Questioned Motives

Introduction

A. Words have tremendous impact. “ILL. Tongue: speaking with tact.” Have you ever been falsely accused? Ever had your motives questioned? Ever heard words said about you that you knew were false but had no way of stating the truth? Most of us have. Most of us have been misquoted, misunderstood, and mislabeled. That is never a good situation although good can come from it. For most of us, all we really have is our character. Sometimes that character is given away by words, actions, or motives. But when someone else questions our words, actions and motives many times we are not given an opportunity to respond or to defend ourselves.

B. Paul finds himself in a defensive mode with the Corinthians. He has words, actions, and motives have been questioned. He is seen as being weak and without real strength. His character has been maligned. He is not in Corinth when all of this takes place. Instead, it comes to him through reports from others. And these reports sting, because Paul is falsely accused. But Paul does something in today’s text which is very interesting. While he defends himself against them, he does so by calling on God and reminding his readers of the promises of God especially as they are fulfilled through the Holy Spirit. Paul’s words serve to remind us how to respond when falsely accused.

I. Rebuttal

A. This section is a rebuttal to the accusations. In verses 12–14, Paul defends his actions. He says that his actions were done with holiness and sincerity — a holiness and sincerity which are from God. He was not trying to think like people of this world, but trying to think in terms of God’s grace. Paul had spent 18 months with these people. During that time, they saw how he acted. Heard him speak; saw his conduct of life. He was at least in his own mind confident that he had conducted himself with holiness and sincerity. While Paul is not willing to say anything specifically, those false teachers who had come after him had caused problems among the Christians. They had brought disunity. The idea of “worldly wisdom,” which he will speak of in chapter 5, was previously mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1 when Paul is speaking against the divisions which were among them and the false teachers who had come preaching that the cross was foolish. In verses 12–14, Paul’s point is to defend himself against their accusations and to remind them that his actions demonstrated God.

B. In verses 15–24, Paul defends his words. In 1 Corinthians 16:5, Paul had said that he intended to come to Corinth and perhaps spend the winter with them. But he was unable to do as he intended. Some accused him of not being a man of his word. Some said Paul was double tongued. He said one thing and meant something else. He was a man who broke his promises. Paul responds that he had planned on coming to Corinth not just once but twice. His plans (v. 17) were not made lightly or in a worldly manner — that is say what someone wants to hear and then do whatever you want to do. Instead, Paul points to Jesus who keeps all his promises. In fact, like Jesus, God keeps all of his promises. It is this same God who has anointed all with the Holy Spirit who is a pledge that all of his promises will be kept. What is the point? Paul says like the Corinthians he placed himself into God’s hands. What he planned to do was open to the will of God. If God changed his plans, then it didn’t mean that a promise was broken but that God was actively involved in carrying out his will. In other words, Paul aligns himself with God’s words. Just as he conducted his life in ways which demonstrated the presence of God so his words were from God.

C. In verses 1:23–2:4, Paul defends his motives. Paul is accused of wanting to be “lord over” the Corinthians. His accusers said that Paul broke promises. He did so because he was interested in being in control and power. Paul says in verse 23 that his not coming to Corinth prevented him from having to “chew out” the Corinthians. And he calls on God as proof of his motives. It was God who was saving them. It was God who was keeping him from being there to unload on them. In fact, Paul says in 2:1, he was determined not to come to Corinth unless he could come with joy and love. He didn’t want to come to Corinth with harsh words. That was the reason according to 2:4 that he wrote a difficult letter. Notice that he says the letter was written not from the heart of a ruler, but from a heart of one who loves deeply and profoundly. The letter’s intent was to correct the Corinthians not so that they would listen to him, but listen to God.

II. Lessons

A. One obvious lesson comes from this text. The best defense against accusations is to point to God. This is what Paul did. Accusations against us will come. Someone will say that our actions, words, or motives are wrong. When that happens and we know that the accusations are unfounded, then as Paul did, we need to point to God. Paul’s defense when accused was that he was trying to live as God would want him to; that his words were based on the activity of God; that his motives were pure and that God was the thought behind why he did what he did. Peter will say in 1 Peter 2:12 that we are live such a good life among the pagans that when they accuse us of wrongdoing that the goodness of our lives will show through so that God is seen. False accusations will come, make sure that those accusations have no basis in truth.

B. Having said that the next two lessons are implicit from the text rather than explicit. Paul has to examine his life when the accusations come and attempt to defend himself. The benefit of even false accusations is that it provides us an opportunity to reexamine our lives to make sure that we are in the will of God. Our motives may be right but our actions may betray them. A false accusation allows us to examine and repent if necessary.

C. But the real lesson in all of this is from the perspective of the accuser. Why do accusations begin? In Paul’s situation, someone came in and stirred up the people so that Paul, though absent, was seen in a bad light. There was first the initial accusation and then there was the acceptance of that accusation as accurate. Were Paul’s actions wrong? No. Were his words? No. Were his motives? No. But people believed they were. Why? Because they were willing to think the worst about Paul rather than thinking the best. The 1 Peter passage is in the context of pagans or non-Christians accusing us. But when our fellow Christians accuse us, what defense is there? Why would Christians falsely accuse in the first place and why would it be accepted? Here is the challenge. When you hear an accusation against another — and you know exactly what I am talking about — do one of two things — either rebuff the person for not talking to the one who is accused or go find the accused one and bring the two parties together. Paul is absent. It is easy for the accusations to be made and believed because he is not there to defend himself. But that is not the case in most congregations.

1. If you believe that a person's actions, words, or motives are wrong, then in love, talk to that person. Don't go talk to someone else. Don't go make an accusation against the person which will fuel discord. This is what the false teachers did in Corinth and it caused great damage.

2. What we as Christians should do is see the best in each other. If we could express our appreciation for each other with the same amount of fervor as we use to accuse, then Satan will not get a foothold here. Let me be blunt. I don't know of anyone here whose motives are of Satan. I may not understand words or actions, but I have no doubt that seated in this auditorium are those who love God, love this congregation, and love each other. Let's believe the best about each other. This is preventative and proactive not a reaction to some particular situation.

3. It is appropriate for us to celebrate what God has done and is doing in our lives by taking the supper together.

D. ILL. “Tongue: controlling the tongue.” Let’s make sure our words lift each other up. Let’s make sure we see the best in each other. Let’s live and speak in such a way that accusations cannot be believed. Let’s point to God who is actively involved in carrying out his will in our lives. Invitation.

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