Preach Christ and Not...

by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr.
 

One should never underestimate the subtlety of the Devil. I am convinced that one of his more subtle devices over the years has been to convince people that if they are going to give Christ the glory that he deserves that they need to be preaching “Christ and not _________.” You fill in the blank with about anything associated with Christ in the New Testament and you will get the picture. Some examples of things we have head over the years:

1. “Preach the man (Christ) and not the plan.”
2. “Preach Christ and not baptism.”
3. “Preach Christ and not the church.”
4. “Preach Christ and not obedience.”

This sounds very appealing, especially when one says this is the kind of preaching the apostles did and points to passages about preaching Christ. And who would not want to give the name and person of Christ all glory and praise? The fact is the results of implementing these suggested preaching styles is to encourage people in their minds to separate Christ from the things he teaches, loves, and cherishes. Preaching a Christ without these things is preaching a Christ other than the one revealed in the New Testament scriptures. Paul warns the Corinthians against preaching another Jesus, spirit, or gospel (2 Cor. 11:4).

Philip, the evangelist, preached Jesus to the eunuch (Acts 8:35). Somehow the eunuch got the message from this preaching that he needed be baptized (v. 36). Do you suppose that preaching Jesus included preaching about baptism? Earlier in Samaria, as one of those scattered abroad preaching THE WORD (v. 4), Phillip is said to have preached CHRIST to them (v. 5). In verse 12, it says that he preached “the things concerning the KINGDOM OF GOD, and the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, they were baptized.” He preached Christ AND the church (Kingdom) not Christ AND NOT the church and as a results people were baptized.

The facts are, one cannot preach the Christ of the New Testament without preaching his plan for man’s salvation, or baptism, or the church, or obedience to all his commands. Nor vise versa. One cannot preach the N.T. plan of salvation, N.T. baptism, N.T. church, N.T. obedience without preaching Christ. It is not “either, or.” It is all of the above.

It is Christ who gave the plan which includes baptism and has revealed it. It is Jesus who is said to have established the church, gave himself for it, purchased it with his blood, loves it, cherishes it, etc. It is Jesus who is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Heb. 5:8-9). One is preaching Jesus when he preaches any of those things that one must obey and the results of that obedience.

We grant that not everyone who repeats the catch phrase, “Christ and not _________,” means to completely eliminate whatever may be put in the blank. But, by often repeating such may very well encourage their hearers to do so.

One additional thought about the church. Saying, “We need to preach Christ and not the church” is not the same as we sometimes say, “Our loyalty should be to Christ and not the church.” The later is saying that Christ is the source of all truth and not the church. The church is to practice the truth, but it can err from it. If our loyalty is to the church rather than Christ, then we will go with the church into error. But if our loyalty is to Christ then we will remain with Him.

 

 

Other Articles by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr.
Of Me and Change
The Gospel of Community Service
A New Dogma
When They Go Out From Us
Is Unrestricted Loyalty a Virtue?