The Reluctant Defendant
Tom Shrader walks through 2 Corinthians 11, where Paul reluctantly defends his apostolic credentials against false teachers who had infiltrated the church at Corinth, attacking his eloquence, his refusal to accept payment, and his authority. Shrader draws out Paul's concept of godly jealousy — a protective love for the church as a pure bride betrothed to Christ — contrasting it with the self-serving jealousy of human pride. The sermon closes with a call to discernment, warning that false teachers often disguise themselves as angels of light and that the only reliable defense is a thorough knowledge of God's Word.
“The only way that you can really know a false teacher or counterfeit is to know the real thing. That's why you have to know this word.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: 2 Corinthians
Recorded: 2003 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 1 hr 19 min
Themes: discernment, false teachers, jealousy, humility, authority, boasting, protection, defending truth, pastor, navigating conflict, new believer, elder, feeling unworthy, questioning leadership, mentor, young adult
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:8, 2 Corinthians 10:15, 2 Corinthians 10:17-18, 2 Corinthians 11:1-15, Exodus 20:1-6, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 John 4:1, Acts 17:11, Acts 18:5, Matthew 23:13-29, 1 Thessalonians 4
Theological Themes: apostolic authority, false apostles, ecclesiology, biblical discernment, godly jealousy, sanctification, pastoral authority, the bride of christ
Full Transcript
Introduction: A Continuous Study
We are in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11. This is part of a continuous study covering chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13. We stop every week, but in the grand scheme of things, Paul is making the same point throughout: he is answering false teachers. Paul taught and established the church at Corinth, then left, and behind him came other teachers — a pattern in his ministry. These teachers were critical of him, charging him with a variety of things, and Paul is trying to answer those charges. We never have a formal list of the charges being levied, but we get a sense of them by what he is responding to.
Last week, these teachers were challenging his doctrine and apparently taking credit for the Corinthians' conversion. Paul responded by reminding them who their father in the faith truly was. To finish chapter 10, verses 17 and 18: "but he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord." Throughout chapter 10 — in verse 8, verse 15, and here in verse 17 — Paul is talking about boasting. He says if you are going to boast, do not boast of your strength but of God's strength, not of your might but of God's might, not of your power but of God's power. "For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends." Paul is saying that promoting yourself is foolish, and true approval comes from the Lord alone.
Bearing with Foolishness
Paul picks up that theme of foolishness in verse 1 of chapter 11: "I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness." The King James renders it "a little folly." This is a silly argument at its surface — essentially a "who's your daddy?" dispute, with each side saying, "I did this, no, you did this." It sounds petty and foolish, and Paul does not want to be engaged in this conversation. He was forced into it because the false teachers launched the charges first.
If only his personal reputation were at stake, he might simply walk away — sticks and stones, so to speak. But that is not what is at stake. What is at stake is the church at Corinth: the eternal destiny, the souls, of the men, women, students, and people in that congregation. Paul is saying he cannot walk away from that. He knows it sounds silly, but it is not silly — it is important and critical. So he opens chapter 11, verse 1 by asking them to indulge his foolishness, and he acknowledges that they have indeed borne with him.
Godly Jealousy
Verse 2 continues: "For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." Jealousy is one of those traits we do not typically associate with God, and we rarely think of jealousy in a positive light at all. Webster defines jealousy in part as resentfully suspicious of a rival or a rival's influence — the way a husband might feel jealousy toward another man — and also as resentful envy. One author writes: "Perhaps the most vicious and destructive quality in the world today is jealousy. It has been properly called the green-eyed monster. Jealousy is an angry, strong, powerful emotion that refuses to tolerate a rival. It can be a very powerful motivator to aggressive action. It is one of the most frequent causes of broken homes, broken hearts, broken bodies in the world today." And yet Paul says he has for the Corinthians a godly jealousy. How do we put those two things together?
A Personal Illustration: The Green-Eyed Monster
When Paul mentions the green-eyed monster, human jealousy comes to mind — and there is no clearer example from personal experience than the early days of dating Susan. We had been dating for a while and it was not going very well, and in all honesty, the problem was on my end. After a Christmas party, Susan told me — that night, and again the next morning — that she never wanted me to call her, never wanted to see me again, and never wanted to be with me again. I figured she was warming up to me, since I had heard similar things from other girls. Eventually, though, she agreed to go out again and we began dating more seriously, though not exclusively every night.
