Last year I taught a Great Books class at Genesis Christian Academy. One of the books we went through was John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress. In it there is a section where Christian, who is the main character, sees a painting on a wall. It is of a grave looking man who’s eyes are lifted to heaven. He is shown to be holding the Book of Books in his hands (the Bible). He had the law of truth on his lips. He had the world to his back and he stands as if pleading with men.
That painting was Bunyan’s depiction of a minister of the gospel. Bunyan wanted to convey what he thought a minister should look like.
One of the things that we did in class was take a few minutes to try and create our own depiction of a minister would look like. Or at least portray what commonly passes as a good pastor in the eyes of many. It was a fun little exercise. The class said that he would be wearing skinny jeans and wide rimmed glasses. Instead of the book of books in his hands he would have an ipad. Cuss words would be on his lips and he’d probably be sitting in a meeting with a lot of other executive types.
Those young people probably weren’t too far off. Image is everything nowadays and the church is often not seen not as a place where the law of truth is declared and men are earnestly implored to turn from their sins. It is often a corporate entity that is always evaluating what will bring the best return on investment.
Ministry is often about reputations, notoriety, and budgets and not so much about what it should be. And when we look into the Scripture, what we find is that not a lot has changed in 2000 years. These same sorts of problems have existed in the church since its inception. Certainly the Apostle Paul spent a lot of time dealing with the same sorts of problems. That’s why he spends so much time in his letters talking about his ministry and giving us details on what real ministry looks like.
As in our own day, Paul had to take on celebrity preachers; men who were using the ministry for self aggrandizement and financial gain.
And in our passage this morning he confronts the common misconceptions about church by laying out for us what a truly successful ministry looks like.
Paul wants us to see that the ministry of the gospel is not about personal glorification or superstar status. Rather it is set on advancing God and His gospel. If it has anything to do with a man or a minister, it is about his utter abasement. And as we consider the passage before us, we would do well to let it dispel any misconceptions we have of the ministry.
We begin to see something of how Paul shuns any kind of personal agenda when we look at verses 12-13 and see the course he chooses for his ministry.
I. The course he chooses for his ministry [12-13]
The course he chooses is a pastoral one, not a prestigious one. Paul’s agenda is purely pastoral in nature, and not about gaining any sort of personal prestige or notoriety among men.
Look at verses 12-13 with me. Consider what is said here. In these verses Paul essentially gives an outline of his movements. An itinerary, so to speak. He went to Troas, but he didn’t stay there long. He was looking for Titus. Titus had been sent to Corinth with instructions to deal with their problems. What we see here is that Paul was expecting to meet up with him to get a report on how things were shaping up in the congregation. Being that Titus never showed up, Paul moved on to Macedonia with intentions to find him there.
Now keep in mind that there’s huge opportunities for Paul in Troas. Verse 12 says that a door had been opened for him there in the Lord. In other words, there was ministry to do there—and likely a great deal of ministry. Troas was one of the major cities in that region. It was a booming port city and with up to 100,000 people populating it. God opened a door here and it likely would have been a lucrative opportunity. Paul could have likely built up his name for himself, raked in some good money, enjoyed a leading congregation that would have no doubt grown significantly in numbers. It would likely have had all kinds of stability and offered some real job security; not to mention notoriety. Perhaps he could have planted numerous churches, maybe even gone on the Troas circuit doing seminars and conferences.
But what did he do? He passed it all up. He boarded the ship and set out for Macedonia. Why? Because he was more concerned about the welfare of the Corinthians. He was more concerned about shepherding souls and dealing with situations that where he might not be the most popular person.
All this should have made the Corinthians think, “Well, would any of the guys here in Corinth who are vying for leadership have done that? Would they be willing to give up the place of prominence and power for true service to God’s church?”
This course of action reminds me of John Fawcett (1739-1817), a dissenting Baptist clergyman in England, gave us one of the most beloved farewell hymns of all time. Fawcett’s parish in Wainsgate, was described as...
“a straggling group of houses on the top of a barren hill….The people were all farmers and shepherds, poor as Job’s turkey; an uncouth lot whose speech one could hardly understand, unable to read or write; most of them pagans cursed with vice and ignorance and wild tempers. The Established Church had never touched them; only the humble Baptists had sent an itinerant preacher there and he had made a good beginning.”
