Paul’s Sincerity

Anonymous

‘For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward’ (2 Cor. 1:12).

‘For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ’ (2:17).

How frequently we hear it asserted that it makes little difference what a man believes provided he is sincere in that belief. But God does not reason in this way. Saul of Tarsus was a most sincere man, but the intensity of his convictions only identified him the more closely with those who were ‘the enemies of the cross of Christ’ (Phil. 3:18). A man may sincerely believe he is on the right road, but if he is mistaken his sincerity will not prevent his going astray. If this is true in the things of everyday life, it is equally so in the far more important matters of eternity and our spiritual concerns generally.

The word translated ‘sincerity’ in the verses quoted above suggests a deeper and truer meaning than mere personal honesty or subjective certainty. It means ‘sunlight-judgment’ — a judgment arrived at not in the dark of our hearts but in the light of God’s own presence. It is not mere honesty, though it includes that. A light has been shed on the matter, and the truth about it revealed, and according to that light, that truth, a judgment has been reached, a decision made, according to which the person acts. We are now on higher ground than that of what is ordinarily called ‘sincerity’ — a ground to which none, however honest in a subjective sense they may be, can be admitted except those who are also in the sunlight. ‘God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Cor. 4:6). This is the sunlight-judgment which gives true sincerity.

This light is from God: ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1:5); ‘all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do’ (Heb. 4:13). In this light, there can be no calling evil good or good evil — all is estimated aright. But it is not a cold light; it is ‘in the face of Jesus Christ’ — of Him who manifested the love and grace of God as well as His holiness. The qualities then of this sunlight-judgment are truth and grace: truth tempered by grace, and grace in accordance with truth.

The first verse quoted above applies this sincerity to the walk of the apostle. What characterised his daily life was that it could be judged in the light of God’s presence. He did not go blindly ahead following his own inclinations (as many do), ‘meaning well’ (as people say), but not pausing to ask whether he was seeking God’s will or his own. Still less did he follow the wisdom of the world. Worldly maxims and worldly examples are too often followed by the child of God, the result being worldly conformity. Not so Paul. The sunlight-judgment of God was his test, the light in which his path was chosen.

Can we say the same as to ourselves? If we let the holy sunlight of God’s presence shine into our hearts, much of self-interest and base motives will be discovered, so that even the most devoted will be conscious of feeling with the apostle when he said, ‘I am conscious of nothing in myself; but I am not justified by this’ (1 Cor. 4:4). He will realise that lurking beyond his discernment are possibilities for evil which he cannot trust. He will therefore be humble, self will be kept in the background and Christ will be exalted. If this is heart-searching work, it is needful work, yielding most blessed results. The result may be humbling, but how blessed the fruits!

This sincerity characterised the teachings of the apostle as well as his walk, as indicated in the second verse: ‘we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God’. We live in a time of adulteration — the mixture of the false with the true. The leaven has been introduced into the three measures of meal (Matt. 13:33). We see men calling themselves servants of Christ stand up and deny His sacrificial atonement, the infallible inspiration of God’s Word and the certainty and eternity of the doom of the wicked. Indeed, scarcely a truth is left by them, so thoroughly have they adulterated God’s Word.

How differently this faithful servant of God acted! Whether dealing with saint or sinner, whether a savour of life unto life or of death unto death (2 Cor. 2:16), he will preserve the integrity of that word with which he had been entrusted. No subtle opiate is introduced to soothe the careless sinner into slumber or take the edge off some wholesome rebuke for the saint. He is in God’s presence, and in that sunlight all that he speaks will be tested. He had to speak words which broke the heart of those who heard him, and his own as well, but nothing would induce him to introduce error or tone down the truth. Truth will not let us bring in error, nor will grace allow us to soften the demands of truth.

Let us then learn more what it is to speak and to teach in true sincerity, not only refusing error but letting God’s truth have its full strength. Our preaching, our teaching and our administration of warning or correction in discipline are to be done according to this same sunlight-judgment. May we not well say, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ But we may also answer the question too: ‘our sufficiency is of God’ (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5).

Author unknown[1]

[1] From Help and Food for the Household of Faith (1892) vol. 10 p. 244.

From: Truth and Testimony, 2023