The positive assertion contained in 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12 corresponds with the denial in 1 Thessalonians 2:5a. The connection is this: rather than using flattery as a means of winning the favour of his hearers in Thessalonica, Paul was willing to exhort them to a life of obedience. This would necessarily have required challenging and correcting their behaviour at various points—in contrast to flattery, which seeks only to praise the hearers. Just as the behaviour described in 1 Thessalonians 2:7–9 provides an answer to the idea that Paul might have been motivated by greed, so it seems fair to find in 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12 evidence which will put to rest the possible accusation of flattery.
10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.