A PREACHER OR A PEDDLER?

Paul was a preacher. He declared he was not a peddler. A peddler is someone who pulls together stuff from here and there at small cost and then sells it for profit. He takes secondhand goods and presents it as of great value. There are “preachers” who are really “peddlers.”  They take sermons from someone else and hawk them as their own. They are out for profit instead of being a prophet. Let us consider the Apostle’s message in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17. 

He speaks of the preacher’s OPPORTUNITY.  “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.” (v. 12-13). 

God opens doors. We do not have to beat them down. When one door closes, then another opens. We must seize the opportunities when they are presented. 

When is it time to move on?  Paul had a restlessness in his spirit. I have often found that to be true, when the Lord is preparing me for the next opportunity. The peddler is a ladder climber. He is always on the move, looking for success, rather than where God is directing him.  

Also, note that Paul needed Titus and could not do all he wanted to do without “my brother.”  The peddler is usually isolated and feels self-sufficient. He does not want to be exposed for the “snake-oil salesman,” he is.  We are often shocked when one of these men are exposed.  The preacher who succeeds knows he needs accountability. He seeks those who will serve alongside him. His ego is not so inflated that he will not share the spotlight.

Then, there is the preacher’s VICTORY. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place,” (v. 14).  

The imagery is of a Roman general returning from battle. The citizens would line the streets to welcome the conquerors in celebration. Priests would wave censers as the fragrance of the incense would permeate the air.  The spoils of battle would be hauled in wagons. Captives would be chained to the chariot of the victorious general. Those who surrendered would become servants, whereas rebels would be executed. 

Christ is the conqueror.  His Gospel is the fragrance—of which we will say more. As we surrender to Him—chained to His chariot, if you will—then He leads us in victorious service. The peddler sets his own agenda. He is concerned about his glory and not celebrating the Lord’s victory. Such peddlers by their actions may disclose their destination to be condemnation, as they are unregenerate. 

Understand, the preacher’s GRAVITY.  “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.” (v. 15-16a). 

The preacher understands the gravity of his task and focuses on the eternal accountability he has before God and the souls under his care. The peddler is concerned about temporal status and earthly reward. His ministry is about himself—not the Lord and the souls of men. I want to be gripped by the gravity of preaching God’s Word each time I stand behind the sacred desk. Paul tells us that eternal souls hang in the balance!

We must know the preacher’s SUFFICIENCY. “And who is sufficient for these things?” (v. 16b). 

The preacher recognizes that his work is too great for his natural ability. It takes more than his best. Our task is supernatural!  The peddler thinks himself adequate. He rests in the energy of the flesh. He struts around full of himself. If I am a man of God, I know that in myself I will be an utter failure. Apart from abiding in Christ, I can do nothing—as our Lord said in John 15. I must be empty of self and filled with the Spirit!

Paul’s desperate cry is answered in the next chapter.  “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor.‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬‬). 

The peddler puffs his resume’. The preacher humbles himself. The peddler does letter preaching—trusting his skills—and that brings spiritual death.  The preacher does spiritual preaching—relying on the Spirit—which brings spiritual life!

Finally, we consider the preacher’s SINCERITY. “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ,” (v. 17‬‬). 

The real preacher is a man of sincerity, while the peddler is a man of hypocrisy.  What the peddler is selling may indeed be true, but he is a fraud, and that sham will someday be exposed—if not here, then hereafter. The man God uses is real—the Word of Truth is proclaimed by a man of integrity. He speaks, “as from God,” representing the Lord of Glory. He speaks with an awareness that all he is, says, and does is “in the sight of God in Christ.”  The Lord Jesus is jealous for His Bride, the church.  He is watching. Jesus will be the guest of honor in the church tomorrow. While what the members say about the sermon is not unimportant, it is what the Master says that really matters. 

Are you a preacher or a peddler?  God knows. 

Peter was a preacher.  Not a perfect man, but a penitent man. He was real, and learned to humble himself and rely on the Lord. 

Judas was a peddler. He seemed a good man, but was a fraud. He was a hypocrite, who when confronted, stubbornly resisted, and went his own way—as Scripture says, “that he might go to his own place,” and that place was and will be perdition. 

May we fall on our face before God today—only His grace can fit us to be preachers rather than peddlers. How I need Him!

TO THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH US

As the Westminster Shorter Catechism properly puts it, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  The pastor effectively leads the church, when he models this to the church. Our ministry is about the majesty of God. It is not about making a name for ourselves, but magnifying the name of our Savior.  Paul states that he—as a preacher—along with other men of God, like Silvanus and Timothy, lived “to the glory of God through us,” (2 Cor. 1:20b). Let us explore 2 Corinthians 1:8-22. 

The passage begins with Paul acknowledging his PAST DESPAIR, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life,” (v. 8 ). Gospel ministry is not all sunshine and daisies, but often storms and difficulties. Being in the heat of spiritual battle can make us weary and worn. We can reach the point of despair, as did Paul. If a man of such faith could, “despair even of life,” I certainly may. I think of the mighty prophet Elijah, sitting under a juniper tree wanting to die. Many have been taught that “God will not put on you more than you can bear.”  Paul clearly contradicts that. He says, “we were burdened beyond measure, above strength…”. But though Paul was in despair, he did not stay there. 

We may experience a POWERFUL DELIVERANCE, “Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.” (v. 9-11). Adrian Rogers said, “God will put more on us than we can bear, but not more than He can bear.” (Adrian Rogers Legacy Bible, p. 1299). Paul was about to die, but had a Deliverer—the Lord Jesus who conquered death, hell, and the grave. Nothing then is beyond His power to overcome!  The Lord worked through His Body, the church at Corinth, to bring the Apostle’s deliverance through the power of their prayers. We must remind our congregation to lift us up in prayer, as Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses until the deliverance came. The Corinthians not only supported him with their fervent prayers, but their financial possessions.  Over and again, I have seen the bank account depleted, but then a kind church member’s generosity enabled me to make it through another week. 

Thus, Paul maintained a PURPOSEFUL DEVOTION, “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit— to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea.” (v. 12-16). Paul may have been sidelined in despair, but because of the Lord hearing the pleas of the saints on his behalf, he was restored in devotion. He lived with purpose. His conscience was clear. He was in the world, but not of the world. His lifestyle was marked by “simplicity and godly sincerity.”  He did not rely on “fleshly wisdom,” but “the grace of God.”  We are to emulate him in living for eternity—“the day of the Lord Jesus,” and summon others to do likewise.  What a crowning moment it will be, when we stand before the Lord of Glory, with those we have shepherded safely to the other side!

The preacher must make a PURE DECLARATION, “Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (v. 17‬-‭22‬‬). God is faithful and we as preachers must faithfully proclaim Him. We do not say one thing in the pulpit and another outside it—yes to one member and no to another. There must be consistency in our communication—purity in our preaching. It is pointed: “the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us.”  As the old saying goes, “Wherever you take your text, make a beeline to the cross!”  The glory of preaching is in the glory of the cross of Christ.

My brothers, do not despair, many—including me—are praying for your deliverance, so reinforce your devotion, and refocus your declaration.  “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”