Substance Over Style?

2 Corinthians 11: 5-11

It seems Paul was considered to be a less than desirable teacher. He was not a polished orator. He was not up on the latest styles. He just taught. He let his "superior knowledge" shine rather than his oratory. The Corinthians seemed to have been caught up in the fashion of the day, however. Paul calls these special people "eminent apostles" (NASB), or "super-apostles" (CSB). Whatever these folks were teaching, it was not the gospel Paul had spent 18 months teaching them! Imagine investing a year and a half in a group of people and having them follow someone else because they're just more charismatic!

It's interesting to observe how we decide who is worth investing our time in. When I was in High School, I was in the band (yep, full-on band geek). Our band director charged a whopping one dollar for admission to our concerts. He didn't want the ticket to get in the way of family coming to hear us perform, but people viewed a concert that had no cost as having no value. Paul didn't ask the Corinthians to support him while he was there, even though it was the custom of his day. People didn't value his teaching, in part, because he did not charge them for it. So, the Corinthians were not only following the fancy orator, they were paying them to be misled.

I wish I could say we were better today, but we're clearly not. We are a little different because there is at least something of an expectation that resources on the web will be "free." There is no such thing as free, but that is an entirely different discussion. And we do love those free web resources. But are we easily fooled by teachers who sound good, put up a good bit of professional flash, or move us emotionally? Do we take time to compare what we read, hear, see and sing to the Word of God? Do we allow the Holy Spirit to instruct us? Do we spend enough time in our Bibles to allow us to be discerning? 

Well, we have the tools. We have the opportunity for fellowship and the resource of good teaching at church. Especially at Riverview Christian in Reading, PA. Be a blessing to someone and I'll see you on Sunday.

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