Message Determines Strategy
“Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”
Colossians 1:25-27
The regions of the first-century world where the gospel was first preached were dominated primarily by the Greek mystery religions, along with Judaism. It would be impossible to conceive of a more hostile environment in which to preach the gospel and plant churches. But by God’s grace and power, sinners were converted and the church exploded in growth. He empowered men who were controlled by one message, namely, the unadorned, unadulterated gospel as revealed in the totality of scripture; men devoted to preaching the Word of God.
As pastors and church leaders, we must be devoted to the same message, which requires a commitment to the systematic, in-depth preaching, teaching, and application of the Word, as Paul put it, “declaring . . . the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27). This eliminates watered-down, dumbed-down, needs-based, entertainment preaching to the unsaved—preaching that is far different from biblical preaching that is both convicting and edifying. The legacy of weak pulpits is catastrophic. The primary reason evangelicalism makes so little difference in the world today is because too many pulpits are filled with entrepreneurs, entertainers, therapists, and political activists rather than “stewards of the mysteries of God.”
Paul’s commitment to being a trustworthy steward also dictated his strategy in gospel ministry. This can be seen in his testimony to the saints in Corinth, an exceedingly decadent, idolatrous city. In his first epistle to the Corinthians, we gain insight into the strategy he used when he first approached that pagan city. It was summarized in one powerful statement: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). His confidence in the gospel message produced a philosophy of ministry that could only be described as counter-intuitive. The Corinthians had never heard or seen anything like Paul. They thought he was a complete moron (1 Cor. 1:23). He certainly did not pack out the local amphitheater. But because he embraced a biblical soteriology, his message was uncompromising and his manner wasunconventional. His strategies for church growth made no sense from the world’s perspective.
But he understood what many today fail to grasp. He knew the message of the gospel is the only message God uses to save souls and bring glory to Himself. Though it is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, “to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks,” it is “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23, 24). Because of his absolute confidence in the supernatural power of divine truth and the Spirit’s power to raise the spiritually dead, his only concern was being bold enough to unleash the truth of the gospel without compromise, saying, “pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel . . . that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19-20). May we all share his passion and strategy.
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