Joy in the Preaching of the Gospel

“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ….” (Philippians 1:18-19)

Paul had just been saying how his circumstances had advanced the gospel, i.e. he was in prison. He says in Phil. 1:13 that not only does the whole praetorian guard know of the Gospel, but so does everyone else. This was partly due to other believers taking courage due to trusting the Lord because of his imprisonment, and ‘speaking the word of God without fear.’

Has this ever struck you as odd? Paul is in prison because of his preaching the Gospel; therefore, the believers become more courageous and speak the word of God without fear. You would think that Paul’s imprisonment would induce fear. We get scared with the possibility that someone might raise an eyebrow at us or ridicule us. When we see someone lose his or her job because of too much speaking of the Gospel, do we step up our game? Are we encouraged to speak the word of God without fear? And is this a cause of joy?

But Paul doesn’t stop there. “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill…. [they] proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.” (1:15-17)

This is where Paul says that he will rejoice because the Gospel is being preached. ‘In pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this, I rejoice.’ We hardly rejoice in another’s preaching the Gospel if we don’t agree with them concerning the End Times or church government, or some other such secondary/tertiary subject. Are they preaching the Gospel? Then rejoice, even if they are doing it for selfish reasons.

There is always a concern about whether the ‘Gospel’ is actually being preached. It is succinctly expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5.

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

1)      that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

2)      and that He was buried,

3)      and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

4)      and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

If this is proclaimed, the Gospel is proclaimed, and we should rejoice!

Heather Jean Torosyan