John and Mary Fawcett went to live there in 1765 following his ordination. By engaging families house-to-house, he built a congregation that grew to the point that a gallery had to be added to the modest meetinghouse. With the addition of four children to the family, a modest salary that was supplemented by parishioners’ donations of wool and potatoes was barely adequate, especially during the long winters.
The story is told that a prestigious parish with more financial resources in London, Carter’s Lane Baptist Church, extended a call. It is at this point that it becomes difficult to separate fact from apocryphal imagination.
Mr. Bailey, a vivid storyteller, sets the scene: “[John] and Mary decided to accept. The announcement was made to the church, and the farewell sermon was preached, the bulky items of his furniture and some of his older books were sold and the day of departure arrived. The two-wheeled cart came for the rest of his belongings, and likewise came the parishioners to say good-by.”
The crowd was despondent and in tears. According to Mr. Bailey, Mary is quoted as saying, “I can’t stand it, John! I know not how to go.” John responded, “Lord help me Mary, nor can I stand it! We will unload the wagon.” Then he said to the crowd, “We’ve changed our minds! We are going to stay!” Mr. Bailey describes a scene of pandemonium as the crowd broke out in joyful acclamations.
What Fawcett and Paul exemplifies here stands in stark contrast to the normal corporate style approach to church. Pastoral ministry is often regarded as climbing up the social latter. It thrusts us back to the true nature of what ministry is about—it is about calling people to repentance and faith. It is about dealing with people’s problems and confronting their sins. It is about sanctification and bringing the body of Christ into the obedience of faith.
His course he chooses for his ministry reminds us that it is not about personal gain. It is self-abasing, self-renouncing work.
But this becomes even more clear when we look at verse 14 and see the description he gives to his ministry.
II. The description he uses regarding his ministry [14]
Paul describes the ministry in terms of the grand parades that they Romans would have when a great warrior would return from battle. He says, “Thanks be to God who leads us in triumphal procession.”
The practice in the ancient world would be akin to a NYC ticker tape parade. During this procession, in which the whole city would turn out, some of the spoils of war would be held up for display.
Sometimes even exotic animals taken from the different regions that were conquered would be marched along for all the people to see—elephants, tigers, lions, you name it. They would be brought back as a testimony that those regions had been subdued and these animals, like the people, now belonged to the Roman leaders.
Captives taken in battle also would be traipsed along. There would be men and women who would be ceremoniously bound with chains. They would be flaunted before the crowds, much like the animals were, as a testimony to the dominance of the Romans. Many of these captives would be slain at the end of the parade and others would be made into permanent slaves.
Then the General would follow with all the pomp that you can imagine. Often he would ride in a large chariot pulled by white steeds. After him would come his troops.
During all of this there would be incense being burned. And that incense would be a fragrant aroma. For many it would be an aroma of victory and life. But for the captives, it would be a horrid stench because it meant subjection and certain death.
Now, most translations make it sound like God is the General who is leading and his army of ministers are following behind. But recent scholarship has come to see that this triumphant procession is to be looked at in a different way. What Paul is actually saying is that it is God who has triumphed over us and leading us along in this procession. So instead of the ministers being the victorious armies behind the general, Paul is saying that he’s one of the captives!
God has conquered him is leading him around like one who has been completely subjected to utter servitude. Almost to an undignified state!
Now that is the way Paul describes himself and his ministry. That’s probably not the way the false teachers in Corinth described themselves.
To be sure, it is God’s triumph. We shouldn’t lose sight of that. God is victorious. The gospel is advancing and God is propelling his kingdom forward. The ultimate image here is that there is a grand victory that is being experienced in the world. The Lord is on a conquest. Men and nations are being subdued by the power of the gospel. There is nothing that can stop this General. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.
But the means he uses is not the grand power or might of men. It is not found in our ingenuity or strategic tactical methods. The way God brings about his dominion throughout the earth it is through their utter weakness and humiliation.
It is not about the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the false teachers. They like the glitz and the glamor. They are about being lauded and the associated pageantry. God’s appointed way of ministry is all about grueling servitude. It is about being held out as one who is a personal exhibit of Divine subjection and a willingness to be personally denigrated—held out as a spectacle of humiliation before the crowds of the world.
I want you to note too what he says about the ministry of the gospel in verses 14-16. And declares that the ministry is not all about making people feel good and patting people on the back. His words remind us that the gospel is often something that is repulsive to men.
