Paul could never get it right. To some readers he was far too liberal. To others he was restrictive. Apparently some folks some folks were comlaining that Paul was putting too much of a burden on them with his talk of ministry and the hardships of the gospel.
Paul points out here that that is not the issue at all. His heart and his words were wide open and clear and not hidden. It was not those words that limited them. They were limited and restricted by their own words. Paul wrote this second letter to commend them, but they still were constrained by their guilt.
Paul reminds the people of somethings we too need to hear. Our Christian life should not load us down with weights and burdens and a heavy heart as we try and fail to match up to someone’s expectation, or even worse, our own expectation of us. God doesn’t want us in a state of discouragement and despair. He wants us to live in victory.
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