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2 Corinthians 7:2-4
It appears that the congregation of the church at Corinth has been somewhat stubborn at letting go of the ways of this world and grasping hold of the ways of the Lord. The Apostle Paul has been pleading with them, “not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1, NKJV). And here in 2 Corinthians 7:2 Paul urges the Corinthians to “Open your hearts to us.” The ways of the world are full of trickery and false teachings, and it may be that in the slandering of Paul and his ministry team, that as we have seen previously, slanderous accusations have been thrown at them and made their preaching of the gospel questionable in the minds of the Corinthians. Paul strives to gain the confidence of the Corinthians as he declares in 2 Corinthians 7:3-4, “I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.”
This is a promise of sincerity in the Lord.
There are many people today who doubt the message of the gospel for these same reasons. It is up to us, as Christians, to represent the sincerity of Jesus in our lives today so that others will see our example – not condescending but with authentic caring and concern for others in the same love that God has shown to us in saving us from sin that others need to see in us – in our daily walk of life – in Christ. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 7:2, “Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.” We should have this same attitude to those whom God allows us to minister to. Please let it be so LORD.
Dear LORD,
We never know when You might put us in a position to witness to others of Your great love for us, but we ask today LORD that when You do, that You would give us the confidence to stand up for Christ Jesus and the sincerity of heart that those we witness to would see Jesus, not us. In Jesus name I pray, amen.