Preaching Christ, even with false motives, is better than not preaching at all

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice - Phil 1:15-18

I was (and still I am) unsure of the title. I thought maybe "Preach Christ!", but that's not full point. Then I thought "Preach Christ, no matter what your motive", but that's not quite all that's here either. In the end, at least as I write these words, I went with what I wrote several week's ago in my Phil 1 summary post. Why all the hassle? First, because I firmly believe that good, effective titles draw people in and set the stage for what is said. Second, because my personal effort to pick a title is also my personal effort to encapsulate what I want to say.

I think part of the struggle with "sound biting" these 4 verses is that there is more than one layer to think about and to be affected by.  There is the preaching Christ whatever the motivation layer. There is the rejoicing that Christ is being preached as opposed to not being preached layer. There is the Christ is being preached to afflict Paul in prison layer. And there is the Paul rejoicing even though he is in jail layer. And, there may more.

With all those layers, where do we start. Maybe the simplest way is to look at the most transparent layer first. Paul is rejoicing over the fact that Christ is being preached no matter what the motive. There were good preachers preaching good sermons with Christ as their focus and Paul was rejoicing. And there were other preachers with insincere motives preaching Christ (or at least about Him) in an effort to get Paul in more trouble. It is difficult to imagine what such a sermon might look like, but perhaps it contained phrases like: "what those Christians believe" or "their savior is Jesus, who claimed to forgive sins" Doctrine was taught by way of negation.

Paul is clearly excited about this and I think we should be too. Not every one is going to preach Christ in a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, gospel-centered way. But even if they preach these realities by way of negation or in opposition, Paul rejoices and we should too.

However, not every sermon preaches Christ. Paul's sentiments in verse 18 are clear "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." Paul rejoices when Christ is preached. So that should be our goal and our standard and our Spirit-driven expectation. Too many sermons in too many churches for too many years have preached something other than Christ. Yes, Jesus' name may be stated. Jesus may even be quoted, but that is not preaching Christ. Preaching Christ is exposing our helpless, hopeless, rebellious hearts for what they are. Preaching Christ is proclaiming the boundless, matchless, sacrificial love that Jesus had for his Father and for his sheep. Preaching Christ is declaring that the Father, Son and Spirit planed from all eternity to execute a rescue mission to save God's people from themselves and from the power of sin and death and Satan. Preaching Christ is stating emphatically that Jesus died to absorb the just wrath of God for those who believe and the in dying, Jesus' righteous was give to those same believers. Preaching Christ is wholeheartedly affirming that we are caught up in this love and grace by the sovereign, omnipotent, gracious loving will of God. Preaching Christ is announcing with every fiber of our being that if Jesus has done all of this, He will complete His work and deliver us to the end of the race, whole and pure and ready to meet our God. Preaching Christ is saying unequivocally that we must work out this salvation with fear and trembling because it is God, through his Spirit who works in us to will and to work according to his good purposes.

Added to all of this, what do we do with the fact that Paul saw some people as preaching Christ with the specific intention of afflicting him? Would we respond with his same attitude of joy? Would we acknowledge that there may be a higher gospel value than our comfort and ease? Would we gladly accept, not just prison, but abuse while in prison, so that the gospel could go forth much more effectively?

Maybe, in the end, it all comes back to the source of our joy. If our joy is in our happiness, none of this will make any sense. If our joy is in our success, we will struggle with being put on the sidelines. If our joy is in our doctrinal precision, we will  bristle when average and even poor theological preaching and ministries succeed. But, if our joy is in Christ, if our joy is seeing Him preached, no matter the motive, if our joy is in the spread of the gospel whether we're directly involved or not, then we will truly rejoice as God does his work in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

To God Alone be the Glory

Update: Piper's comments on this passage.