A Flood of Gospel Content
When you step onto the internet and search the word “gospel,” millions of results flood your feed—preachers, worship, prayer, praise, and every kind of Christian content.
Let us focus on the preacher: you who claim to spread the good news and teach others the way of Christ.
The Teachers Who Opposed Christ Most
If there was a group that opposed Christ most while He was still alive, it was the teachers of the law—the Pharisees. That role translates easily to modern-day teachers, or preachers.Christ was furious with them and clearly warned against hypocrisy under the guise of serving God.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men.”
Christ spoke strongly against teachers who point out other people’s sin but never see the sin they commit behind closed doors. Telling people to do what you yourself will not do — is that not hypocrisy?
Greater Condemnation
This is what Christ promised as the verdict for such behavior:
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”
Yes—greater condemnation. For the things you ought to have done, you have deliberately neglected. Worse still, you have made the very people you preach to much worse than yourself. When those you are trying to reach see your fruit, they become disgusted with the whole idea of following Christ. Why? Because you, the one who is supposed to reflect Christ, are living exactly like the secular world. What good are you to Christ?
If salt has lost its saltiness, what good is it except to be thrown out?
If the way you live cannot preach Christ, can you claim to be a Christian—much less a preacher?
Definitely not. God looks on the inside, not the outside. Your heart matters more than your outward works. This is what you must set right before you step out of your house.
Preach What You Walk
It is meaningless to preach a gospel you cannot walk. If you want young people to stop fornication, you must stop committing adultery as well. If you want the people in your church to stop being corrupt, you must be willing to be transparent about the use of tithes and offerings. If you want people to truly respect you, you must humble yourself first.
This is the way of the cross. This is the true preacher. This is how you ought to teach—not merely by words, but by action first, and a few words after. This is the only way to make a real difference, not only in yourself but in the lives of those you preach to.
