Simplicity and Godly Sincerity Part 1

Simplicity and Godly Sincerity

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 2Corinthians 1:12

It's amazing that apostle Paul would see it something to be boastful of and a testimony of Christlikeness and of the Christian behavioural system, a life of simplicity. It's more understandable to accept godly sincerity as a godly virtue than simplicity, simplicity sometimes presents as naivity and no one wants to be naive. But to Christ's Paul, both are of equal importance in the behavioural system of godliness.

Simplicity is that attitude without complexities, complications, unnecessary depth. It presents as innocence, lack of subtlety and an unpretentious way of dealing. An easily understandable kind of life. There is no guile in simplicity. It is transparent and clear that you can always see through it. 

While the King James and other related versions put it as simplicity, other translations use other words like holiness, purity, integrity, singleness (of mind), graciousness and generosity as translated from the Greek word, 'hagiotëti'. (Strong's 572)

The other virtue that Apostle Paul boasted of is godly sincerity. Sincerity speaks of truthfulness and conscientiousness. He called it godly sincerity probably because the possibility is there to be wrongly sincere. The translated word implies clearness. A dictionary explains it as the absence of pretence, deceit or hypocrisy. In sincerity, what you see is what you get. 

These two words and the thoughts around them show a little more often in his second letter to the Corinthians than in his other writings. 

2 Corinthians 2:17

You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. NLT

2Corinthians 4:2

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ESV 

2Corinthians 11:3

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. NKJV 

In studying through Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, it is clear that Paul was uncomfortable with certain preachers of his days. He saw insincerity in their ways through the underhanded complexities of their dealings. He tried to let the people know how he and his colleagues had dealt with them in sincerity and in simplicity. 

According to Paul, Christianity is done in simplicity and in godly sincerity as God watches our hearts and intentions for doing things and in our devotion to Him. 

It is a sign of some evil when we become complex, complicated and compounded. When it becomes difficult to be understood because of lots of coverups, most likely there's already a drifting away from Christ. 

Christianity isn't a cult. When our dealings start to take the nature of cultism, it is because of the 2Corinthians 4:2 syndrome. There are already disgraceful and underhand things going on. And there will be dishonesty and tampering with God's word to gain access into the lives of the innocent. 

When we have things to hide, we resort to worldly and fleshly wisdom to cover up. We dare not depend on the grace of God and on His Spirit at that point. That's when you hear people talking about 'applying wisdom'. Of course, it's not the wisdom that comes from above. It is such cunning craftiness that helps to earn things God hasn't given or hasn't promised which the sinful nature craves. 

In our quest to satisfy the cravings of worldly definition of success in building great organisations, wealth and popularity, which God may not have promised, we can't but slip into insincerity and complexities. A film script writer said 'saints don't build great things', implying that to build great things in the eyes of people, you can't assume absolutely moral posture. The Yorùbá people say the foundation of wealth may be messy. 

As we try to protect and to advance our fleshly causes, we fall into the sin of Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern kingdom of Israel after the split, who led Israel to sin, the sin of personal insecurity. Who in his bid to maintain a throne he gained only through grace, he raised idols in Israel to keep the people from going to Jerusalem to worship God as ordained by God, in case their hearts were won over back to the house of David. He formed alternative altars to the one ordained of God and called the idols, the God who brought Israel out of the captivity of Egypt. 

Apostle Paul saw the same dishonesty in display in his days and if we look around today, we can see same things ongoing. The danger is what Apostle Paul pointed out in 2Corinthians 11:3, how the simple hearts of believers can be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus or away from their simple devotion to Christ.

To be continued... Watch out for the Concluding part.

Jesus Christ is Lord!

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