25 Sep October 16th Daily Devotion

A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BY GOD’S MERCY  

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

What should you use to evaluate a pastor?  Should it be the seminary from which he graduated?  How about His grade point average or degree’s earned?  Do the earned degrees determine the better pastor he should be?  Do special honors and awards received by the pastor due to his work make him more desirable?

This is not the criteria used by St. Paul to commend the ministry of Timothy and himself according to today’s devotional verses.  Paul attributes their ministry  as God’s gift out of His mercy.  He said the two of them would not resort to the world’s way of marketing and crafting a message that will appeal to the masses.  (“we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.”)

Paul and Timothy strived to “set forth the truth.”  From the various writings of St. Paul you can be sure what this meant.  The Widow of Zarephath said of Elijah, “. . . I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” (1 Kings 17:7-24)  Jesus prayed to His Father that He would, “Sanctify them (the people) by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Paul wrote of their ministry that they, “plainly (commended themselves) to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God . . . by setting forth the truth.”

God, out of His underserved kindness and goodness filled Paul and Timothy with His word of truth.  It was with the whole truth and nothing but the truth given them by God through His word they hoped to win the hearts of the Corinthians, not through winsome and popular oratory nor the use of gimmicks and the like.

This remains the work of ministry today.  The ministry of the Christian church and its pastors is to proclaim the saving truth of the Gospel.  How the hearers react to this word of truth is totally dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who hear this word of truth.  A true minister of the Gospel presents God’s word and depends upon the Holy Spirit to work through it to bring people to faith and keep them in it to life everlasting.

1. C. Lenski, in his commentary states: “Truth needs no aids. Nothing is as strong, as convincing, as sure, as good as the truth. . .the saving truth of the Word.  Its truth itself cannot win a conscience, what can you add to truth to make it win? . . .No power is able to destroy it . . .(God’s) truth is the Rock of Ages.”

Prayer:  O Lord, speak Your truth to me through my pastor.  Amen.

Preach you the Word and plant it home

To men who like or like it not,

The Word that shall endure and stand

When flow’rs and men shall be forgot.

We know how hard, O Lord, the task

Your servant bade us undertake:

To preach Your Word and never ask

What prideful profit it may make.

The sower sows; his reckless love

Scatters abroad the goodly seed,

Intent alone that all may have

The wholesome loaves that all men need.

Though some be snatched and some be scorched

And some be choked and matted flat,

The sower sows; his heart cries out,

“Oh, what of that, and what of that?”

Of all his scattered plenteousness

One-fourth waves ripe on hill and flat,

And bears a harvest hundredfold:

“Ah, what of that, Lord, what of that!”

Preach you the Word and plant it home

And never faint; the Harvest Lord

Who gave the sower seed to sow

Will watch and tend His planted Word.

(LSB 586)