Why did Paul refuse to water down his message to make people feel good?
Paul refused to dilute his message because that would adulterate and corrupt God's Word, making it merely ear-tickling and feel-good. He rejected the hawker's suspect, adulterated goods and insisted on bringing the real, uncorrupted truth. He would not handle the word of God deceitfully.
Les explains that Paul was not watering down his message with something that would tickle people's ears or merely make them feel good. Such a message would have been an adulteration and a corruption. The Greek word for “corrupt” in verse 17, Les notes, was like a street salesman or hawker peddling his goods; such hawkers are usually suspect because their products are not the best quality and are themselves adulterated. Paul says he is not like those people and is not coming with something corrupted, adulterated, or cheap—he is coming with the real thing. In chapter 4, verse 2, Paul says they were not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth. Les adds that truth is elusive, but searching the Scriptures brings it out; people who did that realized they had been under false teaching and false doctrine they could not find in the book.
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
More Questions
What did Paul say about the kind of message he came with?
Paul distinguishes himself from hawkers of corrupt goods, saying he does not come with something corrupted, adulterated, or cheap but with the real thing.
What does Paul mean by saying he did not come with a product likened to wine watered down with water?
Paul's image of not coming with watered-down wine means he did not present an adulterated, diluted version of the Word of God.