Saturday, April 30, 2011

Lenski - On Adulterating the Word of God




"Crafty conduct is paired with 'adulterating the Word of God.' These two ever go together. He who is not honest with himself will not be overhonest with the Word. The reverse is also true--and the writer may be permitted to say that he has witnessed it too often--he who is not really honest with the Word cannot be trusted very far with his conduct. Dolow=to catch with bait, to fix up something so as to deceive and to catch somebody. It is used with regard to adulterating wine. So here: 'adulterating the Word of God,' not leaving it pure lest people reject it but falsifying it to catch the crowd. Of all the dastardly deeds done in the world this is the most dastardly. None is more criminal nor more challenging to God himself."

R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Letter to the Corinthians, Columbus: Wartburg Press, 1957, p. 955. 2 Corinthians 4:2.