Yesterday Paul assured the believers of Philippi that what seems like bad luck for him has actually helped the gospel message to spread in Rome. Since he is not a dangerous prisoner, he's merely under house arrest, which means there is always at least one guard posted but it also means he is allowed to received visitors. Luke told us in the book of Acts that Paul preached the gospel in the house for two years to everyone who was willing to come hear it. I wouldn't doubt that hundreds of people came to believe on Christ after hearing about Him in Paul's house.
Today Paul tells his readers that because he boldly speaks in the name of Christ while a prisoner, other believers have been emboldened to preach the name of Christ. "And because of my chains, most of my brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear." (Philippians 1:14) They are encouraged by Paul's behavior, for most of them are still walking around freely, and I suppose they think to themselves, "If Paul can conduct a great ministry for the Lord even though he's a prisoner, surely I have no excuse as a free person not to be working for the Lord."
Not everyone preaching the gospel in Rome is doing it out of pure motives, as Paul has observed. The same is true in our day. Not everyone who is affiliated with the church is there because they love Christ. There are other types of needs (other than spiritual) that people are seeking to meet by connecting themselves with the church or with any other religious or social organization. Paul doesn't let it bother him. Instead he chooses to look at the bright side. "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 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." (Philippians 1:15-18a)
There were some who saw Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to become more popular than he was. He wasn't concerned with his own popularity but with Christ's. There were some who were such eloquent speakers that they could charge admission to hear their sermons. Paul always preached the gospel free of charge, believing rightly that every human being deserves the opportunity to hear about Christ. Although he's observed unscrupulous men using the gospel message to serve their own interests, he isn't angry about it. Instead he rejoices, because the message they are preaching is the same message he's preaching, and their motives don't matter because the power of the message doesn't come from their motives but from the Holy Spirit.
I daresay that many a person has been saved under the preaching of a man whose heart wasn't right with God. The person providing the message may have had wrong motives, but the people who heard the message believed it and accepted Christ as their Savior. Many years ago I was greatly comforted by a message taught by a well-known television evangelist who has since had some unsavory details of his personal life come out and who has given up the ministry. The verse this man preached on was exactly the verse I needed for what was happening in my life. The Holy Spirit took that verse and promised me that my situation was going to turn around in ways I couldn't even imagine. The verse was, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten." (Joel 2:25a) The Lord kept that promise! I went through three of the toughest years I'd ever been through but the Lord has given me nine happier years since. He's repaid me three times over for the years the locusts had eaten! I don't know if the preacher's heart was right with God when he preached that message or not. But I know the Lord spoke to me through the Scripture that was quoted in the message. The same thing was happening in Rome, so Paul says he rejoices. No matter what the motive, other men were preaching about Christ, and people were being saved and helped.
As long as people aren't perverting the gospel of Christ, we don't have to concern ourselves with their motives. God knows whether they're preaching for the wrong reasons and He'll deal with that in the right time and in the right way. We also don't need to compare our work for the Lord with the work others are doing for the Lord. This isn't a popularity contest. We each have a calling of the Lord on our lives and we owe it to Him and to our fellow man to carry out our calling to the best of our abilities. Comparing ourselves with others isn't going to improve on our ministries; it's only going to make us selfish and envious. Do you recall when the Lord warned Peter that he would give his life for the gospel and Peter wanted to know what was going to happen to John? The Lord said to him, "What is that to you? As for you, follow Me." (John 21:22b) Our job is to follow Christ. Our job is not to search out the false teachers and preachers. Our job is not to try to be better servants of the gospel than our neighbors. It's not our business how the Lord is going to use our brothers and sisters in Christ to advance the gospel, so He says to us, "What is that to you? Follow Me."
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