During that time, Susan was also seeing another man. This other man had graduated from Notre Dame — strike one. He had done his master's and graduate work at Southern Cal — strike two. And his father owned the business where Susan was working — strike three.
The Story of Jealousy
So she's dating this guy. We're dating. She's going away with his family for weekends, and just a bunch of stuff. I can't handle it. I am a mess. I'm insecure. Everything that you can imagine.
I'm saying to many people, I can't handle this. Finally I said to her, you've got to pick. It's either him or me. She ignored it like she didn't hear it. I said, it's either going to be him or me. And she said, Tom, don't make me do that. That kind of gave me a clue that maybe I wasn't going to fare too well in this whole thing.
The next day I said, you've got to pick. At this time, I'm living in apartment 202. She's in apartment 201. To get out of her apartment, she had to go by my front door. So one morning she's going by, and I come out. She said, I'm going to decide today. I said, really? Okay.
I'm sick all day. I come home. It's like 5 o'clock, and his car is out there in her parking spot. I'm thinking, that's perfect. Get him out of the way early. We've got the whole night to ourselves. 5:15, 5:30, 5:45, 6:00, 6:15, 6:30. I'm saying, how long does it take to say, hit the road, Jack?
I'm thinking, she's going to blow me off. She doesn't know what she's doing. About 7 or 7:15, there's a knock on the door. She says, Tom, I've decided. I told him tonight I'm done with him, and you and I are going to date, just the two of us. I said, who didn't know that?
Human Jealousy Versus Godly Jealousy
When I think of jealousy, that's what I think of. And the difference between that human jealousy and godly jealousy is this: human jealousy is concerned about one thing — yourself. How is that going to affect me? Even as I reach out to the other person, I want to maneuver them, manipulate them. I want to somehow persuade them in a way that benefits me.
Is that how God works? It's very discouraging if it is. In fact, God Himself is the one who declares that He's a jealous God. Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 through 6 reads this:
"Then God spoke all these things. I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or earth beneath or the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God, and I am a jealous God."
What God is talking about here when He talks about this godly jealousy is a jealousy that wants what is best for you. Paul says, I want what is best for you. I'm jealous in this sense — not for me, not for my good, but for your good. You're flirting with these false apostles, and if you follow them, if you embrace their teaching, if you follow their doctrine, it will lead you to destruction.
The Father of the Bride
Paul says, I am jealous, for I betrothed you to one husband — that is, to Christ — that I may present you as a pure virgin. He's talking now as the father of the bride. It's magnificent imagery.
Anyone who has done this knows what I'm describing. It was just about a year ago that we did this. As the father of the bride, this is a very strange experience. You can talk about it, think about it, and try to prepare for it, but there is no way to get ready for it. The emotions are extraordinary.
There is this little baby that you have loved and cared for. I remember sitting down with Tyler and saying, listen, pal, I've watched her, and I've protected her, and I've been the guy, and I will be until June 28th. But from that day forward, she's yours. I'm up for that. I'm all right with it. But until that day — and I mean until we're standing there at the very end, when I'm still wondering if you can kiss her — she's mine, not yours.
That is the imagery of Christ the bridegroom and the church, the bride. In that culture, the fathers would make the arrangement, put the husband and wife together, reach some sort of a formal agreement, and then the groom would go away — typically to his father's house. Is this imagery rich for us as Christians? The groom would go away to the father's house and prepare a place for the two of them to live. Then he would come back at an undisclosed time, a trumpeter would blow the horn, and out the bride would come, and the bride and groom would be together forever.
Does that sound like 1 Thessalonians 4, when Christ the bridegroom comes for the church? In that process, the father's responsibility is to keep the girl pure. Paul said, I'm your dad. You're the bride. The groom is Christ. You are betrothed to Him, and it is my responsibility to keep you pure.
Such Were Some of You
What is interesting is that these people were not always pure. It's a great picture of forgiveness. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9, Paul wrote this:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminists, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
He's writing to this church, the church at Corinth, and then he writes this — look how it pops out — "and such were some of you." He's describing the people who were in that church at Corinth. That's what you were like. But you've been washed, you've been regenerated, you've been born again, you've been sanctified. That means that washing results in new behavior. You're clean now, and you're justified, you're righteous before God. It's a beautiful picture of forgiveness.
