PREACHING DONE THE
The
preaching of Jesus Christ as Lord is basic to the life of the Christian
community. Paul was a gospel preacher and he wanted to be sure that he did his
preaching the right way. He wrote, "For we are not as many, which corrupt
the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:17) A lot of people try
to get rich from preaching God's message. But faithful preachers are God's
sincere messengers, by the power of Christ the message is spoken and they speak
with God as their witness. It was the desire of Paul that no wrong attitude or
any message foreign to the gospel be allowed to render
the gospel void. Jesus said, "Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark
The
gospel is to be preached in order for people to have the knowledge of
salvation. The gospel is God's power to save. Paul wrote, "For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
(Romans 1:16) Apart from the gospel there is nothing that can be done or
believed that will bring a person to salvation. Hearing the gospel must precede saving faith "So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Saving faith is faith in
the gospel, faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The mission of the
Let
us preach the gospel. And let us be sure we do it the right way.
The
right way to preach is to preach the gospel sincerely. When Paul spoke of preaching the
word he said, "As of sincerity." (2 Corinthians 2:17) He viewed
himself as a sincere messenger of God. Paul was true to God and also to his own
personal convictions as he preached the salvation message. He preached the
gospel with truth, power and love. He preached God's message and he
would not allow himself to be swayed by the desires of others. He said,
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2) The right kind of
preaching sincerely sets forth the fact that Jesus died as a sacrifice for our
sins. This gospel is the truth of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ
that provides deliverance from the power and the penalty of sin. Let us
sincerely ring forth the message that there is an antidote to sin and its
deadly effects. "God commendeth his love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Salvation can come only through Jesus.
The
right way to preach is to know that God sent you. In a special way as an apostle,
Paul was sent by God. He said, "But as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:17) Paul looked
upon his preaching as from God and in the sight of God. He was conscience of
the fact that God saw him and heard each sermon that he preached. Gospel
preachers should never pervert the message of the cross because (1) Souls are
at stake, and (2) God is always listening. Gospel preaching as it should be
must be the preaching of the story of all Bible stories; it is the story of
redemption through Jesus Christ. The Bible is the story of redemptive history
which culminates in Jesus Christ. The man that preaches the right way must
understand that his preaching must be Christ-centered preaching. It must be the
preaching of the whole of Scripture. The right king of preaching must be done
with the understanding that the central message of Scripture is what God has
done for us in Jesus Christ. The preaching is done with soberness and in the
presence of God.
The
right way to preach is to speak in Christ. Paul said, "For we are not
as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in
the sight of God speak we in Christ." (2
Corinthians 2:17) He said, "Speak we in
Christ." The idea is that in our preaching we must preach with the
character and the spirit of Christ. One that speaks in Christ will never do so
with selfish motives. The preacher that preaches the right way will never
preach for popularity or fame if he is speaking in Christ. Paul preached the
right way. He preached the gospel with sincerity. He preached the pure gospel
of Christ. Human opinions and philosophies were never a part of his message. He
preached the "will of God," nothing more, nothing less. He preached
with himself in Christ, preaching the message of Christ, in the way that Christ
would preach. That is truly preaching the right way! "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to
preach the gospel..." (Romans 1:15)
Our
time here on earth is short. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the
morrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapour, that appeareth for a little
time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) Since
our lives on earth are so brief we need to work hard at learning the gospel and
preparing to meet God. “And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) Jesus invites all
to come to Him for salvation. “Come unto
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) The sinner prepares to meet God through
hearing God’s word, believing in the Lord Jesus, repenting of all sins,
confessing faith in Christ and being baptized.
(Mark
By Charles Box,