A defense attorney was cross-examining a police officer during a felony trial and it went like this: Q. Officer, did you see my client fleeing the scene? A. No sir, but someone matching his description was seen running. Q. Officer, who provided this description? A. The officer who responded to the scene. Q. Do you trust your fellow officers? A. Yes sir, I trust them with my life.
Q. Then let me ask you this, officer. Is there a locker room at the police station? A. Yes sir, there is. Q. And do you have a locker in that room? A. Yes sir, I do. Q. And do you have a lock on your locker? A. Why, yes sir. Q. Now why is it, officer – if you trust your fellow officers with your life – that you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room that you share with those same officers? A. Well, you see sir, we share the building with a court complex, and sometimes lawyers walk through that room.
We like to joke about lawyers being untrustworthy, but I’m going to show you in a moment that people don’t trust pastors either.
Trust. There seems to be a lack of it these days. We don’t trust those new to the community, those with a different skin color, those from another country, or even those from a neighboring town. I used to think it was a local problem, but it’s not. It seems to be nationwide! And it probably has something to do with the fact that we’re so interconnected by today’s technology and media. The marketing firm “Edelman” says that America is now home to the least-trusting informed public of 28 countries surveyed, right below South Africa.(1)
So, where did this lack of trust come from? Well, Facebook hasn’t helped much. In managing their online image, people intentionally create false personas. We all know this, and so we’re skeptical in trusting what people portray. And in the early days of Facebook, we freely posted our heartfelt opinions, only to have people criticize us; and so now, we can’t trust our “friends” enough to post anything. And to top it off, the Facebook company has been leaking people’s personal data.
And then there’s all the fake news. In a Simmons consumer survey the average percentage of Americans who rated news sources as trustworthy was just 40.1%.(2) A recent study about Twitter shows that a false story reaches people six times quicker, on average, than a true story does, and fake news about politics does best. This study reveals that “Twitter users seem almost to prefer sharing falsehoods,” and that “falsehoods were 70 percent more likely to get retweeted than accurate news.”(3)
A lack of trust is causing people to narrow down their circle of friends. For example, in her song “Party in the Hills,” the Christian artist Hollyn sings: “Every weekend we throw a party in the Hills for fun. It’s drama free yeah, only got room for my day ones.” And in case you didn’t know, a “day one” is someone who’s been there from the start. It’s a sad time when Christians are singing about socializing only with their long-time friends, when we should be making new friends in order to share the gospel. That’s where mistrust leads – to narrowing down our world and ultimately our reach.
The prophet Micah, during the invasion by Assyria; he describes a time that sounds much like today. In Micah chapter seven, he declared, “The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains . . . The ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire – they all conspire together . . . Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend . . . But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior” (7:2a, 3b, 5a, 7 NIV).
Micah’s closing statement is the only hope for overcoming mistrust. Micah said that he “hoped in,” or rather he “trusted in” the Lord. Our refusal to trust is nothing more than a defense mechanism that gives us a sense of security, but it’s not real security. True security is ours only when we when can learn to trust. So, where does trust begin? It begins in “God my Savior,” as Micah said. It begins in Jesus Christ.
People Might Let You Down (vv. 15-18)
15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit – 16 to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea. 17 Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? 18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.
