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In Christian ministry, nearly all preachers project themselves as serving the interest of God. This is a view held by most believers and unbelievers.
However, mature Christians know that a preacher may be tempted to seek either the approval of man or of God. To seek the approval of man in preaching is to preach to please man.
In the first-century Church, Paul encountered preachers who determined to please man rather than God. This was evident in the message they preached. They were false preachers who distorted the gospel of Christ.
Thus, Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia to draw a line between himself and those false preachers when he indicated that he did not serve as an apostle to please man but God alone.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
From the verse above, the apostle draws attention to a situation where a preacher may decide to please man or God when proclaiming the Word of God.
He then alludes to the fact that the greatest thing a preacher must do to prove that he is a servant of Christ is to please Christ.
This automatically suggests that a minister must displease man since he cannot please both man and God at the same time.
The man who a preacher must displease, in this context, may include his parents, spouse, children, friends, colleagues, mates and even he himself. Jesus said:
“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine” (Matthew 10:37).
Thus, preachers who desire to please Christ Jesus resolve to boldly preach the gospel of salvation. But those who seek to please man preach something else – anything apart from the gospel.
There are many self-styled preachers who distort the gospel of Christ. They do this to influence immature believers to desert God. It is astonishing that some Christians can easily be convinced to reject Christ through false messages they hear. To such believers Paul wrote:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).
“As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).
Many of these questionable preachers and believers are in the world today. They are heard and seen on social media everyday.
However, ministers who decide in their heart to preach the full gospel of Jesus are blessed as they please God. But those who preach their own words to remove believers from God are cursed.
The main message given to Christian preachers to propagate is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a message about the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ and His promised return to judge the world (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
Those who exercise a discretion to preach the gospel of Christ for sinners to be reconciled to God are indeed wise and their feet are beautiful (Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15).
It is our prayer that every preacher will resolve to please God by committing himself to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, considering eternal consequences and rewards.
By James Quansah
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