2 Corinthians 7:2 KJV
Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have
corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.
There is a great deal of pathos in this passage. The apostle nearly
pleads for the affection of the members of this church. After his stern
correction, in his first letter to the church in Corinth of certain offending members, he had
been concerned for their heart toward him. He here expresses that nothing he
had done was meant to wrong, corrupt or defraud anyone.
But apart from the pathos,
there are some wise lessons for every believer. We must bear witness to the
truth. We must be strong in our convictions. But we must never be purposely
injurious to others.
- Ours is to correct those who do wrong and comfort those who have
been wronged but never to do the wrong
- Ours is to give sound doctrine and principles. We must take care to
not place a stumbling block before others or to point them in the broad
way of destruction
- Ours is to be servants of others and not to use others for our own
means and ends
Paul could honestly
appeal to their affections because he had done nothing to alienate their
affections. Any distance that may have existed between them was the result of
one of two things:
- The negative influence of false teachers
- The rejection of honest preaching and teaching
In either case, the
apostle's conscience was free to earnestly appeal for love and affection.
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