The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.
Summary: Paul is pondering what is most important in life. In this passage, he shares his conclusion that at the end of the day, all that matters is that Christ is preached.
How much Jesus is enough to save a soul?
This question may sound silly, but it stems from the passage before us. What does Paul mean by “in every way?” Does it matter if I preach a little Jesus or a lot? Is how I preach Jesus more important than the fact that I preach Jesus? What if I preach Jesus, but I do it in a way that you don’t like?
These questions could lead us down any number of interesting paths. For one, we could discuss the divisions in our modern church. For another, we could compare the doctrines of different religions.
But what is important?
Let’s consider God’s point of view for a moment.
If you have ever flown in an airplane, you know that people on the ground look smaller and smaller the higher you fly. Flying over a city, you can look down on hundreds of thousands of people at once.
God sees the whole world that way. He sees every person all at once, and he sees us close-up at the same time (1 John 3:20, Matthew 10:29). In one of his parables, Jesus explains what this looks like to God (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)
In the parable, Jesus explains that God sees people as “good seed” and “weeds” (vs 24-26). The “good seed” belongs in the Kingdom of God (vs 43), and the “weeds” end up in the burn pile (vs 40-42).
That sounds simple enough, but from where we stand, it is a mystery. We cannot see into each heart like God can. We try and judge people’s hearts, but we are limited to what they do and what they claim to believe.
This is dangerous territory! Jesus teaches us, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37). Yet he also teaches us that we should “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly” (John 7:24).
The safest route is to keep our eyes on Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:2) and mind our own business (Matthew 7:3-5). Some are called to preach, and they do well to preach “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The rest of us who belong to God should be able to point to Jesus as well (1 Peter 3:15).
Ultimately, the important thing is not who is pointing to Jesus or what their motives are. The important thing is that we point to Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
Wheat will be wheat, and weeds will be weeds. We can trust God to sort out the rest.
Application: Keep Jesus first in your heart, and point to him always.
Food for Thought: What happens to our ministry when we get caught up in nit-picking other Christian religions?
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Continue reading “Philippians 1:18b – The Important Thing”