III. The confession he makes about his ministry [14b-16a]
Look at it again. In the latter part of verse 14 he talks about God is using them to spread the fragrance of Christ everywhere. Then in verse 15 he says that he is the aroma of Christ. This aroma is for some the fragrance of life. To others it is the fragrance of death.
As I mentioned, some of those who were captives would have been put to death. At the end of the parade they would have been slaughtered; kind of like a sacrifice to the gods who supposedly helped them in the battle.
But Paul’s making a point about effectiveness of preaching. Paul says that as he preaches and spreads the knowledge of Christ, this leads some to come to eternal life. Some people hear it and it is a reminder of the saving power of God. But to others it is the most repulsive thing they could ever experience. It wreaks of the fact that they are condemned. It is a reminder that they will soon come under God’s judgment.
Now this is a reminder to us that the preaching of the gospel is never neutral. It always has some kind effect on those who hear it. It either enlivens and refreshes a person, or it hardens and terrorizes them. It is a reminder that the word of God always accomplishes something. It never returns void. It is powerful and it does cut down to piercing bone and marrow.
But it is also a reminder that the gospel is sometimes the thing that men most hate. If people do not react strongly against it, it may very well be that it is not the gospel at all. It might not get you on the popular speaking circuit. If you are telling men to repent and confronting them about their sins, then you’re likely to be rejected. People would rather not hear you.
Is that what we see in a lot of the celebrity pastors? When you turn on the radio, are you likely to hear someone speak about the areas of your life where you are in sin? And will he say, “You brood of Vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Our confession is that the word of God, if it is preached in its purity and entirety, will have two different effects. In other words, we confess that the word of God is polarizing and maybe even something that alienates.
Now that we’ve seen the confession he makes, let’s look at the feelings he has. Look at the end of verse 16.
IV. The feelings he has in his ministry [16b]
You can hear Paul exclaim, “Who is sufficient for these things?” This is an admonition that Paul will totally agree with a lot of people in Corinth. The people there are saying, “Who is Paul? He’s a twerp. He’s got nothing that would really commend him. He’s not really a great speaker. He’s got no real refinement. What school did he graduate from anyway?”
The Corinthians were probably saying that he’s certainly not like any of the teachers they had. They had men who were certainly competent in every way. And they knew it. These teachers probably felt competent. They were so full of themselves and their own powers that they had a “can do” attitude.
But the ministry is of such a nature that any body with a real sense of it is going to readily admit that he is completely inadequate. The weight of men’s eternal welfare constantly weighs on your soul. There is an understanding that everything about the ministry is supernatural in nature—it is not about eloquence of speech, one’s level of intelligence, or about book learning. It is driven by the Spirit, sustained by grace, throttled by divine power.
The only way that the gospel can be preached and the only way the kingdom can grow is through divine grace. The Spirit’s grants the gifts and provides the real fuel for the whole thing.
Paul recognizes that real ministry is a ministry of inadequacy. It is all done out of weakness. There’s a real barrenness of soul.
When we choose a leader, we shouldn’t be looking for someone who looks like they have it all together, necessarily. The qualifications for leadership in the church are so radically different than what you would expect. When you go to interview for a job, they want to see your resume filled with accomplishments and exuding certain marketable skills. But when it comes to church leadership, what kinds of things are listed as the ideal trademarks? He’s meek, he’s self controlled, holy, hospitable. His household is well managed.
The words of Matthew Henry: If men did seriously consider what great things depend upon the preaching of the gospel, and how difficult the work of the ministry is, they would be very cautious how they enter upon it, and very careful to perform it well.
V. The motivation he has for his ministry [17]
He gives a jab at the false teachers in Corinth when he says, “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word.” The word peddler is a word that means to water down in order to make a sell. A while back we talked about just weights and measures. One of the things we talked about was the octane in gasoline and how some gas stations were not giving you the right amount of octane per gallon of gas. It had been diluted in order to sell more.
That’s the idea here. The false teachers in Corinth were making a sell by tampering with the church’s doctrines. They were making tweaks and changes that would serve to make their message a bit more appealing and attract more customers. In other words, their motivation was popularity and financial prosperity.
But what is Paul’s motivation? His motivation is purely doing what was right in God’s eyes. “But as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” He recognized that he stood before the face of God and that God had sent him (and thus, was accountable to Him). That weight rested on his shoulders and it compelled him to speak the truth.
