Nothing to brag about

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. - 1 Corinthians 9.16-18

I remember many years ago going to chapel services at the Bible college I attended. In these early days, and for years to follow there was something that bothered me. To be honest it still bothers me today.

I'll only present one example to show what I am talking about. We had a chapel speaker one day talking about how important 'soul winning' was. Not 'personal evangelism' or 'sharing the gospel' mind you, but actually 'soul winning.' The preacher was, per usual, chewing us out for being such rotten soul winners. He gave an example about how great he was at soul winning. He told us he had parked his car across the road and he was witnessing to everyone he met. It was about a five minute walk on a Bible college campus. In that five minutes he told us that he had seen seven people come to Christ. That was what happened if one was truly a soul winner.

His bragging (perhaps he was telling the truth, I suppose) accomplished its purpose. If he was so good at soul winning we were pretty miserable Christians.

Needless to say I have heard my share of bragging preachers through the years. Of course the bragging is often masked with a concession to God, but great edifices have been built to bear witness to the greatness of the man behind the ministries. In far too many situations man has been exalted.

This flies in the face of Biblical humility.

Paul, yes Paul, the apostle Paul, said 'I have nothing to brag about If I preach the gospel.'

Despite what we might like to think we preachers are not God’s gift to the world. All we need to do is just do our job. Just doing our job is nothing to brag about.

In fact Paul says just the opposite. Preaching is what is expected – woe be to us if we don’t do it.

What is our reward? It is certainly not a pat on the back or a little bragging. Our reward is getting to preach the gospel.

Praise God we get to serve Him in such a way