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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
October 19
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Today's Pathway:
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We saw yesterday in verse 16 that Paul's message of salvation through Christ was fragrant to those who believed it and putrid to those who rejected it. Paul then asks this question at the end of the verse,
"Who is sufficient for these things?".
The word "sufficient" means to be able to achieve a required standard. Two different answers have been proposed to this question. The first is that Paul is speaking of himself and the other apostles because they were not guilty of corrupting the Word of God (verse 17), so thus they were sufficient to reach the Gospel. The second is that God is the only One Who is sufficient to accomplish work, because II Corinthians 3:5 states,
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God".
The probable answer is that both of these ideas are correct. First, Paul's message was sufficient to bring someone to Christ. Paul's lifestyle was sufficient to make those who knew him understand that he was dedicated to living out the message that he preached. He mentions in verse 16 that he did not "corrupt" the Word of God as many others did. The word translated "corrupt" comes from a root word that meant that the person was a "huckster": one who took advantage of others by selling an inferior product. It was used for fruit vendors who sold baskets of bruised fruit, but put good fruit on top to hide what they were really selling. It was also used for peddlers who claimed to be selling wine, but diluted it with water before making the sale. The word came to mean those who "watered down" the truth and tried to pass their own opinions off as the Gospel. Peter wrote about these people in II Peter 2:1-3,
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you."
It should be obvious that there are still false teachers today, and according to Peter they would even be "among us". A man's eloquence and personality do not make his doctrine correct, and there have been many preachers and teachers who preached a message designed to tickle ears and increase offerings without having any concern for the truth.
Paul was not like this. He preached the Word of God with sincerity. "Sincerity" is a word that we studied previously in II Corinthians 1:12, and means that he was not trying to hide anything, but was pure in his motives and in his message. He also preached his message "as of God". His message was God's message. Galatians 1:10-12 reads,
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Paul's teaching came from God Himself, and his motivation for preaching was based upon a desire to please the One Who gave him the instruction. At the end of verse 17 Paul makes it clear that he knew that he was speaking "in the sight of God". God was watching and listening, so Paul taught what he was supposed to teach. Notice the end of verse 17:
"of God, in the sight of God...in Christ".
Paul knew where the message came from, and to Whom he was accountable, and that motivated him to be sure that the message was correct, and therefore sufficient.
Be careful who you listen to.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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