“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (2 Corinthians 2:17).

The apostle Paul recognized that there are some wrong motivations connected with sharing the gospel. He used the words “peddle…for profit” to describe one of them. He used a word that referred to sellers of wine who would adulterate their product in order to make more money.

The dangers of diluting the gospel were basically two in Paul’s day. First, were those who mixed the gospel with Greek thought in order to impress the secular Greek culture. As Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, “The Greeks look for wisdom” (1:22). By far the most dangerous corruption of his teaching was the attempt by some to mix the message of Christ with demands by the law—specifically telling Christians that they had to keep the law as well as believe in Christ.

Paul didn’t water down the Christian message with secular philosophy or religious legalism. He spoke with sincerity. That word meant that his teaching could stand inspection under the revealing light of the sun. He unashamedly proclaimed Christ—His Cross and His resurrection—as our only means of salvation. That conviction led to the pain caused by the opposition of his critics but He never wavered from the truth. His firm commitment was to Christ alone. “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23).