Defending The Christian Faith

2 Corinthians 5:17  

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: 

old things are passed away; behold, 

all things are become new."

    Paul is defending himself and trying to persuade men of his own sincerity. He has no doubt whatever that in the sight of God his hands are clean and his motives pure. But his enemies have cast suspicion on them, and he wishes to demonstrate his sincerity to his Corinthian friends. This is not from any selfish desire to vindicate himself. It is from the knowledge that, if his sincerity is questioned, the impact of his message will be injured. A man's message will always be heard in the context of his character. That is why the preacher and the teacher must be beyond suspicion. We have to avoid, not only evil, but the very appearance of evil lest anything make others think less, not of us, but of the message which we bring. 

    In verse 13, Paul insists that behind all his conduct there has been one motive only; to serve God and to help the Corinthians. More than once Paul was thought to be crazy (Acts 26:24). He was suffering the same misunderstanding as Jesus suffered (Mark 3:21). The real enthusiast always runs the risk of seeming crazy to lukewarm people.
    The real enthusiast does not care if others think he is a fool. If a man follows out the Christian way of generosity, forgiveness and utter loyalty, there will always be worldly wise people who will bluntly call him crazy. Paul knew that there was a time for calm, sensible conduct, and he knew, too, that there was a time for the conduct which to the world looks mad. He was prepared to follow either for the sake of Christ and of men.

    To Paul the Christian is, in his favorite phrase, in Christ, and therefore the old self of the Christian died in that death and he arose a new man, as new as if he had been freshly created by the hands of God. In this newness of life he has acquired a new set of standards. He no longer judges things by the standards the world uses. There was a time when Paul had judged Christ by human standards and had set out to eliminate the Christian faith from the world. But not now. Now his standards are different. Now the man whose name he had sought to obliterate is to him the most wonderful person in the world, because he had given to him that friendship of God which he had longed for all his life. My Friends, we have a friendship with God, and we must stand and not let the Christian faith be obliterated from our Nation.

Amen!

Reading: (2 Cor. 11-19)

Ref: ( HG SB; DSB)

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry