And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Ethan Longhenry
@deverbovitae
- 44 Followers
- 36 Following
- 1.1K Posts
encouraging people in all things concerning the Word of Life
How can we identify and resist the servants of Satan who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness?
To this day this concern remains valid: not a few Christians have strayed by commending or justifying those who present themselves as righteous but display the fruit of serving Satan in their ultimate purposes and end.
Satan can masquerade as an angel of light; many have been deceived by him into thinking something was righteous that really was not.
Yet it seems Paul expected the Corinthian Christians to already understand this, or at least certainly not object to it.
Paul's primary concern was about those who served #Satan but disguised themselves as servants of righteousness.
Why might Paul have decided not to accept support from the Corinthian Christians?
Supporting a laborer in the Lord's vineyard does not give people authority over him, nor does it put him in their debt.
We do well to maintain a healthy relationship dynamic involving laborers in the Lord's Kingdom and financial support.
In 2 Corinthians 7:7-11, Paul felt compelled to defend his decision to not be a burden to the Corinthian Christians and receive #support from elsewhere to preach and minister in their midst.
Apparently this had been used as a weapon against him, but he would not be made ashamed of it.
Paul had his reasons for not wanting to receive support from the Corinthian Christians, and it probably did not speak well regarding the Corinthians.
When I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so (2 Corinthians 11:9).
How and when might we do well to express a "godly" jealousy?
Such "godly jealousy" can be good and important: we should have a desire to see other people be saved, and to have a similar kind of "godly jealousy" toward them.
But jealousy can very quickly and easily become less than "godly" and much more carnal, featuring selfishness and greed.
We should strive to maintain a godly jealousy while resisting any impulse to turn it for worldly ends.