|
And
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the
minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do
not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as
your bond-servants for Jesus sake.-2 Corinthians 4:3-5
A recent article from Religion
Today, an internet news source, reported that an abortion
clinic owner who had "become a Christian" had "left
the faith." The man had been "hailed as a pro-life
hero" for trusting in Christ, leaving his clinic, and moving
in with a pastor to be taught more about Christianity. Today, the
former "hero" and anti-abortion speaker now lives with
his mother and refuses to set foot in a church again. What in the
world happened?!
Our "hero" explained
that he "didn’t want to be involved in Christianity or the
pro-life movement" and that "all the public things I
said about how much love I felt and how people accepted me, that
was all lies." The report said that "he hoped
Christianity would become real to him if (he) held on as long as
(he) could," but ended up taking drugs to deal with his guilt
and shame.
According to the report, critics
charge that the man was "pushed into the limelight too
soon." Pro-Life Action Ministries Director Brain Gibson
explained that this is "an example of what can happen to a
‘hero-convert.’ We in the pro-life community so desperately
want to have things we can point to as victories that converts
have been held up as trophies."
Everybody is looking for a hero
or a role model that they can count on to come through for them
with their performance. We see it in the sports world today that
puts overpaid athletes up on pedestal after pedestal seeking to
find the one who will finally perform to perfection, not only on
the field but off.
We see it in the political arena
where candidates boldly promote themselves as the answer to all
the nations’ problems. The promises, many if not most ultimately
unfulfilled, flow freely from the mouths of the desperate
candidates in hopes that their equally desperate audience will put
their trust (and vote) in them.
None of this foolishness is new
and surely no shocking revelation to you. What would you expect
from the world? But perhaps what is most tragic and
disturbing about this search for the phantom hero or
promise-keeper or role model or moral superman is its 2,000 year
old infiltration into the professing church. It’s as if the
foundation of the faith in the minds of many Christians is no
longer the person and completed work of Jesus Christ (1 Cor.
3:11), but is instead a morality contest between religions to see
whose leaders and members can out-perform the other for bragging
rights among men and brownie points with God.
Well, guess what? None of this
"religious" foolishness is new either! Paul dealt with
this monster back in the first century as well. Why? Because just
like today, the false gospel that was preached by the false
prophets was man-centered and performance- based rather than
Christ-centered and faith-based.
How many pastors, seminary
professors, authors, bible study leaders, ministries, evangelists,
radio personalities, even men and women documented in the
Scriptures, have been elevated to a position of fantastic
prominence by their underlings and/or by themselves? For many in
the body of Christ, one or all of these individuals and
organizations have become the primary object of their
faith. It is not unusual to hear Christians more willing, able,
and passionate to defend their denomination, church, pastor,
social reform projects, favorite ministry, or televangelist than
they are to defend the gospel by which they have been saved!
Friends, you and I have been
given "the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was
in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
trespasses against them" (2 Cor. 5:18-19). We, like Paul, do
not, must not, preach ourselves! We are not the topic of the
gospel, nor is anyone else no matter how
""Christ-like" their actions and deeds appear to
be. Drawing attention to our "good deeds" and covering
up our "bad deeds" does not serve to bring glory to our
Savior. It brings glory to ourselves, it preaches ourselves, it
preaches our works-oriented flesh… and even a lost man can do
that! By all means, let’s love one another and seek to act in a
way that is profitable in our relationships with one another but
that is not the gospel. Jesus Christ, and the work He has already
accomplished via the cross, is the gospel we preach. If not, then
we are "deserting Him who called (us) by the grace of Christ,
for a different gospel; which is really not another" (Gal.
1:6-7).
My role, and yours, as a
messenger of the gospel is not to model for others what a real
"man or woman of God" should act like. Our primary role
is to consistently, passionately, and exclusively proclaim the
finished work of Jesus Christ for salvation…in spite of our
inability to always behave in a "godly manner!" No
individual described in the word of God, never mind any who have
come along since then, ever attained righteousness through their
behavior, "not even one" (Rom. 3:10). The Scriptures
testify backwards, forwards, sideways, and always that there is
only one way…Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; Rom. 3:21-22). You see,
if we are talking about "pass(ing) out of death into
life" (John 5:24), there is only One man who can pull that
off for you and me and He has done it! He is the Hero and the
Promise-keeper! He is our justifier, sanctifier, righteousness,
redeemer, forgiver, reconciler, and very life!
How many of us have placed our
faith in the messenger rather than the message? In many cases, the
messenger perpetuates this problem by preaching a gospel of
morality and performance rather than "contend(ing) earnestly
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints"
(Jude 3). When someone teaches a message of law-keeping or living
by the rules, they themselves are immediately placed under a
microscope by the listeners from that point forward. He is
inspected and carefully watched by all to see if he will slip up.
And when he does, which he will, those who have placed their
confidence in him will react in anger, judgment, and disgust
because they will feel duped and deceived. Many will even have
been said to have "left the faith." I submit to you that
you can’t leave something you’ve never entered into and that
those who "leave the faith" are really leaving what they
entered into initially…religion and its works.
No ministry, including this one,
is to become the object of your faith. We, like anyone else, will
let you down in some way. We will blow it. Our flesh will rear
its’ ugly head at some point and you will be disappointed. But,
praise God, we do not preach ourselves. We "preach the
gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ
should not be made void" (1 Cor. 17). The behaviors, actions,
and deeds of others are not where your faith is to be placed. It
is to be placed in the Person of Christ and His finished work as
testified to in the word of God.
The Living New Testament, a
paraphrase and not a translation, interprets Paul to be saying in
2 Corinthians 4:5 that "we don’t go around preaching about
ourselves, but about Christ Jesus as Lord." We do not preach
ourselves because we have nothing to offer any man, but we do
preach Christ because He has everything to offer all men. We do
not preach ourselves because "I know that nothing good dwells
in me, that is, in my flesh" (Romans 7:18), but we do preach
Christ because "if Christ is in you, though the body is dead
because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness" (Romans 8:10). We do not preach ourselves
because "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified
in His sight" (Romans 3:20), but we do preach Christ because
"to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as
righteousness" (Romans 4:5). We do not preach ourselves
because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23), but we do preach Christ because "He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21) We do
not preach ourselves because "he who speaks from himself
seeks his own glory" (John 7:18), but we do preach Christ
because in Him "I have found reason for boasting in things
pertaining to God" (Romans 15:17).
In Cornelius R. Stam’s Commentary
on Second Corinthians (p.77), he reminds us that "Paul
did not preach himself, much less ask others to be good and do
good to make themselves acceptable to God. No, his constant theme
was Christ and His all-sufficient satisfaction for sin." Our
hope is not found in the good works or bad works of
our pastor, Sunday school leader, husband, wife, favorite athlete,
friends, family, political candidates, Billy Graham, Moses, David,
Paul, ourselves, or anyone else. Our hope is found in the finished
work of the risen Jesus Christ through the cross!
We are not to be looking at the
actions and deeds of others we have foolishly put on a pedestal
(or who have put themselves there), but rather we are to be
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God" (Hebrews 12:2). Why has he "sat down at the right
hand of the Father?" Because His saving work is done! No works or deeds that we do or don’t do could ever bring
our dead spirits back to life. Only our loving God can perform
that miracle..and that is why we
do not preach ourselves!
Love,
John
Moneypenny
|
