New Creation: A Study in 2 CorinthiansSample

What does it say?

Paul warned the Corinthian church about false apostles and teachers who were pulling them away from the truth of Christ.

What does it mean?

Paul painted a picture of himself as a father and the Corinthian church as a daughter he’s nurtured for her groom, Christ. The false teachers were deceptively wooing the church with a false gospel while pretending to represent Christ. They started by maligning Paul, attempting to drive a wedge between him and the church. These men were following the tactics of Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light, to make what’s wrong seem right. The Corinthians were gullible enough to believe anything if someone claimed to preach in the name of Jesus.

How should I respond?

Satan is the master deceiver. He can’t claim followers of Christ for himself, but he can affect your thinking and keep you busy through distraction. He mixes lies with truth in order to lure you away. That’s why it’s important to study Scripture and know the truth so you can recognize error when you hear it. What false teachers do you recognize today? What half-truth, compromise, or rationalization are you tempted to believe? Determine to be a student of God’s Word because a gullible Christian will be an ineffective Christian.