to follow a much higher code of ethics and conduct.
This means that Paul did not play down the truth to make it more attractive and palatable. This would seem to me to be sound principles for all Christian activity today. Notice the two key negative features of this
No deception - he was not in the business of pulling the wool over the eyes of his listeners.
No distortion. He was not into window dressing. This can be done by being selective in our handling of the word of God. We might be tempted to avoid truths that are unpalatable.
There are lessons to be learned for me as I try to run this website. There is always the temptation to try a few tricks to increase its popularity. There is always to risk that we try to water down the teaching from the Bible to make it more palatable. I need to be scrupulous in observing copyright regulations etc. even though that is challenging for a one-man production team.
So far we have looked at the negative message. In the verse we are examining, Paul also emphasises a positive message. Here are the two positive headline messages
We set forth the truth plainly
We commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
Paul links these two statements - the first leads on to the second. Paul places a huge emphasis on accurate, faithful Bible teaching (to bring this into our 21st century) and so should we. Day Share is a feeble attempt at examining and breaking down the Word of God into bitesize portions. Churches need to get back to the Word of God.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalms 119:105 NIV
Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illuminate my path. [Psalm 119:105] There are two truths taught in this short verse. The Bible or the Word of God provides detailed guidance for living a life that is well-pleasing to God - this was especially true of the Pentateuch - the first five books of the Bible which provided the Jews with a whole series of laws they were to follow. The New Testament also has passages where there are detailed guidance on how to live the Christian life - e.g. Colossians chapter 3; Ephesians chapters 3 - 6. This is the first part of the statement - "a lamp to walk by" or "a lamp to my feet." [ESV and other translations]. This is where the Word of God keeps us from stumbling. However, the Word of God also provides a light to illuminate our path - to point us in the right direction. God gives us guidance through his Word.
But the second of Paul's headline message is that "We commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God." In other words, the Word of God demands a response on the part of the hearer. God's Word challenges our conscience and that is what produces a response. Paul does not mention the work of the Holy Spirit who uses the Word of God to challenge our conscience and to change our conduct. The Bible teacher or preacher cannot do this on his or her own. It requires divine intervention. However, there is always the danger that we will try to influence this process. We somehow imagine that we can dress up the Word of God to make it more effective. This is undermining the work of the Holy Spirit.
In closing I want to refer to one example of dishonesty and deceit which is practised in some churches in the 21st century. This is the so-called prosperity gospel which can be summed up as follows - Become a Christian and you will be better off financially - especially if you give generously to the church. We need to be honest and make it clear that Jesus does not promise wealth or happiness to his followers. In fact, many New Testament believers were poor and despised by the society they lived in. Also, we are not promised an immunity from persecution or suffering. In fact, the New Testament emphasises that the Christian life is one of denial of ourselves and sacrificial service for the Lord and for others. I am not implying that this is the only form of deception carried out today. There are many ways that we can be less than honest in our eagerness to make converts.
[Photo by Scott Umstattd in Unsplash]
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