Philippians 1;15-18 (NIV)
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Again, Paul was not a reckless optimist, but a realist. He understood that while he was imprisoned in Rome, the gospel was still being preached, the cause of Christ was still moving forward.
He understood very well that many were preaching Christ in his place out of love both for Paul and for the lost who needed to be saved. They saw themselves as filling the, hopefully temporary, gap due to Paul’s imprisonment. These people gladdened Paul’s heart, encouraging and helping him to stand strong.
Others, however, had different motives. Some of those preached the gospel to try to supplant Paul, believing that with his light temporarily muted, their time to shine had come. But others had a different agenda: they hoped to discredit Paul’s teachings while he was unable to publicly defend himself. Key among these were the Judaizers a group of Jewish believers who preached that faith in Jesus was fine, even essential. But they taught that Paul was completely in error in one key area: since Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, and was in fact Jewish himself, He had come only to save the Jews. Therefore, if a gentile wanted to be saved, they first had to convert to Judaism, be circumcised, and adopt Jewish culture and dietary rituals.
Paul realized that these teachings were very problematic, that they could easily lead people into legalism and a theology of salvation by works instead of salvation by grace through faith. But, on the other hand, he also realized that God was still in control drawing people to himself and helping to generate faith in Jesus that would lead to genuine salvation regardless of what the Judaizers were saying.
Paul also had the rare ability to take himself out of the equation. He realized that he was not the real issue. And if his imprisonment drove more people forward in preaching the gospel, regardless of their motives, then God was using his imprisonment to move His own agenda forward, and he was fine with that.
Father, Paul really was an amazing person. It is so easy, so common for people to make the gospel and their part in it all about them. But for Paul, the message was the thing, and if he was put aside for a while, though not inactive even under house arrest, as long as others were picking up the ball and running with it that was fine with him. In a sense, Paul was like John the Baptist, who was willing to play his own role as long as it lasted, and then quietly hand it to the next person when the time came, rather like a heavenly relay. Thank you, Lord, that you don’t leave yourself without a witness, but that whatever happens you keep moving your agenda forward. Amen.