STOP THAT PREACHING!

Mark records an interesting event from the ministry of Christ. John said, "Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us. But Jesus said,  Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us.  For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ's, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." (Mark 9:38-41),

Because he was not known to them, because he was not of their entourage, John was determined that this unknown servant should not be allowed to continue his good work for the Master.  John showed no concern for the good the unknown disciple did nor for the victims of the demons who were blest because he had delivered them.  The man must be stopped! Rather than a commendation from Christ, John was rebuked for his presumptuous act of forbidding the man. From Christ's divine perspective, if the disciple was not working against him, and he was obviously doing good, he should be left alone to continue his work.

Some Jewish Christians who were enraged that Paul was carrying his message of salvation to the Gentile world without the obligations of the Mosaic system. They did everything in their power to hinder him and discredit his work. Even when he was enduring the burden of imprisonment because of the gospel, they ceased not to undermined his efforts. Great man that he was, the apostle wrote, "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;...(they) proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds.  What then: only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and therein I rejoice and will rejoice" (Phil. 1:15-18). It was the Jewish brethren who were mistaken in their narrow view of the gospel, but they thought Paul was all wrong and so they dedicated themselves to hindering his efforts. But the apostle manifested the true spirit of Christ in the conflict.  He did not forbid them, he was grateful that at least Christ was being preached to some who had never heard it.

These two lessons are much needed among our brethren today.  The church is beset by a band of false teachers who will wreck and destroy her if left unchallenged.  Those who do not accept their call for change have yet to mount a successful defense; in part because some brethren spend much of their time trying to forbid other brethren from engaging in the battle. If they do not personally approve of the messenger, they would forbid his message. These brothers should ponder the following axioms:

	Christ did not see fit to delegate the licensing of who can preach his message to one or more preachers in the church. For this we can be grateful.
	"Truth is truth no matter who proclaims it."
	An arrow of truth launched by an unendorsed brother is just as deadly to error as one by any other warrior.
	In a war for survival, an army can ill afford to ban from service able bodied men. Neither can it afford to shoot its handicapped.
	Gospel truth, when faithfully disseminated, does no harm to the Cause of Christ. It will save souls, it will strengthen the weak, it will correct error. Regardless of who sends it forth, it will bear fruit for Christ (Is. 55:11).
	In both cases mentioned above, those who sought to interfere with and hinder the work of the unapproved brother were wrong. It was the unknown disciple and Paul who were serving the Master in an acceptable way.
	It will be a terrible charge in judgment to hear that one kept lost souls from hearing the saving gospel because he was able to silence a brother who was preaching Christ, even though he did not have the approval of his critics.
	If another brother is faithfully preaching Christ and souls are being saved, let us have the noble spirit of Paul and be grateful that Christ's will is being made known.