But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
The craft and guile in the verse do not mean deception but wise, harmless tact and discretion employed to gain a hearing and lead people step by step toward truth. It is a careful approach to winning people, truthful to the mission and never compromising it, that seeks to get close to them and secure good will. It works as lambs among wolves, as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves, giving dignity and character to the work.
The method is to be adapted to the people, circumstances, time, and place instead of using one fixed pointed way. It requires modifying the methods of labor and carefully planning what to say and what to leave unsaid. All doctrine is not to be pressed upon unbelievers at once, nor every truth presented at the same time.
With Jewish hearers this meant beginning with Scripture and teachings they already accepted and leading them step by step over the promises made of a Saviour and over the prophecies that pointed Him out. Those promises and specifications were dwelt upon until they were distinct in their minds and they knew they were to have a Saviour. Only then was it shown that the Messiah had already come and that Jesus fulfilled every specification. The birth, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection were not first made prominent, even though those were the special truths for that time.
This careful presentation keeps earlier prejudice from blinding eyes, perverting judgment, and closing the door of the heart. It is especially needed when laboring for those bound in chains of prejudice and ignorance and when souls are just beginning to get the scales from their eyes. It involves accommodating customs where possible, agreeing on every point where one consistently can, and desiring to be in harmony so far as possible. Getting close to people, revealing love for souls and the love of Christ, showing a conscientious Christian spirit, gaining confidence, subduing hard hearts and preparing the soil are part of it, all without sacrificing any principle of truth or righteousness.
For entering fields where people are unfamiliar with the faith, the same approach first dwells on practical godliness and the self-denying example of Jesus so people recognize the contrast with their own lives. Then the prophecies and the binding claims of God's law are presented, and souls are cautiously led into full truth. The work is to be personal and heart-reaching, meeting people on points of agreement and building up by presenting the truth in Jesus without tearing down churches. Seed thus sown is watered by God until it springs up and bears fruit to His glory, and far more real and lasting results follow.
The craft and guile in the verse do not mean deception but wise, harmless tact and discretion employed to gain a hearing and lead people step by step toward truth. It is a careful approach to winning people, truthful to the mission and never compromising it, that seeks to get close to them and secure good will. It works as lambs among wolves, as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves, giving dignity and character to the work.
The method is to be adapted to the people, circumstances, time, and place instead of using one fixed pointed way. It requires modifying the methods of labor and carefully planning what to say and what to leave unsaid. All doctrine is not to be pressed upon unbelievers at once, nor every truth presented at the same time.
With Jewish hearers this meant beginning with Scripture and teachings they already accepted and leading them step by step over the promises made of a Saviour and over the prophecies that pointed Him out. Those promises and specifications were dwelt upon until they were distinct in their minds and they knew they were to have a Saviour. Only then was it shown that the Messiah had already come and that Jesus fulfilled every specification. The birth, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection were not first made prominent, even though those were the special truths for that time.
This careful presentation keeps earlier prejudice from blinding eyes, perverting judgment, and closing the door of the heart. It is especially needed when laboring for those bound in chains of prejudice and ignorance and when souls are just beginning to get the scales from their eyes. It involves accommodating customs where possible, agreeing on every point where one consistently can, and desiring to be in harmony so far as possible. Getting close to people, revealing love for souls and the love of Christ, showing a conscientious Christian spirit, gaining confidence, subduing hard hearts and preparing the soil are part of it, all without sacrificing any principle of truth or righteousness.
For entering fields where people are unfamiliar with the faith, the same approach first dwells on practical godliness and the self-denying example of Jesus so people recognize the contrast with their own lives. Then the prophecies and the binding claims of God's law are presented, and souls are cautiously led into full truth. The work is to be personal and heart-reaching, meeting people on points of agreement and building up by presenting the truth in Jesus without tearing down churches. Seed thus sown is watered by God until it springs up and bears fruit to His glory, and far more real and lasting results follow.