December 27, 2024

Paul tells the Thessalonians that they did not come to impress people, but rather their only concern was God.  They cared about people in the sense that they should love them because God does and calls us to love others.  They did not care if the people found them to be impressive or if they had popularity.  Their job was to clearly and simply tell the truth of the Gospel.  Whether people liked what they said was not a concern, they only cared that people heard what they needed to hear about Jesus.  They did not use deception.  They did not try to ignore some parts of Scripture that may make people uncomfortable.  They certainly didn't add their own little twist to what the Bible says.
 Deception would certainly be lying about what the Bible says.  But isn't it also deception when we are asked something about our faith and we seek the diplomatic answer rather than the plain truth of the Bible.  I have seen pastors and others on TV asked about issues and when they are asked "does the Bible say this is a sin" they don't lead with a yes or no,  but rather they talk in a circle without ever really saying anything at all. God meant what He said so when it comes to Scripture we should never talk in a circle but rather our answer should be straight and as narrow as the Scripture states.  This doesn't mean there is no explanation or discussion necessary.  What it means is that we lead with the plain truth rather than trying to detour before getting to an answer.