Philippians 1:18 (Rejoice when Christ is Preached)

Philippians 1:18

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.

It is Holy Week, the seven days leading to Easter which include Palm Sunday and Good Friday, and it's the time when people who typically don't talk about Christianity start talking about it. Oftentimes in the U.S, during this week, Jesus becomes a bigger focus on social media, news channels, magazine stands, talk shows, radio programs, podcasts, marketing campaigns, TV programing and streaming recommendation feeds. It seems like people all over want to grab a slice of the proverbial Jesus pie. Not all of these people have right intentions, though. The likelihood is that most of the people you see on available media who are talking about Jesus are not doing so for a good or God-fearing cause. How should we, as believers and Christians, respond to all this preaching that may be coming from people with bad motives?

Many people these days primarily receive preaching of Christ through TV and Movies,
so how should we respond when we see the preaching in these movies or shows?

Paul provides an example of how believers should respond to those who preach about Christ with bad motives. In Paul's letter to the believers in Philippi, he wrote that he was in chains and unable to preach outside of his prison. During this time, many people started to preach Christ in Paul's place. Concerning these people and their preaching, Paul said, "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill," (Philippians 1:15). There were some people preaching Christ who had a heart yearning to do the good work of evangelizing (Mark 16:15), and yet there were others preaching because they envied Paul's position and wanted it for themselves while he was gone. These envious people were preaching out of selfish ambition, and Paul writes later on in this letter, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others," (Philippians 2:3-4). Clearly these envious people were preaching with bad motives, unlike those who preached out of goodwill. Paul's reaction to the preaching of these two people can be seen in Philippians chapter 1 from verses 16 to 18:

The latter [the ones with goodwill] do so [preach] out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. The former [the ones with envy and rivalry] preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

According to the Bible Dictionary, to rejoice in something means
to delight in or be glad for something, and this sense of delight or
gladness can be expressed outwardly or felt inwardly.

Paul said that he rejoiced for those who preached Christ. He was joyful that Christ was being preached, whether out of good or bad motives. Certainly, Paul could have chosen to be miserable that Christ was not being preached by the most upright people, but instead he chose to rejoice. He was full of joy that there were people preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is this, "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). As long as someone is preaching this as first importance, then who they are and what their method or motives are should not affect a Christian's joy for their preaching. Whenever we, as believers, hear the preaching of Christ and Him crucified for sins (1 Corinthians 1:23), we should rejoice.

Rejoicing in the preaching of Christ no matter wherever, whenever or whoever is preaching, though, does not mean that we should put-up with false preachers who twist the Gospel of Christ. Many false preachers have preached gospels that at first glance appear to be about Christ, but on closer inspection are actually not about Christ and Him crucified at all. We, as Christians, are called to test the heart and soul of what we hear preached (1 John 4:1) and to use our minds that have been renewed in Christ to discern whether the preaching aligns with God's will (Romans 12:2). We don't examine the preaching of others by scrutinizing every little detail and call attention to anything we find the slightest bit out of place (Matthew 7:3-5). We also don't judge based on the appearance of things (John 7:24), but on our understanding of what the Scriptures say (2 Timothy 2:15). We have to grow in our faith and understanding of God and the Gospel, so that "we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming," (Ephesians 4:14).

Lastly, it is so good that Paul demonstrates that Christians are to rejoice when any believer preaches the Gospel of Christ no matter what their motivation is, because no believer has ever truly been able to preach Christ out of 100% good motivation. Scripture tells that everyone has fallen short of the glory that the preaching of God's Gospel demands (Romans 3:23), and even born again Christians are truly never without sin (1 John 1:8). Paul Washer once preached this sobering statement, "In all your entire life and mind, there has never been one moment, one moment that you loved God as God deserves to be loved. Do you realize that?" If God demanded that Christians only rejoice when they hear fully God honoring perfect preaching, then there would never be one "hallelujah" heard in any church service. I am so thankful that God has given sinful people such as you and me the privilege to be able to preach the Gospel of Christ (with all our faults and all). There is rejoicing in heaven when even one sinner repents and believes the Gospel of Christ (Luke 15:10), and there should be rejoicing on earth when anyone preaches that Gospel.

It is a gift from God that He has allowed us to be preachers of
His Word, and it is beautiful when His Word is preached.

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
• Paul Washer: The Gospel