The Scandal of a Free Gospel Text: 2 Corinthians 11:7-11
Introduction: The Economics of the Kingdom
We live in a world that runs on transactions. Everything has a price, a cost, a quid pro quo. This is the air our world breathes, and tragically, it is the air that has seeped into the church. We have men who treat the gospel like a commodity, a product to be marketed, packaged, and sold. They are religious entrepreneurs, peddling the Word of God for personal gain, measuring their success by the size of their auditoriums and the heft of their bank accounts. They are slick, they are polished, and they are, as Paul says elsewhere, men whose god is their belly.
Into this transactional mindset, the apostle Paul crashes with the force of a wrecking ball. He introduces a completely different economy, the economy of grace. And the Corinthians, worldly-wise as they were, simply could not get their heads around it. They were a sophisticated, urban people, accustomed to the Greco-Roman system of patronage. In their world, a respectable philosopher or teacher was supported by wealthy patrons. To work with your hands, to refuse payment, was to signal that you were a nobody, a charlatan, a man without honor or credentials. The false apostles who had infiltrated Corinth understood this perfectly. They came with impressive resumes, charged a premium for their services, and lived high on the hog, and the Corinthians were duly impressed.
Paul, by contrast, came to them and preached the glorious gospel of God, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and he did it for free. This was not just a personal preference; it was a strategic, theological statement. It was a scandal. It was an offense. And the Corinthians, instead of seeing it as an act of love, took it as an insult. They thought Paul was slighting them, treating them as second-class, suggesting they weren't worth the investment. Paul’s refusal to take their money became one of the primary weapons his enemies used against him. "See? He doesn't even believe in his own message enough to be supported by it. He must not be a real apostle."
In our text today, Paul confronts this accusation head-on. He employs withering sarcasm and fierce irony to expose the twisted logic of his opponents and the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians. He is going to boast, but his boasting will turn the world’s value system completely upside down. He will show them that his financial policy was not a sign of his weakness, but a demonstration of his love and a key mark of his authentic, Christ-like apostleship.
The Text
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you without charge? I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to minister to you. And when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brothers came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept and will keep myself from being a burden to you. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
(2 Corinthians 11:7-11 LSB)
A Sin of Humility? (v. 7)
Paul begins with a question dripping with holy sarcasm.
"Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you without charge?" (2 Corinthians 11:7)
You can almost hear the incredulity in his voice. "Let me get this straight. You are accusing me of wrongdoing? And what was my great crime? Was it that I lowered myself, that I refused the status and honor your celebrity teachers demand, all so that you might be lifted up into the heavenlies in Christ Jesus? Was my sin that I gave you the priceless gospel of God for free?" He is holding up a mirror to their absurdity. They were offended by the very pattern of the gospel itself. For what is the gospel, if not the story of the ultimate act of humbling for the sake of exaltation? Christ, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).
Paul’s ministry was a living embodiment of this principle. He humbled himself, working as a tentmaker, refusing the rights and privileges that were legitimately his as an apostle (1 Cor. 9:1-14), so that they might be spiritually exalted. He was acting like their father, not a hireling. A father provides for his children; he does not bill them for his services. But the Corinthians, with their worldly values, saw this paternal love as an insult. They wanted a transaction, a professional relationship that they could control with their money. Paul offered them a covenantal relationship of love, and they didn't know what to do with it.
Notice he calls it the "gospel of God." This wasn't Paul's patented philosophy. He was a steward, a messenger, delivering a message that originated with God Himself. To charge for it would be to act as though he owned it. By giving it freely, he was demonstrating that it was a gift, pure grace from start to finish. To commercialize the gospel is to fundamentally misunderstand it.
Apostolic Robbery (v. 8-9)
Paul then continues his ironic defense by describing where his support did come from, using shocking language.
"I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to minister to you. And when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brothers came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept and will keep myself from being a burden to you." (2 Corinthians 11:8-9)
The word "robbed" is intentionally provocative. Of course, he didn't actually hold up the Philippian church at swordpoint. He is using hyperbole to shame the Corinthians. "You want to talk about finances? Let's talk about them. While I was serving you, a rich and prosperous church, I was being supported by other, poorer churches. I took 'wages' from the Macedonians, churches like Philippi, who were in 'deep poverty', in order to serve you for free." The shame here should be landing squarely on the Corinthians. They were the wealthy ones, yet they were allowing poorer congregations to foot the bill for their ministry. Paul is showing them how their accusation against him actually reveals their own lack of grace and generosity.
