"WE PREACH NOT OURSELVES"

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How is it possible for us to fall in the trap of "preaching ourselves?"

Is it possible to emphasize an alliance we call "the church" more than Christ?

Corinthian Christians were obsessed with prominent preachers (including Paul) and concerned that their group was not impressive in a worldly way (I Cor. 1:12; 20,21). These distractions took their eyes off of Christ and provoked some strong language from the apostle Paul:
* "Was Paul crucified for you? Or, were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (1:13)
* "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness." (1:23)
* "For you see your calling brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called". (1:26)
* "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified". (2:2)

Though there was some improvement by the time Paul wrote his second letter, there was still a tendency among the Corinthians to question Paul's apostleship because he didn't promote himself but was instead meek, gentle and lowly (10:1). They did not comprehend that the mission of any true apostle was not self aggrandizement but rather to exalt Christ. To underscore that truth, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake".

Though as Christ's ambassadors, Paul and the other apostles were an essential part God's plan, they were not the treasure itself, but merely earthen vessels in which the treasure was deposited (2 Cor. 4:6). They were not the focal point of the gospel! The gospel was centered around "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Any other emphasis would have been divisive, distracting and damning.

(1) Emphasizing the preacher: Sometimes preachers fall into the trap that Paul so carefully avoided, allowing themselves to become the focal point of a group of brethren.
A respected older preacher told me that in the 40's and 50's he felt that brethren tended to identify themselves with certain famous preachers in the brotherhood, looking to them before taking positions on difficult issues. Such "preacheritis" was unhealthy, stifled independent thinking and must have distracted many from Christ.

However, rallying around a preacher instead of Christ is still a danger now just as in the first century or in the 40's and 50's. I have heard statements to the effect that a certain respected preacher "saved the church" from premillenialism, another "saved the church" from institutionalism, etc. Some seem to feel, therefore, that they have as a mission to personally "save the church" from some other danger, whether real or imagined. Such erroneous thinking is sectarian (regarding the universal church as an alliance of local churches) and promotes self importance.

No mere man is the Savior of the church! Those who look upon any man as such, are probably sectarian in their concept about the Lord's body and are not looking to its one true Savior, Jesus Christ. As in the days of Esther, If we do His will, He will use us as "vessels" to save those who are truly His. If we don't, He will accomplish His purpose through others. But HE is the Savior! We are but clay.

(2) Emphasizing the group: Modern sects promote themselves by proudly proclaiming to be the "true church" because of their special qualities: i.e. the one that worships on the Sabbath, evangelizes door to door, has a revelation to the American Indians, etc. Often they say very little about Jesus in their group centered proselytizing.

Some brethren have fallen in the same trap by seeming to stress allegiance to a movement, "the one true church," "the one that worships right," "the one that teaches the truth on baptism," etc. instead of emphasizing the need to submit to Jesus Christ. Such an emphasis involves preaching ourselves. It's sectarianism! Salvation comes through submission to Jesus Christ, and not acknowledgment of a religious movement as "the right one."

While it is absolutely true that those who obey the gospel must be taught how to work and worship with faithful local congregations, it is essential that efforts to evangelize focus on the complete submission to Christ. If we are successful in using the word to instill the latter, the former will take care of itself!
Let us preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus.

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