Sure, that could get you some notoriety. There’s always a chance that doing the right thing may be applauded by the masses and perhaps even rewarded. But Paul’s point is that true ministry isn’t focused on that. A real spiritual leader has an audience of one. He serves God alone.
That painting was Bunyan’s depiction of a minister of the gospel. Bunyan wanted to convey what he thought a minister should look like.
One of the things that we did in class was take a few minutes to try and create our own depiction of a minister would look like. Or at least portray what commonly passes as a good pastor in the eyes of many. It was a fun little exercise. The class said that he would be wearing skinny jeans and wide rimmed glasses. Instead of the book of books in his hands he would have an ipad. Cuss words would be on his lips and he’d probably be sitting in a meeting with a lot of other executive types.
Those young people probably weren’t too far off. Image is everything nowadays and the church is often not seen not as a place where the law of truth is declared and men are earnestly implored to turn from their sins. It is often a corporate entity that is always evaluating what will bring the best return on investment.
Ministry is often about reputations, notoriety, and budgets and not so much about what it should be. And when we look into the Scripture, what we find is that not a lot has changed in 2000 years. These same sorts of problems have existed in the church since its inception. Certainly the Apostle Paul spent a lot of time dealing with the same sorts of problems. That’s why he spends so much time in his letters talking about his ministry and giving us details on what real ministry looks like.
As in our own day, Paul had to take on celebrity preachers; men who were using the ministry for self aggrandizement and financial gain.
And in our passage this morning he confronts the common misconceptions about church by laying out for us what a truly successful ministry looks like.
Paul wants us to see that the ministry of the gospel is not about personal glorification or superstar status. Rather it is set on advancing God and His gospel. If it has anything to do with a man or a minister, it is about his utter abasement. And as we consider the passage before us, we would do well to let it dispel any misconceptions we have of the ministry.
We begin to see something of how Paul shuns any kind of personal agenda when we look at verses 12-13 and see the course he chooses for his ministry.
I. The course he chooses for his ministry [12-13]
The course he chooses is a pastoral one, not a prestigious one. Paul’s agenda is purely pastoral in nature, and not about gaining any sort of personal prestige or notoriety among men.
Look at verses 12-13 with me. Consider what is said here. In these verses Paul essentially gives an outline of his movements. An itinerary, so to speak. He went to Troas, but he didn’t stay there long. He was looking for Titus. Titus had been sent to Corinth with instructions to deal with their problems. What we see here is that Paul was expecting to meet up with him to get a report on how things were shaping up in the congregation. Being that Titus never showed up, Paul moved on to Macedonia with intentions to find him there.
Now keep in mind that there’s huge opportunities for Paul in Troas. Verse 12 says that a door had been opened for him there in the Lord. In other words, there was ministry to do there—and likely a great deal of ministry. Troas was one of the major cities in that region. It was a booming port city and with up to 100,000 people populating it. God opened a door here and it likely would have been a lucrative opportunity. Paul could have likely built up his name for himself, raked in some good money, enjoyed a leading congregation that would have no doubt grown significantly in numbers. It would likely have had all kinds of stability and offered some real job security; not to mention notoriety. Perhaps he could have planted numerous churches, maybe even gone on the Troas circuit doing seminars and conferences.
But what did he do? He passed it all up. He boarded the ship and set out for Macedonia. Why? Because he was more concerned about the welfare of the Corinthians. He was more concerned about shepherding souls and dealing with situations that where he might not be the most popular person.
All this should have made the Corinthians think, “Well, would any of the guys here in Corinth who are vying for leadership have done that? Would they be willing to give up the place of prominence and power for true service to God’s church?”
This course of action reminds me of John Fawcett (1739-1817), a dissenting Baptist clergyman in England, gave us one of the most beloved farewell hymns of all time. Fawcett’s parish in Wainsgate, was described as...
“a straggling group of houses on the top of a barren hill….The people were all farmers and shepherds, poor as Job’s turkey; an uncouth lot whose speech one could hardly understand, unable to read or write; most of them pagans cursed with vice and ignorance and wild tempers. The Established Church had never touched them; only the humble Baptists had sent an itinerant preacher there and he had made a good beginning.”
John and Mary Fawcett went to live there in 1765 following his ordination. By engaging families house-to-house, he built a congregation that grew to the point that a gallery had to be added to the modest meetinghouse. With the addition of four children to the family, a modest salary that was supplemented by parishioners’ donations of wool and potatoes was barely adequate, especially during the long winters.