He makes it clear that this was not an accident. Even when he was "in need," he refused to be a burden to them. He would rather go without than put any obstacle in the way of the gospel or give his enemies a foothold. This wasn't about Paul's pride; it was about the integrity of his message and his fatherly love for this troubled church. He was resolved: "in everything I kept and will keep myself from being a burden to you." This was a fixed, settled principle of his ministry among them.
This is a powerful lesson for the church today. The right of a minister to be supported is biblical (1 Tim. 5:18). But the exercise of that right must always be governed by pastoral wisdom and love. The goal is not the enrichment of the minister, but the advancement of the gospel and the spiritual health of the flock. Paul was willing to set aside his rights in order to model the self-giving love of Christ.
An Unstoppable Boast (v. 10)
Paul now raises the stakes, binding his practice to the very truth of Christ within him.
"As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia." (Genesis 1:3 LSB)
This is not a flippant remark. He is making a solemn oath. The "truth of Christ" is not just a set of doctrines he believes, but the living reality of Christ dwelling in him. He is saying that his policy of free grace preaching is so intertwined with his understanding of Christ Himself that to abandon the policy would be to deny the Christ within him. This is his "boast."
In a world of self-promoting charlatans, Paul’s boast is that he takes nothing. While the false apostles boasted in how much they could command, Paul boasted in how much he could give. It is a complete inversion of worldly values. And he declares that this boast will not be "stopped" or "silenced" anywhere in Achaia, the region where Corinth was located. He is drawing a line in the sand. He will not compromise on this point, because to do so would be to compromise the gospel of grace itself. He is determined to maintain a ministry model that cannot be confused with the greedy peddlers of falsehood.
The Heart of the Matter (v. 11)
Finally, Paul asks the question that gets to the very heart of their accusation and provides the ultimate answer.
"Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!" (2 Corinthians 11:11)
Here is the central issue. The Corinthians, prodded by the false apostles, had interpreted Paul’s financial independence as a lack of affection. "If you really loved us, you would let us invest in you. You would become our client, our teacher. Your refusal is a rejection of us." It is a twisted, manipulative form of reasoning, but it is one that wounded people often employ.
Paul’s answer is a passionate, heartfelt appeal. He calls the ultimate witness to the stand: "God knows!" God knows the sleepless nights, the tears, the daily anxiety he feels for their spiritual well being. God knows that his entire posture toward them has been driven by a fierce, protective, fatherly love. He refuses their money not because he loves them less, but because he loves them too much. He loves them too much to let money cloud the issue. He loves them too much to let them be spiritually fleeced by the wolves he is fighting. He loves them too much to let them fall into a transactional, patronage relationship with the gospel. He wants them to have the gospel as he had it, as a free, unmerited, glorious gift.
Conclusion: Grace is Not for Sale
Paul’s defense here is a masterclass in spiritual warfare. He takes the enemy's primary accusation, that he is an unaccredited, unloved apostle because he works for free, and he turns it into the primary evidence of his apostolic authenticity. The false apostles came to take from the Corinthians. Paul came to give to them. The false apostles humbled the Corinthians to exalt themselves. Paul humbled himself to exalt the Corinthians. The false apostles peddled a gospel for profit. Paul preached the gospel of God as a free gift.
Who looks more like Jesus? The one who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many? Or the one who charges a fee for his motivational speeches?
The principle remains for us. The church must be a place where the economy of grace confounds the economy of the world. This does not mean ministers should never be paid. Paul is clear elsewhere that they have a right to be. But it does mean that the entire financial life of the church must be governed by generosity, love, and a commitment to the free proclamation of the gospel. We must be fiercely on guard against any mindset that turns the ministry into a business, the pastor into a CEO, and the congregation into customers.
Paul loved the Corinthians enough to be misunderstood by them. He loved them enough to be slandered. He loved them enough to work with his own hands when he was in need among them. And he did it all so that the gospel of grace would be seen for what it is: a gift. A treasure given, not a product sold. And in this, he calls us to follow his example, as he followed the example of Christ.