Almost everyone has encountered a Christian who seems so knowledgeable in the Bible but is so unloving with their actions. They spew out memorized verses when in conversations that leads one to think that they have the whole Bible memorized. But in their quest to “defend the truth”, they trample on others without regard, often thinking that they are doing God’s will.
As I was reading my devotional, I was surprised to learn that the Apostle Paul has a term for it: mere peddlers of the Word.
I’m currently reading through 2 Corinthians and a sentence in the second chapter captured my attention. It’s near the end of the chapter but let’s read a good chunk of the passage to get a better idea of what Paul was talking about.
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ESV
What is a Peddler?
According to Merriam-Webster, a peddler is “one who offers merchandise for sale along the street or from door to door.” Some translations opted to translate the greek term as “corrupt”, giving a more negative tone to the word. In fact, in the modern English language, the connotation for the term is not favourable with many even equating the term with a drug dealer. So in my contexts, the term “peddler” is not viewed too highly.
In the passage, Paul puts into perspective the difference between being a mere peddler of the Word and being an actual sincere follower of Christ. Looking at the passage then, let’s see the difference between the two.
1. Followers of Jesus Are Sincere
When preaching the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mat 5:8 ESV). One of the products of having a pure heart is sincerity. When believers engage in a dynamic and ongoing relationship with Jesus, their actions come from a place of sincerity, with no hidden agenda, no hidden malice, no hidden judgment, etc. Mature believers who live out their faith are less about making noise or pointing out the flaws in others and more about taking people under their wing and winning them over with genuine love and authenticity.
I had a professor in college who stated that the most immature people tend to be the noisiest. Oftentimes, others believe that just because they can recite Bible verses from the top of their heads or have a Scriptural rebuttal for any argument, that they are mature in Christ. But if their Scriptural knowledge isn’t coupled with genuine love and sincerity, that just makes them mere peddlers of the Word.
A mature Christian should be sincere in everything they do and reflect the love of Jesus in their actions.
2. Followers of Jesus Take No Joy in Rebuking
The ministry of Paul wasn’t short of rebuking others who were in the wrong. In fact, it’s because of the number of rebukes he made in his letters that a certain percentage of Christians don’t particularly love his letters, and in extreme cases, reject them. Some may say he was harsh. But if you read the first and second chapter of this verse, he relays to the Corinthians how deeply it bothered him how much he had to rebuke them in his last letter. We see here that although Paul had to resort to sharp rebuke, he did so with a heavy heart, knowing that calling them out was a way to love them because letting them go on in sin without saying anything would cause their demise.
In contrast, mere peddlers of the Word seem to rebuke others and put them down “for the sake of the truth” with no actual interest in the well-being of the other party. They only care about being right.
What contrasts real believers from mere peddlers is the motivation behind the rebuke. Sincere believers don’t take rebuking lightly and are disheartened when they have to do it while mere peddlers delight in correcting others to uplift their own ego.
3. Followers of Jesus Speak Life
Every word that comes out of peddlers’ mouths is meant to put down others. Instead of using the holy Word to build up the body of Christ, all they do is tear down. The Word of God is a double-edged sword, but it’s only meant to be used against the enemies, not against those belonging to the body of Christ.
The opposite is true with sincere Jesus followers. They speak life into people’s lives. When you are a sincere follower of Christ, you seek to learn the deeper parts of Biblical principles to be able to manoeuvre through the more difficult aspects of the faith with maturity and deeper understanding. You move beyond mere talking points and see the intricacies of the Word when it intersects with society, culture, and people’s daily lives. So no matter how difficult the conversation is, a sincere follower finds a way to avoid judgment or condemnation and instead speaks life into the conversation.
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of being a Christian yet losing focus on Christ. There’s a real danger of forgetting the heart of Jesus while reading and interpreting the Scriptures. Couple that with our sinful human condition, the Bible turns from the beautiful story and display of God’s love for humanity into a manual created by our own biases and standards.
We must take extra care that our faith journey is spent wholly looking at Jesus through reading the Scriptures so that what comes out of us is a reflection of Jesus.
Make His name known in a beautiful light in a way that everyone will be inspired to follow.
