Paul the apostle wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:5, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." He has here set forth the duty, theme, and attitude of gospel preachers. We first emphasize the duty: Paul declares "... we ... preach". Having identified preaching in the preceding message (see #117), we now distinguish it.

We do not politicize. Politics has no place in our pulpit We do not preach the virtues of any particular political persuasion or party, nor endorse any political candidate or agenda, nor direct our hearers for whom to vote (as if they are incapable of making their own decisions), nor permit a politician to campaign from our pulpit.

This is not to say we are apolitical, unpatriotic, or anti-government. We willfully and gladly recognize human government as divinely ordained for our physical welfare (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1f; Titus 3:1f; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Matthew 22:21). We therefore faithfully honor and pray for its officials, obey its laws, pay our taxes to it, and do our share in service to it.

But we preach above all else obedience to Him who is the Head of all human government: Jesus Christ, the "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16). We therefore preach His gospel.

We do not moralize. This is not to say we are amoral in the sense of being ethically neutral, without ethical norms or ideals. Nor is it to say we in any way, or to any degree, condone immorality. Being Christians, we are required by our Lord and Savior the very highest degree of morality. We therefore soundly denounce every form of immorality, whether it be abortion, prostitution, adultery, sexism, racism, social injustice, unlawful violence, lying, cheating, stealing, or any other.

However, we do not consider acts of immorality to be man's greatest problem. Rather, they are but symptoms of the greatest problem, sin. One may espouse the right position on every moral issue, and live a life which men consider very moral, and yet be as guilty before God as the most immoral man. We therefore do not preach "Live a life of morality." Rather, we preach "Repent, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15), knowing that all who do will "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8), including morality.

We do not merely counsel. This is not to say we do not recognize the need of counselling. This is especially true with regard to relations between husbands and wives, parents and children, servants and masters (or employees and employers).

However, all our counsel is in the context of the gospel, and requires obedience to it. Consider, for example, the counsel of Paul the apostle in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. 1) Wives are counselled to "submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord...." (5:22-24). 2) Husbands are counselled to "love your wives, just as Christ loved the church ...." (5:25-33). 3) Children are counselled to "obey your parents in the Lord ...." (6:1f). 4) Fathers are counselled to "not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (6:4). 5) Servants (or employees) are counselled to "be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, ... as to Christ; ... as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart ...." (6:5-8). 6) Masters (or employers) are counselled to "do the same things to them, ... knowing that your own Master also is in heaven ...." (6:9).

We therefore do not counsel people to be merely good wives, husbands, parents, children, servants, or masters. Rather, we counsel them to be Christian wives, husbands, parents, children, servants, or masters. And we counsel them that none can be so except those who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you therefore not see that all mankind's problems arise from our sinful nature, and that our every effort to do the right thing is not enough, and that the only true remedy for our problems is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Have you believed our gospel?

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