Who gets the glory?

Philippians 1:15-18   Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

The outpouring of the gospel in ones life that it has changed is a natural work of that Good Work. It should so stir your soul that you cannot contain the good news. You have felt that change that salvation has brought, and the desire to share that good news is a work of Christ’s Spirit that now lives inside of you. We all have a seed of evangelism sown in us with the knowledge of Christ that dwells in us. That need to spread the story of salvation should always come from a pure heart driven by the motive of attention to the Savior; not the soul saved. Our testimony is the proof of the act of salvation, but should not be the focal point of our witness.

Paul was in prison and the gospel was spreading outside of the walls. The news was getting back to him of those seeking to bring glory to themselves in their preaching of it. It is unclear of exactly what was being taught, but they seemed to be preaching salvation through Christ. It did not seem to be the heretical preaching of the Judiaizers Paul spoke of in Galatians. These people may have been jealous of the attention Paul was receiving; they may have sown their dissension from lack of respect for Paul; for some reasons they seemed against him and in their preaching the gospel and sowed division with it. 6 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely,. Many of today’s preachers in the media have these same selfish motives that hide in pride and money behind their ministries. A good friend of mine came to know Christ listening to one of them, but he also came to see the trouble in that ministry as he grew closer to Christ himself.

Paul rejoiced in all the news of the gospel being spread. He knew that those who were preaching the word must answer with the motives of their hearts to only God. God knows the heart and knows the reason behind every word and action. As we grow closer to God ourselves, we gain a knowledge and understanding of Him as Paul spoke of in Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. This knowledge that is used in the context of our relationship with God, is used in the discernment of our relationships with each other. God may shed the light on ministry motives; He may open our eyes to those in the media. We like Paul can rejoice in the spreading of the gospel, but like Paul we must only seek to draw glory to Christ.