Let me bring it right here to Gilbert now. If you're here, you took communion, and you're truly converted —
The Weight of Forgiveness
"Such were some of you." It is really interesting to get to know some of you and your stories. There are a lot of people here with extraordinary sinful pasts. You look around and you see them walking across campus with their two little kids, getting in their car and driving away, and you think, look at those two. Then you hear their story, and you see how great God is to pull them out of that. You have been forgiven. It is a huge thing, isn't it?
You watch Dr. Phil, and these people are on there, all mixed up, trying to find some way to get things solved, and a lot of them are carrying around guilt. They say, I have been carrying around this guilt for so long, and because of that guilt, I do this, whatever that is. Why do I get rid of this guilt? Watch now. You sinned — that is why you feel guilty. Who you sinned against is God, so the one you need forgiveness from is God. God tells you how to find forgiveness, and that is in Christ, and Christ alone, and nowhere else. You are never going to find it apart from Christ. That is not complicated, is it?
I know that needs to be fleshed out and worked through and thought through, but do you see that? And those of you who claim to be Christians — you are forgiven. That is a magnificent truth. When I was dating Susan, I was a mess, and there is some stuff in my life that is absolutely sick, and dirty, and filthy, and awful. But if I dwell on it very long, there is no point to it, because I have been forgiven. There is a sense of: that was not me. I am a new creature. That is the old Tom.
Have you experienced that? Do you understand that forgiveness and the freedom that comes from it? My favorite illustration is this: it is like all our life we are carrying around a ball and chain. Here is this guilt, and we keep dragging it around with us. Then the Holy Spirit comes along and cuts us free from that ball and chain — and then we bend over and pick up the ball and chain and walk around carrying it anyway. How foolish are we? We have been forgiven. That is good news.
Now, if you are here and you would say you are not a Christian, I am here to tell you that you are going to feel this guilt all your life. I have people tell me that all the time: I feel guilty, I have got to get rid of it. That is actually a good thing. Just follow me here, because this is not complicated. You feel guilty because you are guilty. If you did not feel guilty, you would be pathological. But you do feel guilty — and maybe that is God working in your heart. Come to Him. You want to experience freedom. You want to experience life as it was meant to be.
The Meaning of Purity
Do you want to be described as pure? We do not use that term very often anymore, do we? We use it to describe things. You hear it on the golf course: I hit it pure. He is a pure shooter. That is how we use the word. But the word is supposed to describe a person. You are pure. Well, how can I be? I have sinned. Because you have been washed. Sanctified. Justified. Do you see that? That is a huge point.
The Danger of Deception
Verse 3: "I am afraid lest the serpent who deceived Eve by his craftiness also deceive you." That is the way the serpent came in and deceived Eve. For those of you who are involved in sin, it is so deceptive and so destructive. I was reading this week some advice that J. Adams gives to those who are counseling. He says you need to understand you are fighting a shrewd enemy who will deceive people — even Christians who are in the midst of their sin — and who will find ways to say, no, this is not really what it means. Watch out for this. He will deceive you.
Do you see something here? The text warns that the enemy will deceive you and lead you astray from the simplicity and the purity of devotion to Christ.
The Simplicity of Devotion to Christ
Martyn Lloyd-Jones — writing in the early to late 1960s — writes this:
> As life in general becomes more and more complex, so religion tends to be affected the same way. It seems to be assumed that if the affairs of men are so difficult and complicated, the affairs of God should be more complicated because they are still greater. Sometimes there comes a tendency to increase ceremony and ritual and to multiply organizations and activities. The argument is that it is ridiculous to assert that the vast problems of life today can be solved by an apparently simple manner suggested by those who preach the gospel in the old evangelical manner. The fact is that as we get further away from God, life becomes more complicated, more involved. We see this not only in the Bible, but also in subsequent history. The Protestant Reformation simplified not only religion, but the whole of life and living in general. The truly religious life is always the simple life.
