“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2 ESV)
Having This Ministry
This was part of a letter from Paul and Timothy to the church in Corinth. It was penned by the apostle Paul as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit. So these words are from God, and they are included in our Scriptures.
Paul was called of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. I know not whether Timothy was regarded as an apostle, but he was a fellow worker for the gospel of Christ, and he had some level of authority within the body of believers of Jesus Christ. To what extent, I do not know. But he was also called of God to this ministry, and he was gifted of the Holy Spirit, and Paul encouraged him to fan into flame the gift of God within him, and to not fear other people, and to not be ashamed of the gospel (2 Timothy 1:1-14).
Now, if we are going to be ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which all Christians are called to do, we must first of all be in fellowship with Jesus Christ in following him in obedience to his commands and in living holy lives, pleasing to him. We must have renounced all sinful practices, such as what is disgraceful, underhanded, deceptive, cunning, immoral, crooked, and evil, etc. And we must not be those who dilute and who alter the message of the gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh and to the ungodly.
And this is critical that we understand this, for we have so many charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” among us in positions of pastor and elder over “church” congregations, who definitely are using disgraceful and underhanded ways in order to manipulate the gospel message to make it more attractive to human flesh, and so as not to offend the ungodly. And they are definitely practicing cunning, and they are tampering with God’s word by teaching Scriptures out of context in order to teach what is false.
But Paul and Timothy were not like that. They were above reproach, men of God who took seriously the word of God, and who taught it in its true form in the power of God and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Veiled to Those Perishing
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6 ESV)
If something is “veiled,” it is concealed or hidden. Now Paul and Timothy were not servants of the Lord who concealed the message of the gospel in any way, as many are doing today. Especially Paul was very forthright in making certain that the whole truth was presented and that nothing was hidden that needed to be made known. So if the gospel was concealed, it was hidden from those who were perishing, for Satan had blinded their eyes so that they did not see the truth. But they had a part in that blindness, too.
For we read in Romans 1 that God made himself known to all humankind via his created works so that his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived in his creation. But people suppress the truth that can be known about God by their own ungodliness and unrighteousness, so they are without excuse. They can’t just blame the devil. For they exchange the glory of God for the idols of the flesh and they worship the created rather than the Creator. We make our own choices.
Especially if we have been raised in the gatherings of the church, and if we have heard the gospel taught in truth and in righteousness, and not in part, but in whole, we are definitely without excuse if we then turn to a false half-truth gospel message in order to appease our own consciences and so that we can continue living in sin free from the feelings of guilt. But this is what many are doing today, rejecting the truth that they know to follow after a lie so that they can keep sinning while consoling themselves that all is well.
But Paul and Timothy did not teach lies, especially not deliberate lies which so many are doing today in order to willfully deceive the people. And if we claim Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we need to not be following after the lies and/or spreading the lies to others. So we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their context so that the Word we are spreading is the whole truth and not these tampered with gospel messages which so many are spreading today as though they are the truth.
For many people are being deceived, and others disheartened by all the lies which are being spread in the name of Christ and of his gospel. And those who are following the lies are definitely those who are prone to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience. But they will never be at true peace as long as they are at odds with Christ and with his gospel message. And if they continue in sin, they will not have eternal life with God, regardless of what their lips profess. So know and follow the truth, please!
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
Come, Ye Disconsolate
Lyrics by Thomas Moore, 1816
Arr. by Thomas Hastings, 1831
Music by Samuel Webbe, Sr, 1792
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot cure.”
Here see the bread of life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06q9am18p9k
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