These verses can seem a bit confusing, so I did some research to figure out what’s going on here. In these verses Paul expressed his desire to visit the Corinthians. He originally planned to travel from Ephesus to Macedonia, and then to Corinth. He said he would visit the Corinthians in this intended order, but here we see that he changed his mind. Instead of visiting the Corinthians after going to Ephesus and Macedonia, he visited the Corinthians on his way to Ephesus and Macedonia, and then he planned to visit them again on the way back, in order that they might have a “second benefit,” as he calls it in verse 15.(4)
Paul loved the Corinthians so much that he wanted to see them twice. He was planning to do a good thing, but there were those who believed that since he changed his mind, that he was not following God’s plan for his journey. They believed that Paul’s travel itinerary was the result of much prayer (which it was), and that if Paul changed his travel plans that he was following his own human desires rather than God’s desires. “They accused him of following ‘fleshly wisdom’ (2 Corinthians 1:12), of being careless with the will of God (2 Corinthians 1:17), and of making plans just to please himself. They were saying, ‘If Paul says or writes one thing, he really means another! His yes is no, and his no is yes’.”(5)
“They [felt] that he made frivolous promises with a fickle intention, and that he could not be pinned down to a definite yes or no. That was bad enough, but they went on to argue, ‘If we cannot trust Paul’s everyday promises, if we cannot depend on him to do what he said he would do, how can we trust the things he told us about God?”(6) All this may sound petty, but it goes to show how easy it is to lose people’s trust. William Shakespeare said, “Don’t trust the person who has broken faith once.” One transgression (even if it appears to hold no weight); that’s all it takes to lose our witness before this world, before our peers and coworkers, and even before the church.
The trust rating for pastors is at an all-time low. A 2018 Gallup survey found that only 37 percent of 1,025 respondents had a high opinion of the honesty and ethical standards of clergy.(7) The reason given is linked to the recent scandals surrounding the Catholic priesthood. But people seem to be looking for a reason to criticize those who strive to do God’s will. They look for faults, because they just can’t accept the idea that God is faithful and trustworthy, and that He will never let them down. When a Christian “apparently” goes against the will of God, or “apparently” fails to maintain their integrity, then those who see this tend to blame God and lose hope in God’s faithfulness.
In verses 17-18, Paul said, “Do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.” When Paul was speaking of “yes” and “no,” he was making a reference to Matthew 5:37, in which Jesus said, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’.” In other words, a person should stick to his or her word. If we say we will do something, we need to be true to what we say and follow through. Some of the Corinthians looked at Paul’s indecisiveness or “spiritual spontaneity” in a negative way, as being unfaithful and lying about his plans.
Paul said that he was not being unfaithful in changing his plans. His words were not both “yes” and “no.” He did not lie to the Corinthians. In fact, in verse 15, he said, “And in this confidence I intended to come to you before.” Go back to verse 12, and we can see what Paul’s confidence was. He said, “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.” Paul’s confidence was a clear conscience that he was being faithful to both God and the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 2:17, he proclaimed, “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”
Paul changed his mind about when he would visit the Corinthians, perhaps at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, but this did not show a lack of integrity on Paul’s part. Possibly the Lord wanted him to visit them twice. We can see here that even though Paul was doing a good thing, some people felt let down; like they couldn’t trust God’s leader and the words he spoke about Jesus Christ.
Jesus Will Never Let You Down (vv. 19-20)
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me, Silvanus, and Timothy – was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Paul realized that some of the people felt let down and that he could not gain back everyone’s trust, but he did try to assure them that even though human beings might let them down, Jesus never would. Even though some people viewed Paul as wavering in his honesty, Paul assured them that the message he preached was true, and the One behind his message was forever faithful.
Paul said, “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen.” Paul frequently reminded his audiences of the Old Testament promises that God made to His people (Rom. 1:2; Eph. 2:12).(8) Paul assured the Corinthians that all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that none of them were untrue. The promises of the Lord can be trusted, and they are all revealed in Jesus.
I like this quote by William Barclay. He says, “Jesus is the yes to every promise of God.”(9) God’s answer of “yes” to us – “yes you will receive the forgiveness of sins” and “yes you will receive eternal life” – His answer of “yes” was manifested in Jesus. When someone scores a basket or a touchdown, we shout out “Yes!” Well let me tell you, in Jesus Christ we find a reason to shout “yes!” and a reason to shout “amen!” So, what is it that assures us that God can be trusted, and that we can truly have eternal life in Christ?
