Preach Christ of Contention
Preach Christ of Contention
Louis Rushmore
Someone inquires, “What does it mean to preach Christ of contention?” The question arises from the King James Version rendering of Philippians 1:16, which says, “The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds.”
The New King James Version or translation reads, “The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains” (Philippians 1:16).
The context of Philippians 1:12-18 records the apostle Paul’s joy that Jesus Christ was being preached. However, he noted that the motives of some who were preaching Christ were improper. Nevertheless, Paul was pleased that at least Christ was being preached.
Unfortunately but evidently, even the apostle Paul had enemies within the Lord’s church. Christians with impure motives challenged the apostle Paul at other times and on other occasions, too (1 Corinthians 9:1-2). Regrettably, the same circumstance persists today within the Lord’s church when individual Christians seem to forget that the church belongs to Jesus Christ and that a local congregation does not belong to beastly and barbaric Christians who have determined to rule or ruin the heritage of our Lord (3 John 9-11).
The real reason that the apostle Paul was imprisoned was because he was a very influential Gospel preacher. Christianity was the reason he was jailed. Therefore, enemies of Paul sought to increase and further lengthen his stay by boldly preaching the Gospel, for which Paul had been imprisoned. They maybe even hoped that by accentuating the reason for which Paul had been taken captive that he would be executed sooner. Still, Paul was happy that the Gospel was being preached.
The commentator Adam Clarke supposed that the ones preaching Christ from impure motives were “Judaizing teachers” who sought to amplify the charges against the apostle. The word “contention” (KJV) can mean “faction,” and that is how it is translated in the American Standard Version of the Bible. Judaizing teachers comprised a faction within the Lord’s church, and there are factions within the Lord’s church today that actively try to harm other Christian brethren.
A lesson for us today is that we also ought to be pleased when Bible truths are taught, despite impure motives that may lie behind such teaching and in spite of additional false teaching that may also occur. A second lesson for us is that even within the Lord’s church there will be factious persons who harbor ill toward other Christians and have selfish ambitions. We must be happy for the good that occurs through such, as well as try to limit the evil effect of false teachers (Romans 16:17-18) and factious persons (Titus 3:10).
Louis Rushmore
Someone inquires, “What does it mean to preach Christ of contention?” The question arises from the King James Version rendering of Philippians 1:16, which says, “The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds.”
The New King James Version or translation reads, “The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains” (Philippians 1:16).
The context of Philippians 1:12-18 records the apostle Paul’s joy that Jesus Christ was being preached. However, he noted that the motives of some who were preaching Christ were improper. Nevertheless, Paul was pleased that at least Christ was being preached.
Unfortunately but evidently, even the apostle Paul had enemies within the Lord’s church. Christians with impure motives challenged the apostle Paul at other times and on other occasions, too (1 Corinthians 9:1-2). Regrettably, the same circumstance persists today within the Lord’s church when individual Christians seem to forget that the church belongs to Jesus Christ and that a local congregation does not belong to beastly and barbaric Christians who have determined to rule or ruin the heritage of our Lord (3 John 9-11).
The real reason that the apostle Paul was imprisoned was because he was a very influential Gospel preacher. Christianity was the reason he was jailed. Therefore, enemies of Paul sought to increase and further lengthen his stay by boldly preaching the Gospel, for which Paul had been imprisoned. They maybe even hoped that by accentuating the reason for which Paul had been taken captive that he would be executed sooner. Still, Paul was happy that the Gospel was being preached.
The commentator Adam Clarke supposed that the ones preaching Christ from impure motives were “Judaizing teachers” who sought to amplify the charges against the apostle. The word “contention” (KJV) can mean “faction,” and that is how it is translated in the American Standard Version of the Bible. Judaizing teachers comprised a faction within the Lord’s church, and there are factions within the Lord’s church today that actively try to harm other Christian brethren.
A lesson for us today is that we also ought to be pleased when Bible truths are taught, despite impure motives that may lie behind such teaching and in spite of additional false teaching that may also occur. A second lesson for us is that even within the Lord’s church there will be factious persons who harbor ill toward other Christians and have selfish ambitions. We must be happy for the good that occurs through such, as well as try to limit the evil effect of false teachers (Romans 16:17-18) and factious persons (Titus 3:10).
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