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 In
contrasting his work with that of certain false teachers at
Corinth, Paul writes that “we are not as the many, corrupting
the word of God.. .“ (2 Cor. 2:l7). The Greek word rendered
“corrupting” appears only here in the NT, but has an
interesting background. According to W.E. Vine the word “primarily
signifies to be a retailer, to peddle, to hucksterize (from
KAPELOS, an inn-keeper, a petty retailer, especially of wine, a
huckster, peddler, in contrast to EMPOROS, a merchant); hence,
to get base gain by dealing in anything, and so, more generally,
to do anything for sordid personal advantage.” (Expository
Dictionary of NT Words, Vol. 1, p. 242)
As
the huckster would water-down his wine and misrepresent his
wares in order to gain more profit, so would these false
teachers alter and adulterate the word of God for personal gain
or advantage. Paul refers to such hucksters in Titus 1:11 as “teaching
things which they ought not for filthy lucre’s sake”. Peter
refers to the same kind of men as being motivated by
covetousness and warns that “they with feigned words make
merchandise of you...“ (2 Pet. 2:3). From both definition and
Scripture we have depicted here the unscrupulous religious
charlatan who pretends to be on God’s side while doing the
work of the devil. Such characters are still around and need
exposing.
The
pitch may differ somewhat from the days of Paul, but be assured
that the “holy” huckster is still alive and apparently doing
quite well. For a modest donation he will send you a “genuine”
prayer cloth or bless a
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sample of your seed crop with
assurances of a bountiful harvest. He practically guarantees
that by “casting your bread upon the water” (sending him
your money), something good will come your way. Humorous? To
some perhaps, but not all laugh. Some respond. To them it is
another “straw” of hope to be grasped... like the terminal
cancer victim or the drunkard’s wife — or the prisoner’s
mother. Unfortunately, their ignorance coupled with their
aspirations make them the perfect “set-up” for exploitation
by the huckster. They constitute a ready market for the shyster who
will tell them what they want to hear — and herein lies
the secret to the huckster’s extraordinary success.
Accordingly,
the huckster’ s activities are not confined to audiences of
high-powered border radio stations! His services may actually be
solicited, even among the “educated” and sophisticated
religionists. Many have no appetite for the pure and undiluted
gospel; they prefer that “smooth things” be spoken by their
teachers (Isa. 30:10). Paul wrote of some who would not endure
sound doctrine and would “heap to themselves teachers after
their own lusts” (2 Tim. 4:3). Teachers who water-down the
gospel or soft-peddle truth for position or financial security
are no less hucksters than the prayer-cloth variety! In fact,
they are probably more dangerous in their subtleties. God’s
people must recognize them for what they are: enemies of truth.
As such they do not deserve our fellowship, endorsement or
support. Our allegiance must be to truth and to its faithful
proclaimers. Dan S. Shipley
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