Our Trust in Jesus is Guaranteed (vv. 21-22)
21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
We see here that if we know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that we are “sealed” with Him and given the Spirit as a “guarantee.” A seal was placed on a letter or message as a mark of authenticity and authority,(10) in order to signify that what was written was directly from the hand that signed it. The writer, or owner, would have had a special stamp which contained his mark, and he would have pressed that stamp down into either hot wax or wet clay, and then attached it to a letter. Also, artisans used stamps to place seals on pottery, in order to show whom the creator was.(11) If we know Jesus as Savior we have God’s mark on us. We are now God’s creation, and His seal of authenticity and approval can never be taken away, for it is eternally engraved on our hearts.
After we are sealed with Christ, we receive the Spirit as a guarantee. So, what is a guarantee? The American Heritage Dictionary states that a guarantee is “a formal assurance that something is represented or that a specific act will be performed.” It also means “to assume responsibility for the debt or default.”(12) If we know Jesus Christ, we can be assured that our salvation was completed on the cross; and the Spirit is a testimony that Christ has indeed assumed the responsibility for our debt of sin.
But let me go a little deeper. The Greek word used here for guarantee is arrabon. “An arrabon was the first installment of a payment, paid as a guarantee that the rest was sure to follow.”(13) It was a down payment to hold our place in heaven. “So when Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as an arrabon given to us by God, he means that the kind of life we live in the Holy Spirit and by the help of the Holy Spirit is the first installment of the life of heaven . . . The gift of the Holy Spirit is God’s token and pledge of greater things to come.”(14)
So, how is it that we obtain this seal and guarantee of salvation in Christ? Ephesians 1:13-14 tell us, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” We are sealed with the Holy Spirit and guaranteed eternal life after we 1.) hear the gospel preached, 2.) believe in what we hear, and 3.) trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Time of Reflection
If we wish to have eternal life, we must believe the Word of God that Jesus Christ is the resurrected Lord, and trust in Him as Savior. We can be assured that Jesus will never let us down. People will break their promises, but God’s promise of salvation in Christ is guaranteed to never be broken.
In Jesus, God’s answer to us is always “Yes!” If we ask for salvation, Jesus says, “Yes!” If we ask for help in our trials and troubles, Jesus says, “Yes, I will be with you.” If we ask Jesus to use us for His glory, His answer is, “Yes, I will use you.” When Jesus tells us “yes,” then we, in turn, have a reason to shout “Yes!” and to rejoice in the Son of God who will never let us down. Revelation 3:14 calls Him “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.”
“I said earlier that true security is ours only when we when can learn to trust,” and “trust begins in Jesus Christ.” If we want society to change and see people begin trusting one another again; if we want people to prove trustworthy – then we must trust them. If we want to receive trust, then we must first extend it. However, we can only trust someone else when we feel secure; when we ourselves have dared to trust and were not let down; when someone has proven faithful to us. Well, there is only One who is faithful, and only One who will never let us down – and His name is Jesus.
If you can learn to truly trust Jesus Christ with your life, to be your Savior and Guide, to rely on His Word as the source of truth to speak into your circumstances; that trust will translate into all other areas of your life and it will affect the lives of those around you. I invite you to come trust in Jesus.
NOTES
(1) https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/trust-trump-america-world/550964/.
(2) https://www.simmonsresearch.com/2018/10/03/rise-doubters-consumers-weigh-fake-news-media-trustworthiness/.
(3) https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/largest-study-ever-fake-news-mit-twitter/555104/.
(4) Richard L. Pratt, Jr., 1 and 2 Corinthians, Holman New Testament Commentary (ed. Max Anders; Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000), 306.
(5) Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor, 1089), 633.
(6) William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1956), 196.
(7) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gallup-poll-clergy-honesty-ethics_us_5c23d864e4b0407e907f752f.
(8) Pratt, 307.
(9) Barclay, 196.
(10) A. R. Millard, “Seal,” New Bible Dictionary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1982), 1081.
(11) Ibid., 1081.
(12) Mark Boyer, ed. et al., The American Heritage Dictionary (Boston: Dell, 1983), 309.
(13) Barclay, 197
(14) Ibid., 198.