Is it possible that you have fallen into the trap of trying to make the Christian life more complicated? One author writes that it is easy to lose this simplicity. You can lose it in the midst of Christian activity. You can lose it in Bible study. You can get so involved in
The Danger of Losing Simplicity
One of the fascinating aspects of Scripture is that you can give yourself a lifetime to the study of the Bible and lose the simplicity of Christ. Last week I sat with a prominent theologian who is known all over the world, and we talked about his teaching experience in various seminaries. He told me how almost all of the seminaries he was involved in were filled with men who had great worldwide reputations for scholarship, but whose lives were dull and dead because they lost the simplicity of Christ.
I watched not long ago as Arnold Palmer was talking about teaching his grandson to play golf. The kid is about 13 or 14 years old. Imagine being 13 years old and learning golf from your grandpa — and your grandpa is Arnold Palmer. That is like being a kid and having Michael Jordan as a grandpa, or having Mickey Mantle teach you how to hit a baseball. As Palmer was talking, he said it was really interesting because his grandson was worried about swing plane, angles, how his hands should be cocked, when to set his wrists, and all of that. Palmer told him: grab the club, get the right grip, get the right setup, and just swing it. Just swing the club.
Here is what Palmer said: we have made golf way too complicated. I could not write that down fast enough. Because we have made all of life way too complicated. Some of you work for organizations where you have just implemented a plan — a brand new plan, the latest plan — and somebody from management went to a seminar, came back, and now the whole plan you have not even finished implementing is being replaced because there is a new way, a new strategy. We have made it very, very complicated.
I have been watching a lot of baseball lately — college baseball and a little pro — and they are moving runners, they have signs, they have all kinds of things going on. But nobody can bunt. Just turn around and go like this. If you can play catch, you can bunt. We are paying someone five million dollars a year, and all he has to do is bunt the runner to third. We can do all these big things — we can open a dome — but nobody can bunt. That is because we have made it so complicated.
The same thing can happen in your Christian faith. Now, there is tension here, and you have to resolve it on your own. I am not saying do not read Jonathan Edwards. I am not saying do not read John Owen. But to what end? I hear this all the time: "I want to go deep." What does that mean? There is nothing profound about reading something you do not comprehend or understand.
Going Deep Without Losing Clarity
I went to a Sunday school class — and I acknowledge it, I am a simple person — not long after becoming a Christian, maybe a year in. The teacher said hello, gave his name, and that was the last thing I understood for an hour. Walking out, I heard another man say, "That was incredible. That was deep. That was profound." I asked him, "What did he say?" He said, "I don't know." I asked again. He still did not know. Nobody knew what the man said — and because nobody knew, it must have been deep.
I get fired if I talk and nobody knows what I have said. That is the whole point of communication. I was reading a writer a few months ago and had no idea what he was saying. I mentioned it to a seminary professor who was a peer of his, and the professor said, "He writes for his peers. He does not write to be understood by you." I still do not understand the point of that. So yes, go deep — but go deep in the sense that you do not lose the simplicity of it.
Testing the Spirits
We need to move quickly to verse four. Someone comes along preaching another Jesus — a different Jesus. It may deal with His nature, His deity, what was accomplished on the cross — something different from what was preached. Or it is a different spirit, or a different gospel. And here is what Paul says: you bear this beautifully. Do not accept these things blindly.
Look at First John, chapter four, verse one: *"Beloved, do not believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because there are many false prophets who have gone out into the world."* How do you test the spirit? The same way the Bereans did in Acts 17:11 — you go to what the Word says. That is why I love coming in and seeing people with Bibles and notebooks. That is the way it ought to be. Just because I say something does not make it right. I could be wrong.
Discernment is a passion, and you need it now. Because now, not only do you have tapes, videos, television, and radio — you also have the World Wide Web. I was sitting at my desk when the phone rang. I picked it up and a woman said she was calling from Australia. She asked what was wrong with our website. She told me she listens on the web as part of how she worships and studies, and the website had been down for three months. I asked her, "Have you been here?" And she said —
The Cost of Authentic Ministry
She said, "I'm in Australia." And I said, "Well, how did you find out?" She said, "I don't know. I just ended up on the website, and I started going through this teaching." I get regular calls, emails, and letters from people around the world who have never heard of East Valley Bible Church, never met us, never been here, but listen on the web. There is a lot of great stuff on the web now. There is a reason they call it a web, because there is a lot of bad stuff that will catch you up and tangle you up. How do you know the difference? You have to test it.