The story is told that a prestigious parish with more financial resources in London, Carter’s Lane Baptist Church, extended a call. It is at this point that it becomes difficult to separate fact from apocryphal imagination.
Mr. Bailey, a vivid storyteller, sets the scene: “[John] and Mary decided to accept. The announcement was made to the church, and the farewell sermon was preached, the bulky items of his furniture and some of his older books were sold and the day of departure arrived. The two-wheeled cart came for the rest of his belongings, and likewise came the parishioners to say good-by.”
The crowd was despondent and in tears. According to Mr. Bailey, Mary is quoted as saying, “I can’t stand it, John! I know not how to go.” John responded, “Lord help me Mary, nor can I stand it! We will unload the wagon.” Then he said to the crowd, “We’ve changed our minds! We are going to stay!” Mr. Bailey describes a scene of pandemonium as the crowd broke out in joyful acclamations.
What Fawcett and Paul exemplifies here stands in stark contrast to the normal corporate style approach to church. Pastoral ministry is often regarded as climbing up the social latter. It thrusts us back to the true nature of what ministry is about—it is about calling people to repentance and faith. It is about dealing with people’s problems and confronting their sins. It is about sanctification and bringing the body of Christ into the obedience of faith.
His course he chooses for his ministry reminds us that it is not about personal gain. It is self-abasing, self-renouncing work.
But this becomes even more clear when we look at verse 14 and see the description he gives to his ministry.
II. The description he uses regarding his ministry [14]
Paul describes the ministry in terms of the grand parades that they Romans would have when a great warrior would return from battle. He says, “Thanks be to God who leads us in triumphal procession.”
The practice in the ancient world would be akin to a NYC ticker tape parade. During this procession, in which the whole city would turn out, some of the spoils of war would be held up for display.
Sometimes even exotic animals taken from the different regions that were conquered would be marched along for all the people to see—elephants, tigers, lions, you name it. They would be brought back as a testimony that those regions had been subdued and these animals, like the people, now belonged to the Roman leaders.
Captives taken in battle also would be traipsed along. There would be men and women who would be ceremoniously bound with chains. They would be flaunted before the crowds, much like the animals were, as a testimony to the dominance of the Romans. Many of these captives would be slain at the end of the parade and others would be made into permanent slaves.
Then the General would follow with all the pomp that you can imagine. Often he would ride in a large chariot pulled by white steeds. After him would come his troops.
During all of this there would be incense being burned. And that incense would be a fragrant aroma. For many it would be an aroma of victory and life. But for the captives, it would be a horrid stench because it meant subjection and certain death.
Now, most translations make it sound like God is the General who is leading and his army of ministers are following behind. But recent scholarship has come to see that this triumphant procession is to be looked at in a different way. What Paul is actually saying is that it is God who has triumphed over us and leading us along in this procession. So instead of the ministers being the victorious armies behind the general, Paul is saying that he’s one of the captives!
God has conquered him is leading him around like one who has been completely subjected to utter servitude. Almost to an undignified state!
Now that is the way Paul describes himself and his ministry. That’s probably not the way the false teachers in Corinth described themselves.
To be sure, it is God’s triumph. We shouldn’t lose sight of that. God is victorious. The gospel is advancing and God is propelling his kingdom forward. The ultimate image here is that there is a grand victory that is being experienced in the world. The Lord is on a conquest. Men and nations are being subdued by the power of the gospel. There is nothing that can stop this General. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.
But the means he uses is not the grand power or might of men. It is not found in our ingenuity or strategic tactical methods. The way God brings about his dominion throughout the earth it is through their utter weakness and humiliation.
It is not about the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the false teachers. They like the glitz and the glamor. They are about being lauded and the associated pageantry. God’s appointed way of ministry is all about grueling servitude. It is about being held out as one who is a personal exhibit of Divine subjection and a willingness to be personally denigrated—held out as a spectacle of humiliation before the crowds of the world.
I want you to note too what he says about the ministry of the gospel in verses 14-16. And declares that the ministry is not all about making people feel good and patting people on the back. His words remind us that the gospel is often something that is repulsive to men.
III. The confession he makes about his ministry [14b-16a]
Look at it again. In the latter part of verse 14 he talks about God is using them to spread the fragrance of Christ everywhere. Then in verse 15 he says that he is the aroma of Christ. This aroma is for some the fragrance of life. To others it is the fragrance of death.
