Do Not Be Led Astray

06.28.10
J.A. Matteson

“You are looking at things as they are outwardly….” 2 Corinthians 10:5

Since the days of Eden fallen humanity remains captivated by the beautiful, the delightful, the seductive, this to the expense of truth resulting in the detriment of the soul. Things beautiful and delightful are gifts from the Lord and are to be appreciated, for on the sixth day of creation the Lord looked at all that He had created and it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

Human life is physical and spiritual so that the redemption of sinners is not merely of the spirit, to the exclusion of the body, but the restoration of both spirit and body, to be fully realized at the resurrection of the dead on the Day of the Lord. An innate tendency of the fallen nature, even among the redeemed, is to esteem form before substance, and this is often done at the subconscious level. Satan, capitalizes on this inner tendency and “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14) with the sinister intent of misleading the saints and keeping in spiritual bondage the unregenerate. That is not to suggest that the Lord’s messenger is always lacking in physical beauty and eloquent speech; but, the measure of the man must always be in accordance to substance by rightly dividing the Word. Let the pilgrim learn a valuable lesson from the cloud of witnesses in Berea, testing the message proclaimed by aspiring preachers against the Word of Truth.

Scripture is not explicit as to the specific physical traits of the Apostle Paul, but implicitly the student of the Word can piece together a plausible portrait of God’s bond-servant to the Gentiles, for he quotes a common view of himself held by his detractors in Corinth, “For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible’” (v.10). Note the confession by Paul’s opponents that the content of his message in his writings is weighty (βαρεῖαι) or of great importance. Also, the Apostle’s style was deemed strong (ἰσχυραί) or mighty and loud as a thunder clap in its effect when read. And yet God’s messenger was physically unimpressive (ἀσθενὴς) or weak and delicate with his manor of speech being contemptible (ἐξουθενημένος) or despised and looked down on.

Beloved, recall the wisdom given at this juncture by the Apostle in his first letter to the Corinthian church, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are” (1 Cor. 1:26-28). Pursue inner truth in God’s messenger before outward adornment and develop the skill and wisdom to discern the difference. Do not be led astray by lips that flatter and by a gospel that promises much but requires little.

Consider too the many powerful vessels of honor used by the Lord for the advancement of His Kingdom through the proclamation of His Word. Was Moses a man of verbal eloquence who could wow the Israelites with dazzling oratory skill? Was it king David whose stature rose above his contemporaries or was he the ruddy one overlooked by the wise? How many of God’s bond-servant’s have been afflicted by physical impairments is difficult to measure; however, even a shallow review of Scripture and Church history reveals they have been and to this day remain many. While the tendency to place form before substance has always plagued the Church the danger of so doing in the present age of mass communication is at an all time high.

Today, many of the beautiful faces broadcast on Christian television networks, hosting international leadership seminars, plastered on book covers, and paraded on the internet are spiritual frauds, these false teachers fleece the flock of God for position, power, and wealth while the authentic messengers of God are too often despised. It should not be surprising that perceptions have not changed since the days of Corinth. That the Lord would send a damning influence of delusion upon those seeking a counterfeit message of hope is in accordance to their own sinfulness by turning their ears away from the truth of God’s Word in exchange for a lie, desiring to be titillated by smooth speech that flatters rather than weighty and strong speech that convicts of sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ warned that the path is wide and the way is easy for those bound for destruction, while the way is difficult and narrow which leads to life and few are those who find it (Matt. 7:13). Beloved, as you expose yourself to spiritual teaching be wise and discerning in your hearing, viewing, and reading, testing all things against the gloriously inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient Word of God.

Copyright (c) 2010 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).