Paul's Defense of His Apostleship
Now in verses 5 and 6, Paul uses what one author calls irony, which he defines as a gentle form of sarcasm. Paul said, "For I consider myself not least inferior to the most eminent apostles." It is unlikely that he is talking about the original twelve here, or that he is talking about Peter, James, and John. I think this is an exaggeration. He is talking about these men who have been promoting themselves.
"Even if I am unskilled in speech" — another translation there would be "untrained." The idea is of someone who is a layperson as compared to an expert, a private individual without an official position. That was the charge they were leveling against Paul. They were saying he is not skilled, not trained, not properly prepared.
What they are going to say in a moment is that he does not even take any money. Paul responded: "Even if I am unskilled in my speech, yet am I not so in knowledge?" Paul was saying, listen, I may not be eloquent, and I may not be able to dazzle you — but do not get distracted by the style. What about what I am saying? Is it true?
Style Versus Substance
You have to get your mind around the Greek culture. They valued eloquence. They valued precision of thought, persuasive speech, persuasive arguments, and they placed a very high value on the ability to articulate eloquently. Paul acknowledged that he may not do that, but he was asking them not to be distracted by style when they should be asking whether the message is true.
It is always difficult when you use personal illustrations, because you do not want to promote yourself. But I see this in my own life. In virtually every Getting Plugged In class, during the Q&A where people can ask any question about anything, somebody will ask, "Where did you go to school?" And I say, "Well, I didn't." And some people go away and never come back. I understand that, and I am at peace with it.
We had a lady who, apparently, just could not stand something about me. It was driving her to the point where one day she came and said, "That's it. I'm done. I'm never coming back." I said, "I didn't say anything offensive today." She said, "It's not that. You dangle participles." And I said, "What's a participle?" And so she was gone. I will never forget watching her march right out that door. I am not proud of that — I am what I am, that is life. But if the style is in the way, then you need to go somewhere else, and I mean that sincerely. I do not want to stammer so much that it blocks the message. But what about the message? What about the truth?
The Sin of Preaching for Free?
Verse 7 is remarkable. "Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?" The King James says "free of charge." Here is what they were saying: Paul does not even take a fee. When he was with you, he was not even paid by the church.
In that culture, the fee a speaker earned — and the size of that fee — was considered commensurate with his ability. I have been looking into bringing someone in for a separate event, and I was checking what speakers are getting these days. It is unbelievable. Ten, twenty, thirty thousand dollars. Bill Clinton is getting between two hundred and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per speech. Make your own joke, because I do not have time, but there is certainly one that fits. You get what you pay for. They were essentially saying: you did not pay Paul anything, so you did not get anything out of him.
And Paul says, is that now a sin? Is it a sin that he did not take money?
Supporting Himself Through Other Churches
So how did Paul survive? Look at verse 8. He said, "I robbed other churches." There is hyperbole here. What he is saying is: "I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to serve you." He did not take money from the Corinthians. Why? It is right there at the bottom of verse 9 — he did not want to be a burden to them.
Paul was in a lose-lose situation. If he came in and took money, two things would happen. First, they would say he is only in it for the cash, that he does not care about the people, only about making a living. Second, he could become a financial burden to the church. So Paul said, listen, I did not take any money from you. I was supported by other churches. Some men came down from Macedonia — Acts chapter 18, verse 5, tells us it was Silas and Timothy — and they brought money with them to support Paul's work.
Paul's desire was to be as pure as possible in his motives, so that no one could accuse him of trying to separate them from their money. Do you see the lose-lose he was in? So what do you do when you are in a lose-lose? You do what is right because it is right, and you let the chips fall where they may. Paul said, that is exactly what he did. There was nothing else he was supposed to do in the midst of this whole situation.
Verse 10 begins: "As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not..."
Cutting Off Opportunity for False Apostles
Paul makes a definitive statement in verse 12: "But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting." He is saying he will not change what he is doing, because his conduct is a clear demonstration of the difference between himself and these false teachers. He did not take a fee before, and he will not take one now. Remember, he is answering charges — and he has been fairly gentle up to this point. But in verse 13, he takes the gloves off: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ."
What Would Jesus Do with False Teachers?
So often, when you begin to deal with false teaching, you must deal at the same time with false teachers. The moment you begin to point those things out, people become concerned that you are acting in a way that is not Christ-like. They ask, "Is that the Christian thing to do? What would Jesus do?" Let's sit with that question for a moment — what would Jesus do when dealing with false teachers?
