The Unveiled Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

When I was getting my Master’s degree, I took a class about prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen. At the end of the course, we had to write a paper about some aspect of the theology of a prosperity preacher of our choosing. I chose Osteen, and in order to understand his theology, I had to watch nearly forty hours of his sermons. Now, I am not willing to say that Osteen has nothing good to say or that his messages all are blatant distortions of the Gospel. In fact, there were a number of sermons after which I did feel uplifted, having been reminded that God does care for me and want the best for me. However, when you listen to enough of Osteen’s sermons, you begin to notice that there is something glaringly absent from his messages and from his theology: sin. I have no doubt that Osteen believes that there is such a thing as sin, but he has little use for mentioning or addressing it in his sermons because it does not fit with his message that God’s main interaction with us is showering us with blessings.
I think this is similar to what Paul was addressing in his second letter to the Corinthians. As we come to find out, there are some super apostles who were dazzling the Corinthian congregation with their eloquence and their teaching. Furthermore, these super apostles commanded a premium price for their services. When Paul heard about this, he scoffed, and he accused these super apostles of not being true to the Gospel. Instead, they were twisting the message in such a way that made it more appealing, perhaps leaving out such messy things as “sin,” “suffering,” or certain responsibilities which Christians have. In turn, they made the message about themselves, thus veiling the heart of the Gospel from the eyes of the believers and from their own hearts.
By contrast, Paul says that the true apostles and ministers of the Gospel do no such thing. In fact, they proclaim the truth of Christ with all of its apparent foolishness and warts. Sure sin is not a very attractive talking point, telling people that they have something which separates them from God, but it is the truth. Sure nobody wants to hear how they might experience affliction or trials for following Christ on the path which leads toward the cross, but anything less would be deceptive. Maybe it is uncomfortable and difficult to articulate why and how a supreme being would take on human flesh and die—maybe the world thinks this is crazy—but it is precisely this message which is the Good News for the world. If the world does not want to hear that, if they cannot handle this truth, then it is because they have allowed themselves to be blinded from the truth. The glory of God in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the sin of the world is meant to shine forth.
Paul recalls the story of Moses when he veiled his face after meeting with God on the mountain. The glory of God had illuminated Moses’ face, and it was too much for the people of Israel. Instead, Christians who share the Gospel are not meant to veil the glory of God—the glory of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the sins of the world. If others have to avert or cover their eyes because they cannot handle this message, then so be it. We, however, are meant to shine forth this message in all of its glory, even those parts which are uncomfortable or which seem foolish. God was not ashamed of Jesus Christ—in fact, he vindicated him by raising Jesus from the dead—and neither should we be ashamed. -TL

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