As I mentioned, some of those who were captives would have been put to death. At the end of the parade they would have been slaughtered; kind of like a sacrifice to the gods who supposedly helped them in the battle.
But Paul’s making a point about effectiveness of preaching. Paul says that as he preaches and spreads the knowledge of Christ, this leads some to come to eternal life. Some people hear it and it is a reminder of the saving power of God. But to others it is the most repulsive thing they could ever experience. It wreaks of the fact that they are condemned. It is a reminder that they will soon come under God’s judgment.
Now this is a reminder to us that the preaching of the gospel is never neutral. It always has some kind effect on those who hear it. It either enlivens and refreshes a person, or it hardens and terrorizes them. It is a reminder that the word of God always accomplishes something. It never returns void. It is powerful and it does cut down to piercing bone and marrow.
But it is also a reminder that the gospel is sometimes the thing that men most hate. If people do not react strongly against it, it may very well be that it is not the gospel at all. It might not get you on the popular speaking circuit. If you are telling men to repent and confronting them about their sins, then you’re likely to be rejected. People would rather not hear you.
Is that what we see in a lot of the celebrity pastors? When you turn on the radio, are you likely to hear someone speak about the areas of your life where you are in sin? And will he say, “You brood of Vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Our confession is that the word of God, if it is preached in its purity and entirety, will have two different effects. In other words, we confess that the word of God is polarizing and maybe even something that alienates.
Now that we’ve seen the confession he makes, let’s look at the feelings he has. Look at the end of verse 16.
IV. The feelings he has in his ministry [16b]
You can hear Paul exclaim, “Who is sufficient for these things?” This is an admonition that Paul will totally agree with a lot of people in Corinth. The people there are saying, “Who is Paul? He’s a twerp. He’s got nothing that would really commend him. He’s not really a great speaker. He’s got no real refinement. What school did he graduate from anyway?”
The Corinthians were probably saying that he’s certainly not like any of the teachers they had. They had men who were certainly competent in every way. And they knew it. These teachers probably felt competent. They were so full of themselves and their own powers that they had a “can do” attitude.
But the ministry is of such a nature that any body with a real sense of it is going to readily admit that he is completely inadequate. The weight of men’s eternal welfare constantly weighs on your soul. There is an understanding that everything about the ministry is supernatural in nature—it is not about eloquence of speech, one’s level of intelligence, or about book learning. It is driven by the Spirit, sustained by grace, throttled by divine power.
The only way that the gospel can be preached and the only way the kingdom can grow is through divine grace. The Spirit’s grants the gifts and provides the real fuel for the whole thing.
Paul recognizes that real ministry is a ministry of inadequacy. It is all done out of weakness. There’s a real barrenness of soul.
When we choose a leader, we shouldn’t be looking for someone who looks like they have it all together, necessarily. The qualifications for leadership in the church are so radically different than what you would expect. When you go to interview for a job, they want to see your resume filled with accomplishments and exuding certain marketable skills. But when it comes to church leadership, what kinds of things are listed as the ideal trademarks? He’s meek, he’s self controlled, holy, hospitable. His household is well managed.
The words of Matthew Henry: If men did seriously consider what great things depend upon the preaching of the gospel, and how difficult the work of the ministry is, they would be very cautious how they enter upon it, and very careful to perform it well.
V. The motivation he has for his ministry [17]
He gives a jab at the false teachers in Corinth when he says, “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word.” The word peddler is a word that means to water down in order to make a sell. A while back we talked about just weights and measures. One of the things we talked about was the octane in gasoline and how some gas stations were not giving you the right amount of octane per gallon of gas. It had been diluted in order to sell more.
That’s the idea here. The false teachers in Corinth were making a sell by tampering with the church’s doctrines. They were making tweaks and changes that would serve to make their message a bit more appealing and attract more customers. In other words, their motivation was popularity and financial prosperity.
But what is Paul’s motivation? His motivation is purely doing what was right in God’s eyes. “But as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” He recognized that he stood before the face of God and that God had sent him (and thus, was accountable to Him). That weight rested on his shoulders and it compelled him to speak the truth.
Sure, that could get you some notoriety. There’s always a chance that doing the right thing may be applauded by the masses and perhaps even rewarded. But Paul’s point is that true ministry isn’t focused on that. A real spiritual leader has an audience of one. He serves God alone.