What It Means To Be True Defenders Of The Gospel

By Ann Murray


Preachers around the world have been classified into two groups. There are true defenders of the gospel whose work and passion are based on love for Christ and the desire to win more people into his flock. Philippians chapter 1 verse 15-17 then points at imposters who are driven by rivalry and the urge to win over others. Their motivation is self-interest other than delivering the word to the hearts of men.

Unfortunately, the true disciples are not labeled on their foreheads. This makes it difficult to identify them in a crowd. In fact, most are confused and followed by many only to realize that you are walking into self-destruction. A Christian should not be worried about identifying the true from fake preachers. Matthew chapter 7 and verse 15-20 clearly gives you the formulae to use in identifying preachers.

According to Matthew, it is by their fruits that disciples are identified. These verses give the example of a tree saying that a good tree produces good fruits and will be identified by that. A bad tree will equally produce bad fruits. In the example, it is impossible to expect anything good from a bad tree just like men do not look for fruits in thistle trees.

One of the most important verses in that chapter is 19. This verse provides a reassurance of what will happen to these fake or untrustworthy preachers. Giving the example of trees, it says that the tree bearing bad fruits will be cut while that which produces good fruits will be allowed to grow. Matthew in verse 10 of chapter 3 states that the master has put an axe at the foot of the trees, ready to cut any that does not produce good trees.

It gets confusing when unfaithful Christians and preachers appear to thrive at the expense of the faithful and true ones. Peter has addressed that in his second letter chapter 2 and verses 1-3. He says that such people are about to get their reward. Unfortunately for them, the reward will come in the form of destruction. This destruction is them paying for their sins and wrongs. It tells Christians to be patient because God will act at his perfect time.

It is also worth noting that good preachers thrive and grow. A defender who remains faithful to the word will reap the rewards of righteousness. His harvest will grow by the day and become the envy of all nations. It will last for years, unlike that of pretenders that dissipates like smoke on a windy day.

It takes time to reveal who a defender is and the imposter. God tells Christians to be slow in passing judgment. When the Lord takes action, he will reveal the true prophets and also take the time to uncover the false ones. He will disclose the motives hidden in the hearts of men and the truth shall be known.

The way people act indicates whether they are truthful or false. If their words do not align with their actions and their motivation is more material than winning people to Christ, they will definitely reap their reward. The eternal judge will give each a reward according to his deeds.




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