Turn to Matthew chapter 23. Circle those opening words each time they appear. Verse 13: "Woe to you." Verse 14: "Woe to you." Verse 15: "Woe to you." Verse 16: "Woe to you." Verse 23: "Woe to you." Verse 25: "Woe to you." Verse 27: "Woe to you." Verse 29: "Woe to you."
Now, it is true that when we see Jesus with the woman at the well, or in virtually every other encounter in His life, there is a gentleness there. But here He is dealing with false teachers. If we were to summarize the whole chapter, we could look at verse 27: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
The people who said to simply be gentle like Jesus need to reckon with this. Jesus was not going to tolerate false teaching. What is at stake is the truth — and in our context, it is the gospel. Paul cannot allow false apostles and deceitful workers to continue unchallenged.
Satan as an Angel of Light
Paul continues in verse 14: "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." As we read through Scripture, we see Satan described in three different ways: a subtle serpent, a prowling or roaring lion, and an angel of light. In our culture at least, his most effective modes are the angel of light and the subtle serpent.
Consider the roaring lion approach. If you are at home on a Saturday morning and someone knocks on your door and says, "I'm here to deceive you and lead you down a path of destruction — I want to tie you up in sin so that the truth will never set you free," you are not going to say, "Come on in, let's have a cup of coffee." You will send that person away immediately. But if someone knocks and says, "I know life is tough. I know there is hurt and pain. I love you and I care for you, and I have some helpful hints for running your family" — especially if you have no discernment — you very well might invite them in. That is how almost every cult in our culture approaches people.
Think about those phone psychic services that were once everywhere on television. A typical call lasted around 43 minutes — they would put you on hold, connect you with an operator, and the bill would come to something like $120. It even said right on the screen, "This is for entertainment." There is nothing amusing about a credit card bill for $120 to talk to one of those people. Who would make that call? Someone who is really hurting. Someone so desperate that they will pay nearly four dollars a minute just to have a voice on the other end of the line. That is precisely why it is so easy to lead people astray when you come at them as an angel of light.
The Subtle Serpent in the Garden
That is exactly what Satan did as a subtle serpent in the Garden. What did he say to Eve? "Did God really say you must not eat that? If God created you and placed a desire for that fruit in you, what kind of God would then tell you not to eat it? Eve, I love you. I care for you." That framing — appealing to desire and casting doubt on God's goodness — is how deception works.
The same reasoning surfaces today. Men have said to me, "I have strong desires for a woman who is not my wife. If God placed those desires in me, shouldn't I act on them?" The answer is no. That was not a very hard question.
Recognizing the Deception of False Teachers
That is what deceitfulness does. Paul said these are false teachers, and back in verse 14 he describes Satan this way — so it should be no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves in the same way. These false teachers come in speaking about how righteous they are, how pure they are, presenting all manner of virtuous qualities. They appear to come in love and care, but that is not what they truly are.
The Takeaway: Know the Real Thing
The practical application — the "so what" — is this: you need to be on the alert for false teachers. The only way you can truly identify a false teacher or a counterfeit is to know the real thing. That is why you must know this Word. That is why you need to get involved in the institute classes and all of the other opportunities available here on campus — you need to be prepared.
The angel of light is still alive and well today. These demonic forces are working around the clock, and they are out to destroy you. They may come in love; they may come as a subtle serpent. But they do not love you, they do not care for you, and they will destroy you.
Looking Ahead
The teaching in 2 Corinthians 10, 11, 12, and 13 really comes as a package, and we will continue studying that together next week.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this truth. We pray that You would put in us a godly jealousy — driven not by our own desires, but by our love for You. May we care for one another in such a way that we would even risk relationship for the sake of truth.
God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for placing us in a Bible church that cares so deeply about this Word and this truth. On this very special Sunday, thank You for the blessing You continue to pour out on us as East Valley Bible Church — for the facilities and teachers, for people who care so much about what they do, and for volunteers who work hundreds of hours a year because they are convinced that this is a place You are using to teach Your Word and touch people's hearts.
Thank You, God. We pray that we would be faithful stewards of all that You give us. We come to You this morning with joyful, grateful hearts, eager to be sent out from this place to do Your work Your way. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.