A Daily Devotional of The Purpose-Driven Life by Jon Walker
“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2a, NIV)
It’s easy to look at this verse and assume Paul is talking about the sinful behavior that occurs before we become Christians. That is, we announce our dependence upon Jesus and we renounce the sinful methods we use to make it through each day.
Yet Paul is actually referring to the sinful behavior of a group of Christians who are slandering him while also manipulating other Christians. Instead of slinging mud, Paul, our prefect in the school of Christ , ignores their specific attacks and instead directs us heavenward.
In effect, he says, we once used these same methods to get our own way, but now that we follow Christ, we depend upon him to carry us through the day. We no longer depend upon our own strength, and we no longer depend upon secrecy, deception, or self-righteousness to get our own way.
It seems it always comes back to dependence on Jesus, doesn’t it?
Paul, ever the exhorter, pushes us toward the ideal, but his standards are never imperative, “ought to” statements demanding perfection from us. He, perhaps more than any other student in the school of Christ , understands our desperate need for God’s grace.
We can’t; God can. And because we trust, God can.
“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2a, NIV)
It’s easy to look at this verse and assume Paul is talking about the sinful behavior that occurs before we become Christians. That is, we announce our dependence upon Jesus and we renounce the sinful methods we use to make it through each day.
Yet Paul is actually referring to the sinful behavior of a group of Christians who are slandering him while also manipulating other Christians. Instead of slinging mud, Paul, our prefect in the school of Christ , ignores their specific attacks and instead directs us heavenward.
In effect, he says, we once used these same methods to get our own way, but now that we follow Christ, we depend upon him to carry us through the day. We no longer depend upon our own strength, and we no longer depend upon secrecy, deception, or self-righteousness to get our own way.
It seems it always comes back to dependence on Jesus, doesn’t it?
Paul, ever the exhorter, pushes us toward the ideal, but his standards are never imperative, “ought to” statements demanding perfection from us. He, perhaps more than any other student in the school of Christ , understands our desperate need for God’s grace.
We can’t; God can. And because we trust, God can.
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